LingoflyInshyi and druhyi, yakyi and kotryi
Two pairs of words that are easy to mix up. For example: “Дай (Dai) інший (inshyi) ніж (nizh), цей (tsei) тупий” (tupyi) — Give me another knife, this one is dull. A rule from the Ukrainian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Two pairs of words that are easy to mix up.
Inshyi means another, not this one: insha liudyna, inshymy slovamy, z inshoho boku on the other hand. Druhyi means strictly number two: druhyi poverkh the second floor, druha sproba the second try. English keeps another and second apart; do the same here.
Yakyi asks what kind and joins clauses. Yakyi u vas rozmir? what size do you have. And the who-clause: liudyna, yaka pomohla the person who helped. Kotryi picks one out of a row and asks the time. Kotra hodyna? what time is it. Kotryi iz dvokh? which of the two. In who-clauses both are possible, but yakyi wins about four to one.
Table
| word | it means | example |
|---|---|---|
| inshyi | another, not this one | insha liudyna |
| druhyi | number two | druhyi poverkh |
| yakyi | what kind, who | yakyi rozmir |
| kotryi | which one, what time | kotra hodyna |
By example
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Inshyi or druhyi: another vs second in Ukrainian?
Inshyi means another, not this one: insha liudyna, inshymy slovamy, z inshoho boku on the other hand. Druhyi means strictly number two: druhyi poverkh the second floor, druha sproba the second try. English keeps another and second apart; do the same here.
What does it look like in a Ukrainian example sentence?
“Дай (Dai) інший (inshyi) ніж (nizh), цей (tsei) тупий” (tupyi) (Dai inshyi nizh, tsei tupyi) — Give me another knife, this one is dull. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.