Σηκώνομαι νωρίς κάθε πρωί.

I get up early every morning.

Breakdown of Σηκώνομαι νωρίς κάθε πρωί.

• νωρίς: early
• κάθε πρωί: every morning
• σηκώνομαι: to get up

Questions & Answers about Σηκώνομαι νωρίς κάθε πρωί.

Why is there no word for I in Σηκώνομαι νωρίς κάθε πρωί?

Greek usually omits subject pronouns like εγώ (I) because the verb ending shows who the subject is.
The ending -ομαι in σηκώνομαι clearly marks 1st person singular (I), so εγώ is not needed unless you want to emphasize it:

• (Εγώ) σηκώνομαι νωρίς κάθε πρωί. = I (as opposed to others) get up early every morning.

What kind of verb is σηκώνομαι, and why does it end in -ομαι?

Σηκώνομαι is a middle / passive voice form, used here with a reflexive meaning: I get myself up / I get up.

Present tense forms of this verb are:

• σηκώνομαι – I get up
• σηκώνεσαι – you get up
• σηκώνεται – he/she/it gets up
• σηκωνόμαστε – we get up
• σηκώνεστε – you (pl.) get up
• σηκώνονται – they get up

The -ομαι ending is typical for 1st person singular in these middle/passive-type verbs.

What is the difference between σηκώνομαι and σηκώνω?

• σηκώνομαι = I get up / I stand up (subject moves themself).
• σηκώνω = I lift / I raise (something or someone).

Examples:

• Σηκώνομαι από το κρεβάτι. – I get up from bed.
• Σηκώνω το βιβλίο. – I lift the book.

So σηκώνομαι is used when you are the one changing position (standing up, getting out of bed).

Does σηκώνομαι mean exactly the same as ξύπναω (to wake up)?

Not exactly.

• Ξυπνάω / ξυπνώ = I wake up (I stop sleeping).
• Σηκώνομαι = I get up (I physically get out of bed / stand up).

You can wake up and stay in bed:

• Ξυπνάω νωρίς αλλά δεν σηκώνομαι αμέσως.
  I wake up early but I don’t get up immediately.

In your sentence Σηκώνομαι νωρίς κάθε πρωί, the focus is on the action of getting up, not just waking.

How is Σηκώνομαι pronounced, and where is the stress?

Σηκώνομαι is pronounced roughly like:

• see-KO-no-me

The stress mark (ώ) shows that the second syllable is stressed:

• ση-κώ-νο-μαι

Stress is very important in Greek: changing it can make a word sound wrong or even mean something else.

What part of speech is νωρίς? Does it change form?

Νωρίς is an adverb meaning early.

• It does not change for gender, number, or case.

• It stays νωρίς no matter who is doing the action:

  • Σηκώνομαι νωρίς. – I get up early.
  • Σηκώνονται νωρίς. – They get up early.

There is also an adjective νωρινός / -ή / -ό (early, as in early morning), but that is a different word.

Can νωρίς go in a different position in the sentence?

Yes, Greek word order is fairly flexible for adverbs like νωρίς. All of these are possible and natural:

• Σηκώνομαι νωρίς κάθε πρωί.
• Σηκώνομαι κάθε πρωί νωρίς.
• Κάθε πρωί σηκώνομαι νωρίς.

The usual neutral order is verb + adverb + time expression, as in your original sentence, but moving κάθε πρωί earlier is also very common.

Why is it κάθε πρωί and not το κάθε πρωί or το πρωί?

Κάθε (every) is used without an article in Greek:

• κάθε πρωί – every morning
• κάθε μέρα – every day
• κάθε βράδυ – every evening

If you say:

• το πρωί – it means in the morning (a general time of day), not every morning.

So κάθε πρωί is the right structure for every morning.

Why is it πρωί and not πρωινό?

• πρωί = morning (as a time of day).
• πρωινό = usually breakfast or morning (adj.).

Examples:

• Το πρωί δουλεύω. – I work in the morning.
• Τρώω πρωινό. – I eat breakfast.
• κάθε πρωί – every morning.

In κάθε πρωί, we are talking about the time of day, so πρωί is correct.

Is the Greek present tense here more like I get up or I am getting up?

Greek present tense (σηκώνομαι) usually covers both:

• I get up (every day) – habitual action
• I am getting up (now) – action happening now (depending on context).

In Σηκώνομαι νωρίς κάθε πρωί, the phrase κάθε πρωί makes it clearly habitual, so the best English sense is I get up early every morning.

Can I add εγώ to emphasize I?

Yes, that’s natural when you want emphasis:

• Εγώ σηκώνομαι νωρίς κάθε πρωί.
  I get up early every morning. (Implying maybe others don’t.)

Without emphasis, Greek speakers simply say Σηκώνομαι νωρίς κάθε πρωί.

Is σηκώνομαι only for getting out of bed, or can it also mean “stand up”?

Σηκώνομαι can mean both:

1. Get out of bed
   
   • Σηκώνομαι στις έξι. – I get up at six.
2. Stand up (from a chair, etc.)
   
   • Σηκώνομαι από την καρέκλα. – I stand up from the chair.

Context tells you which meaning is intended. In your sentence with κάθε πρωί, it naturally means get out of bed.