Tsakonian Digital VaultTsakonian adjectives agree with the noun they modify in gender, number, and case — their endings change to match those of the noun.
For English speakers: In English, adjectives never change (a big man, big women). In Tsakonian, they do: ἁτσέ άθρωπο (big man) but ἁτσά γουναίκα (big woman). Think of it like English he / she / it — the form shifts depending on what it refers to.
This section is based on (García Chaparro, 2023) and Kostakis (1951).
For the case and gender system, see 5.1 Nouns. For the overall grammar structure, see the 5. Grammar index.
Paradigm overview
Where to start: Most everyday adjectives belong to E1 (masculine -ε, feminine -α, neuter -ε). Learn E1 first before tackling the other types.
| Type | Nom. (M) | Acc. (M) | Nom. (F) | Acc. (F) | Nom. (N) | Acc. (N) | Gen. (M) | Gen. (N) | Pl. (M) | Pl. (F) | Pl. (N) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ε1 | -ε (-e) | -ε (-e) | -α (-a) | -α (-a) | -ε (-e) | -ε (-e) | -ου (-ou) | -ου (-ou) | -οι (-oi) | -α (-a) | -α (-a) |
| Ε5 | -ο (-o) | -ο (-o) | -α (-a) | -α (-a) | -ο (-o) | -ο (-o) | -ου (-ou) | -ου (-ou) | -οι (-oi) | -α (-a) | -α (-a) |
| Ε2 | -ε (-e) | -ε (-e) | -α (-a) | -α (-a) | -ιου (-iou) | -ιου (-iou) | -ε (-e) | -ε (-e) | -οι (-oi) | -α (-a) | -α (-a) |
| Ε3 | -ε (-e) | -ε (-e) | -ε (-e) | -ε (-e) | -ιου (-iou) | -ιου (-iou) | -ε (-e) | -ε (-e) | -οι (-oi) | -α (-a) | -α (-a) |
| Ε6 | -ε (-e) | -ε (-e) | -ο (-o) | -ο (-o) | -ε (-e) | -ε (-e) | -ου (-ou) | -ου (-ou) | -οι (-oi) | -οι (-oi) | -α (-a) |
| Ε7 | -ιού (-ioú) | -ιού (-ioú) | -ία (-ía) | -ία (-ía) | -ιού (-ioú) | -ιού (-ioú) | -οί (-oí) | -ίε (-íe) | -ία (-ía) | ||
| Ε8 | -η (-i) | -η (-i) | -α (-a) | -α (-a) | -ικο (-iko) | -ικο (-iko) | -ικου (-ikou) | -ικου (-ikou) | -ηδε (-ide) | -ε (-e) | -ικα (-ika) |
| Ε4 | -ε (-e) | -ε (-e) | -ε (-e) | -ε (-e) | -ιου (-iou) | -ιου (-iou) | -οι (-oi) | -α (-a) | -α (-a) |
Rules differentiating the paradigms
1. Accent position
The most reliable clue for assigning an adjective to a type is where the stress falls on the masculine form.
Oxytone (stress on the last syllable) → E1 and E5
The most common type. Masculine and neuter share the same ending; the feminine differs:
- E1 masculine/neuter ends in -ε, feminine in -α: καλέ / καλά / καλέ (beautiful). Examples: μονέ, ξανθέ, χρυσέ, κρυανέ.
- E5 masculine/neuter end in -ο instead of -ε: ὄμορφο / ὄμορφα / ὄμορφο (beautiful). More common in the Propontis variety.
Both form the genitive in -ου and the masculine plural in -οι.
Paroxytone (stress on the second-to-last syllable) → E7
E7 continues the ancient Greek -ύς / -εῖα / -ύ adjectives. The masculine and neuter end in -ιού and the feminine in -ία, all with the accent on the second-to-last syllable. The masculine plural is -οί, the feminine plural -ίε, the neuter plural -ία.
Examples from Kostakis: βαθίε / βαθία / βαθίου (= βαθύς), βαρίε / βαρία / βαρζού (= βαρύς), πρατίε / πρατία / πρακιού (= πλατύς), μακρίε / μακρία / μακζού (= μακρύς).
A handful of adjectives not from this ancient class have joined E7 by analogy: ροῦσε / ρούσα / ρούσου (blond), πᾶσε / πᾶσα / πάσου (every / all).
Proparoxytone (stress on the third-to-last syllable) → E2, E3, E4
These come from the ancient Greek -ιος / -ια / -ιον class. The neuter always ends in -ιου and the genitive in -ε (identical to the masculine nominative):
- E2 — masculine and feminine differ (-ε / -α): ἕμισε / ἕμισα / ἕμισου (half).
- E3 — masculine = feminine (-ε / -ε): ντόπιε / ντόπιε / ντόπιου (local). The feminine occasionally takes -α under modern Greek influence: ντόπια.
- E4 — like E3, but the genitive is unattested or unproductive for the specific items in this subtype. In practice E3 and E4 are often treated as one.
2. Genitive ending
| Genitive | Types |
|---|---|
| -ου | E1, E5, E6 |
| -ε | E2, E3 |
| not distinct | E7, E4 |
3. Consonant mutations
At the point where a stem meets a suffix, certain consonants shift predictably. Two mutations are relevant for adjectives.
ρ → ζ̌ in women’s speech (before ι)
In women’s speech — a documented sociolinguistic feature of Tsakonian — ρ shifts to ζ̌ when it comes directly before ι. This affects the masculine (-ίε) and feminine (-ία) forms of E7 adjectives, where the stem-final ρ immediately precedes the suffix-initial ι:
| Masculine (men’s) | Masculine (women’s) | Feminine (men’s) | Feminine (women’s) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| βαρίε | βαζ̌ίε | βαρία | βαζ̌ία | heavy |
| μακρίε | μακζ̌ίε | μακρία | μακζ̌ία | long |
ρ → ζ before -ου (neuter)
Separately, when the stem ends in -ρ and the neuter suffix is -ου, the ρ shifts to ζ. This applies to both men’s and women’s speech:
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | Greek equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
| βαρίε | βαρία | βαρζού | βαρύς |
| μακρίε | μακρία | μακζού | μακρύς |
| δεύτερε | δεύτερε | δεύτεζου | δεύτερος |
In μακρύς, the cluster -κρ- before -ού is simplified: the ρ becomes ζ, yielding μακζού.
τ → κ before -ι- (neuter)
When the stem ends in -τ and the neuter suffix begins with -ι- (as in -ιου), the τ palatalises to κ:
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | Greek equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
| πρατίε | πρατία | πρακιού | πλατύς |
| πρώτε | πρώτα | πρώκιου | πρῶτος |
| τέταρτε | τέταρτε | τέταρκιου | τέταρτος |
The same mutation appears in ordinal numerals and in several pronouns remodelled on the -ιου adjective pattern.
λ → absent or → ζ
Tsakonian regularly loses λ before consonants or word-finally. In adjective stems this may produce elision or a ζ reflex in the neuter, though adjective examples are rarer than in nouns.
4. Feminine ending
| Feminine ending | Types | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| -α | E1, E2, E5, E8 | Default |
| -ε (= masc.) | E3, E4 | No distinct feminine form |
| -ο | E6 | Small class |
| -ία | E7 | From ancient -εῖα; always stressed |
5. E6 and E8: special classes
E6 (-ε / -ο / -ε, gen. -ου): the feminine ends in -ο and the feminine plural is -οι (same as the masculine plural), distinguishing it from all other types. Membership is not fully documented in Kostakis.
E8 (-η / -α / -ικο): an irregular class derived from ancient -ης / -ιτης agent nouns. The masculine ends in -η, the neuter in -ικο (gen. -ικου), and the masculine plural in -ηδε — a distinctively Tsakonian -δε plural. The most cited member is μιτσή / μιτσά / μιτσί (small), where the neuter μιτσί follows the -ι neuter pattern rather than -ικο, suggesting E8 covers a heterogeneous residual group.
6. Comparative and superlative
The comparative suffix -ούτερε / -ουτέρα / -ούτεξου is added to the positive stem and declines as an E3 adjective. Monolexical comparatives are more productive in Tsakonian than in standard Modern Greek.
| Positive | Comparative (M) | Comparative (F) | Comparative (N) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἁτσέ | ἁτσύτερε | ἁτσυτέρα | ἁτούτεξου | big |
| μιτσή | μιτσούτερε | μιτσουτέρα | μιτσούτεξου | small |
| ναἱέ | ναἱούτερε | ναἱουτέρα | ναἱούτεξου | ripe |
| χαμηλέ | χαμηότερε | χαμηότερα | χαμηότερε | low |
The neuter -ξου variant (rather than -ζου) results from the same ρ → ζ mutation: the comparative stem ends in -τερ-, so -τερ + ου → -τεζ / ξου.
The superlative is periphrastic: τελεία (absolutely) or ἀπὸ οὕλου / οὕλε / οὕλα (of all) + the comparative form. A monolexical superlative in -τατε (cited by Deffner) is rejected by Kostakis as non-Tsakonian.