Lingoflyзавести сімʼю
- завести сімʼюzavesty simiuto start a family
“завести сімʼю” (zavesty simiu) — to start a family in Ukrainian. Phrase, level B1, topic — people and family. The family-word breaks with an apostrophe after m — the syllables snap apart in writing. An alternative verb says "to create a family". In a live sentence: “Вони встигли завести сімʼю до тридцяти” (Vony vstyhly zavesty simiu do trydtsiaty) — They managed to start a family before thirty. Written with the characters з (z), а (a), в (v), е, с, т, и, с, і (i), м, ю.
In short
| Written in Ukrainian | завести сімʼю (zavesty simiu) |
| Read in Latin letters | zavesty simiu |
| Translation | to start a family |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | B1 |
Why it looks that way
The family-word breaks with an apostrophe after m — the syllables snap apart in writing. An alternative verb says "to create a family".
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.
- Вони встигли завести сімʼю до тридцятиVony vstyhly zavesty simiu do trydtsiatyThey managed to start a family before thirty
Nearby words: people and family
Mum, friend, child, neighbour. The first thing people ask you about, and the first thing you tell about yourself.
- сімʼяsimiafamilyWritten with an apostrophe: sim-ya, two sounds, not "si-mya". The everyday word is exactly this one — five people, one simya.
- батькоbatkofatherBatky are parents, both of them — not a plural of one dad. The cozy word for dad is tato, a small child word like "dad".
- мамаmamamomThe everyday word for mom. Calling her you use the special calling form: mamo! — Ukrainian has a whole case just for addressing people.
- дитинаdytynachildThe 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.
- хлопецьkhlopetsguyBoth "a boy" and "a boyfriend" — context decides. Khloptsi, the plural, is what a group of friends calls itself, like "the guys".
- другdruhfriendCalling a friend by name, Ukrainian uses a special addressing form: druzhe! It is the same calling form as mamo! from mama.
- людинаliudynapersonA big pair to keep apart: liudyna is "a person, a human", cholovik is "a man". Plural: liudy — people.
- чоловікcholovikmanBoth "man" and "husband" — and never just "person". On toilet doors this is exactly the word you will read.
- жінкаzhinkawomanA wife is a separate word: druzhyna. Zhinka is any woman — the same root, a wider job.
- юнакyunakyoung manBookish and a little solemn; in live speech people say khlopets instead, the everyday word for "guy". Both point to the same lad.
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 “to start a family” in Ukrainian?
The family-word breaks with an apostrophe after m — the syllables snap apart in writing. An alternative verb says "to create a family".
- How do you say “person” in Ukrainian?
A big pair to keep apart: liudyna is "a person, a human", cholovik is "a man". Plural: liudy — people.
- How do you say “mom” in Ukrainian?
The everyday word for mom. Calling her you use the special calling form: mamo! — Ukrainian has a whole case just for addressing people.
- How do you say “young man” in Ukrainian?
Bookish and a little solemn; in live speech people say khlopets instead, the everyday word for "guy". Both point to the same lad.
- How do you say “friend” in Ukrainian?
Calling a friend by name, Ukrainian uses a special addressing form: druzhe! It is the same calling form as mamo! from mama.
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 start a family” in Ukrainian?
«завести сімʼю» (zavesty simiu), read “zavesty simiu”. In a live sentence: “Вони встигли завести сімʼю до тридцяти” (Vony vstyhly zavesty simiu do trydtsiaty) — They managed to start a family before thirty. Phrase, level B1, from the set “people and family”; written with the characters з (z), а (a), в (v), е, с, т, и, с, і (i), м, ю.
How is “завести сімʼю” (zavesty simiu) written in Latin letters?
zavesty simiu. 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 family-word breaks with an apostrophe after m — the syllables snap apart in writing. An alternative verb says "to create a family". A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.