U mene bolyt: talking about how you feel
English says my head hurts. Ukrainian says the body part hurts, and the person tags along with u mene, at me. U mene bolyt holova, u dytyny bolyt vukho. Several aches at once take boliat: boliat nohy. For example: “У мене болить горло другий день” — My throat has hurt for two days now. A rule from the Ukrainian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
English says my head hurts. Ukrainian says the body part hurts, and the person tags along with u mene, at me. U mene bolyt holova, u dytyny bolyt vukho. Several aches at once take boliat: boliat nohy.
Whole-body states skip the verb and use the to-me form. Meni pohano I feel bad, meni zle, meni kholodno I am cold. Feeling better is meni krashche. No is, no became — the phrase is already complete.
Sickness has two verbs of its own, both without a subject: mene nudyty for nausea, pamorochytysia holova for a spinning head. English needs a full sentence; Ukrainian needs three words.
At the pharmacy and the clinic, direction uses do: do likaria to the doctor, do likarni to the hospital.
Table
| in English | in Ukrainian | word for word |
|---|---|---|
| my head hurts | u mene bolyt holova | at me aches the head |
| I feel bad | meni pohano | to me, bad |
| I feel sick | mene nudyty | it sickens me, no subject |
| my head is spinning | meni pamorochytysia holova | to me the head spins |
By example
- У мене болить горло другий деньMy throat has hurt for two days now
- Мені зле, викличте лікаряI feel bad, call a doctor
- Треба записатися до лікаряYou need to make an appointment with the doctor
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
How to say my head hurts in Ukrainian?
English says my head hurts. Ukrainian says the body part hurts, and the person tags along with u mene, at me. U mene bolyt holova, u dytyny bolyt vukho. Several aches at once take boliat: boliat nohy.
What does it look like in an example sentence Ukrainian?
“У мене болить горло другий день” — My throat has hurt for two days now. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.