Lingoflyзаднім числом
- заднім числомzadnim chyslomretroactively
“заднім числом” (zadnim chyslom) — retroactively in Ukrainian. Phrase, level B1, topic — time, days and hours. The same picture the English idiom draws: chyslo, a date, in its with-form chyslom, with zadnim, the back one, in front of it. In a live sentence: “Наказ підписали заднім числом” (Nakaz pidpysaly zadnim chyslom) — The order was signed retroactively. Written with the characters з (z), а (a), д, н, і (i), м, ч, и, с, л, о (o), м.
In short
| Written in Ukrainian | заднім числом (zadnim chyslom) |
| Read in Latin letters | zadnim chyslom |
| Translation | retroactively |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | B1 |
Why it looks that way
The same picture the English idiom draws: chyslo, a date, in its with-form chyslom, with zadnim, the back one, in front of it.
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.
- Наказ підписали заднім числомNakaz pidpysaly zadnim chyslomThe order was signed retroactively
Nearby words: time, days and hours
Today, tomorrow, in the morning, at six. You cannot arrange to meet without these — let alone understand the answer.
- хвилинаkhvylynaminuteA word all its own — no "minute" inside. After five it shortens: pyat khvylyn, the counting form every number demands.
- годинаhodynahourThe great false friend of the course: hodyna is an HOUR, not a year. A year is rik. Skilky hodyn? — "how many hours?" Keep them apart at all costs.
- сьогодніsohodnitodaySaid "siohodni", stress in the middle. A word that appears in every second sentence of daily speech — worth over-learning.
- завтраzavtratomorrowZavtra bude doshch — "tomorrow there will be rain". The little helper bude, "will be", is the future of buty, which you just met.
- деньdendayThe vowels jump around as the word bends: den, dnia, dniu. It covers both a day of the month and the daylight part of the day.
- ранокranokmorning (time of day)A word you just have to own. Z ranku means "in the morning", shchoranku "every morning" — the same root ran- inside all of them.
- вечірvechireveningSaid "vechyr". Keep it apart from vecherya, "supper": one ending separates the time of day from the meal you eat in it.
- нічnichnightSaid "nich", with the ch of "church". Vnochi means "at night" — the form looks nothing like the base word, but you will hear it every day.
- вчораvchorayesterdayStarts with a v — do not drop it. The day before yesterday doubles the prefix: pozavchora, exactly like "the day before yesterday".
- рікrikyearWatch the cousin word: richka is "river", one letter apart. The year itself wobbles as it bends: rik, rokiv — the vowel runs.
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “time, days and hours”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “retroactively” in Ukrainian?
The same picture the English idiom draws: chyslo, a date, in its with-form chyslom, with zadnim, the back one, in front of it.
- How do you say “evening” in Ukrainian?
Said "vechyr". Keep it apart from vecherya, "supper": one ending separates the time of day from the meal you eat in it.
- How do you say “today” in Ukrainian?
Said "siohodni", stress in the middle. A word that appears in every second sentence of daily speech — worth over-learning.
- How do you say “year” in Ukrainian?
Watch the cousin word: richka is "river", one letter apart. The year itself wobbles as it bends: rik, rokiv — the vowel runs.
- How do you say “morning (time of day)” in Ukrainian?
A word you just have to own. Z ranku means "in the morning", shchoranku "every morning" — the same root ran- inside all of them.
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 “retroactively” in Ukrainian?
«заднім числом» (zadnim chyslom), read “zadnim chyslom”. In a live sentence: “Наказ підписали заднім числом” (Nakaz pidpysaly zadnim chyslom) — The order was signed retroactively. Phrase, level B1, from the set “time, days and hours”; written with the characters з (z), а (a), д, н, і (i), м, ч, и, с, л, о (o), м.
How is “заднім числом” (zadnim chyslom) written in Latin letters?
zadnim chyslom. This is a practical spelling — you need it to read aloud and be understood, not to meet an academic standard.
Why does this word look the way it does?
The same picture the English idiom draws: chyslo, a date, in its with-form chyslom, with zadnim, the back one, in front of it. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.