Talking about life in Ukrainian
They meet after many years in Ukrainian. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Треба ж таке! Скільки років не бачилися?» — Well, well! How many years has it been?; «Років десять. Я тоді ще школу не закінчив.» — About ten. I hadn't even finished school back then. 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: they meet after many years. 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.
- Треба ж таке! Скільки років не бачилися?Well, well! How many years has it been?
- Років десять. Я тоді ще школу не закінчив.About ten. I hadn't even finished school back then.
- І як тобі? Де тепер живеш?And how has it been? Where do you live now?
- Переїхав за кордон, завів сімʼю. Усе змінилося.I moved abroad and started a family. Everything changed.
- Невже? І як, на краще?Really? And for the better?
- Гадаю, так. Хоча за рідним містом сумую.I think so. Though I do miss my hometown.
Lines one by one
| Ukrainian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Треба ж таке! Скільки років не бачилися? | — | Well, well! How many years has it been? |
| Років десять. Я тоді ще школу не закінчив. | — | About ten. I hadn't even finished school back then. |
| І як тобі? Де тепер живеш? | — | And how has it been? Where do you live now? |
| Переїхав за кордон, завів сімʼю. Усе змінилося. | — | I moved abroad and started a family. Everything changed. |
| Невже? І як, на краще? | — | Really? And for the better? |
| Гадаю, так. Хоча за рідним містом сумую. | — | I think so. Though I do miss my hometown. |
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?
“Треба ж таке! Скільки років не бачилися?” — Well, well! How many years has it been?. 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.