particle
mēti
Strong’sG3385
if not, unless
stem mēti-17 times in the New Testamentin 8 of 27 booksnever changes form
What it means
A plain-English reading of the word, with the lexicons it draws on — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, and Liddell-Scott-Jones — right below it, in full.
AI Summary
μήτι is a Greek question-word that introduces a question expecting the answer "no" – it can be rendered "surely... not?" 12. It appears in this way in plain questions, and also in more hesitant or tentative ones, where a speaker raises a possibility while still expecting it to be denied, such as "can this be...?" 1. Strong's describes it along the same lines, noting that the negative force lies in the form of the question itself rather than in an expressed negative word 2.
In one set phrase, μήτι (with γε) is used to mean "let alone," "much less," or "not to mention," marking a point as even less applicable than one already stated 3.
The word is also recorded with the sense "if not, unless" 4, a meaning connected with its use together with the word "if" (εἰ) 1.
Sources: 1 Abbott-Smith 2 Strong's 3 LSJ 4 Dodson. Condensed by anthropic/claude-sonnet-5 on 2026-09-23 — it may still misstate what these say; check them yourself if it matters to you.
The lexicons it was drawn from, in full:
Abbott-Smith — the 1922 lexicon entry, in full
μή-τι,
interrog. particle,G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G3385 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
or μή τις, ὁ, ἡ, neuter μήτῐ, genitive μήτῐνος: (τὶς) old Gr. and Cretan dialect for μηδείς, Refs 8th c.BC+; Cretan dialect dative singular μηδιμί Refs —hence
1 μήτι or μή τι, adverb, with imperative, and infinitive used imperatively, Refs 8th c.BC+: with optative to express a wish, ὄλοιντο μή τι πάντες Refs 5th c.BC+
2 after Verbs of fear or doubt, Refs 8th c.BC+
3 in direct questions, μή τί σοι δοκῶ ταρβεῖ; do I.. ? (i.e. I do not), NT+4th c.BC+
4 μή τί γε let alone, much less, οὐδὲ στρατιώτης οὗτός γε οὐδενός ἐστιν ἄξιος, μή τί γε τῶν ἄλλων ἡγεμών Refs 4th c.BC+; later, not to mention, οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι ἀγγέλους κρινοῦμε; μήτι γε βιωτικά NT: with a word between, ὡς.. δώσοντι δίκην, μή τι ποιήσαντί γε Refs 5th c.BC+
H. G. Liddell, R. Scott, H. S. Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon (9th ed., 1925–1940) — digitised by the Perseus Digital Library and corrected and expanded by Tyndale House, Cambridge, via STEPBible-Data's TFLSJ table, CC BY 4.0. Covers all of Greek literature, not just the Bible.
Translated as
Every occurrence, sorted by the English it was actually given — the evidence for what the word means, not a gloss of it.
Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain — berean.bible.
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
17 occurrences, every one of them listed
Mēti9×
Matthew 12:23“?”… ekstēole pantois tois ochlois kai legale; Mēti houtos atō tos huios David?The crowds were astounded and asked, “Could this be the Son of David?”
Matthew 26:22… sfodra archela legarō auto henos hekastos; Mēti mis amō, kurior?… to ask Him one after another, “Surely not I, Lord?”
Matthew 26:25… de Ioudos tos paradōarōntos auton legata; Mēti mis amō, rabbi? legatō auto; Sis …… Judas, who would betray Him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” Jesus answered, “You have …
Mark 4:21“not”Kai legate autoi; Mēti erchotō tos luchnos hina hupo ton …Jesus also said to them, “Does anyone bring in a lamp to put it under a basket …
Mark 14:19… kai legarō auto henos kata henos; Mēti mis?… to ask Him one after another, “Surely not I?”
Luke 6:39“?”Legata de kai parabolan autoi; Mēti dunotō tuflos tuflon hodēgarō? ouchi amfoterois …Jesus also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into …
John 8:22“won’t”legale oun tois Ioudaiois; Mēti apoktenati heauton hoti legatō; Hopou mis …So the Jews began to ask, “Will He kill Himself, since He says, ‘Where I am going …
John 18:35“not”apokrinita tos Pilatos; Mēti mis Ioudaios amō? tem ethnem tem …“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own …
Acts 10:47“no”Mēti tem hudem dunotō kōluara tinos teu …“Can anyone withhold the water to baptize …
mēti8×
Matthew 7:16“not”apo toiu karpoiu autoiu epignōskevi autoin. mēti sullegalō apo akanthaiu stafulain ē apo …By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Luke 9:13“*”… artois pente kai ichthois duo, ei mēti poreuirantois nis agorazaneia eis panton ton …… have only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered, “unless we go and buy food for all these people.”
John 4:29“cannot”… hos legata mi panteim hoseim poiama; mēti houtos atō tos christos?… a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?”
1 Corinthians 7:5“*”mē aposteravōr allēloin, ei mēti an ek sumfōneu pros kairon hina …Do not deprive each other, except by mutual consent and for a time, so you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then …
2 Corinthians 1:17“perhaps”houtem oun boulorōntos mēti ara ta elafria chrema? ē heim …When I planned this, did I do it carelessly? Or do I …
2 Corinthians 12:18“not”parakalama Titon kai sunapostelama ton adelfon; mēti pleonektata vin Titos? ouk te aute …I urged Titus to visit you, and I sent our brother with him. Did Titus exploit you in any way? Did we not walk in the same Spirit and follow in the same footsteps?
2 Corinthians 13:5“not”… hoti Iēsus Christos en vi? ei mēti adokimois avō.… not realize that Jesus Christ is in you — unless you fail the test?
James 3:11“not”mēti tas pēgas ek tau autau opau …… water flow from the same spring?