Measures and numbers: dva metry, piat metriv
Measures follow the same last-digit rule as counted objects, and this is where people trip most. After dva, try, chotyry the measure stands in the plural naming form: dva metry, try litry, chotyry kilohramy. From piat up it takes the plural of form: piat metriv, desiat litriv, sto hramiv. For example: “До магазину метрів триста” — The shop is some three hundred meters away. A rule from the Ukrainian course: worked…
How it works
Measures follow the same last-digit rule as counted objects, and this is where people trip most. After dva, try, chotyry the measure stands in the plural naming form: dva metry, try litry, chotyry kilohramy. From piat up it takes the plural of form: piat metriv, desiat litriv, sto hramiv.
Numbers ending in -nadtsiat and -desiat behave like piat: odynnadtsiat metriv, dvadtsiat kilohramiv. Ones ending in 2, 3 or 4 act like dva: dvadtsiat dva metry.
Fractions have their own words: polovyna, or the short piv, then tretyna and chvert. By today's spelling piv is written separately: piv hodyny, piv kilohrama, piv litra.
Rough amounts flip the order: metriv desiat, some ten meters, khvylyn dvadtsiat. No word for about is needed — the flipped order says it all.
Table
| the number | the measure takes | example |
|---|---|---|
| 2, 3, 4 | plural, naming form | dva metry |
| 5 and up | plural, of form | piat metriv |
| fractions | singular, of form | piv hodyny |
| rough amounts | the words flip | metriv desiat |
By example
- До магазину метрів тристаThe shop is some three hundred meters away
- Купи пів кілограма сируBuy half a kilo of cheese
- У пляшці два літри водиThe bottle holds two liters of water
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
Dva metry or piat metriv: measures and numbers?
Measures follow the same last-digit rule as counted objects, and this is where people trip most. After dva, try, chotyry the measure stands in the plural naming form: dva metry, try litry, chotyry kilohramy. From piat up it takes the plural of form: piat metriv, desiat litriv, sto hramiv.
What does it look like in an example sentence Ukrainian?
“До магазину метрів триста” — The shop is some three hundred meters away. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.