adverb
pote
Strong’sG4219
when, at what time
stem pote-19 times in the New Testamentin 5 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
πότε is an interrogative word meaning "when?" or "at what time?", used to ask about time both in direct questions and in indirect ones 1234. It also occurs in the phrase "how long," asking how much time will pass before something happens 12.
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
πότε,
interrog. adv. of time,G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G4219 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
Ionic dialect κότε, Doric dialect πόκα Refs 3rd c.BC+:I interrogative Particle used in direct and indirect questions, when? at what time? Refs 8th c.BC+; πότ᾽ ἆρ; ={πότε} with ἆρα Refs 5th c.BC+
II indefinite ποτε (Attic dialect, also Refs 4th c.BC+, Ionic dialect κοτε, Doric dialect ποκα, Aeolic dialect ποτα Refs 7th c.BC+
II.1 at some time or other, at some time, τάχ᾽ ἄν ποτε θυμὸν ὀλέσσῃ Refs 8th c.BC+; π. καὶ ἄλλοτε at certain other times, Refs 5th c.BC+
II.2 in hypothetical clauses, questions, etc., at any time, ever, Refs 5th c.BC+; compare εἴ ποτε: also with relatives (compare δήποτε), Ζεὺς ὅστις ποτ᾽ ἐστίν Refs 4th c.BC+; ὅποι ποτέ, ὅπου π., etc., Refs 5th c.BC+; after πω, πη, see at {πώποτε, πήποκα}: very frequently with negatives, οὔτε ποτ᾽.. Refs 8th c.BC+; compare οὔποτε, μήποτε, οὐδέποτε, μηδέποτε, οὐπώποτε, μηπώποτε.
II.3 in correlative clauses it stands first, with accent, ποτὲ μὲν.., ποτὲ δὲ.. at one time.., at another.., Refs 5th c.BC+; ποτὲ δὲ.., without any preceding Part., Refs 4th c.BC+
III of some unknown point of time,
III.1 in reference to the past, once, ὅν ποτ᾽ Ἀθήνη θρέψε Refs 8th c.BC+; especially in telling a story, once upon a time, οὕτω ποτ᾽ ἦν μῦς καὶ γαλῆ Refs 5th c.BC+: with historic present, Refs 5th c.BC+: with a substantive, εἰς τήν π. φιλίαν Refs 5th c.BC+
III.1.b at length, μόγις δή κοτε εἶπε Refs 5th c.BC+
III.2 in reference to the future, at some time, καί π. τοι.. παρέσσεται.. δῶρα Refs 8th c.BC+: also to denote earnest expectation, at length, εὔχεταί π. οἶκον ἰδεῖν Refs 5th c.BC+dimitte tandem aliquando, Refs 5th c.BC+; ὀψέ π. Refs 4th c.AD+
III.3 with intensive force, in questions, τίς ποτ; who in the world? τίνες ποτ᾽ ἐστ; Refs 5th c.BC+; τί ποτ᾽ ἐστὶ τοῦτο τὸ πάθος what it can possibly be, Refs 5th c.BC+; to strengthen ἀεί, ἀεί ποτε from all time, always in the past, ἀεί ποτε ζῇ ταῦτα 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.
Words built on the same stem
Other words sharing the exact same stem — not merely related in meaning.
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
19 occurrences, every one of them listed
pote19×
Matthew 17:17“*”… Ō genear apistar kai diastreforēntar, heōs pote meta vu emi? heōs pote anechemi …“O unbelieving and perverse generation!” Jesus replied. “How long must I remain with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring …
Matthew 17:17“*”… heōs pote meta vu emi? heōs pote anechemi vu? feravōr mi auton hōde.… Jesus replied. “How long must I remain with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to Me.”
Matthew 24:3… mathētois kata idian legarōntois; Legasar ni pote houteim eti, kai tinem tem sēmem …… Him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will these things happen, and what …
Matthew 25:37… apokrinili auto tois dikaiois legarōntois; Kurior, pote sin horana peinarōnton kai trefana, ē …… the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and …
Matthew 25:38pote de sin horana xenon kai sunagana, …When did we see You a stranger …
Matthew 25:39pote de sin horana asthenarōnton ē en …When did we see You sick or …
Matthew 25:44tote apokrinili kai autois legarōntois; Kurior, pote sin horana peinarōnton ē dipsarōnton ē …And they too will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or …
Mark 9:19… autoi legatō; Ō genear apistar, heōs pote pros vin emi? heōs pote anechemi …“O unbelieving generation!” Jesus replied. “How long must I remain with you? How …
Mark 9:19… heōs pote pros vin emi? heōs pote anechemi vu? feravōr auton pros min.… must I remain with you? How long must I put up with you …
Mark 13:4Legasar ni pote houteim eti, kai tinem tem sēmem …“Tell us, when will these things happen? And what …
Mark 13:33blepavōr agrupnavōr, ouk oidavē gar pote tos kairos atō;… alert! For you do not know when the appointed time will come.
Mark 13:35grēgoravōr oun, ouk oidavē gar pote tos kurios tau oikiau erchotō, ē …… watch, because you do not know when the master of the house will …
Luke 9:41“when”… Ō genear apistar kai diastreforēntar, heōs pote emi pros vin kai anechemi vu? …“O unbelieving and perverse generation!” Jesus replied. “How long must I remain with you and put up with you? Bring your …
Luke 12:36… homoiois anthrōpoi prosdechorōntoi ton kurion heautoiu pote analuateia ek toiu gamoiu, hina ercharantou …… from the wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks, they can …
Luke 17:20Eperōtirantos de hupo toiu Farisaioiu pote erchotō tas basileias tou theou apokrinita …When asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come …
Luke 21:7Eperōtala de auton legarōntois; Didaskalor, pote oun houteim eti, kai tinem tem …“Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what …
John 6:25… peran tau thalassau legala auto; Rabbi, pote hōde genasē?… the sea, they asked Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?”
John 10:24“when”… tois Ioudaiois kai legale auto; Heōs pote tan psuchan nu airasō? ei sis …So the Jews gathered around Him and demanded, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell …
Revelation 6:10kai krazala fōna mega legarōntois; Heōs pote, tos despotor tos hagior kai alēthinor, …… cried out in a loud voice, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until …