Greetings and goodbyes in Ukrainian
9 words Ukrainian words on the topic “greetings and goodbyes”: привіт — hi, добрий день — good day, доброго ранку — good morning, як справи? — how are you?
9 words on the topic
- привітhiAn easy start: privit sounds friendly and informal, exactly like "hi". Save it for people you already know.
- добрий деньgood dayThe neutral, polite greeting for strangers, shops and offices. Literally "good day" — dobyi den has no surprises in it.
- доброго ранкуgood morningLiterally "of good morning" — a wish in the "of" form, like wishing someone "a good morning's worth". Ranku is morning.
- як справи?how are you?Literally "how are the affairs?" — sprava is "matter, business". With a stranger, add the polite you: yak u vas spravy?
- до побаченняgoodbyeLiterally "until seeing" — do "until" plus pobachennia "seeing". The formal, safe goodbye for any stranger.
- бувайbyeFrom buvaty, "to be, hang around" — literally "carry on being". Casual, for friends; with strangers use do pobachennia.
- добрий вечірgood eveningVechir is "evening", said "vechir". Do not mix it up with vecherya, "supper" — evening the time and supper the meal are different words.
- на добранічgood nightLiterally "onto the good night". Works both when leaving someone in the evening and when going to bed yourself.
- до зустрічіsee youLiterally "until the meeting". Less formal than do pobachennia; zustricha is "meeting" — a word you will keep meeting.
How it sounds in a sentence
A word list is a blank. Conversation is made of sentences, and these are the ones the words fit into most often.
What is worth knowing about these words
привіт — hi. An easy start: privit sounds friendly and informal, exactly like "hi". Save it for people you already know.
добрий день — good day. The neutral, polite greeting for strangers, shops and offices. Literally "good day" — dobyi den has no surprises in it.
доброго ранку — good morning. Literally "of good morning" — a wish in the "of" form, like wishing someone "a good morning's worth". Ranku is morning.
як справи? — how are you?. Literally "how are the affairs?" — sprava is "matter, business". With a stranger, add the polite you: yak u vas spravy?
Test yourself
Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than recognizing a familiar word — and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “hi” in Ukrainian?
An easy start: privit sounds friendly and informal, exactly like "hi". Save it for people you already know.
- How do you say “good night” in Ukrainian?
Literally "onto the good night". Works both when leaving someone in the evening and when going to bed yourself.
- How do you say “bye” in Ukrainian?
From buvaty, "to be, hang around" — literally "carry on being". Casual, for friends; with strangers use do pobachennia.
- How do you say “how are you?” in Ukrainian?
Literally "how are the affairs?" — sprava is "matter, business". With a stranger, add the polite you: yak u vas spravy?
- How do you say “good day” in Ukrainian?
The neutral, polite greeting for strangers, shops and offices. Literally "good day" — dobyi den has no surprises in it.
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Every conversation starts here, and so does every first impression: say hello in the local language and you stop being a stranger in about a second.
A list is read in a minute and forgotten in a day. What works: hide the translation, try to recall, get it wrong — and come back to the same words tomorrow.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- This holds not only in experiments but in ordinary classrooms, with real students.checked many timesMawson & Kang, 2025, Behavioral Sciences 15(6):771 · 22 studies, d = 0.54 (confidence interval 0.31–0.77). The authors warn that individual studies disagree widely.
Frequently asked
How do you say “hi” in Ukrainian?
«привіт». An easy start: privit sounds friendly and informal, exactly like "hi". Save it for people you already know. It is one of 9 words in the set “greetings and goodbyes” — the rest are in the table above.
How many greetings do you need to start?
A dozen is enough. The set of 9 words on this page covers nearly every everyday case on the topic — but it is best taken a few at a time, not all at once.