περιγράφω means “describe”: it turns a place, person, event, or feeling into words. Its essential surprise is the aorist περιέγραψα. The augment appears inside the compound, between περι- and γραφ-, rather than at the beginning.
Principal parts
| Slot | Form | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Present | περιγράφω, περιγράφεις, περιγράφει, περιγράφουμε, περιγράφετε, περιγράφουν | |
| Imperfect | περιέγραφα | internal augment |
| Aorist | περιέγραψα | internal augment; φ + σ → ψ |
| Dependent / perfect | να περιγράψω / έχω περιγράψει | |
| Imperative | περίγραψε / περιγράψτε | |
| Mediopassive | περιγράφομαι · περιγράφηκα / περιγράφτηκα | both passive aorists are standard |
| Learned passive aorist | περιεγράφη | (formal), third person |
| Everyday result participle | does not exist | use η περιγραφή; περιγεγραμμένος is a geometry term |
Μου περιέγραψε το διαμέρισμα τόσο καλά που το αναγνώρισα αμέσως.
mu periéghrapse to dhiamérizma tóso kalá pu to anaghnórisa amésos
She described the flat so well that I recognized it immediately.
Το περιστατικό περιγράφηκε στην ανακοίνωση ως ατύχημα.
to peristatikó perighráfike stin anakínosi os atíchima
The incident was described in the statement as an accident.
Στο δεύτερο ρεπορτάζ, το ίδιο περιστατικό περιγράφτηκε ως σκόπιμη ενέργεια.
sto dhéftero reportáz, to ídhio peristatikó perighráftike os skópimi enéryia
In the second report, the same incident was described as a deliberate act.
The form περιγεγραμμένος really exists, but it means “circumscribed” in geometry (formal, technical): περιγεγραμμένο τρίγωνο. It is not the ordinary result of describing a person or event. English can say “the person described above”; Greek normally uses a clause, το πρόσωπο που περιγράφεται παραπάνω, or the noun περιγραφή.
The internal augment family
The active aorist inserts ε after the prefix because the older augment belongs next to the verbal stem. The full mechanism belongs on internal augments; here is the family that makes the pattern useful.
| Prefix | Present | Aorist | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| περι- | περιγράφω | περιέγραψα | describe |
| υπο- | υπογράφω | υπέγραψα; υπόγραψα (informal) | sign |
| κατα- | καταγράφω | κατέγραψα | record |
| εγ- | εγγράφω / εγγράφομαι | ενέγραψα / εγγράφηκα | register / enrol |
| ανα- | αναγράφω | ανέγραψα | state in writing (formal) |
This table also shows where prediction stops. The internal augment is characteristic of the active past forms of many inherited γράφω compounds, but passive forms may be levelled differently. Learn each verb's recorded principal parts, then use the family resemblance as a memory aid rather than as permission to invent a form.
Government
The thing described is a direct accusative object. A genitive clitic names the person receiving the description. ως + accusative introduces the role or characterization assigned to somebody.
Περίγραψέ μου τι έγινε από τη στιγμή που μπήκες στο κτίριο.
períghrapsé mu ti éyine apó ti stighmí pu bíkes sto ktírio
Describe to me what happened from the moment you entered the building.
Οι συνάδελφοί του τον περιέγραψαν ως ήρεμο και πολύ συνεργάσιμο.
i sinádhelfí tu ton periéghrapsan os íremo ke polí sinerghásimo
His colleagues described him as calm and very cooperative.
Unlike English describe, the Greek verb does not insert a preposition before its subject matter: περιγράφω το πρόβλημα, not ×περιγράφω για το πρόβλημα.
Set phrases
δεν περιγράφεται “words cannot describe it”; όπως περιγράφεται παραπάνω “as described above” (formal); μου περιέγραψε τα πάντα “he told me everything in detail”; δώσε μου μια περιγραφή “give me a description”; περιγραφή θέσης εργασίας “job description”; με λίγα λόγια “briefly.”
Η χαρά των παιδιών όταν είδαν το χιόνι δεν περιγράφεται.
i chará ton pedhión ótan ídhan to chióni dhen perighráfete
The children's joy when they saw the snow is beyond description.
Η αγγελία περιγράφει αναλυτικά τα καθήκοντα της θέσης.
i angelía perighráfi analitiká ta kathíkonda tis thésis
The advert describes the duties of the position in detail.
Common Mistakes
The tempting aorist ×περίγραψα misses the internal augment; Standard Greek has περιέγραψα for this verb.
✅ Περιέγραψα το ατύχημα στην αστυνομία όσο πιο καθαρά μπορούσα.
periéghrapsa to atíchima stin astinomía óso pio kathará borúsa
I described the accident to the police as clearly as I could.
❌ Περιέγραψε για την εμφάνιση του άντρα.
Incorrect—περιγράφω takes a direct accusative object, without για.
✅ Περιέγραψε την εμφάνιση του άντρα χωρίς να υπερβάλει.
periéghrapse tin emfánisi tu ándra chorís na iperváli
She described the man's appearance without exaggerating.
Key Takeaways
- περιγράφω · περιέγραφα · περιέγραψα · να περιγράψω · περίγραψε · έχω περιγράψει.
- Both περιγράφηκα and περιγράφτηκα are standard; περιεγράφη is formal.
- There is no everyday -μένος result participle; geometry owns περιγεγραμμένος.
Related Topics
- γράφω (to write)A1 — γράφω fills every productive verb-specific slot — both voices, both imperatives, participles and a verbal adjective. This card gives that inventory, the γράφομαι σε 'enrol' frame, impersonal γράφει 'it says', and five system-level gaps including the absence of a free productive infinitive.
- δείχνω (to show)B1 — One verb doing two unrelated jobs — the ditransitive 'show X to Y', where the person is a genitive clitic, and the copular 'look, seem', where the complement is a nominative adjective. Principal parts, the χν → ξ aorist, and the line between δείχνω and φαίνομαι.
- Principal Parts: Complete IndexA2 — A consolidated index of the principal parts of 151 frequent Modern Greek verbs, including defective and register-limited paradigms.
- Internal and η- AugmentB2 — How inherited compounds place a visible augment inside the word (υπέγραψα, προέβλεψα) or use stress retraction without a new vowel (ανέβηκα, κατάλαβα, περίμενα), and how four frequent past forms begin with η- (ήθελα, ήξερα, ήπια, ήρθα) — with augment position kept distinct from stem irregularity.
- PrefixesB1 — Recognize productive everyday and learned Greek prefixes, their allomorphs, and the lexicalized meanings that resist word-for-word decoding.