The paradigm of νομίζω is short and holds no surprises, which is lucky, because everything interesting about this verb happens above the level of the form. νομίζω is how Greek marks an opinion as provisional — and one of its tenses does something no other verb in this group does.
What the verb has
| Slot | Form |
|---|---|
| Present | νομίζω, νομίζεις, νομίζει, νομίζουμε, νομίζετε, νομίζουν(ε) |
| Imperfect | νόμιζα, νόμιζες, νόμιζε, νομίζαμε, νομίζατε, νόμιζαν |
| Aorist | νόμισα, νόμισες, νόμισε, νομίσαμε, νομίσατε, νόμισαν |
| Dependent (θα, να) | νομίσω |
| Perfect | έχω νομίσει — grammatical, but rare |
| Gerund | νομίζοντας — ordinary in writing |
| ×νόμιξα | does not exist — a plain -σα. The -ζω verbs split two ways, and νομίζω is not on the παίζω → έπαιξα side |
| Imperative | does not exist in use. Nothing blocks a form on paper, but nobody is ordered to suppose something — that job goes to Φαντάσου… or Ας πούμε ότι… |
| Passive, -μένος participle | do not exist. Where English says "is thought to be", Greek changes verb: θεωρείται, λέγεται |
Which side of the -ζω split a verb falls on is settled on aorist consonant merges — take the form from here and the rule from there.
Νομίζοντας ότι ήταν κλειστά, δεν πήγε καν να δοκιμάσει.
nomízondas óti ítan klistá, dhen píye kan na dhokimási
Assuming the place was shut, he didn't even go and try.
νόμιζα means "…and I was wrong"
This is the reason the verb earns a card. In ordinary use the imperfect νόμιζα does not merely report a past opinion — it announces that the opinion has since collapsed. Νόμιζα ότι ήσουν στη δουλειά tells your listener, without another word, that you weren't. English needs a whole clause for this ("I thought you were at work — apparently not").
Νόμιζα ότι ήσουν στη δουλειά, γι' αυτό δεν χτύπησα το κουδούνι.
nómiza óti ísun sti dhuliá, yaftó dhen chtípisa to kudhúni
I thought you were at work, so I didn't ring the bell.
Νόμιζα ότι είχαμε συμφωνήσει για τις εννιά, όχι για τις δέκα.
nómiza óti íchame simfonísi ya tis eniá, óchi ya tis dhéka
I was under the impression we'd agreed on nine, not ten.
The aorist νόμισα is a different move: it dates the mistake to a single moment — the instant you took one thing for another. The general contrast between the two past tenses is on aspect in the past.
Νόμισα ότι σε είδα χθες στο κέντρο, αλλά ήταν άλλος.
nómisa óti se ídha chthes sto kéndro, alá ítan álos
I thought I saw you in town yesterday, but it was someone else.
Government: where the negative goes
νομίζω takes ότι or πως with the indicative, and stands alone as a complete answer. The point specific to this verb is what happens under negation. English raises the negative onto think — "I don't think he'll come" — while Greek is perfectly happy to leave it downstairs, on the verb it actually belongs to.
| Greek | English | Feel |
|---|---|---|
| Νομίζω ότι δεν θα έρθει. | I don't think he'll come. | the everyday version |
| Δεν νομίζω ότι θα έρθει. | I don't believe he'll come. | correct, but heavier — it disputes the idea |
| Νομίζω. / Έτσι νομίζω. | I think so. | complete answers on their own |
| Νομίζω πως ναι / πως όχι. | I think so / I don't think so. |
Νομίζω ότι δεν θα προλάβουμε το τελευταίο δρομολόγιο.
nomízo óti dhen tha prolávume to teleftéo dhromolóyio
I don't think we'll make the last service.
Δεν νομίζω ότι είναι καλή ιδέα να πάμε χωρίς να τους ειδοποιήσουμε.
dhen nomízo óti íne kalí idhéa na páme chorís na tus idhopiísume
I don't think it's a good idea to turn up without letting them know.
Είναι ακόμα στο νοσοκομείο; Έτσι νομίζω.
íne akóma sto nosokomío; étsi nomízo
Is he still in hospital? I think so.
Against its neighbours
| Verb | What it does |
|---|---|
| νομίζω | a soft guess, often overturned |
| πιστεύω | conviction — you would defend it |
| θεωρώ | a considered classification (formal) |
| σκέφτομαι | think about — the process, not the verdict |
σκέφτομαι is the one to watch, and the usual warning about it is put too strongly. σκέφτομαι ότι is grammatical — especially in the aorist, where it reports a thought arriving (Σκέφτηκα ότι… "it occurred to me that…"). What it does not do is deliver an opinion you already hold. For that, Greek wants νομίζω.
Σκέφτηκα ότι θα ήταν καλύτερα να φύγουμε νωρίς.
skéftika óti tha ítan kalítera na fíghume norís
It struck me that it would be better to leave early.
Σκέφτομαι σοβαρά να αλλάξω δουλειά μέσα στη χρονιά.
skéftome sovará na alákso dhuliá mésa sti chroniá
I'm seriously thinking about changing jobs this year.
Νομίζω ότι έχεις δίκιο, αλλά άσε με να το ψάξω λίγο.
nomízo óti échis dhíkio, alá áse me na to psákso lígho
I think you're right, but let me look into it a bit.
Set phrases
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Τι νομίζεις; | what do you reckon? |
| Ό,τι νομίζεις | whatever you reckon — often a way of dropping the argument |
| Νομίζει ότι είναι κάποιος (informal) | he thinks he's somebody |
| Νόμισα ότι σε είδα | I thought I saw you |
| Και τι νομίζεις ότι έγινε; | and what do you think happened then? — telling a story |
Ό,τι νομίζεις, εγώ σου είπα τη γνώμη μου και τελείωσε.
ó,ti nomízis, eghó su ípa ti ghnómi mu ke telíose
Suit yourself — I've given you my opinion and that's that.
Νομίζει ότι είναι κάποιος επειδή του έδωσαν ένα γραφείο.
nomízi óti íne kápios epidhí tu édhosan éna ghrafío
He thinks he's somebody because they gave him an office.
Key Takeaways
- The whole verb: νομίζω · νόμιζα · νόμισα · να νομίσω · νομίζοντας. No imperative in use, no passive, no -μένος participle.
- The aorist is a plain νόμισα — never ×νόμιξα, whatever παίζω → έπαιξα suggests.
- νόμιζα carries a built-in correction: Νόμιζα ότι ήσουν στη δουλειά means you weren't.
- Greek leaves the negative on the lower verb — Νομίζω ότι δεν θα έρθει — where English raises it. Δεν νομίζω ότι… is also correct, and heavier.
- Νομίζω. and Έτσι νομίζω are complete answers.
- σκέφτομαι ότι is not an error; it reports a thought forming. An opinion you hold is νομίζω, and a conviction is πιστεύω.
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- πιστεύω (to believe)B1 — The strong member of the belief trio — conviction, trust, faith, against the guesswork of νομίζω and the reasoned classification of θεωρώ. Principal parts on the -εψ- perfective (πίστεψα, να πιστέψω), and the government contrast that changes the whole claim: σε πιστεύω 'I believe what you're telling me' beside πιστεύω σε σένα 'I have faith in you'.
- Aspect in the Past: Imperfect vs AoristA2 — The past is where aspect bites first and hardest. Greek has two past tenses for the same verb: the imperfect (έγραφα — was writing, used to write, the background) and the aorist (έγραψα — wrote, a single completed event). The signature pattern is a long imperfect frame cut across by a sudden aorist — Διάβαζα όταν χτύπησε το τηλέφωνο — and it lines up almost exactly with the Spanish imperfect/preterite split.