σηκώνω lifts somebody or something; σηκώνομαι gets up or rises. This is therefore not a deponent verb: the active twin is fully alive, and changing only the ending changes who undergoes the movement. The everyday command σήκω is the form that makes this pair worth learning separately.
Two voices, two participants
Σήκωσα τη βαλίτσα και την έβαλα στο πορτμπαγκάζ.
síkosa ti valítsa ke tin évala sto portbagáz
I lifted the suitcase and put it in the boot.
Σηκώθηκα από το κρεβάτι μόλις χτύπησε το ξυπνητήρι.
sikóthika apó to kreváti mólis chtípise to ksipnitíri
I got out of bed as soon as the alarm rang.
In the active, the subject causes another participant to move: σήκωσα τη βαλίτσα. In the middle, the subject itself changes position: σηκώθηκα. This compact contrast illustrates the reflexive and change-of-state patterns developed on middle-voice meanings.
Principal parts
| Slot | Active: lift | Middle: get up |
|---|---|---|
| Present | σηκώνω | σηκώνομαι, σηκώνεσαι, σηκώνεται, σηκωνόμαστε, σηκώνεστε, σηκώνονται |
| Imperfect | σήκωνα | σηκωνόμουν |
| Aorist | σήκωσα | σηκώθηκα |
| Dependent | σηκώσω | σηκωθώ |
| Imperative | σήκωσε / σηκώστε | σήκω · σηκώσου / σηκωθείτε |
| Participle | σηκωμένος | |
σήκω is a short irregular imperative: no productive Modern Greek rule predicts it. σηκώσου is regular and real, but σήκω is overwhelmingly the everyday choice. The plural remains σηκωθείτε. Compare the general inventory on irregular imperatives.
Σήκω, θα χάσεις το λεωφορείο!
síko, tha chásis to leoforío!
Get up — you'll miss the bus! (informal)
Σήκωσε το τηλέφωνο, σε παρακαλώ· μαγειρεύω.
síkose to tiléfono, se parakaló; mayirévo
Answer the phone, please; I'm cooking.
Government
| Frame | Function | Model |
|---|---|---|
| active + accusative | person or thing lifted | σηκώνω το κουτί |
| middle, no object | subject gets up | σηκώνομαι νωρίς |
από
| starting place | από το κρεβάτι |
| nominative predicate | resulting posture | σηκώθηκε όρθιος |
| accusative object in the personal “get up” reading | does not exist; an object selects active σηκώνω | |
Σηκώθηκε όρθια μόλις μπήκε η διευθύντρια.
sikóthike órthia mólis bíke i dhiefthíndria
She stood up as soon as the director came in.
Τα παιδιά σηκώνονται νωρίς μόνο τις καθημερινές.
ta pedhiá sikónonde norís móno tis kathimerinés
The children get up early only on weekdays.
A middle without a deliberate “self”
The middle does not always mean that a person intentionally acts on themselves. It also presents a change whose affected participant is the subject: a curtain rises, wind gets up, or hair stands on end. English often chooses a different verb for each event, while Greek keeps the same contrast: active σηκώνω supplies an external causer; middle σηκώνομαι lets the subject's new position be the centre of the clause.
Μόλις σηκώθηκε η αυλαία, η αίθουσα σώπασε.
mólis sikóthike i avléa, i éthusa sópase
As soon as the curtain rose, the auditorium fell silent.
Ξαφνικά σηκώθηκε δυνατός αέρας και κλείσαμε τα παράθυρα.
ksafniká sikóthike dhinatós aéras ke klísame ta paráthira
A strong wind suddenly got up, and we closed the windows.
This is why “reflexive” is useful for σηκώνομαι από το κρεβάτι but too narrow as a definition of the whole middle paradigm. The general contrast is mapped on active–passive pairs.
Set phrases
- σηκώνω βάρη — lift weights
- σηκώνω τα χέρια ψηλά — raise my hands; give up
- δεν σηκώνει αστεία / κουβέντα — tolerate no jokes / argument
- σηκώθηκε αέρας — a wind got up
- μου σηκώθηκε η τρίχα — my hair stood on end
- Σήκω φύγε! — Get up and leave! (informal)
Ο προπονητής δεν σηκώνει αστεία όταν αρχίζει η προπόνηση.
o proponitís dhen sikóni astía ótan archízi i propónisi
The coach tolerates no joking once training starts.
Μου σηκώθηκε η τρίχα όταν άκουσα τον θόρυβο.
mu sikóthike i trícha ótan ákusa ton thórivo
My hair stood on end when I heard the noise.
Common Mistakes
Do not use active σηκώνω for your own routine movement; use σηκώνομαι. Also keep two grammatical commands apart: Σήκωσε τη βαλίτσα! means “Lift the suitcase!”, while Σήκω! means “Get up!” The full morning sequence is shown on ξυπνάω, without repeating it here.
Key Takeaways
- Active σηκώνω · σήκωσα moves an object; middle σηκώνομαι · σηκώθηκα moves the subject.
- Learn the everyday command σήκω whole; σηκώσου also exists, and plural is σηκωθείτε.
- Use από for the source and a nominative adjective for the resulting posture.
Related Topics
- κάθομαι (to sit)A2 — The everyday verb for sitting, staying, and living somewhere, with the κάθισα–έκατσα doublet and the discourse command κάτσε.
- πέφτω (to fall)A2 — The present stem is πεφτ- and the past stem is πεσ- — two different words, not a sound change. Full forms, the πέστε that belongs to two verbs at once, and the genitive clitic in Μου έπεσε το ποτήρι, which is how Greek says 'I dropped it' with no transitive verb at all.
- ξυπνάω/ξυπνώ (to wake up)A2 — The labile morning verb ξυπνάω—both wake up and wake someone—with the short command ξύπνα, the irregular aorist ξύπνησα, and no finite mediopassive.
- Reflexive Use of the Middle VoiceB1 — How Greek uses the mediopassive -ομαι ending to say you do something to yourself — πλένομαι (wash), ντύνομαι (get dressed), χτενίζομαι (comb one's hair), ετοιμάζομαι (get ready) — why the ending itself is the 'myself', when the marked τον εαυτό μου is needed instead, and why body parts take active + possessive (πλένω τα χέρια μου).
- Active/Passive Verb PairsB2 — The causative–inchoative alternation that learners mistake for a passive — καίω/καίγομαι, κουράζω/κουράζομαι — plus the labile actives that need no voice change at all (σταματάω, τελειώνω, γυρίζω, ανοίγω, σπάω), the suppletive pairs ανεβάζω/ανεβαίνω, and the middles that have drifted into new words (χάνομαι, βρίσκομαι, φέρομαι).
- Mediopassive ImperativeB1 — Commands for -ομαι / -άμαι verbs — the reflexives, feelings and motion verbs — with singular -ου and plural -είτε (ντύσου / ντυθείτε, σκέψου / σκεφτείτε), plus the high-frequency irregulars κάτσε, σήκω, στάσου and έλα.
- Principal Parts: Complete IndexA2 — A consolidated index of the principal parts of 151 frequent Modern Greek verbs, including defective and register-limited paradigms.