Breakdown of Μην ανοίγεις την μπαλκονόπορτα, κάνει κρύο.
μην
not
ανοίγω
to open
κάνει κρύο
to be cold
η μπαλκονόπορτα
the balcony door
Questions & Answers about Μην ανοίγεις την μπαλκονόπορτα, κάνει κρύο.
Why is it μην and not δεν for the negative?
Greek uses different negatives for different functions:
δεν is used for statements:
- Δεν ανοίγεις την πόρτα. = You are not opening the door.
μη(ν) is used for commands / prohibitions / wishes:
- Μην ανοίγεις την πόρτα. = Don’t open the door.
Here we are giving a negative command, so μην is the correct choice, not δεν.
Why is it spelled μην and not μη here?
The little ν at the end is kept before vowels and certain consonants, mainly to make pronunciation smoother.
- Before a vowel: μην ανοίγεις (a-noí-gis) – we keep ν.
- Before many consonants, you often see just μη:
- Μη μιλάς. = Don’t talk.
In careful writing, the usual rule is: keep the final -ν of μην, τον, την before a vowel or before the consonants κ, π, τ, ξ, ψ, μπ, ντ, γκ, τσ, τζ.
Since ανοίγεις starts with a vowel (α), we write μην.
Why is the verb ανοίγεις (present) used, and not the imperative άνοιξε or μην ανοίξεις?