λέω (to say/tell) | Greek Grammar

A lookup card for the verb of reported speech. λέω runs on four stems — λε- in the present, λεγ- in the imperfect, and a completely different ειπ-/π- for everything perfective — and its two complement types mean two different things. That last point is the whole reason this verb earns its own page.

Every form λέω has

Slot	Forms	Gloss
Present	λέω, λες, λέει, λέμε, λέτε, λένε	say, tell — 2sg is contracted
Imperfect	έλεγα, έλεγες, έλεγε, λέγαμε, λέγατε, έλεγαν(ε)	was saying, used to say
Aorist	είπα, είπες, είπε, είπαμε, είπατε, είπαν(ε)	said, told — suppletive
Dependent (after θα, να, ας)	πω, πεις, πει, πούμε, πείτε, πουν(ε)	θα πω, να πεις, ας πούμε
Imperative	πες / πείτε (one act); λέγε / λέτε (go on, out with it)	tell me; keep talking
Perfect	έχω / είχα πει	have said, had said
Gerund	λέγοντας	saying, while saying
Mediopassive	λέγομαι, λέγεσαι, λέγεται…	be called, be named
Passive aorist	ειπώθηκε	it was said (formal)
Present participle	λεγόμενος	so-called (formal)

The 2sg is λες, not ×λέεις — λέω contracts where ακούω does not. The aorist is fully suppletive: nothing of λεγ- survives into είπα, and the dependent shrinks to the one-syllable π- stem, which is too small to stand on its own — πω, πεις, πει always lean on θα, να, ας, μη(ν) or a conjunction. Only the imperatives πες / πείτε stand alone. That whole pattern, shared with βλέπω → είδα → δω, is on suppletive verbs and the irregular aorists.

ότι against να — report or order

This is the contrast to learn cold. Both complements attach to the same verb; they differ by one word, and they report two entirely different events.

Μου είπε ότι φεύγει για Λονδίνο τον άλλο μήνα.

mu ípe óti févyi ya Londhíno ton álo mína

He told me he's leaving for London next month.

Μου είπε να φύγω αμέσως από το γραφείο.

mu ípe na fígho amésos apó to ghrafío

He told me to leave the office immediately.

ότι (or πως) introduces a report: someone stated a fact, and the clause keeps its own subject and its own indicative verb. να introduces a directive: someone wanted an action out of you, and the clause switches to the subjunctive. The subject changes with it, from he to I, because the action being demanded is mine to carry out. English keeps λέω's ambiguity at bay with "that he is" versus "me to," and the Greek machinery is exactly parallel; the full account is on ότι vs να and the complementizer ότι.

What λέω takes

What is said goes in the accusative — Είπα την αλήθεια, Το είπα ήδη.
The person told goes in the genitive, as a weak pronoun. Greek has no "to" here at all: Του το είπα, not a preposition in sight. Full nouns take σε: Το είπα στη Μαρία.
Bare third-person λέει is an impersonal "it says," used for what a text or a source states.

Του το είπα χθες το βράδυ, αλλά δεν με άκουσε.

tu to ípa chthes to vrádhi, alá dhen me ákuse

I told him last night, but he didn't listen to me.

Λέει η εφημερίδα ότι θα ανέβουν πάλι τα καύσιμα.

léi i efimerídha óti tha anévun páli ta káfsima

The paper says fuel prices are going up again.

Naming: two frames, two cases

Greek names people with λέω in the plural — literally "they call me" — with the namer left unexpressed and the name in the accusative. Alongside it sits the mediopassive λέγομαι, where the name is the predicate of a subject and therefore stands in the nominative. Both are current; λέγομαι is the more formal of the two and the one used on the phone and in offices.

Με λένε Δημήτρη, αλλά όλοι με φωνάζουν Μίμη.

me léne Dhimítri, alá óli me fonázun Mími

My name's Dimitris, but everyone calls me Mimis.

Λέγομαι Άννα Παπαδοπούλου και είμαι δικηγόρος.

léghome Ána Papadhopúlu ke íme dhikighóros

My name is Anna Papadopoulou and I'm a lawyer.

The same stem gives λεγόμενος "so-called," which is alive and productive in journalism and academic prose — usually, as in English, with a raised eyebrow:

Ο λεγόμενος ειδικός δεν ήξερε να απαντήσει.

o leghómenos idhikós dhen íksere na apandísi

The so-called expert couldn't answer.

Phrases that live on this verb

τι λες; (what do you say? / you don't say!), λες να…; (do you reckon…?), τα λέμε (see you, talk soon), πες μου (tell me), λέω να… (I'm thinking of), δεν λέει να… (it just won't…), δεν λέει τίποτα (it's nothing special), όπως λένε (as they say), άσε να σου πω (let me tell you something).

Τι λες, πάμε για καφέ;

ti les, páme ya kafé;

What do you say — shall we go for a coffee?

Λες να πρόλαβε το τελευταίο λεωφορείο;

les na prólave to teleftéo leoforío;

Do you reckon he caught the last bus?

Λέω να πάρουμε ταξί, δεν αντέχω άλλο περπάτημα.

léo na párume taksí, dhen andécho álo perpátima

I'm thinking we should take a taxi — I can't walk any further.

Δεν λέει να σταματήσει αυτή η βροχή, τρεις μέρες τώρα.

dhen léi na stamatísi aftí i vrochí, tris méres tóra

This rain just won't stop — three days now.

Keep that one apart from bare δεν λέει, which looks identical up to the fourth word. With να + verb, something refuses to happen. Without it — usually as δεν λέει τίποτα — λέω is intransitive and means "amount to anything, be any good":

Αυτό το τραγούδι δεν μου λέει τίποτα.

aftó to traghúdhi dhen mu léi típota

This song does nothing for me.

Άσε να σου πω κάτι που δεν ξέρεις.

áse na su po káti pu dhen kséris

Let me tell you something you don't know.

Τα λέμε αύριο, καληνύχτα.

ta léme ávrio, kaliníchta

See you tomorrow, goodnight.

Common Mistakes

1. Building a regular 2sg. Every -ω verb you have met so far makes its 2sg in -εις, so ×λέεις feels right. λέω contracts instead: the form is λες, and the same contraction gives λέμε and λέτε where a regular verb would have ×λέουμε and ×λέετε.

❌ Τι λέεις για αύριο το βράδυ;

Incorrect — the 2nd singular of λέω is λες.

✅ Τι λες για αύριο το βράδυ;

ti les ya ávrio to vrádhi;

What do you say about tomorrow evening?

2. Using λέω for speaking a language. English "say," "tell" and "speak" all sit close together, but Greek splits them: λέω needs something said — a fact, a word, a story. Speaking a language, or speaking to someone, is μιλάω. The full division of labour is on λέω vs μιλάω.

❌ Λέω ελληνικά και λίγα ιταλικά.

Incorrect for 'I speak Greek' — speaking a language is μιλάω.

✅ Μιλάω ελληνικά και λίγα ιταλικά.

miláo eliniká ke lígha italiká

I speak Greek and a little Italian.

Key Takeaways

λέω, λες, λέει, λέμε, λέτε, λένε — the 2sg is contracted, never ×λέεις.
Four stems, one verb: λε- (present), λεγ- (έλεγα, λέγομαι, λεγόμενος), ειπ- (είπα), π- (πω, πες, πει).
ότι = report, να = order. Μου είπε ότι φεύγει against Μου είπε να φύγω.
The person told is a genitive pronoun (Του το είπα); the thing said is accusative.
Με λένε Δημήτρη takes the accusative; Λέγομαι Δημήτρης takes the nominative — same fact, different frame.

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