Chy, khiba, nevzhe: how questions are built
A question with no question word opens with the particle chy: Chy vy gotovi?, Chy ie znyzhka?. In relaxed speech it often vanishes and intonation does the job, but in writing and in polite speech it earns its place. For example: “Чи можна поставити запитання?” — May I ask a question?. A rule from the Ukrainian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
A question with no question word opens with the particle chy: Chy vy gotovi?, Chy ie znyzhka?. In relaxed speech it often vanishes and intonation does the job, but in writing and in polite speech it earns its place.
The same chy doubles as or inside a question: tut chy z soboiu?, chai chy kava?. In a statement, or is abo: vizmy chai abo kavu.
Khiba voices doubt: Khiba tse tak? — surely not, I thought otherwise. Nevzhe is stronger surprise: Nevzhe vzhe sioma? — can it really be seven already. It is visibly built from ne and vzhe.
The question words themselves: khto, shcho, de, kudy, zvidky, koly, yak, chomu, skilky, kotryi. Two are easy to swap by mistake. Yakyi asks about a quality (yakyi kolir?); kotryi picks one out of a row (kotryi z nykh?). And the order stays straight: Ty buv udoma?.
Table
| the word | what it asks | example |
|---|---|---|
| chy | yes or no | chy ie vilni mistsia? |
| yakyi | about a quality | yakyi tse kolir? |
| kotryi | a choice from a row | kotryi z nykh tvii? |
| khiba | doubt | khiba tse tak? |
| nevzhe | strong surprise | nevzhe vzhe pizno? |
By example
- Чи можна поставити запитання?May I ask a question?
- Хіба ти не знав про це?You mean you did not know about it?
- Котрий із цих автобусів іде до вокзалу?Which of these buses goes to the station?
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
Chy vy gotovi: asking yes-no questions?
A question with no question word opens with the particle chy: Chy vy gotovi?, Chy ie znyzhka?. In relaxed speech it often vanishes and intonation does the job, but in writing and in polite speech it earns its place.
What does it look like in an example sentence Ukrainian?
“Чи можна поставити запитання?” — May I ask a question?. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.