дитина
“дитина” — child in Ukrainian. Noun, level A1, topic — people and family. The plural is completely its own word: dity, "children". Same ancient root as the English "tyke"-sounding dity — you just have to learn the pair together. In a live sentence: “Дитина грається в кімнаті” — The child is playing in the room. One of 141 words in the set “people and family” in the Ukrainian course.
In short
| Written in Ukrainian | дитина |
| Translation | child |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A1 |
Why it looks that way
The plural is completely its own word: dity, "children". Same ancient root as the English "tyke"-sounding dity — you just have to learn the pair together.
A word with a story stays in memory longer than one learned as a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
In a live sentence
A single word almost never appears alone in conversation. A sentence shows where it fits and what stands next to it.
- Дитина грається в кімнатіThe child is playing in the room
Nearby words: people and family
Mum, friend, child, neighbour. The first thing people ask you about, and the first thing you tell about yourself.
- сімʼяfamilyWritten with an apostrophe: sim-ya, two sounds, not "si-mya". The everyday word is exactly this one — five people, one simya.
- батькоfatherBatky are parents, both of them — not a plural of one dad. The cozy word for dad is tato, a small child word like "dad".
- матусяmomA warm, affectionate word. Calling her you use the special calling form: mamo! — Ukrainian has a whole case just for addressing people.
- хлопецьguyBoth "a boy" and "a boyfriend" — context decides. Khloptsi, the plural, is what a group of friends calls itself, like "the guys".
- другfriendCalling a friend by name, Ukrainian uses a special addressing form: druzhe! It is the same "calling case" you met with mamo.
- людинаpersonThe big pair of the lesson: liudyna is "a person, a human", cholovik is "a man". Plural: liudy — people.
- чоловікmanBoth "man" and "husband" — and never just "person". On toilet doors this is exactly the word you will read.
- жінкаwomanA wife is a separate word: druzhyna. Zhinka is any woman — the same root, a wider job.
- юнакyoung manBookish and a little solemn; in live speech people say khlopets — the guy from an earlier lesson. Both point to the same lad.
- дівчинаgirlOne letter from divchynka, "a little girl". Moia divchyna — "my girlfriend" — works exactly the way you hope.
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “people and family”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “child” in Ukrainian?
The plural is completely its own word: dity, "children". Same ancient root as the English "tyke"-sounding dity — you just have to learn the pair together.
- How do you say “man” in Ukrainian?
Both "man" and "husband" — and never just "person". On toilet doors this is exactly the word you will read.
- How do you say “mom” in Ukrainian?
A warm, affectionate word. Calling her you use the special calling form: mamo! — Ukrainian has a whole case just for addressing people.
- How do you say “girl” in Ukrainian?
One letter from divchynka, "a little girl". Moia divchyna — "my girlfriend" — works exactly the way you hope.
- How do you say “person” in Ukrainian?
The big pair of the lesson: liudyna is "a person, a human", cholovik is "a man". Plural: liudy — people.
How not to forget this word
Reading a word and remembering it are different jobs. A day later, little survives of a single reading — and that is not bad memory, that is how memory works.
- This has been tested on foreign words too. The difference shows up most when you test yourself a few days later rather than straight away.checked many timesKim & Webb, 2022, Language Learning 72(2) · 48 experiments, 3,411 participants, 98 comparisons.
- 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.
- An answer you worked out yourself sticks better than one handed to you.checked many timesBertsch et al., 2007, Memory & Cognition 35(2) · 86 studies, 445 comparisons, d = 0.40.
Frequently asked
How do you say “child” in Ukrainian?
«дитина». In a live sentence: “Дитина грається в кімнаті” — The child is playing in the room. Noun, level A1, from the set “people and family”.
Why does this word look the way it does?
The plural is completely its own word: dity, "children". Same ancient root as the English "tyke"-sounding dity — you just have to learn the pair together. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.