Learning Ukrainian from English
Created: 2018-11-08
Last Goal: 2023-09-10
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нарешті · ще не
2 words
As you know already, Ukrainian verbs are conjugated by tense, number and sometimes gender. Here is an example.
| Past | Present | Future | Conditional |
|---|---|---|---|
| Я читав/читала | Я читаю | Я буду читати | Я читав би/читала б |
| Ти читав/читала | Ти читаєш | будеш читати | Ти читав би/читала б |
| Він читав | Він читає | Він буде читати | Він читав би |
| Вона читала | Вона читає | Вона буде читати | Вона читала б |
| Ми читали | Ми читаємо | Ми будемо читати | Ми читали б |
| Ви читали | Ви читаєте | Ви будете читати | Ви читали б |
| Вони читали | Вони читають | Вони будуть читати | Вони читали б |
In Ukrainian the final thing to take note of when conjugating a verb is aspect. There are two types of aspect:
This aspect will be taught in this lesson, it is used for an action that was/will be completed. We form it by adding a prefix to the verb. For читати we add про-. Here is the perfective form of читати.
| Past | Present/Future* | Conditional |
|---|---|---|
| Я прочитав/прочитала | Я прочитаю | Я прочитав би/прочитала б |
| Ти прочитав/прочитала | Ти прочитаєш | Ти прочитав би/прочитала б |
| Він прочитав | Він прочитає | Він прочитав би |
| Вона прочитала | Вона прочитає | Вона прочитала б |
| Ми прочитали | Ми прочитаємо | Ми прочитали б |
| Ви прочитали | Ви прочитаєте | Ви прочитали б |
| Вони прочитали | Вони прочитають | Вони прочитали б |
*Note that in the perfective; the future and present are the same.
This is the aspect used for a habit, repeated action or an action thought of in general terms this is the base form of the verbs that you've used so far.
Even though there is no perfect translation for aspects in English. Here is the idea that they portray.
| Я читав | Я читаю | Я буду читати | Я читав б |
|---|---|---|---|
| I was reading, I used to read | I read, I am reading | I will be reading | I would be reading |
| Я прочитав | Я прочитаю | Я прочитав би | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I have read | I am reading (to the end)/I will have read | I would have read |
гроші · досвід роботи · збори · персонал · презентація · резюме · ресурси · ринок · євро · інтерв'ю
10 words
вища освіта · диплом · домашнє завдання · канікули
4 words
аптека · весело · голова · горло · живіт · здоров'я · ліки · нудно · самотньо · смішно · спина · сумно · температура
13 words
де-небудь · десь · коли-небудь · колись · куди-небудь · кудись · ніде не · нікуди не · ніхто не · нічого · хто-небудь · хтось · що-небудь · щось
14 words
вітер · грім · дніпро · дощ · жарко · захід · карпати · квіти · мороз · місяць · на заході · на півдні · на півночі · на сході · погода · прохолодно · південь · північ · сніг · сонце · схід · тепло · туман · хмарно · холодно
25 words
постмодернизм · фентезі
2 words
звідки · питання · про що · тому що · чому · як довго
6 words
There are quite a number of ways to ask a question in Ukrainian. In this course, we teach the simplest way.
Ти добре - Ти добре?
There are two other ways that aren't used in this course but you will frequently see them on your language learning journey!
Ти добре - Чи ти добре?
Ти добре - Ти добре, так?
In this skill, you will also learn some question words. Here are ones that your familiar with in English.
There are also a few that you aren't familiar with using in English.
For example; Про що ви думаєте? - What are you thinking about?
For example; Звідки ви? - Where are you from?
волосся · вуса · карі · на зріст
4 words
котра · поверх
2 words
багато · близько · давно · далеко · завжди · зазвичай · звичайно · ліворуч · майже · мало · можливо · надто · недавно · ніколи не · повільно · праворуч · рідко · сюди · туди · часто · швидко · щовечора · щодня · щоночі · щоранку · інколи
26 words
дівчата · діти · молодь · населення · хлопці
5 words
To say that someone is your cousin in Ukrainian is really easy! We simply put двоюрідний/а before the words for brother and sister. Think of it a saying my cousinly brother or my cousinly sister
My (male) cousin - Мій двоюрідний брат
My (female) cousin - Моя двоюрідна сестра
знайти · могла · могли · міг · треба · їм
6 words
бейсбол · м'яч · марафон · хокей
4 words
The Ukrainian word "футбол" is quite ambiguous for us to explain mainly because it has different translations for different speakers of English. Basically, футбол is the sport shown in this Wikipedia article or this:
вас · вас звуть · його · мене · мене звуть · нас · тебе · тебе звуть · їх · її
10 words
жарко · йому · мені треба · нам · тобі треба · треба · холодно · їй
8 words
автобус · квиток · корабель · літак · маршрутка · метро · на автобусі · на літаку · на маршрутці · на машині · на поїзді · на тролейбусі · поїзд · проїзд · таксі · транспорт · тролейбус
17 words
багаж · купе · місце · провідник · рейс · розклад
6 words
взимку · влітку · восени · вівторок · день · коли · навесні · неділя · п'ятниця · понеділок · середа · субота · сьогодні · у вівторок · у неділю · у понеділок · у п’ятницю · у середу · у суботу · у четвер · увечері · удень · уночі · уранці · четвер
25 words
куди · іти · їхати
3 words
вдома · завтра · пізніше · післязавтра · скоро · час
6 words
In Ukrainian, there are two future tenses. The first one (which is the form taught in the Duolingo course) is very easy and the second one is pretty similar to the present tense in some ways.
This form is really easy! Just use the future tense of "бути" (which is irregular) followed by the infinitive (the name of the verb). Here is читати in the future tense.
See, easy right. No need to learn endless conjugations and you can use this is pretty much every situation!
The second form is a bit more complicated; First, we get the infinitive and like the present tense each pronoun gets an ending.
Note that the course was not constructed with this tense so not all answers will be accepted with this tense
Fun Fact The word післязавтра means the day after tomorrow, which actually has an English translation, overmorrow
березень · вересень · грудень · жовтень · квітень · липень · листопад · лютий · літо · осінь · пора року · серпень · січень · травень · червень
15 words
можна · покажіть · поміряти · просто · розмір · шарф
6 words
коментар · лист · листи · посуд · телевізор · щось
6 words
все · вчора · позавчора · про
4 words
The past tense is pretty easy in Ukrainian. There are only two things you need to take into account.
I had -
Said By A Man - Я мав Said By A Woman - Я мала
You had (inf./sg.) -
If you're a male - Ти мав If you're a female - Ти мала
He had
Він мав
She had -
Вона мала
It had -
Воно мало
We had -
Ми мали
You had (f./pl.) -
Ви мали
They had -
Вони мали
взуття · кросівки · купити · одяг · пальто · туфлі · чоботи · шорти
8 words
Verbs “шукати” – to look for, “купити” – to buy, “дайте” – give are all transitive verbs, so don’t forget to ALWAYS put nouns that follow them in Accusative case. This is a very strict rule with no exceptions.
In Ukrainian phrase “Мені пасує …” – It suits me Dative case of pronoun is used.
Neuter nouns that have double consonant before ending “-я” belong to neuter gender: взуття – shoes (Neuter noun).
його · ніж · окуляри · ось · чи · її
6 words
In this skill you will learn more nouns in Locative case. They follow the same rule: nouns of all genders take ending “–i”.
| Nominative | Locative | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | стіл | столі | |
| feminine | квартира кімната кухня | в/у … на … | квартирі кімнаті кухні |
| neuter | крісло | кріслі |
In the word “стіл” (table) a historical vowel interchange is taking place. Vowel “і” changes to “о” in an open syllable.
стіл – на столі
Some nouns take ending “-у” in Locative. Those are mostly nouns that end with letter "к"
холодильник – у холодильнику – in a fridge чайник – у чайнику – in a kettle рюкзак – у рюкзаку – in a backpack
Adjectives have masculine, feminine, neuter and plural endings in Ukrainian language. Adjectives agree in form with the nouns they describe.
| masc. | fem. | neuter | pl. |
|---|---|---|---|
| дорогий готель -expensive hotel | дорога квартира -expensive apartment | дороге крісло -expensive armchair | дорогі сумки -expensive bags |
| улюблений салат -favorite salad | улюблена кава -favorite coffee | улюблене вино -favorite wine | улюблені макарони -favorite pasta |
This happens in all seven cases of nouns, thus adjectives, as well as other parts of speech that describe or replace a noun, have case forms. In this course we are teaching only Nominative forms of Adjectives. All other case forms of adjectives are usually taught at more advanced levels. However it is worth mentioning that misusing or ignoring of adjective-noun agreement will not hinder your conversation and may rarely cause minor misunderstanding.
In this skill you will learn Possessive pronouns “його”, “її” and Personal pronouns in Accusative case “його”, “її”. Although they look the same, they belong to different groups of pronouns.
| Example | Type of pronoun |
|---|---|
| Його речі у кімнаті. - His things are in the room. Його дружина. - His wife. Я знаю де її речі. - I know where her things are. Її речі на кухні. - Her things are in the kitchen. | Possessive pronouns (his, her) |
| Вона любить його. – She loves him. Я добре знаю її. - I know her well. | Personal pronouns in Accusative case (him, her) |
Some of nouns do not have a regular gender ending. The noun “ніч” (night) has a consonant ending, but is a feminine noun.
вегетаріанець · вегетаріанка · вегетаріанці · дайте · замовити · меню · офіціант · офіціантка · принесіть · рахунок · туалет
11 words
In this skill you will learn conjugation of the verb “хотіти” - to want:
| Pronoun | Verb хотіти |
|---|---|
| я | хочу |
| ти | хочеш |
| він/вона | хоче |
| ми | хочемо |
| ви | хочете |
| вони | хочуть |
в · на · на вокзалі · на пошті · хрещатик
5 words
Locative case is generally used to express location. In Ukrainian language it is always used after the following prepositions:
preposition –“в/у” translated as “in” or “at”
preposition –“на” translated as “on” or “at”
Lacative case is very simple. Nouns of all genders take ending “–i”.
| Nominative | Locative | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | університет театр | університеті театрі | |
| feminine | школа пошта | в/у … на … | школі пошті |
| neuter | село місто | селі місті |
Preposition “в/у” is used interchangeably to avoid consonant clusters and make language flow better. “В” is used before words that start with a vowel; “у” is used before words that start with a consonant. This rule, however, is not strictly followed by native speakers.
Generally, preposition “в/у” is used with buildings (у магазині – at a store, у театрі – at a theatre), while preposition “на” is used with open space places (на стадіоні – at a stadium). However, some objects that are obviously buildings go with preposition “на” and vice versa.
Some nouns have ending “-у” in Locative case. These are usually nouns that end with a letter “-к”:
The word аеропорт can have both endings: у аеропорту/у аеропорті – at an airport, however it is more often used with the ending “-у”.
In this skill you will learn conjugation of a verb “жити”.
| Pronoun | Verb "жити" |
|---|---|
| я | живу |
| ти | живеш |
| він/вона | живе |
| ми | живемо |
| ви | живете |
| вони | живуть |
Here letter “в” is thrown in to avoid two vowels in a row.
The verb “шукати” – to look for is a transitive verb, so don’t forget to ALWAYS put nouns that follow it in Accusative case. This is a very strict rule with no exceptions.
Я шукаю школу. – I am looking for a school. (школу – Acc.)
Я шукаю пошту. - I am looking for a post office. (пошту – Acc.)
Я шукаю вулицю. – I am looking for a street.(вулицю – Acc.)
блог · візит · подорож · радіо
4 words
As you already know Ukrainian verbs have conjugation (change endings depending on person and number) in Present tense. Ukrainian verbs have two conjugation patterns.
Most verbs with vowel –и in front of Infinitive ending -ти belong to Conjugation II:
Most verbs with other vowels in front of Infinitive ending belong to Conjugation I:
Follow these simple steps to define conjugation type of a verb:
Due to historical developments of Ukrainian language there is also a number of verbs that undergo changes in stem when conjugated. It is like irregular verbs in English. Some of them have a pattern, others just have to be memorized.
Most Ukrainian verbs belong to Conjugation I. They have two slightly different sets of personal endings, depending on the last letter of a word stem (the last letter in front of the ending).
Conjugation I
| Stem ends in a vowel | Stem ends in a consonant | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronoun | читати – to read | нести – to carry |
| я | читаю | несу |
| ти | читаєш | несеш |
| він | читає | несе |
| вона | читає | несе |
| ми | читаємо | несемо |
| ви | читаєте | несете |
| вони | читають | несуть |
A number of Conjugation I verbs with suffix “ва” (готувати – to cook, працювати – to work, подорожувати – to travel) drop it when conjugated.
| Pronoun | готувати – to cook | працювати – to work | подорожувати – to travel |
|---|---|---|---|
| я | готую | працюю | подорожую |
| ти | готуєш | працюєш | подорожуєш |
| він | готує | працює | подорожує |
| вона | готує | працює | подорожує |
| ми | готуємо | працюємо | подорожуємо |
| ви | готуєте | працюєте | подорожуєте |
| вони | готують | працюють | подорожують |
Conjugation II verbs with the infinitival ending -ти also drop the proceeding vowel -и. Example: учити – я учу; говорити – я говорю. They also have slightly different sets of personal endings, depending on the last letter of a word stem.
Conjugation II
| Stem ends in consonants ж, ч, ш, щ | Stem ends in vowel or soft consonant | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronoun | вчити – to learn | говорити – to speak |
| я | вчу | говорю |
| ти | вчиш | говориш |
| він | вчить | говорить |
| вона | вчить | говорить |
| ми | вчимо | говоримо |
| ви | вчите | говорите |
| вони | вчать | говорять |
You can read more about Ukrainian verb conjugation here and here.
батька · без · без хліба · без цукру · брата · вина · води · віктора · друга · кави · лимону · м'яса · масла · машини · молока · немає · піци · риби · роботи · сала · сестри · сина · сиру · у вас немає · у мене немає · цукор
26 words
Genitive case has many uses in Ukrainian language. Here you will learn two of them.
Genitive Case is used in the construction with the word “немає” meaning "there is not/there are not".
Genitive Case is used after preposition “без” – "without".
Neuter nouns take endings -a, -я; feminine take endings –и, -і.
| Nominative | Genitive | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| feminine | вода -water ковбаса -sausage | У мене немає … Без … | води ковбаси |
| neuter | молоко -milk вино -vine | У мене немає … Без … | молока вина |
Due to historical changes masculine nouns take two sets of endings in Genitive case: -a, -я (countable or concrete objects) or -у, -ю (materials, substances and abstract nouns).
| Nominative | Genitive | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | майонез -mayonnaise сир -cheese брат -brother син -son | У мене немає … Без … | майонезу сиру брата сина |
However, there is a tendency in Ukrainian language to use more endings -у, -ю.
Note: word “хліб” is an exception and has ending –a in Genitive case.
You can read more about general use of Genitive case here.
батьком · братом · газом · другом · дядьком · з · з ким · з цукром · з чим · капустою · картоплею · ковбасою · лимоном · м'ясом · майонезом · мамою · маслом · молоком · подругою · рибою · сестрою · сиром · тіткою
23 words
In Ukrainian we use nouns in Instrumental case after preposition “з” (with). Nouns of all genders change endings in Instrumental case. Masculine and neuter nouns take endings -ом, -ем; feminine –ою, -ею.
| Nominative | Instrumental | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| masc. | майонез (mayonnaise) сир (cheese) | майонезом сиром | |
| fem. | вода (water) ковбаса (sausage) | Я люблю піцу з … | водою ковбасою |
| neuter | молоко (milk) вино (vine) | молоком вином |
Here are a few examples of sentences with nouns in Instrumental case.
You can read more about general use of Instrumental case here, and about Instrumental case in Ukrainian here and here.
Question words “хто” (who) and ”що” (what) change to “ким” (with who) –and “чим” (with what) in Instrumental case.
а · де · дід · дім · кіт · мама · мати · мед · ми · не · ні · та · так · там · тато · ти · тома · тітка · хто · це · я · і
22 words
We have seen many reports about the Ukrainian alphabet. Please read this post about typing in Ukrainian
A note about spelling Ukrainian words:
e.g. Write "tse mama" or "це мама" - not "цe мaмa". Note how the vowels look different, the Latin "e" and the Cyrillic "е" are unfortunately NOT interchangeable.
Please make sure you read the following posts before you start the course:
We would like to welcome you to the Ukrainian for English speakers course. It is the official language of Ukraine but is also spoken in parts of Russia, Poland, Romania, The Czech Republic, Canada and many other countries! Despite what you may think, Ukrainian doesn't sound as Slavic as Polish or Russian, but more like Italian or Latin.
The Ukrainian language is written using a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet (just like Russian, Serbian, Bulgarian, etc.). In this skill you will learn 13 of the 33 letters. We will not present letters separately, but rather in simple words that contain them. Here you will learn the words that have the following letters:
| Ukrainian Letter | English Equivalent | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| М м | man | [m] |
| А а | awesome | [ɑ] |
| Т т | table* | [t] |
| О о | ball | [ɔ] |
| І і | see | [i] |
| К к | key* | [k] |
| Д д | dot* | [d̪] |
| Е е | ten | [ɛ] |
| Х х | loch | [ɦ] |
| Ц ц | cats* | [t͡s] |
| Я я | yard | [jɑ] |
| Н н | nose | n] |
| И и | like in hit but longer | [ɪ] |
*Note that sounds with asterisk aren't pronounced with a puff of air like in English.
There are no articles a/an, the in the Ukrainian language. The meaning of English articles is usually conveyed by the context. But sometimes words like this and that are used when translating. So for example; the word дім can mean "house", "a house" and "the house" depending on the context.
Although there are Present, Past and Future forms of Ukrainian verb to be - бути, it is rarely used in Present tense. English words is, am, are don't have Ukrainian counterparts. Thus, the English four-word sentence I am a student is just two words in Ukrainian: Я студент. In writing, when a sentence equates two nouns in a row, a long dash is written between the nouns to indicate the verb to be. For example, My sister is a student translates to Моя сестра — студентка.
In Ukrainian, there are four words that mean and; і, та, а and й. Three of them; і, та and й are all used to link similar things, the only reason we have so many is so we can switch them around to make the language flow and sound more melodic.
Strictly speaking, there are certain rules when to use which, but we do not impose them in this course to make it easier for beginners. Therefore, it is really up to you when to use which. :)
But on the other hand, а is used to contrast between two different things. It is kind of in the middle between "and" and "but" and most of the times it can be translated as either "and" or "but".
будинок · ви · вона · вони · він · донька · дядько · м'ясо · молоко · моя · мій · сад · син · студент · студенти · студентка · сік · сіль · тут · хліб · чай · чий · чия · чоловік · їм · їсте
26 words
In this skill you are learning the words that contain the following letters:
| Ukrainian Letter | English Equivalent | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| С с | small | [s̪] |
| Ч ч | chair | [t͡ʃ] |
| Й й | yoga, boy | [j] |
| У у | moon | [u] |
| В в | vase | [v] |
| Б б | book* | [b] |
| Л л | look | [l] |
| Ї ї | yeast | [ji] |
| ь | No sound, it's a soft sign that softens the previous consonant. Read more here | - |
*Note that sounds with asterisk aren't pronounced with a puff of air like in English.
Ви is a plural or singular formal you. It can be used to address to a group of people or to one person in a formal setting (like talking to a boss, an older person
Ти is a singular informal you, which can be used with friends, relatives, children.
You can read more on that here
Ukrainian nouns have gender (masculine, feminine, neuter) and number. Gender is fairly easy to define.
| Gender | Ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | consonant | друг male friend |
| Feminine | -а,-я | школа school |
| Neuter | -о,-е | місто city |
A trick to remember: "ah ya oh eh" sounds like "Hiya Owen"!
Nouns тато (dad) and дядько (uncle) don’t have a consonant ending, but for an obvious reason are considered masculine.
In plural form masculine and feminine nouns have ending и or і: маши́ни (cars); брати́ (brothers); студе́нти (students).
Pronouns that describe nouns also have gender and number and agree with nouns in form.
| Masc. | Fem. | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Чий бра́т? (whose brother?) | Чия́ сестра́? (whose sister?) | Чиє місто? (whose city?) | Чиї батьки?(whose parents?) |
| Мій брат (my brother) | Моя сестра (my sister) | Моє місто (my city) | Мої батьки (my parents) |
але · батьки · батько · борщ · брат · брати · бізнес · друг · дружина · друзі · дуже · зараз · кафе · любите · люблю · люди · машина · машини · моє · мої · місто · п'ю · п'єте · пити · подруга · село · сестра · сестри · суп · сім'я · теж · телефон · у · фонтан · фото · хочу · чиє · чиї · шапка · школа · що · є · їсти
43 words
In this skill you will learn the words that contain the following letters:
| Ukrainian Letter | English Equivalent | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| Ю ю | youth | [ju] |
| П п | pool | [p] |
| Р р | A thrilled "r" like Spanish/Italian, read more here | [r] |
| Є є | yes | [jɛ] |
| Ш ш | shop | [ʃ] |
| Щ щ | street (read more below) | [k] |
| Г г | hill | [ɦ] |
| З з | zoo | [z] |
| Ж ж | treasure | [ʒ] |
| Ф ф | fox | [f] |
The sound that щ makes can be difficult for learners to learn but believe it or not, we use this sound in English a lot! Say the following words:
Note that the first three letters are pronounced sh-ch-r. If we remove the "r" sound we get the same sound as щ! Now say the same words without the "r" sound.
However...
In Modern Ukrainian, many people also pronounce it like a "sh" sound. But not just any sh sound. Here is a guide on the more casual pronunciation:
Say "car" in a general American accent
Stop! Keep your tongue in that final "r" position!
Now make a "sh" sound with your mouth in that position.
Note that this is different to the "sh" in "ship" (which is the sound ш makes)
Ukrainian verbs, just like verbs in many other languages, have conjugations, that is, depending on a personal pronoun a verb takes a different ending. For example: я їм (I eat), ви їсте́ (you eat); я люблю́ (I like), ви любите (you like).
Ukrainian verb infinitives (initial forms of verbs you find in dictionaries) always have ending –ти. For example: пити (to drink); я люблю пити сік (I like to drink juice).
One word in this section might be confusing for foreigners if they are not familiar with it. Here is a picture to demonstrate:
Борщ (borshch) - a Ukrainian soup
Source: Wikipedia
ведмідь · заєць · кінь · миша · п'є молоко · павук · птах · свиня · слон · тварина · їсть мед
11 words
If you are too lazy to read it all look for the "Summary" headings at the end of each section.
In Ukrainian, all nouns have a gender (just like Spanish, German, Russian, French). In Ukrainian, there are three grammatical genders; masculine, feminine and neuter. Essentially, everything in Ukrainian (including non-living things such as chairs, socks and cities) are all a he, she or an it. Unlike some languages, guessing what gender a noun is easy, just learn these rules and you'll know 90% of Ukrainian noun's genders.
Masculine nouns end in a consonant, for example: брат, друг, дім, мед, кінь, павук are .all masculine.
Feminine nouns usually end in -а or -я, for example: вода and свиня are feminine.
Neuter nouns usually end in -о, -е or a double consonant followed by -я for example: молоко, поле and життя are neuter.
Now, like any language Ukrainian obviously has exceptions. Words relating to men are usually masculine (тато, дядько) nouns ending in -ь can be any gender but the majority are feminine and the exception to the consonant rule is суддя.
To learn the endings quickly, we use a trick called Hiya Owen.
Masculine nouns ends in a consonant (simple, right?)
Feminine nouns end in -а -я (ah ya sounds like hiya)
All together, the endings sounds like Hiya Owen! The only other rule you need to remember is that nouns ending in double-consonant+я are neuter e.g. жи*ття
You can read more about gender of Ukrainian nouns here and here.
In this lesson you will learn a couple of new nouns in plural form. They follow the same rule as all Ukrainian nouns. Ukrainian by nature isn't a very irregular language, so by learning this rule you'll be an Ukrainian-plural expert in no time!
Here are the basic rules, you can find more information here and here
If it ends in -а take the ending -и
If it ends in -я take the ending -і (not ї, that's a common mistake :P)
If it ends in -жа, -ча, -ша or -ща, replace the -а with -і.
| Hard | Soft | Mixed |
|---|---|---|
| Мама - Мами | Диня - Дині | Груша - Груші |
Most nouns take the ending -и
Nouns ending in -ь and take the ending -і (note many words lose its -е-)
Many ending in -р take the ending -і also
Nouns ending in -й take the ending -ї
If it ends in -ж, -ч, -ш or -щ, add an -і.
If it ends in -ж, -ч, -ш or -щ add an -і.
| Hard | Soft | Mixed |
|---|---|---|
| Брат - Брати | День - Дні | Читач - Читачі |
| Лікар - Лікарі | ||
| Водій - Водії |
If it ends in -о take the ending -а
If it ends in -е take the ending -я
If it ends in -же, -че, -ше or -ще, replace the -е with -а.
| Hard | Soft | Mixed |
|---|---|---|
| Місто - Міста | Море - Моря | Прізвище - Прізвища |
Many loan words don't change such as метро (subway/metro), авто (car, from German "das Auto") and медіа (media).
You can learn more about hard, soft and mixed nouns here
You can read more about gender and plural forms of Ukrainian nouns here, here and here.
Adjectives, possessive pronouns (and sometimes verbs) always agree with their noun, but we will learn more about that later.
будь ласка · вас звати · вибачте · віктор · вікторія · до побачення · добре · добрий вечір · добрий день · добрий ранок · дуже приємно · дякую · мене звати · мене звуть · мені теж · погано · привіт · так собі · як · як справи?
20 words
These are all 33 letters of Ukrainian alphabet in order. We did not cover letter Ґ, because words with this letter are rare.
Like English, Ukrainian has more than one way of greeting people:
There are of course other phrases but you will learn them as time goes on. These are standard phrases everyone should know.
Saying your name
In Ukrainian there are two forms for saying/asking for names. They are 100% interchangeable!
If someone asks "Як вас зва́ти?" (lit. how to call you?), say "Мене́ зва́ти..." (lit. to call me...)
If someone asks "Як вас звуть?" (lit. how do (they) call you), say "Мене́ звуть..." (lit. (they) call me).
Asking how you are
In Ukrainian, there are two ways to ask someone how they are, but each one has a slightly different meaning.
"Як справи?" (lit. how (are) things) is used to ask how someone is doing. They might reply with a lengthy answer such as "*I'm fine, thanks for asking, I went to the village yesterday and you'll never guess who I saw...". A good alternate translation would be "Any news?/How are you doing?"
"Як ти/ви?" (lit. how (are) you) is used to ask how someone is feeling. Similar to the English "How are you holding up?"
Note on Ukrainian Culture - Smiling and feeling"
In Ukraine, asking how someone is, does not work as simple as in English:
In Ukraine, asking how someone is, is seen as a kind and lovely question to ask. You don't simply pass a stranger and ask it. People will often reply with long and honest answers about their life and how they are feeling for example "I'm not so good today because...". Also, not listening to what they have to say after asking the question is seen as quite rude.
You may notice that Ukrainians (and Eastern Europeans in general) smile less than most other Europeans and especially Americans! This is not because they are sad but rather it is seen as a bit odd to smile while doing your shopping, walking down the street and other everyday activities. Of course, Ukrainians do smile but just not as often as most people :)
актор · актриса · бізнесмен · викладач · водій · дизайнер · директор · журналіст · журналістка · за професією · лікар · медсестра · менеджер · пенсіонер · пенсіонерка · перекладач · програміст · продавець · професія · психолог · робота · секретар · секретарка · інженер
24 words
Some Ukrainian names of professions have a masculine and a feminine form:
However, it is not wrong to use masculine names of most professions with feminine nouns:
Він журналіст He is a journalist Вона журналіст/журналістка She is a journalist
Мій тато – пенсіонер (My dad is a pensioner) Моя мама – пенсіонер/пенсіонерка (My mom is a pensioner)
Most Ukrainian names of professions have only one form:
Моя сестра – директор My sister is a director Він – директор He is a director
Мій брат – лікар My brother is a doctor Моя мама – лікар My mom is a doctor
To make language flow better, Ukrainian has a number of sound interchanges . One of the most common is –у/-в interchange.
In this lesson you will learn a word “учитель” or “вчитель”– teacher. It is the same word, you just say “-у” or “-в” at the beginning depending on what sound the previous word ended. If it is a consonant, you start with “-у”: мій учитель – my teacher. If it is a vowel, you start with “-в”: мій тато вчитель – my dad is a teacher.
This interchange happens to avoid two or more consonants in a row. You do not have to follow that strictly though. In everyday speech Ukrainians often do not pay attention to this rule.
Later in this course you will see more cases of this and other sound interchanges.
In Ukrainian language nouns and some pronouns change their forms depending on the role they play in a sentence. For example a noun кава (coffee) can become каву, кавою or кави, depending on its function. Nouns change their forms by taking different endings.
Different functions of a noun (and some pronouns) in sentence are called cases. There are seven cases in Ukrainian: Nominative, Accusative, Instrumental, Genitive, Locative (Prepositional), Dative and Vocative. So, majority of Ukrainian nouns have seven forms.
In this course you will learn basics of four cases most commonly used with Nouns. Here is a short overview of functions of cases in this course:
In sentences like: “My brother is a student” or “I want to read” words “brother” and “I” are subjects of the sentences (doers of the action). A subject of a sentence will always be in Nominative case. It is an initial form of a noun which they go by in a dictionary. Here are a few other examples of sentences with nouns in Nominative case:
Моя мама любить готувати My mom likes to cook – мама Nom. Case
Це моя ковбаса This is my sausage – ковбаса Nom. Case
In sentences like: “I eat chicken” or “I see you” words “chicken” and “you” are receiving action. Such words (nouns and pronouns) are direct objects of the action and are always in Accusative case. Here are a few other examples of sentences with nouns in Accusative case:
Я бачу мою маму I see my mom - маму Acc. case
Я люблю їсти ковбасу I like to eat sausage – ковбасу Acc. case
Я не їм хліб (I do not eat bread) – хліб Acc. case
Я п’ю молоко (I drink milk) – молоко Acc. case
When you say “with” somebody or something, for example: “I dance with a sister” or “I like pizza with cheese”, this person or thing will be in Instrumental case. Here are a few other examples of sentences with nouns in Instrumental case:
Я люблю подорожувати з мамою I like to travel with mom - з мамою Instr. case
Я не їм піцу з ковбасою I do not eat pizza with sausage – з ковбасою Instr. case
Я п’ю каву з молоком I drink coffee with milk – з молоком Instr. case
Я люблю грати у футбол з другом I like to play football with a friend – з другом Instr. Case
When you say “without” something or “I don’t have” something, you will be using a Genitive case:
Я не люблю подорожувати без мами I don’t like to travel without mom - без мами Gen. case
Я не їм піцу без ковбаси I do not eat pizza without sausage – без ковбаси Gen. case
У мене немає молока I don’t have milk – немає молока Gen. case
У мене немає брата I don’t have a brother немає брата Gen. case
Я не їм макарони без сиру I do not eat pasta without cheese без сиру Gen. case
Later in this course you will learn rules of changing Noun endings in different cases. It is also important to note that different cases show relations of nouns in a sentence, but do not change the meanings of nouns. So you do not have to put nouns in correct case form to say something. Your language may not be grammatically correct, but your message will be understood by a communication partner.
вареники · вечеря · вино · вода · воду · десерт · кава · каву · каша · кашу · ковбаса · ковбасу · майонез · макарони · масло · обід · піца · піцу · риба · рибу · салат · сир · сніданок · яйця
24 words
As it was already mentioned, nouns have different forms in a sentence to show their "job" i.e. what they are doing. In this lesson you will learn Accusative – this is the easiest case in the Ukrainian language. Compare sentences with nouns in Nominative and Accusative form:
| Nominative | Accusative |
|---|---|
| Моя ковбаса там. My sausage is there. | Я люблю ковбасу. I like like sausage. |
| Це не моя риба. This is not my fish. | Він не любить рибу. He does not like fish. |
| Де моя піца? Where is my pizza? | Вони люблять піцу. They like pizza. |
On the left hand side we have the form you've been using so far, this is called the Nominative case. The nominative case is used for what linguists call the "subject". The subject is the person/thing that is doing something e.g. "The man is walking" - The man is the subject, he is doing the walking.
On the right hand side, we can see the Accusative case. The accusative case is used for what linguists call the "direct object". The direct object is the person/thing that is being directly affected by the action. For example "I eat an apple" - Which is the subject? Which is the direct object? Try and answer this before continuing.
The answer is: "I" is the subject because it is doing the eating and "apple" is the direct object because the eating is being done to it.
As we can see, in the accusative case words change a little bit:
There are many verbs that require a noun in Accusative case after them. You already know a few: люблю ( I like), хочу (I want), їм (I eat), п’ю (I drink), готую (I cook). There is a lot more. Such verbs are called Transitive Verbs. You can read more here.
So, every time you talk about something that is being acted on (use a noun after a transitive verb), you have to use it in Accusative case. Here are a few examples:
It's super easy! Just change the ending
| Words Ending in-а change to -у | Words ending in -я change to to -ю |
|---|---|
| Тітка - Тітку | Моя - Мою |
| Вода - Воду | Вечеря - Вечерю |
| Мама - Маму | Картопля - Картоплю |
An animate noun is a noun that is living (not dead) for example хлопець (boy), чоловік (man) and лікар (doctor). The use the genitive case where feminine nouns use the accusative, but you needn't worry about it for now, we'll introduce it in a later skill.
For the direct object, change -а to -у. -я to -ю
Some vocabulary might be confusing to the ones not familiar with the local foods. Here are some examples:
Каша
Кашаs are cooked grains such as buckwheat, wheat, millet, barley.
Example: buckwheat, very common in Ukraine.
Example: barley
Каша is translated as porridge and cereal sometimes. But notice how kasha can be salty (these ones have meat in them)
Вареники
Varenyky are a type of dumplings, similar to the Polish pierogi.
(notice the сметана from Letters 3)
Макарони
Even though it sounds like "macaroni", the Ukrainian word макарони describes many types of pasta and not only macaroni. You can basically translate it as "pasta".
Ковбаса
Things that are called "sausage" in English fall into two categories in Ukrainian:
Сосиска
It's not prepared yet. You have to cook, grill or fry it. You can put it in a hot dog. It's countable (a lot of sausages, I like sausages)
Ковбаса
It was already cooked or smoked, you just cut it and put it on bread. Salami for us is a type of ковбаса. It's uncountable ("a lot of sausage" (not sausages), "I Iike sausage" (not sausages))
Source: Wikipedia
бутерброд · дешево · дорого · мюслі · на вечерю · на десерт · на обід · на сніданок · овочі · сало · фрукти · ці · їжа
13 words
As you already know, Ukrainian verbs conjugate in Present tense. You will learn conjugation rules later in this course. In this lesson you will learn conjugation of verbs “їсти” – to eat and “пити” – to drink.
| Pronoun | Verb їсти | Verb пити |
|---|---|---|
| я | їм | п’ю |
| ти | їси | п’єш |
| він/вона | їсть | п’є |
| ми | їмо | п’ємо |
| ви | їсте | п’єте |
| вони | їдять | п’ють |
“Їсти” and “пити” are both transitive verbs, so don’t forget that what the action is being done too e.g. eating onions and drinking water . This is a very strict rule with no exceptions.
Ти їси цибулю (Acc.)? – Do you eat onions?
Я п’ю воду (Acc.)? - Do you drink water?
The onions and the water are having something done to them. See the notes on Food 1 for more information on the Accusative case.
As you already know, all Ukrainian nouns have a gender (masculine, feminine and neuter). The adjective that describes the noun must match the gender of that noun. For example; добрий батько but добра матір (добрий матір is simply wrong in Ukrainian).
| masculine | feminine | neuter | plural (for all genders) |
|---|---|---|---|
| - ий | - а | - е | - і |
| смачний сік (tasty juice) | смачна кава (tasty coffee) | смачне молоко (tasty milk) | смачні фрукти (tasty fruit) |
| cвіжий сир (fresh cheese) | свіжа капуста (fresh cabbage) | свіже масло (fresh butter) | свіжі яблука (fresh apples) |
This happens in all seven cases of nouns, thus adjectives, as well as other parts of speech that describe or replace a noun, have case forms. In this course we are teaching only Nominative forms of adjectives. All other case forms are usually taught at more advanced levels. It is worth mentioning though that misusing or ignoring adjective-noun agreement will not hinder your conversation and may rarely cause minor misunderstanding.
Some nouns do not have a plural form because they are considered as collective names: картопля - potatoes, капуста - cabbage, цибуля – onions.
If we need to use them in plural form (two potatoes, three cabbages, four onions) we use special words which mean "one thing of" a certain vegetable: картоплина – one piece of potatoes, капустина – one cabbage, цибулина – one onion. These words follow the same rule for pluralizing, but since they are not essential we are not using them in this course.
Please, do not forget to use correct conjugation form of a verb “коштувати” - to cost in Present tense:
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| Це коштує | Ці коштують |
| This costs | These cost |
Скільки коштує цей банан? - How much does this banana cost? (third person singular)
Скільки коштують ці банани? – How much do these bananas cost? (third person plural)
Here are some illustrations of the vocabulary from this section one might find confusing
Сало (salo, lard, fatback)
Сметана (sour cream)
Мюслі (muesli)
(Note: muesli is not any kind of cereal, it's a specific breakfast food)
Source: Wikipedia
вісімдесят шість · вісімсот · година · години · гривень · гривня · гривні · двадцять два · двадцять дві · двадцять один · двадцять одна · двадцять одне · двадцять п'ять · двадцять три · двадцять чотири · дві тисячі · двісті · дев'яносто сім · дев'ятсот · долар · долари · доларів · мільйони · мільйонів · один мільйон · один мільярд · одна тисяча · п'ятдесят вісім · п'ятсот · п'ять тисяч · сорок одна · сорок сім · сто тисяч · сімдесят п'ять · сімсот · тисяч · тисяча · тридцять одна · тридцять шість · триста · це коштує · цей обід коштує · цей суп коштує · чотириста · шістдесят дев'ять · шістсот
46 words
In Ukrainian language nouns, when used with numerals, take different number and case forms. In this lesson you will learn different forms of nouns which are used with different numerals.
With numeral “one” and all numerals that end with “one” (21, 41, 191) nouns are used in Nominative singular form:
один рік/студент (Nominative singular masculine) одна машина/студентка (Nominative singular feminine)
With numerals “two” “three” and “four” and all numerals that end with “two”, “three” and “four” (22, 43, 194, etc.) nouns are used in Nominative plural form:
два, три, чотири долари/мільйони/мільярди (Nominative plural masculine) дві, три, чотири гривні/тисячі (Nominative plural feminine)
With all other numerals nouns are used in Genitive plural form:
5, 6, 7, 8 … доларів/мільйонів/мільярдів/гривень/тисяч (Genitive plural)
Numbers 11, 12, 13, and 14 are exception to this rule. They all are followed with nouns in Genitive plural form:
11, 12, 13, 14 … доларів/мільйонів/мільярдів/гривень/тисяч (Genitive plural)
The rule of making Genitive Plural of nouns is pretty complicated and is not explained in this course. We recommend you to just memorize the Genitive form of nouns you will use in this lesson.
бабуся · ваш · ваша · ваші · дівчина · дідусь · молодша · молодший · онук · онука · старша · старший · у вас є · у мене є · хлопець
15 words
Like saying your name, to have is not translated word for word in Ukrainian. Even though there is a verb to have in Ukrainian it requires a thing called case, something that you haven't learned yet. There is a brief description of the verb at the bottom but it's best to use the first form when beginning. There is pretty difference and both forms are correct in 99.9% of situations.
This form literally translates into "At one to be". To put it into the present tense just change the себе to one of the words used when saying your name and change the бути to є in the present tense. So "I have" would be "У мене є, literally meaning "To me there is". Let's take some examples.
Here is the full verb in the present tense.
| Ukrainian | English | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| У мене є | I have | U mene ye |
| У тебе є | You have (singular and informal) | U tebe ye |
| У нього є | He/It has | U nyoho ye |
| У неї є | She has | U neyi ye |
| У нас є | We have | U nas ye |
| У вас є | You have (plural and formal) | U vas ye |
| У них є | They have | U nykh ye |
This form works just like a normal verb but there's a twist you have to change the following words ending! This is quite complicated if you are just starting and you don't need to learn it until a later skill. But if you do want to learn it; Read this post on the grammar portal and check out the table below.
| Ukrainian | English | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| Я маю | I have | Ya mayu |
| Ти маєш | You have (singular and informal | Ty mayesh |
| Він має | He has | Vin maye |
| Вона має | She has | Vona maye |
| Воно має | It has | Vono maye |
| Ми маємо | We have | My mayemo |
| Ви маєте | You have (plural and formal | Vy mayut' |
| Вони мають | They have | Vony mayut' |
Words/Phrases Taught In This Skill
вам · вже · вісім · вісімдесят · вісімнадцять · двадцять · дванадцять · дев'яносто · дев'ятнадцять · дев'ять · десять · машин · мені · номер · один · одинадцять · одна · одне · п'ятдесят · п'ятнадцять · п'ять · скільки · сорок · сто · студентки · студентів · сім · сімдесят · сімнадцять · тобі · три · тридцять · тринадцять · у мене · чотири · чотирнадцять · шістдесят · шістнадцять · шість
39 words
Ukrainian cardinal numerals “один” (one) and “два” (two) have gender forms:
один брат - one brother (masculine); одна сестра - one sister (feminine); одне місто - one city (neuter)
два брати - two brothers (masculine); дві сестри - two sisters (feminine)
Masculine form of two is also used with neuter nouns:
два міста - two cities (neuter); два села – two villages (neuter)
So, when using numerals “один” (one) and “два” (two) with nouns, match the gender form of a numeral and a noun:
один студент (masculine)
одна студентка (feminine)
одне місто (neuter)
два студенти (masculine plural)
дві студентки (feminine plural)
In Ukrainian language nouns, when used with numerals, take different number and case forms. In this lesson you will learn different forms of nouns which are used with different numerals.
With numeral “one” and all numerals that end with “one” (21, 41, 191) nouns are used in Nominative singular form:
один рік/студент (Nominative singular masculine) одна машина/студентка (Nominative singular feminine)
With numerals “two” “three” and “four” and all numerals that end with “two”, “three” and “four” (22, 43, 194, etc.) nouns are used in Nominative plural form:
два, три, чотири роки/студенти (Nominative plural masculine) дві, три, чотири машини/студентки (Nominative plural feminine)
With all other numerals nouns are used in Genitive plural form:
5, 6, 7, 8 … років/студентів/машин/студенток (Genitive plural)
Numbers 11, 12, 13, and 14 are exception to this rule. They all are followed with nouns in Genitive plural form:
11, 12, 13, 14 … років/студентів/машин/студенток (Genitive plural)
The rule of making Genitive Plural of nouns is pretty complicated and is not explained in this course. We recommend you to just memorize the Genitive form of nouns you will use in this lesson.
| Nominative singular | Nominative plural | Genitive plural |
|---|---|---|
| used with numeral 1 and all numerals ending with 1 | used with numerals 2,3,4 and all numerals ending with 2,3,4, except for "teens" | used with all other numerals, including "teens" |
| рік | роки | років |
| студент | студенти | студентів |
| машина | машини | машин |
| студентка | студентки | студенток |
The way we say our age in Ukrainian is quite different from English. A word-to-word translation of a phrase “мені 20 років” is “to me it is 20 years”. Pronoun “мені” here is a Dative form of a personal pronoun”я” (I). So, to tell and ask about age in Ukrainian follow the pattern:
Personal Pronoun in Dative Case + number + рік/роки/років.
| Nom. Pers. Pron. | Gen. Pers. Pron. | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Я → | Мені + | …рік/роки/років | Мені 21 рік. – I am 21. |
| Ви → | Вам + | …рік/роки/років | Скільки вам років? – How old are you? Вам 24 роки? - Are you 24? |
Words Taught In This Skill
банджо · баскетбол · бігати · ваше · вебдизайн · готувати · грати на · грати у · компьютери · кіно · література · машини · писати · письменник · письменниця · подорожувати · піаніно · робити · спорт · співати · танцювати · театр · теніс · фотографувати · футбол · хобі · читати · шахи · історія
29 words
Ukrainian verbs have only three tenses: Present, Past and Future. Here is an example with the verb їсти – to eat in all tenses:
їсти - infinitive
Я їм – I eat/I am eating
Я їв or Я їла – I ate (masculine and feminine)
Я буду їсти – I will eat/I will be eating
Ukrainian verbs have different grammatical categories in different tenses.
In Present and Future Tenses Ukrainian verbs conjugate (change by person), but do not have gender. So looking at a verb in the Present or Future Tense you will not be able to tell whether a male or female person is/was performing the action. Here is an example with the verb їсти – to eat in Present and Future Tenses:
| Present Tense | Future Tense |
|---|---|
| Я їм. - I eat/am eating. | Я буду істи. - I will eat/will be eating. |
| Ти їси. - You eat/are eating. | Ти будеш істи. - You will eat/will be eating. |
| Він/Вона їсть. - He/She eats/is eating. | Він/Вона буде істи. - He/She will eat/will be eating. |
| Ми їмо. - We eat/are eating. | Ми будемо істи. - We will eat/will be eating. |
| Ви їсте. - You eat/are eating. | Ви будете істи. - You will eat/will be eating. |
| Вони їдять. - They eat/are eating. | Вони будуть істи. - They will eat/will be eating. |
In Past tense Ukrainian verbs have gender and number endings. Here is an example with the verb їсти – to eat in Past Tense:
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Він їв. – He ate. | Вона їла. – She ate. | Воно їло.- It ate. | Вони їли. - They ate. |
All Ukrainian verbs with no exceptions have the same endings in Past Tense.
You can read more about Ukrainian verbs here, here and here.
Infinitive is the base form of a verb which all other forms come from. It is the form which verbs go by in a dictionary. For example: (to) eat, (to) like, (to) drink.
Ukrainian infinitives have ending –ти: їсти, любити, пити. Infinitive has many uses in a language. For example in phrases like “Я люблю їсти” – I like to eat, “Я хочу їсти” - I want to eat, “Я буду їсти” - I will eat, the second verb is used in infinitive form.
Although Ukrainian verb “to be” has Present, Past and Future forms, its Present form “є” is rarely used. In sentences like: “Мій тато – актор”, “Моя сестра – дизайнер”, “Так, моя бабуся - пенсіонерка” verb “to be” is implied and is substituted by a dash. It is not wrong, but it is not very common to use the verb in these sentences: “Мій тато є актор”, “Моя сестра є дизайнер”, “Так, моя бабуся є пенсіонерка”.
Ukraine is in quite a unique position in the world, it is on the crossroads of the Catholic, Orthodox and Islamic influence. Despite this, almost two thirds of Ukrainians identify as un-affiliated the largest religious group in Ukraine is Eastern Orthodoxy which is followed by about one quarter of the population followed by Eastern Catholicism which is followed by just over 5% of Ukrainians. Historically, there was also a large Muslim, Jewish and Pagan following however it isn't as frequent in the modern age.
однак · отже · щоб · якщо
4 words
день народження
1 words
з кетчупом · з котлетою · з морквою · з помідором · з сосискою · з яйцем · кетчуп · кетчупу · моркви · на площі · на пляжі · помідор · сосиски · у зоопарку · у цирку · яйце
16 words
Котлета
A meat dish that looks like this:
(made of minced meat)
or also like this:
Can be translated as cutlet, meatloaf or meatball, depending on the type of котлета.
Source: Wikipedia
правда
1 words
для · по скайпу · повідомлення
3 words
We have seen many reports about the Ukrainian alphabet. Please read this post about typing in Ukrainian
A note about spelling Ukrainian words:
e.g. Write "tse mama" or "це мама" - not "цe мaмa". Note how the vowels look different, the Latin "e" and the Cyrillic "е" are unfortunately NOT interchangeable.
Please make sure you read the following posts before you start the course:
We would like to welcome you to the Ukrainian for English speakers course. It is the official language of Ukraine but is also spoken in parts of Russia, Poland, Romania, The Czech Republic, Canada and many other countries! Despite what you may think, Ukrainian doesn't sound as Slavic as Polish or Russian, but more like Italian or Latin.
The Ukrainian language is written using a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet (just like Russian, Serbian, Bulgarian, etc.). In this skill you will learn 13 of the 33 letters. We will not present letters separately, but rather in simple words that contain them. Here you will learn the words that have the following letters:
| Ukrainian Letter | English Equivalent | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| М м | man | [m] |
| А а | awesome | [ɑ] |
| Т т | table* | [t] |
| О о | ball | [ɔ] |
| І і | see | [i] |
| К к | key* | [k] |
| Д д | dot* | [d̪] |
| Е е | ten | [ɛ] |
| Х х | loch | [ɦ] |
| Ц ц | cats* | [t͡s] |
| Я я | yard | [jɑ] |
| Н н | nose | n] |
| И и | like in hit but longer | [ɪ] |
*Note that sounds with asterisk aren't pronounced with a puff of air like in English.
There are no articles a/an, the in the Ukrainian language. The meaning of English articles is usually conveyed by the context. But sometimes words like this and that are used when translating. So for example; the word дім can mean "house", "a house" and "the house" depending on the context.
Although there are Present, Past and Future forms of Ukrainian verb to be - бути, it is rarely used in Present tense. English words is, am, are don't have Ukrainian counterparts. Thus, the English four-word sentence I am a student is just two words in Ukrainian: Я студент. In writing, when a sentence equates two nouns in a row, a long dash is written between the nouns to indicate the verb to be. For example, My sister is a student translates to Моя сестра — студентка.
In Ukrainian, there are four words that mean and; і, та, а and й. Three of them; і, та and й are all used to link similar things, the only reason we have so many is so we can switch them around to make the language flow and sound more melodic.
Strictly speaking, there are certain rules when to use which, but we do not impose them in this course to make it easier for beginners. Therefore, it is really up to you when to use which. :)
But on the other hand, а is used to contrast between two different things. It is kind of in the middle between "and" and "but" and most of the times it can be translated as either "and" or "but".
In this skill you are learning the words that contain the following letters:
| Ukrainian Letter | English Equivalent | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| С с | small | [s̪] |
| Ч ч | chair | [t͡ʃ] |
| Й й | yoga, boy | [j] |
| У у | moon | [u] |
| В в | vase | [v] |
| Б б | book* | [b] |
| Л л | look | [l] |
| Ї ї | yeast | [ji] |
| ь | No sound, it's a soft sign that softens the previous consonant. Read more here | - |
*Note that sounds with asterisk aren't pronounced with a puff of air like in English.
Ви is a plural or singular formal you. It can be used to address to a group of people or to one person in a formal setting (like talking to a boss, an older person
Ти is a singular informal you, which can be used with friends, relatives, children.
You can read more on that here
Ukrainian nouns have gender (masculine, feminine, neuter) and number. Gender is fairly easy to define.
| Gender | Ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | consonant | друг male friend |
| Feminine | -а,-я | школа school |
| Neuter | -о,-е | місто city |
A trick to remember: "ah ya oh eh" sounds like "Hiya Owen"!
Nouns тато (dad) and дядько (uncle) don’t have a consonant ending, but for an obvious reason are considered masculine.
In plural form masculine and feminine nouns have ending и or і: маши́ни (cars); брати́ (brothers); студе́нти (students).
Pronouns that describe nouns also have gender and number and agree with nouns in form.
| Masc. | Fem. | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Чий бра́т? (whose brother?) | Чия́ сестра́? (whose sister?) | Чиє місто? (whose city?) | Чиї батьки?(whose parents?) |
| Мій брат (my brother) | Моя сестра (my sister) | Моє місто (my city) | Мої батьки (my parents) |
In this skill you will learn the words that contain the following letters:
| Ukrainian Letter | English Equivalent | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| Ю ю | youth | [ju] |
| П п | pool | [p] |
| Р р | A thrilled "r" like Spanish/Italian, read more here | [r] |
| Є є | yes | [jɛ] |
| Ш ш | shop | [ʃ] |
| Щ щ | street (read more below) | [k] |
| Г г | hill | [ɦ] |
| З з | zoo | [z] |
| Ж ж | treasure | [ʒ] |
| Ф ф | fox | [f] |
The sound that щ makes can be difficult for learners to learn but believe it or not, we use this sound in English a lot! Say the following words:
Note that the first three letters are pronounced sh-ch-r. If we remove the "r" sound we get the same sound as щ! Now say the same words without the "r" sound.
However...
In Modern Ukrainian, many people also pronounce it like a "sh" sound. But not just any sh sound. Here is a guide on the more casual pronunciation:
Say "car" in a general American accent
Stop! Keep your tongue in that final "r" position!
Now make a "sh" sound with your mouth in that position.
Note that this is different to the "sh" in "ship" (which is the sound ш makes)
Ukrainian verbs, just like verbs in many other languages, have conjugations, that is, depending on a personal pronoun a verb takes a different ending. For example: я їм (I eat), ви їсте́ (you eat); я люблю́ (I like), ви любите (you like).
Ukrainian verb infinitives (initial forms of verbs you find in dictionaries) always have ending –ти. For example: пити (to drink); я люблю пити сік (I like to drink juice).
One word in this section might be confusing for foreigners if they are not familiar with it. Here is a picture to demonstrate:
Борщ (borshch) - a Ukrainian soup
Source: Wikipedia
These are all 33 letters of Ukrainian alphabet in order. We did not cover letter Ґ, because words with this letter are rare.
Like English, Ukrainian has more than one way of greeting people:
There are of course other phrases but you will learn them as time goes on. These are standard phrases everyone should know.
Saying your name
In Ukrainian there are two forms for saying/asking for names. They are 100% interchangeable!
If someone asks "Як вас зва́ти?" (lit. how to call you?), say "Мене́ зва́ти..." (lit. to call me...)
If someone asks "Як вас звуть?" (lit. how do (they) call you), say "Мене́ звуть..." (lit. (they) call me).
Asking how you are
In Ukrainian, there are two ways to ask someone how they are, but each one has a slightly different meaning.
"Як справи?" (lit. how (are) things) is used to ask how someone is doing. They might reply with a lengthy answer such as "*I'm fine, thanks for asking, I went to the village yesterday and you'll never guess who I saw...". A good alternate translation would be "Any news?/How are you doing?"
"Як ти/ви?" (lit. how (are) you) is used to ask how someone is feeling. Similar to the English "How are you holding up?"
Note on Ukrainian Culture - Smiling and feeling"
In Ukraine, asking how someone is, does not work as simple as in English:
In Ukraine, asking how someone is, is seen as a kind and lovely question to ask. You don't simply pass a stranger and ask it. People will often reply with long and honest answers about their life and how they are feeling for example "I'm not so good today because...". Also, not listening to what they have to say after asking the question is seen as quite rude.
You may notice that Ukrainians (and Eastern Europeans in general) smile less than most other Europeans and especially Americans! This is not because they are sad but rather it is seen as a bit odd to smile while doing your shopping, walking down the street and other everyday activities. Of course, Ukrainians do smile but just not as often as most people :)
If you are too lazy to read it all look for the "Summary" headings at the end of each section.
In Ukrainian, all nouns have a gender (just like Spanish, German, Russian, French). In Ukrainian, there are three grammatical genders; masculine, feminine and neuter. Essentially, everything in Ukrainian (including non-living things such as chairs, socks and cities) are all a he, she or an it. Unlike some languages, guessing what gender a noun is easy, just learn these rules and you'll know 90% of Ukrainian noun's genders.
Masculine nouns end in a consonant, for example: брат, друг, дім, мед, кінь, павук are .all masculine.
Feminine nouns usually end in -а or -я, for example: вода and свиня are feminine.
Neuter nouns usually end in -о, -е or a double consonant followed by -я for example: молоко, поле and життя are neuter.
Now, like any language Ukrainian obviously has exceptions. Words relating to men are usually masculine (тато, дядько) nouns ending in -ь can be any gender but the majority are feminine and the exception to the consonant rule is суддя.
To learn the endings quickly, we use a trick called Hiya Owen.
Masculine nouns ends in a consonant (simple, right?)
Feminine nouns end in -а -я (ah ya sounds like hiya)
All together, the endings sounds like Hiya Owen! The only other rule you need to remember is that nouns ending in double-consonant+я are neuter e.g. жи*ття
You can read more about gender of Ukrainian nouns here and here.
In this lesson you will learn a couple of new nouns in plural form. They follow the same rule as all Ukrainian nouns. Ukrainian by nature isn't a very irregular language, so by learning this rule you'll be an Ukrainian-plural expert in no time!
Here are the basic rules, you can find more information here and here
If it ends in -а take the ending -и
If it ends in -я take the ending -і (not ї, that's a common mistake :P)
If it ends in -жа, -ча, -ша or -ща, replace the -а with -і.
| Hard | Soft | Mixed |
|---|---|---|
| Мама - Мами | Диня - Дині | Груша - Груші |
Most nouns take the ending -и
Nouns ending in -ь and take the ending -і (note many words lose its -е-)
Many ending in -р take the ending -і also
Nouns ending in -й take the ending -ї
If it ends in -ж, -ч, -ш or -щ, add an -і.
If it ends in -ж, -ч, -ш or -щ add an -і.
| Hard | Soft | Mixed |
|---|---|---|
| Брат - Брати | День - Дні | Читач - Читачі |
| Лікар - Лікарі | ||
| Водій - Водії |
If it ends in -о take the ending -а
If it ends in -е take the ending -я
If it ends in -же, -че, -ше or -ще, replace the -е with -а.
| Hard | Soft | Mixed |
|---|---|---|
| Місто - Міста | Море - Моря | Прізвище - Прізвища |
Many loan words don't change such as метро (subway/metro), авто (car, from German "das Auto") and медіа (media).
You can learn more about hard, soft and mixed nouns here
You can read more about gender and plural forms of Ukrainian nouns here, here and here.
Adjectives, possessive pronouns (and sometimes verbs) always agree with their noun, but we will learn more about that later.
Like saying your name, to have is not translated word for word in Ukrainian. Even though there is a verb to have in Ukrainian it requires a thing called case, something that you haven't learned yet. There is a brief description of the verb at the bottom but it's best to use the first form when beginning. There is pretty difference and both forms are correct in 99.9% of situations.
This form literally translates into "At one to be". To put it into the present tense just change the себе to one of the words used when saying your name and change the бути to є in the present tense. So "I have" would be "У мене є, literally meaning "To me there is". Let's take some examples.
Here is the full verb in the present tense.
| Ukrainian | English | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| У мене є | I have | U mene ye |
| У тебе є | You have (singular and informal) | U tebe ye |
| У нього є | He/It has | U nyoho ye |
| У неї є | She has | U neyi ye |
| У нас є | We have | U nas ye |
| У вас є | You have (plural and formal) | U vas ye |
| У них є | They have | U nykh ye |
This form works just like a normal verb but there's a twist you have to change the following words ending! This is quite complicated if you are just starting and you don't need to learn it until a later skill. But if you do want to learn it; Read this post on the grammar portal and check out the table below.
| Ukrainian | English | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| Я маю | I have | Ya mayu |
| Ти маєш | You have (singular and informal | Ty mayesh |
| Він має | He has | Vin maye |
| Вона має | She has | Vona maye |
| Воно має | It has | Vono maye |
| Ми маємо | We have | My mayemo |
| Ви маєте | You have (plural and formal | Vy mayut' |
| Вони мають | They have | Vony mayut' |
Words/Phrases Taught In This Skill
Ukrainian cardinal numerals “один” (one) and “два” (two) have gender forms:
один брат - one brother (masculine); одна сестра - one sister (feminine); одне місто - one city (neuter)
два брати - two brothers (masculine); дві сестри - two sisters (feminine)
Masculine form of two is also used with neuter nouns:
два міста - two cities (neuter); два села – two villages (neuter)
So, when using numerals “один” (one) and “два” (two) with nouns, match the gender form of a numeral and a noun:
один студент (masculine)
одна студентка (feminine)
одне місто (neuter)
два студенти (masculine plural)
дві студентки (feminine plural)
In Ukrainian language nouns, when used with numerals, take different number and case forms. In this lesson you will learn different forms of nouns which are used with different numerals.
With numeral “one” and all numerals that end with “one” (21, 41, 191) nouns are used in Nominative singular form:
один рік/студент (Nominative singular masculine) одна машина/студентка (Nominative singular feminine)
With numerals “two” “three” and “four” and all numerals that end with “two”, “three” and “four” (22, 43, 194, etc.) nouns are used in Nominative plural form:
два, три, чотири роки/студенти (Nominative plural masculine) дві, три, чотири машини/студентки (Nominative plural feminine)
With all other numerals nouns are used in Genitive plural form:
5, 6, 7, 8 … років/студентів/машин/студенток (Genitive plural)
Numbers 11, 12, 13, and 14 are exception to this rule. They all are followed with nouns in Genitive plural form:
11, 12, 13, 14 … років/студентів/машин/студенток (Genitive plural)
The rule of making Genitive Plural of nouns is pretty complicated and is not explained in this course. We recommend you to just memorize the Genitive form of nouns you will use in this lesson.
| Nominative singular | Nominative plural | Genitive plural |
|---|---|---|
| used with numeral 1 and all numerals ending with 1 | used with numerals 2,3,4 and all numerals ending with 2,3,4, except for "teens" | used with all other numerals, including "teens" |
| рік | роки | років |
| студент | студенти | студентів |
| машина | машини | машин |
| студентка | студентки | студенток |
The way we say our age in Ukrainian is quite different from English. A word-to-word translation of a phrase “мені 20 років” is “to me it is 20 years”. Pronoun “мені” here is a Dative form of a personal pronoun”я” (I). So, to tell and ask about age in Ukrainian follow the pattern:
Personal Pronoun in Dative Case + number + рік/роки/років.
| Nom. Pers. Pron. | Gen. Pers. Pron. | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Я → | Мені + | …рік/роки/років | Мені 21 рік. – I am 21. |
| Ви → | Вам + | …рік/роки/років | Скільки вам років? – How old are you? Вам 24 роки? - Are you 24? |
Words Taught In This Skill
In Ukrainian language nouns, when used with numerals, take different number and case forms. In this lesson you will learn different forms of nouns which are used with different numerals.
With numeral “one” and all numerals that end with “one” (21, 41, 191) nouns are used in Nominative singular form:
один рік/студент (Nominative singular masculine) одна машина/студентка (Nominative singular feminine)
With numerals “two” “three” and “four” and all numerals that end with “two”, “three” and “four” (22, 43, 194, etc.) nouns are used in Nominative plural form:
два, три, чотири долари/мільйони/мільярди (Nominative plural masculine) дві, три, чотири гривні/тисячі (Nominative plural feminine)
With all other numerals nouns are used in Genitive plural form:
5, 6, 7, 8 … доларів/мільйонів/мільярдів/гривень/тисяч (Genitive plural)
Numbers 11, 12, 13, and 14 are exception to this rule. They all are followed with nouns in Genitive plural form:
11, 12, 13, 14 … доларів/мільйонів/мільярдів/гривень/тисяч (Genitive plural)
The rule of making Genitive Plural of nouns is pretty complicated and is not explained in this course. We recommend you to just memorize the Genitive form of nouns you will use in this lesson.
Ukrainian verbs have only three tenses: Present, Past and Future. Here is an example with the verb їсти – to eat in all tenses:
їсти - infinitive
Я їм – I eat/I am eating
Я їв or Я їла – I ate (masculine and feminine)
Я буду їсти – I will eat/I will be eating
Ukrainian verbs have different grammatical categories in different tenses.
In Present and Future Tenses Ukrainian verbs conjugate (change by person), but do not have gender. So looking at a verb in the Present or Future Tense you will not be able to tell whether a male or female person is/was performing the action. Here is an example with the verb їсти – to eat in Present and Future Tenses:
| Present Tense | Future Tense |
|---|---|
| Я їм. - I eat/am eating. | Я буду істи. - I will eat/will be eating. |
| Ти їси. - You eat/are eating. | Ти будеш істи. - You will eat/will be eating. |
| Він/Вона їсть. - He/She eats/is eating. | Він/Вона буде істи. - He/She will eat/will be eating. |
| Ми їмо. - We eat/are eating. | Ми будемо істи. - We will eat/will be eating. |
| Ви їсте. - You eat/are eating. | Ви будете істи. - You will eat/will be eating. |
| Вони їдять. - They eat/are eating. | Вони будуть істи. - They will eat/will be eating. |
In Past tense Ukrainian verbs have gender and number endings. Here is an example with the verb їсти – to eat in Past Tense:
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Він їв. – He ate. | Вона їла. – She ate. | Воно їло.- It ate. | Вони їли. - They ate. |
All Ukrainian verbs with no exceptions have the same endings in Past Tense.
You can read more about Ukrainian verbs here, here and here.
Infinitive is the base form of a verb which all other forms come from. It is the form which verbs go by in a dictionary. For example: (to) eat, (to) like, (to) drink.
Ukrainian infinitives have ending –ти: їсти, любити, пити. Infinitive has many uses in a language. For example in phrases like “Я люблю їсти” – I like to eat, “Я хочу їсти” - I want to eat, “Я буду їсти” - I will eat, the second verb is used in infinitive form.
Although Ukrainian verb “to be” has Present, Past and Future forms, its Present form “є” is rarely used. In sentences like: “Мій тато – актор”, “Моя сестра – дизайнер”, “Так, моя бабуся - пенсіонерка” verb “to be” is implied and is substituted by a dash. It is not wrong, but it is not very common to use the verb in these sentences: “Мій тато є актор”, “Моя сестра є дизайнер”, “Так, моя бабуся є пенсіонерка”.
Some Ukrainian names of professions have a masculine and a feminine form:
However, it is not wrong to use masculine names of most professions with feminine nouns:
Він журналіст He is a journalist Вона журналіст/журналістка She is a journalist
Мій тато – пенсіонер (My dad is a pensioner) Моя мама – пенсіонер/пенсіонерка (My mom is a pensioner)
Most Ukrainian names of professions have only one form:
Моя сестра – директор My sister is a director Він – директор He is a director
Мій брат – лікар My brother is a doctor Моя мама – лікар My mom is a doctor
To make language flow better, Ukrainian has a number of sound interchanges . One of the most common is –у/-в interchange.
In this lesson you will learn a word “учитель” or “вчитель”– teacher. It is the same word, you just say “-у” or “-в” at the beginning depending on what sound the previous word ended. If it is a consonant, you start with “-у”: мій учитель – my teacher. If it is a vowel, you start with “-в”: мій тато вчитель – my dad is a teacher.
This interchange happens to avoid two or more consonants in a row. You do not have to follow that strictly though. In everyday speech Ukrainians often do not pay attention to this rule.
Later in this course you will see more cases of this and other sound interchanges.
In Ukrainian language nouns and some pronouns change their forms depending on the role they play in a sentence. For example a noun кава (coffee) can become каву, кавою or кави, depending on its function. Nouns change their forms by taking different endings.
Different functions of a noun (and some pronouns) in sentence are called cases. There are seven cases in Ukrainian: Nominative, Accusative, Instrumental, Genitive, Locative (Prepositional), Dative and Vocative. So, majority of Ukrainian nouns have seven forms.
In this course you will learn basics of four cases most commonly used with Nouns. Here is a short overview of functions of cases in this course:
In sentences like: “My brother is a student” or “I want to read” words “brother” and “I” are subjects of the sentences (doers of the action). A subject of a sentence will always be in Nominative case. It is an initial form of a noun which they go by in a dictionary. Here are a few other examples of sentences with nouns in Nominative case:
Моя мама любить готувати My mom likes to cook – мама Nom. Case
Це моя ковбаса This is my sausage – ковбаса Nom. Case
In sentences like: “I eat chicken” or “I see you” words “chicken” and “you” are receiving action. Such words (nouns and pronouns) are direct objects of the action and are always in Accusative case. Here are a few other examples of sentences with nouns in Accusative case:
Я бачу мою маму I see my mom - маму Acc. case
Я люблю їсти ковбасу I like to eat sausage – ковбасу Acc. case
Я не їм хліб (I do not eat bread) – хліб Acc. case
Я п’ю молоко (I drink milk) – молоко Acc. case
When you say “with” somebody or something, for example: “I dance with a sister” or “I like pizza with cheese”, this person or thing will be in Instrumental case. Here are a few other examples of sentences with nouns in Instrumental case:
Я люблю подорожувати з мамою I like to travel with mom - з мамою Instr. case
Я не їм піцу з ковбасою I do not eat pizza with sausage – з ковбасою Instr. case
Я п’ю каву з молоком I drink coffee with milk – з молоком Instr. case
Я люблю грати у футбол з другом I like to play football with a friend – з другом Instr. Case
When you say “without” something or “I don’t have” something, you will be using a Genitive case:
Я не люблю подорожувати без мами I don’t like to travel without mom - без мами Gen. case
Я не їм піцу без ковбаси I do not eat pizza without sausage – без ковбаси Gen. case
У мене немає молока I don’t have milk – немає молока Gen. case
У мене немає брата I don’t have a brother немає брата Gen. case
Я не їм макарони без сиру I do not eat pasta without cheese без сиру Gen. case
Later in this course you will learn rules of changing Noun endings in different cases. It is also important to note that different cases show relations of nouns in a sentence, but do not change the meanings of nouns. So you do not have to put nouns in correct case form to say something. Your language may not be grammatically correct, but your message will be understood by a communication partner.
As it was already mentioned, nouns have different forms in a sentence to show their "job" i.e. what they are doing. In this lesson you will learn Accusative – this is the easiest case in the Ukrainian language. Compare sentences with nouns in Nominative and Accusative form:
| Nominative | Accusative |
|---|---|
| Моя ковбаса там. My sausage is there. | Я люблю ковбасу. I like like sausage. |
| Це не моя риба. This is not my fish. | Він не любить рибу. He does not like fish. |
| Де моя піца? Where is my pizza? | Вони люблять піцу. They like pizza. |
On the left hand side we have the form you've been using so far, this is called the Nominative case. The nominative case is used for what linguists call the "subject". The subject is the person/thing that is doing something e.g. "The man is walking" - The man is the subject, he is doing the walking.
On the right hand side, we can see the Accusative case. The accusative case is used for what linguists call the "direct object". The direct object is the person/thing that is being directly affected by the action. For example "I eat an apple" - Which is the subject? Which is the direct object? Try and answer this before continuing.
The answer is: "I" is the subject because it is doing the eating and "apple" is the direct object because the eating is being done to it.
As we can see, in the accusative case words change a little bit:
There are many verbs that require a noun in Accusative case after them. You already know a few: люблю ( I like), хочу (I want), їм (I eat), п’ю (I drink), готую (I cook). There is a lot more. Such verbs are called Transitive Verbs. You can read more here.
So, every time you talk about something that is being acted on (use a noun after a transitive verb), you have to use it in Accusative case. Here are a few examples:
It's super easy! Just change the ending
| Words Ending in-а change to -у | Words ending in -я change to to -ю |
|---|---|
| Тітка - Тітку | Моя - Мою |
| Вода - Воду | Вечеря - Вечерю |
| Мама - Маму | Картопля - Картоплю |
An animate noun is a noun that is living (not dead) for example хлопець (boy), чоловік (man) and лікар (doctor). The use the genitive case where feminine nouns use the accusative, but you needn't worry about it for now, we'll introduce it in a later skill.
For the direct object, change -а to -у. -я to -ю
Some vocabulary might be confusing to the ones not familiar with the local foods. Here are some examples:
Каша
Кашаs are cooked grains such as buckwheat, wheat, millet, barley.
Example: buckwheat, very common in Ukraine.
Example: barley
Каша is translated as porridge and cereal sometimes. But notice how kasha can be salty (these ones have meat in them)
Вареники
Varenyky are a type of dumplings, similar to the Polish pierogi.
(notice the сметана from Letters 3)
Макарони
Even though it sounds like "macaroni", the Ukrainian word макарони describes many types of pasta and not only macaroni. You can basically translate it as "pasta".
Ковбаса
Things that are called "sausage" in English fall into two categories in Ukrainian:
Сосиска
It's not prepared yet. You have to cook, grill or fry it. You can put it in a hot dog. It's countable (a lot of sausages, I like sausages)
Ковбаса
It was already cooked or smoked, you just cut it and put it on bread. Salami for us is a type of ковбаса. It's uncountable ("a lot of sausage" (not sausages), "I Iike sausage" (not sausages))
Source: Wikipedia
As you already know, Ukrainian verbs conjugate in Present tense. You will learn conjugation rules later in this course. In this lesson you will learn conjugation of verbs “їсти” – to eat and “пити” – to drink.
| Pronoun | Verb їсти | Verb пити |
|---|---|---|
| я | їм | п’ю |
| ти | їси | п’єш |
| він/вона | їсть | п’є |
| ми | їмо | п’ємо |
| ви | їсте | п’єте |
| вони | їдять | п’ють |
“Їсти” and “пити” are both transitive verbs, so don’t forget that what the action is being done too e.g. eating onions and drinking water . This is a very strict rule with no exceptions.
Ти їси цибулю (Acc.)? – Do you eat onions?
Я п’ю воду (Acc.)? - Do you drink water?
The onions and the water are having something done to them. See the notes on Food 1 for more information on the Accusative case.
As you already know, all Ukrainian nouns have a gender (masculine, feminine and neuter). The adjective that describes the noun must match the gender of that noun. For example; добрий батько but добра матір (добрий матір is simply wrong in Ukrainian).
| masculine | feminine | neuter | plural (for all genders) |
|---|---|---|---|
| - ий | - а | - е | - і |
| смачний сік (tasty juice) | смачна кава (tasty coffee) | смачне молоко (tasty milk) | смачні фрукти (tasty fruit) |
| cвіжий сир (fresh cheese) | свіжа капуста (fresh cabbage) | свіже масло (fresh butter) | свіжі яблука (fresh apples) |
This happens in all seven cases of nouns, thus adjectives, as well as other parts of speech that describe or replace a noun, have case forms. In this course we are teaching only Nominative forms of adjectives. All other case forms are usually taught at more advanced levels. It is worth mentioning though that misusing or ignoring adjective-noun agreement will not hinder your conversation and may rarely cause minor misunderstanding.
Some nouns do not have a plural form because they are considered as collective names: картопля - potatoes, капуста - cabbage, цибуля – onions.
If we need to use them in plural form (two potatoes, three cabbages, four onions) we use special words which mean "one thing of" a certain vegetable: картоплина – one piece of potatoes, капустина – one cabbage, цибулина – one onion. These words follow the same rule for pluralizing, but since they are not essential we are not using them in this course.
Please, do not forget to use correct conjugation form of a verb “коштувати” - to cost in Present tense:
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| Це коштує | Ці коштують |
| This costs | These cost |
Скільки коштує цей банан? - How much does this banana cost? (third person singular)
Скільки коштують ці банани? – How much do these bananas cost? (third person plural)
Here are some illustrations of the vocabulary from this section one might find confusing
Сало (salo, lard, fatback)
Сметана (sour cream)
Мюслі (muesli)
(Note: muesli is not any kind of cereal, it's a specific breakfast food)
Source: Wikipedia
In Ukrainian we use nouns in Instrumental case after preposition “з” (with). Nouns of all genders change endings in Instrumental case. Masculine and neuter nouns take endings -ом, -ем; feminine –ою, -ею.
| Nominative | Instrumental | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| masc. | майонез (mayonnaise) сир (cheese) | майонезом сиром | |
| fem. | вода (water) ковбаса (sausage) | Я люблю піцу з … | водою ковбасою |
| neuter | молоко (milk) вино (vine) | молоком вином |
Here are a few examples of sentences with nouns in Instrumental case.
You can read more about general use of Instrumental case here, and about Instrumental case in Ukrainian here and here.
Question words “хто” (who) and ”що” (what) change to “ким” (with who) –and “чим” (with what) in Instrumental case.
Genitive case has many uses in Ukrainian language. Here you will learn two of them.
Genitive Case is used in the construction with the word “немає” meaning "there is not/there are not".
Genitive Case is used after preposition “без” – "without".
Neuter nouns take endings -a, -я; feminine take endings –и, -і.
| Nominative | Genitive | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| feminine | вода -water ковбаса -sausage | У мене немає … Без … | води ковбаси |
| neuter | молоко -milk вино -vine | У мене немає … Без … | молока вина |
Due to historical changes masculine nouns take two sets of endings in Genitive case: -a, -я (countable or concrete objects) or -у, -ю (materials, substances and abstract nouns).
| Nominative | Genitive | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | майонез -mayonnaise сир -cheese брат -brother син -son | У мене немає … Без … | майонезу сиру брата сина |
However, there is a tendency in Ukrainian language to use more endings -у, -ю.
Note: word “хліб” is an exception and has ending –a in Genitive case.
You can read more about general use of Genitive case here.
In this skill you will learn conjugation of the verb “хотіти” - to want:
| Pronoun | Verb хотіти |
|---|---|
| я | хочу |
| ти | хочеш |
| він/вона | хоче |
| ми | хочемо |
| ви | хочете |
| вони | хочуть |
As you already know Ukrainian verbs have conjugation (change endings depending on person and number) in Present tense. Ukrainian verbs have two conjugation patterns.
Most verbs with vowel –и in front of Infinitive ending -ти belong to Conjugation II:
Most verbs with other vowels in front of Infinitive ending belong to Conjugation I:
Follow these simple steps to define conjugation type of a verb:
Due to historical developments of Ukrainian language there is also a number of verbs that undergo changes in stem when conjugated. It is like irregular verbs in English. Some of them have a pattern, others just have to be memorized.
Most Ukrainian verbs belong to Conjugation I. They have two slightly different sets of personal endings, depending on the last letter of a word stem (the last letter in front of the ending).
Conjugation I
| Stem ends in a vowel | Stem ends in a consonant | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronoun | читати – to read | нести – to carry |
| я | читаю | несу |
| ти | читаєш | несеш |
| він | читає | несе |
| вона | читає | несе |
| ми | читаємо | несемо |
| ви | читаєте | несете |
| вони | читають | несуть |
A number of Conjugation I verbs with suffix “ва” (готувати – to cook, працювати – to work, подорожувати – to travel) drop it when conjugated.
| Pronoun | готувати – to cook | працювати – to work | подорожувати – to travel |
|---|---|---|---|
| я | готую | працюю | подорожую |
| ти | готуєш | працюєш | подорожуєш |
| він | готує | працює | подорожує |
| вона | готує | працює | подорожує |
| ми | готуємо | працюємо | подорожуємо |
| ви | готуєте | працюєте | подорожуєте |
| вони | готують | працюють | подорожують |
Conjugation II verbs with the infinitival ending -ти also drop the proceeding vowel -и. Example: учити – я учу; говорити – я говорю. They also have slightly different sets of personal endings, depending on the last letter of a word stem.
Conjugation II
| Stem ends in consonants ж, ч, ш, щ | Stem ends in vowel or soft consonant | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronoun | вчити – to learn | говорити – to speak |
| я | вчу | говорю |
| ти | вчиш | говориш |
| він | вчить | говорить |
| вона | вчить | говорить |
| ми | вчимо | говоримо |
| ви | вчите | говорите |
| вони | вчать | говорять |
You can read more about Ukrainian verb conjugation here and here.
Locative case is generally used to express location. In Ukrainian language it is always used after the following prepositions:
preposition –“в/у” translated as “in” or “at”
preposition –“на” translated as “on” or “at”
Lacative case is very simple. Nouns of all genders take ending “–i”.
| Nominative | Locative | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | університет театр | університеті театрі | |
| feminine | школа пошта | в/у … на … | школі пошті |
| neuter | село місто | селі місті |
Preposition “в/у” is used interchangeably to avoid consonant clusters and make language flow better. “В” is used before words that start with a vowel; “у” is used before words that start with a consonant. This rule, however, is not strictly followed by native speakers.
Generally, preposition “в/у” is used with buildings (у магазині – at a store, у театрі – at a theatre), while preposition “на” is used with open space places (на стадіоні – at a stadium). However, some objects that are obviously buildings go with preposition “на” and vice versa.
Some nouns have ending “-у” in Locative case. These are usually nouns that end with a letter “-к”:
The word аеропорт can have both endings: у аеропорту/у аеропорті – at an airport, however it is more often used with the ending “-у”.
In this skill you will learn conjugation of a verb “жити”.
| Pronoun | Verb "жити" |
|---|---|
| я | живу |
| ти | живеш |
| він/вона | живе |
| ми | живемо |
| ви | живете |
| вони | живуть |
Here letter “в” is thrown in to avoid two vowels in a row.
The verb “шукати” – to look for is a transitive verb, so don’t forget to ALWAYS put nouns that follow it in Accusative case. This is a very strict rule with no exceptions.
Я шукаю школу. – I am looking for a school. (школу – Acc.)
Я шукаю пошту. - I am looking for a post office. (пошту – Acc.)
Я шукаю вулицю. – I am looking for a street.(вулицю – Acc.)
In this skill you will learn more nouns in Locative case. They follow the same rule: nouns of all genders take ending “–i”.
| Nominative | Locative | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | стіл | столі | |
| feminine | квартира кімната кухня | в/у … на … | квартирі кімнаті кухні |
| neuter | крісло | кріслі |
In the word “стіл” (table) a historical vowel interchange is taking place. Vowel “і” changes to “о” in an open syllable.
стіл – на столі
Some nouns take ending “-у” in Locative. Those are mostly nouns that end with letter "к"
холодильник – у холодильнику – in a fridge чайник – у чайнику – in a kettle рюкзак – у рюкзаку – in a backpack
Adjectives have masculine, feminine, neuter and plural endings in Ukrainian language. Adjectives agree in form with the nouns they describe.
| masc. | fem. | neuter | pl. |
|---|---|---|---|
| дорогий готель -expensive hotel | дорога квартира -expensive apartment | дороге крісло -expensive armchair | дорогі сумки -expensive bags |
| улюблений салат -favorite salad | улюблена кава -favorite coffee | улюблене вино -favorite wine | улюблені макарони -favorite pasta |
This happens in all seven cases of nouns, thus adjectives, as well as other parts of speech that describe or replace a noun, have case forms. In this course we are teaching only Nominative forms of Adjectives. All other case forms of adjectives are usually taught at more advanced levels. However it is worth mentioning that misusing or ignoring of adjective-noun agreement will not hinder your conversation and may rarely cause minor misunderstanding.
In this skill you will learn Possessive pronouns “його”, “її” and Personal pronouns in Accusative case “його”, “її”. Although they look the same, they belong to different groups of pronouns.
| Example | Type of pronoun |
|---|---|
| Його речі у кімнаті. - His things are in the room. Його дружина. - His wife. Я знаю де її речі. - I know where her things are. Її речі на кухні. - Her things are in the kitchen. | Possessive pronouns (his, her) |
| Вона любить його. – She loves him. Я добре знаю її. - I know her well. | Personal pronouns in Accusative case (him, her) |
Some of nouns do not have a regular gender ending. The noun “ніч” (night) has a consonant ending, but is a feminine noun.
Verbs “шукати” – to look for, “купити” – to buy, “дайте” – give are all transitive verbs, so don’t forget to ALWAYS put nouns that follow them in Accusative case. This is a very strict rule with no exceptions.
In Ukrainian phrase “Мені пасує …” – It suits me Dative case of pronoun is used.
Neuter nouns that have double consonant before ending “-я” belong to neuter gender: взуття – shoes (Neuter noun).
The past tense is pretty easy in Ukrainian. There are only two things you need to take into account.
I had -
Said By A Man - Я мав Said By A Woman - Я мала
You had (inf./sg.) -
If you're a male - Ти мав If you're a female - Ти мала
He had
Він мав
She had -
Вона мала
It had -
Воно мало
We had -
Ми мали
You had (f./pl.) -
Ви мали
They had -
Вони мали
In Ukrainian, there are two future tenses. The first one (which is the form taught in the Duolingo course) is very easy and the second one is pretty similar to the present tense in some ways.
This form is really easy! Just use the future tense of "бути" (which is irregular) followed by the infinitive (the name of the verb). Here is читати in the future tense.
See, easy right. No need to learn endless conjugations and you can use this is pretty much every situation!
The second form is a bit more complicated; First, we get the infinitive and like the present tense each pronoun gets an ending.
Note that the course was not constructed with this tense so not all answers will be accepted with this tense
Fun Fact The word післязавтра means the day after tomorrow, which actually has an English translation, overmorrow
The Ukrainian word "футбол" is quite ambiguous for us to explain mainly because it has different translations for different speakers of English. Basically, футбол is the sport shown in this Wikipedia article or this:
To say that someone is your cousin in Ukrainian is really easy! We simply put двоюрідний/а before the words for brother and sister. Think of it a saying my cousinly brother or my cousinly sister
My (male) cousin - Мій двоюрідний брат
My (female) cousin - Моя двоюрідна сестра
There are quite a number of ways to ask a question in Ukrainian. In this course, we teach the simplest way.
Ти добре - Ти добре?
There are two other ways that aren't used in this course but you will frequently see them on your language learning journey!
Ти добре - Чи ти добре?
Ти добре - Ти добре, так?
In this skill, you will also learn some question words. Here are ones that your familiar with in English.
There are also a few that you aren't familiar with using in English.
For example; Про що ви думаєте? - What are you thinking about?
For example; Звідки ви? - Where are you from?
As you know already, Ukrainian verbs are conjugated by tense, number and sometimes gender. Here is an example.
| Past | Present | Future | Conditional |
|---|---|---|---|
| Я читав/читала | Я читаю | Я буду читати | Я читав би/читала б |
| Ти читав/читала | Ти читаєш | будеш читати | Ти читав би/читала б |
| Він читав | Він читає | Він буде читати | Він читав би |
| Вона читала | Вона читає | Вона буде читати | Вона читала б |
| Ми читали | Ми читаємо | Ми будемо читати | Ми читали б |
| Ви читали | Ви читаєте | Ви будете читати | Ви читали б |
| Вони читали | Вони читають | Вони будуть читати | Вони читали б |
In Ukrainian the final thing to take note of when conjugating a verb is aspect. There are two types of aspect:
This aspect will be taught in this lesson, it is used for an action that was/will be completed. We form it by adding a prefix to the verb. For читати we add про-. Here is the perfective form of читати.
| Past | Present/Future* | Conditional |
|---|---|---|
| Я прочитав/прочитала | Я прочитаю | Я прочитав би/прочитала б |
| Ти прочитав/прочитала | Ти прочитаєш | Ти прочитав би/прочитала б |
| Він прочитав | Він прочитає | Він прочитав би |
| Вона прочитала | Вона прочитає | Вона прочитала б |
| Ми прочитали | Ми прочитаємо | Ми прочитали б |
| Ви прочитали | Ви прочитаєте | Ви прочитали б |
| Вони прочитали | Вони прочитають | Вони прочитали б |
*Note that in the perfective; the future and present are the same.
This is the aspect used for a habit, repeated action or an action thought of in general terms this is the base form of the verbs that you've used so far.
Even though there is no perfect translation for aspects in English. Here is the idea that they portray.
| Я читав | Я читаю | Я буду читати | Я читав б |
|---|---|---|---|
| I was reading, I used to read | I read, I am reading | I will be reading | I would be reading |
| Я прочитав | Я прочитаю | Я прочитав би | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I have read | I am reading (to the end)/I will have read | I would have read |
Ukraine is in quite a unique position in the world, it is on the crossroads of the Catholic, Orthodox and Islamic influence. Despite this, almost two thirds of Ukrainians identify as un-affiliated the largest religious group in Ukraine is Eastern Orthodoxy which is followed by about one quarter of the population followed by Eastern Catholicism which is followed by just over 5% of Ukrainians. Historically, there was also a large Muslim, Jewish and Pagan following however it isn't as frequent in the modern age.
Котлета
A meat dish that looks like this:
(made of minced meat)
or also like this:
Can be translated as cutlet, meatloaf or meatball, depending on the type of котлета.
Source: Wikipedia