виносити сміття
“виносити сміття” — to take out the trash in Ukrainian. Phrase, level A2, topic — home and things. Smit tia is trash, from the same sweeping family. The bins are sorted, and sortu vaty, to sort, is the verb the whole system runs on. In a live sentence: “Виносити сміття — обовʼязок молодшого” — Who takes out the trash in your house? One of 255 words in the set “home and things” in the Ukrainian course.
In short
| Written in Ukrainian | виносити сміття |
| Translation | to take out the trash |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | A2 |
Why it looks that way
Smit tia is trash, from the same sweeping family. The bins are sorted, and sortu vaty, to sort, is the verb the whole system runs on.
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.
- Виносити сміття — обовʼязок молодшогоWho takes out the trash in your house?
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 “to take out the trash” in Ukrainian?
Smit tia is trash, from the same sweeping family. The bins are sorted, and sortu vaty, to sort, is the verb the whole system runs on.
- 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 “to take out the trash” in Ukrainian?
«виносити сміття». In a live sentence: “Виносити сміття — обовʼязок молодшого” — Who takes out the trash in your house? Phrase, level A2, from the set “home and things”.
Why does this word look the way it does?
Smit tia is trash, from the same sweeping family. The bins are sorted, and sortu vaty, to sort, is the verb the whole system runs on. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.