shprehësh

Shprehësh is the second‑person singular present indicative form of the Albanian verb shpreh, which means “to express, to utter, to convey”. In everyday speech the form is used when addressing one person directly, as in “Ti shprehësh ide atëherë” (“You express the idea then”).

Grammatically, shpreh is a regular -eh verb, but it takes an atypical infinitive stem shpreh‑ and incorporates the suffix ‑sh in the second‑person singular. The full paradigm is: unë shpreh, ti shprehësh, ai/ajo shpreh, ne shprehim, ju shprehni, ata/ajo shprehin. The form shprehësh is thus derived by adding the present personal suffix ‑esh to the bare stem shpreh.

The verb originates from the Proto‑Albanian *s̥préh‑, a cognate of Latin *scribere* “to write” and of Greek *σχέπτω* “to adorn, display”. Historically, shpreh carried the sense of “to display, to put forth” before acquiring the modern sense of verbal expression. The same root also gives the noun shprehje (“expression”), the adjective shprehtë (“expressive”), and the adverb shprehtë (“expressively”) in contemporary Albanian.

In literary works the form shprehësh is often used in dialogues and dramatic monologues. For instance, in Naim Frashëri’s poetic prose there is a line “Shprehësh mendimin në qiejt e qetë” (“You express the thought in the calm heavens”). The verb is also prevalent in modern media, appearing in newspapers and radio broadcasts when a commentator stresses that a public figure “shprehësh” a particular stance.

The spelling shprehësh frequently causes confusion with the word “shpesh”, meaning “often”. However, “shpesh” is unrelated and its plural form “shpeshtave” refers to “moments of frequent occurrence”. Knowing the distinct consonantal cluster ‑p‑ ‑sh‑ helps distinguish the two words in written and spoken Albanian.