Making a plan in Ukrainian
Discussing tomorrow's order of business in Ukrainian. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Давай складемо план. По-перше, банк.» — Let's make a plan. First, the bank.; «По-друге, нотаріус. Він працює до пʼятої.» — Second, the notary. He works until five. 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: discussing tomorrow's order of business. 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.
- Давай складемо план. По-перше, банк.Let's make a plan. First, the bank.
- По-друге, нотаріус. Він працює до пʼятої.Second, the notary. He works until five.
- Насамперед нотаріус, бо банк відчинений довше.The notary first of all, because the bank stays open longer.
- Логічно. Крім того, треба заздалегідь узяти квитки.Makes sense. Besides, we need to buy tickets in advance.
- Щойно звільнюся, куплю онлайн.As soon as I'm free, I'll buy them online.
- Врешті-решт усе встигнемо, якщо не будемо зволікати.In the end we'll manage everything if we don't drag our feet.
Lines one by one
| Ukrainian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Давай складемо план. По-перше, банк. | — | Let's make a plan. First, the bank. |
| По-друге, нотаріус. Він працює до пʼятої. | — | Second, the notary. He works until five. |
| Насамперед нотаріус, бо банк відчинений довше. | — | The notary first of all, because the bank stays open longer. |
| Логічно. Крім того, треба заздалегідь узяти квитки. | — | Makes sense. Besides, we need to buy tickets in advance. |
| Щойно звільнюся, куплю онлайн. | — | As soon as I'm free, I'll buy them online. |
| Врешті-решт усе встигнемо, якщо не будемо зволікати. | — | In the end we'll manage everything if we don't drag our feet. |
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 it gets in the way badly. It is one of the most reliably measured findings in the entire field.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?
“Давай складемо план. По-перше, банк.” — Let's make a plan. First, the bank.. 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.