Comparison: deshevche, dorozhche, naikrashchyi
Comparisons come from suffixes: -sh- or -ish- glued onto the adjective. deshevyi cheap becomes deshevche cheaper, novyi becomes novishyi, vazhkyi becomes vazhchyi. Say what you compare against with nizh or vid: tut deshevche, nizh na bazari — cheaper here than at the market. For example: “На базарі дешевше, ніж у магазині” — At the market it is cheaper than in the shop. A rule from the Ukrainian course: worked out…
How it works
Comparisons come from suffixes: -sh- or -ish- glued onto the adjective. deshevyi cheap becomes deshevche cheaper, novyi becomes novishyi, vazhkyi becomes vazhchyi. Say what you compare against with nizh or vid: tut deshevche, nizh na bazari — cheaper here than at the market.
For best of all, glue on nai-: naideshevshyi, naikrashchyi, naibilshyi. English reaches for most or -est; Ukrainian needs one little prefix, and there is no separate word for it.
Three pairs refuse the pattern and are memorized whole. Dobryi becomes krashchyi, then naikrashchyi: good, better, best. Pohanyi becomes hirshyi, and velykyi becomes bilshyi.
And right away a pair of open verbs: vidchynyty is for doors and windows, vidkryty for books, eyes and secrets. The shop sign says Vidchyneno.
Table
| the trait | the comparison | best of all |
|---|---|---|
| deshevyi | deshevche | naideshevshyi |
| dorohyi | dorozhche | naidorozhchyi |
| dobryi | krashchyi | naikrashchyi |
| velykyi | bilshyi | naibilshyi |
By example
- На базарі дешевше, ніж у магазиніAt the market it is cheaper than in the shop
- Це найкращий сир у містіThis is the best cheese in town
- Валіза важча, ніж здаєтьсяThe suitcase is heavier than it looks
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 cheaper in Ukrainian: deshevche?
Comparisons come from suffixes: -sh- or -ish- glued onto the adjective. deshevyi cheap becomes deshevche cheaper, novyi becomes novishyi, vazhkyi becomes vazhchyi. Say what you compare against with nizh or vid: tut deshevche, nizh na bazari — cheaper here than at the market.
What does it look like in an example sentence Ukrainian?
“На базарі дешевше, ніж у магазині” — At the market it is cheaper than in the shop. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.