Derev'ianyi, sklianyi, metalevyi: made of what
A material adjective grows from the substance name, and the suffix depends on the word. After soft and lip sounds comes -ianyi/-anyi: derevo → derev'ianyi, kamin → kam'ianyi, sklo → sklianyi. After v and m the apostrophe is mandatory: derev'ianyi, kam'ianyi — without it the consonant would soften. For example: “Це деревʼяний стіл, не пластиковий” — This table is wooden, not plastic. A rule from the Ukrainian course…
How it works
A material adjective grows from the substance name, and the suffix depends on the word. After soft and lip sounds comes -ianyi/-anyi: derevo → derev'ianyi, kamin → kam'ianyi, sklo → sklianyi. After v and m the apostrophe is mandatory: derev'ianyi, kam'ianyi — without it the consonant would soften.
Borrowings and most everything else take -ovyi/-evyi: metal → metalevyi, plastyk → plastykovyi, papir → paperovyi, huma → humovyi.
Double consonants do not survive in these words: metalevyi with one l. The same single-letter rule runs through klas, kasa, masa, plastmasa.
Or skip the adjective and say it with z plus the of form: stil iz dereva, sumka zi shkiry, korobka z kartonu. Where no adjective exists, this is the only way: vyrib iz sutsilnoho kameniu, a piece carved from solid stone.
Table
| the material | the adjective | what to notice |
|---|---|---|
| derevo | derev'ianyi | apostrophe after v |
| kamin | kam'ianyi | apostrophe after m |
| sklo | sklianyi | the t disappears |
| metal | metalevyi | a single l |
By example
- Це деревʼяний стіл, не пластиковийThis table is wooden, not plastic
- Сумка зі справжньої шкіриThe bag is genuine leather
- Металеві гачки тримають кращеMetal hooks hold better
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
Derev'ianyi or metalevyi: made-of adjectives?
A material adjective grows from the substance name, and the suffix depends on the word. After soft and lip sounds comes -ianyi/-anyi: derevo → derev'ianyi, kamin → kam'ianyi, sklo → sklianyi. After v and m the apostrophe is mandatory: derev'ianyi, kam'ianyi — without it the consonant would soften.
What does it look like in an example sentence Ukrainian?
“Це деревʼяний стіл, не пластиковий” — This table is wooden, not plastic. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.