LingoflySomething broke in Ukrainian
A tenant tells the repairman what isn't working in Ukrainian. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «У (U) нас (nas) кран тече (kran teche) і (i) розетка не працює (rozetka ne pratsiuie).» — Our faucet leaks and the outlet doesn't work; «Кран (kran) у (U) ванній (vannii) чи (chy) на (na) кухні (kukhni)?» — The faucet in the bathroom or the kitchen? The conversation is predictable: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a tenant tells the repairman what isn't working. The conversation is short and predictable — which is exactly what makes it good for a first try: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
- U nas kran teche i rozetka ne pratsiuie.Our faucet leaks and the outlet doesn't work.
- Zrozumilo. A svitlo zghaslo tezh u vas?I see. And did the lights go out for you too?
- Dobre. Shche stilets polahodyty — i vse.Okay. Fix the chair too — and that's everything.
Lines one by one
| Ukrainian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| У (U) нас (nas) кран тече (kran teche) і (i) розетка не працює (rozetka ne pratsiuie). | U nas kran teche i rozetka ne pratsiuie. | Our faucet leaks and the outlet doesn't work. |
| Кран (kran) у (U) ванній (vannii) чи (chy) на (na) кухні (kukhni)? | Kran u vannii chy na kukhni? | The faucet in the bathroom or the kitchen? |
| На (na) кухні (kukhni). Капає (kapaie) всю (vsiu) ніч (nich). | Na kukhni. Kapaie vsiu nich. | The kitchen. It drips all night. |
| Зрозуміло (zrozumilo). А (a) світло згасло (svitlo zghaslo) теж (tezh) у (U) вас (vas)? | Zrozumilo. A svitlo zghaslo tezh u vas? | I see. And did the lights go out for you too? |
| Ні (ni), лише (lyshe) лампочка перегоріла (Lampochka perehorila). | Ni, lyshe lampochka perehorila. | No, only the lightbulb burned out. |
| Добре (dobre). Ще (shche) стілець (stilets) полагодити (polahodyty) — і (i) все (vse). | Dobre. Shche stilets polahodyty — i vse. | Okay. Fix the chair too — and that's everything. |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and noticeably so. The link turns up study after study, and together those studies cover almost twenty thousand people.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Ukrainian in this situation?
“У (U) нас (nas) кран тече (kran teche) і (i) розетка не працює (rozetka ne pratsiuie).” (U nas kran teche i rozetka ne pratsiuie.) — Our faucet leaks and the outlet doesn't work. The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.