підвал
“підвал” — basement in Ukrainian. Noun, level B1, topic — home and things. Built as under-hollow: pid-, under, plus val. A wine cellar may also be called pidval, though the older word pohrib still lives for the cellar proper. In a live sentence: “У підвалі зберігають картоплю” — It is cold in the basement. One of 255 words in the set “home and things” in the Ukrainian course.
In short
| Written in Ukrainian | підвал |
| Translation | basement |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | B1 |
Why it looks that way
Built as under-hollow: pid-, under, plus val. A wine cellar may also be called pidval, though the older word pohrib still lives for the cellar proper.
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.
- У підвалі зберігають картоплюIt is cold in the basement
Nearby words: home and things
Room, key, water, electricity. You will need them on your first day in a rented flat.
- дімhouseSaid "deem", with a long i. Doma, "at home", becomes vdoma — one small word, and the preposition v grows onto the front of it.
- квартираapartmentThe same word as flat or apartment. A floor is poverkh and the floor you walk on is pidloha — one English word splits in two here.
- житлоlodgingThe word of rental ads: zdaetsia zhytlo — "lodging for rent". In live conversation people just say kvartyra.
- кімнатаroomApartments are counted by rooms: dvokimnatna kvartyra — a two-room apartment, said in one breath.
- кухняkitchenThe cook is a kukhar — same nest, one letter more. He will reappear in the lesson about jobs.
- ванна кімнатаbathroomThe room, not the tub — though the same word does both jobs. The toilet lives separately and is called tualet: no surprises there.
- балконbalconyRental ads write z balkonom — "with a balcony" — and that with-phrase adds to the price. A balcony counts here.
- поверхfloor (storey)Floors count from one: pershyi poverkh. Nothing borrowed from any "floor" you know — just memorize its shape.
- ліфтelevatorSaid "lyft". When it fails — lift ne pratsiuie — you get the phrase from the next lesson for free.
- сходиstairsAlways plural — many steps, one word. Skhody vverity lead up; the elevator being broken makes them personal.
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “home and things”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “basement” in Ukrainian?
Built as under-hollow: pid-, under, plus val. A wine cellar may also be called pidval, though the older word pohrib still lives for the cellar proper.
- How do you say “balcony” in Ukrainian?
Rental ads write z balkonom — "with a balcony" — and that with-phrase adds to the price. A balcony counts here.
- How do you say “lodging” in Ukrainian?
The word of rental ads: zdaetsia zhytlo — "lodging for rent". In live conversation people just say kvartyra.
- How do you say “stairs” in Ukrainian?
Always plural — many steps, one word. Skhody vverity lead up; the elevator being broken makes them personal.
- How do you say “bathroom” in Ukrainian?
The room, not the tub — though the same word does both jobs. The toilet lives separately and is called tualet: no surprises there.
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 “basement” in Ukrainian?
«підвал». In a live sentence: “У підвалі зберігають картоплю” — It is cold in the basement. Noun, level B1, from the set “home and things”.
Why does this word look the way it does?
Built as under-hollow: pid-, under, plus val. A wine cellar may also be called pidval, though the older word pohrib still lives for the cellar proper. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.