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πεί

say /ˈpi/

verbB2#2319 most common

Also: tell, mean (in θα πει), speak

Example sentences

Τι θα πει αυτή η λέξη;
What does this word mean?
Πρέπει να πει την αλήθεια.
He has to tell the truth.
Δεν ξέρω τι θέλει να πει.
I don't know what he means.
Όποιος θέλει να πει κάτι, ας μιλήσει τώρα.
Whoever wants to say something, let them speak now.
Φοβόταν μήπως πει κάτι που θα μετάνιωνε.
He was afraid he might say something he would regret.
Ό,τι κι αν πει κανείς, η απόφαση έχει ήδη παρθεί.
Whatever anyone says, the decision has already been made.

Conjugation

Present ActiveSimple Past ActiveSimple Future Active
1sgλέωείπαθα πω
2sgλεςείπεςθα πεις
3sgλέειείπεθα πει
1plλέμεείπαμεθα πούμε
2plλέτεείπατεθα πείτε
3plλένεείπανθα πουν

Word family

λέωto say, tellλόγοςspeech, word, reasonλέξηword
ανείπωτοςunspeakable, untold
ειπωμένοςsaid, spoken (participle)

Etymology

πει is the third-person singular perfective (aorist) subjunctive/dependent form of the Modern Greek verb λέω 'to say'. The verb is suppletive: its imperfective stem continues Ancient Greek λέγω (PIE *leǵ- 'to gather, pick out'), while the perfective stem πω/πεις/πει goes back to the old aorist εἶπον, built on PIE *wekʷ- 'to speak', the same root seen in Greek ἔπος 'word'. Cognates of this aorist root therefore lie outside the λέγω family.

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