βρίσκω (to find) | Greek Grammar

This entry holds two verbs. The active βρίσκω finds things, gets things and passes judgement on things; the mediopassive βρίσκομαι has drifted away from it altogether and means be located — it is how you ask where something is. They share a present stem and almost nothing else, so the card gives them a table each.

Active: βρίσκω

Slot	Form
Present	βρίσκω, βρίσκεις, βρίσκει, βρίσκουμε, βρίσκετε, βρίσκουν
Imperfect	έβρισκα — plural βρίσκαμε, βρίσκατε
Aorist	βρήκα, βρήκες, βρήκε, βρήκαμε, βρήκατε, βρήκαν — ηύρα / ήβρα (dated, folk-literary)
After θα / να	βρω, βρεις, βρει, βρούμε, βρείτε, βρουν
Command	βρες / βρείτε
Perfect / pluperfect	έχω / είχα βρει
Gerund	βρίσκοντας

βρήκα belongs to the -ήκα group with μπήκα and βγήκα, laid out in full on irregular and suppletive aorists; the augment sits inside the vowel, so it never drops — βρήκα, βρήκαμε alike.

Mediopassive: βρίσκομαι

Slot	Form	Meaning
Present	βρίσκομαι, βρίσκεσαι, βρίσκεται	be located, be in a state
Imperfect	βρισκόμουν	was (situated), found myself
Aorist	βρέθηκα — with ε	was found; ended up; met up
After θα / να	βρεθώ	θα βρεθούμε = we'll meet up
Perfect	έχω βρεθεί	I have been (in that situation)
Learned doublet	ευρίσκομαι, ευρισκόμενος (formal)	officialese and legal texts

Πού ακριβώς βρίσκεται το ξενοδοχείο σας;

pu akrivós vrískete to ksenodhochío sas;

Whereabouts exactly is your hotel?

Βρεθήκαμε τυχαία στο αεροδρόμιο και τα είπαμε.

vrethíkame tichéa sto aerodhrómio ke ta ípame

We ran into each other at the airport and had a catch-up.

💡

The vowel is the whole trap: the active past is βρήκα with η, the mediopassive past is βρέθηκα with ε. They are one letter apart in writing and clearly different in speech, and no rule connects them — the perfective root simply shows up as βρη- in the active and βρεθ- in the passive.

The senses

Find is the sense you meet first. Get, land is the same verb with an abstract object — a job, a flat, an excuse. Judge, reckon is the one English speakers miss, and it takes an object plus an adjective agreeing with that object.

Βρήκα επιτέλους τα γυαλιά μου, ήταν μέσα στο ψυγείο.

vríka epitélus ta yaliá mu, ítan mésa sto psiyío

I finally found my glasses — they were in the fridge.

Βρήκε δουλειά σε ένα δικηγορικό γραφείο στο κέντρο.

vríke dhuliá se éna dhikighorikó ghrafío sto kéndro

She landed a job at a law firm in the centre.

Το βρίσκω λίγο ακριβό για ό,τι είναι.

to vrísko lígho akrivó ya óti íne

I find it a bit pricey for what it is.

Τη βρήκα κουρασμένη, δεν είχε κοιμηθεί καθόλου.

ti vríka kurazméni, dhen íche kimithí kathólu

I thought she looked tired — she hadn't slept at all.

That last adjective agrees with την, not with the speaker: κουρασμένη because she is the one who is tired. Change the ending and you change who you are describing — Τη βρήκα κουρασμένος says that I was the tired one when I found her, which is good Greek and a different sentence.

A fourth use is worth recognising even if you never produce it: with a misfortune as subject, βρίσκω means befall.

Τι σε βρήκε και κλαις;

ti se vríke ke kles;

What's come over you, why are you crying?

Government

Frame	Example	Reading
accusative object	Βρήκα δουλειά.	find, get
object + agreeing adjective	Το βρίσκω ωραίο.	judge it to be
βρίσκομαι σε + accusative	Βρίσκομαι σε δύσκολη θέση.	a place or a predicament
τα βρίσκω με accusative	Τα βρήκαμε με τον ιδιοκτήτη.	come to terms, settle it
genitive clitic	Βρες μου μια λύση.	find one for me

Τελικά τα βρήκαμε με τον ιδιοκτήτη για το νοίκι.

teliká ta vríkame me ton idhioktíti ya to níki

We came to an arrangement with the landlord about the rent in the end.

What βρίσκω does not have

A -μένος participle — does not exist. Do not build one: βρεμένος is already taken, it belongs to βρέχω and it means wet. "The keys I found" has to be a relative clause — τα κλειδιά που βρήκα.
A "there is" use — does not exist. βρίσκω is not an existential verb — it needs a subject and an object, even in the befall sense above. Bare existence is υπάρχει: Υπάρχει ένα λάθος against Βρήκα ένα λάθος — see υπάρχει.
An active that means "be located" — does not exist. The locating job belongs entirely to the mediopassive: Πού βρίσκεται το μουσείο; never Πού βρίσκει το μουσείο;

Τα ρούχα ήταν ακόμα βρεμένα από τη βροχή.

ta rúcha ítan akóma vreména apó ti vrochí

The clothes were still wet from the rain. (βρεμένος = wet — nothing to do with finding)

Set phrases

Phrase	Meaning
δεν βρίσκω λόγια	I can't find the words
τα βρίσκω σκούρα (informal)	be in real trouble
τα βρήκαμε	we've agreed — on a price, on terms
βρήκα τον μπελά μου (informal)	I've landed myself in it
θα βρεθούμε	we'll meet up
όπου βρω	wherever I can, any old how
βρες μου μια λύση	sort something out for me

Δεν βρίσκω λόγια να σε ευχαριστήσω.

dhen vrísko lóya na se efcharistíso

I can't find the words to thank you.

Common Mistakes

Copying the η of βρήκα into the passive. The two pasts are built on different roots, and the passive one keeps its ε.

❌ Ο σκύλος βρήθηκε τελικά σε ένα χωράφι δίπλα.

Incorrect — the passive aorist is βρέθηκε, with ε.

✅ Ο σκύλος βρέθηκε τελικά σε ένα χωράφι δίπλα.

o skílos vréthike teliká se éna choráfi dhípla

The dog turned up in a field nearby in the end.

Key Takeaways

Active βρίσκω · έβρισκα · βρήκα · να βρω · βρες · έχω βρει; the dependent βρω, βρεις, βρει is monosyllabic and takes no tonos.
Mediopassive βρίσκομαι is a separate word meaning be located, and its past is βρέθηκα with ε, never βρήθηκα.
Three senses to keep apart: find (τα κλειδιά), get (δουλειά), and judge (Το βρίσκω ωραίο, with the adjective agreeing with the object).
No -μένος participle: βρεμένος means wet and belongs to βρέχω.
"There is" is υπάρχει, not βρίσκω; "where is it" is πού βρίσκεται, not πού βρίσκει.

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