не чіпайте
“не чіпайте” — do not touch in Ukrainian. Phrase, level A2, topic — phrases that save you. From chipaty, "to touch". To one person informally: ne chipai. Said over hot dishes everywhere. In a live sentence: “Не чіпайте, це гаряче” — Do not touch, it is hot. One of 15 words in the set “phrases that save you” in the Ukrainian course.
In short
| Written in Ukrainian | не чіпайте |
| Translation | do not touch |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | A2 |
Why it looks that way
From chipaty, "to touch". To one person informally: ne chipai. Said over hot dishes everywhere.
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.
- Не чіпайте, це гарячеDo not touch, it is hot
Nearby words: phrases that save you
“I don't understand”, “say that again”, “slower, please”, “help”. They are learned first for a reason: they bring back a conversation that has already gone wrong.
- я не розуміюI do not understandStress on the last syllable: ne-rozu-MI-yu. Dropping the "I" is even more natural: ne rozumiyu, plus vybachte — "excuse me".
- повторіть, будь ласкаrepeat, pleaseFrom povtoryty, "to repeat" — hear the "repeat" inside. If you caught nothing at all, a puzzled shcho? — "what?" — also works.
- повільнішеmore slowlyThe comparative of povilno, "slowly" — "slowlier", if English had such a word. A word you will genuinely use every day.
- чи говорите англійською?do you speak English?The little word chy at the start turns any sentence into a yes-no question — Ukrainian has no separate word for "whether" or a helping "do".
- допоможіть!help!From dopomahaty, "to help", and pomich is "help". The ambulance is shvydka dopomoha — "quick help" — the phrase to recognize on sight.
- я загубивсяI am lostFrom zahubyty, "to lose". A woman says ya zahubylasya — the past tense records the speaker's gender in its ending.
- зачекайте хвилинкуwait a minuteThe everyday verb for waiting is chekaty; its bookish cousin with zh sounds stiff. Khvylynku is the small form of khvylina, a minute — softened for politeness.
- я не можу відчинитиI cannot open itPrecisely vidchynyty: a door is the object here. Vidkryty would suit a book or a secret — a book and a secret each take their own opening verb.
- мені потрібен лікарI need a doctorPotrizhen, "needed", comes from treba, "it is necessary" — but made personal. For a woman doctor: potribna likarka.
- обережноbe carefulOn signs you will more often see UVAGA! — "attention!" — but the meaning is the same: stop and look first.
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “phrases that save you”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “do not touch” in Ukrainian?
From chipaty, "to touch". To one person informally: ne chipai. Said over hot dishes everywhere.
- How do you say “wait a minute” in Ukrainian?
The everyday verb for waiting is chekaty; its bookish cousin with zh sounds stiff. Khvylynku is the small form of khvylina, a minute — softened for politeness.
- How do you say “more slowly” in Ukrainian?
The comparative of povilno, "slowly" — "slowlier", if English had such a word. A word you will genuinely use every day.
- How do you say “be careful” in Ukrainian?
On signs you will more often see UVAGA! — "attention!" — but the meaning is the same: stop and look first.
- How do you say “I am lost” in Ukrainian?
From zahubyty, "to lose". A woman says ya zahubylasya — the past tense records the speaker's gender in its ending.
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 “do not touch” in Ukrainian?
«не чіпайте». In a live sentence: “Не чіпайте, це гаряче” — Do not touch, it is hot. Phrase, level A2, from the set “phrases that save you”.
Why does this word look the way it does?
From chipaty, "to touch". To one person informally: ne chipai. Said over hot dishes everywhere. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.