Finding koine verb conjugations on-line

UPDATE 1-17- 2023:  The link to the chart at Pitts Theological Library no longer works.  I am looking for alternatives but no luck so far.

How does a reader find the full conjugation of a koine verb?   If the verb in question is λύω, he or she is in luck; most beginning textbooks use λύω as the omega verb paradigm, and give its full conjugation.  Here, for example, is part of a lovely chart available through the Pitts Theological Library:

λύω 1

You can find the full chart here:  λύω .  (Note that just because a form is found in a conjugation chart does not mean that it is necessarily found in the New Testament.)

What if you want to see the full conjugation for another verb?  Some verbs are so regular that knowing the principal parts should make generating all forms straightforward – still, it would be nice to have back-up.

Here are a few resources:

1)   Wiktionary has a reasonably complete conjugation for some verbs (including, of course, λύω).  Here’s a section of the chart for ποιέω:

ποιέω.PNG

To access, google “wiktionary [verb]”.  Once on the correct page, click on ‘Inflection’.

The wiktionary conjugations do not include all participle forms.  Also, as noted in a previous post, you need to be careful that you are accessing a classical/koine Greek conjugation, and not modern Greek.

2) The verbix website (www.verbix.com) provides conjugations for a limited number of ‘ancient Greek’ verbs, but I cannot recommend it at this point because of errors and inconsistencies.  It may be under development; I will check back from time to time.  At present, all verb forms are written with a monotonic font.

3) The ‘lexigram’ website (www.lexigram.gr) contains what may be the most complete listing of Greek verb conjugations on-line, with the (small) caveat that the site is written in Greek.  Here’s part of the conjugation for λαμβάνω, for example:

λαμβάνω in lexigram

I realize that this may seem impossibly difficult to the non-reader of Greek, but I suggest that with a few grammar terms under their belt, and a little trial and error, anyone can use lexigram.  Its advantages include a fairly complete selection of verbs (I’ve even tried hapax legomena) and a complete listing of participles in all three genders.

To assist, I will give translations for the grammar terms seen above in a forthcoming blog, and explain how to use lexigram in more detail.

9 thoughts on “Finding koine verb conjugations on-line”

  2. Matthew Blackledge says:

    Hello, is there anyway you can re-link that chart from Pitts Theological Library. The link shows up empty and I can’t seem to find it otherwise.

    Reply
      • Matthew Blackledge says:

        Appreciate it! That was the same issue I was having. Might just have to compile my own chart. Thanks for your work.

      • Matt Blackledge says:

        I ended up making my own rough charting, but looking over it I can’t help but thinking that modern understanding of Greek ending’s are, at the least, a bit incomplete. I don’t like the idea that the same ending could mean two separate things, and so I’m experimenting with postpostional suffixes as the purpose of all endings (perhaps the vowels denote conjugation, but still working on that) (i.e. -ov (meaning “on”), -iv (meaning “in”), or else both means the same with different valves, considering -wv, -av, -ev, nv all exist). I’ll use your links if that fails though, thanks so much!

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