Home and things in Ukrainian

255 words on the topic

• дім

  dim

  house

  Said "deem", with a long i. Doma, "at home", becomes vdoma — one small word, and the preposition v grows onto the front of it.
• квартира

  kvartyra

  apartment

  The 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.
• житло

  zhytlo

  lodging

  The word of rental ads: zdaetsia zhytlo — "lodging for rent". In live conversation people just say kvartyra.
• кімната

  kimnata

  room

  Apartments are counted by rooms: dvokimnatna kvartyra — a two-room apartment, said in one breath.
• кухня

  kukhnia

  kitchen

  The cook, who rules over it, is a kukhar — same nest, one letter more.
• ванна кімната

  vanna kimnata

  bathroom

  The room, not the tub — though the same word does both jobs. The toilet lives separately and is called tualet: no surprises there.
• балкон

  balkon

  balcony

  Rental ads write z balkonom — "with a balcony" — and that with-phrase adds to the price. A balcony counts here.
• поверх

  poverkh

  floor (storey)

  Floors count from one: pershyi poverkh. Nothing like "floor" inside — just memorize its shape.
• ліфт

  lift

  elevator

  Said "lyft". When it fails, the phrase is lift ne pratsiuie — "the elevator is not working".
• сходи

  skhody

  stairs

  Always plural — many steps, one word. Skhody vverity lead up; the elevator being broken makes them personal.
• стіл

  stil

  table

  Half of the furniture trap: stil is a TABLE. The other half is stilets, a chair — one ending apart, worlds apart. Na stili: on the table.
• стілець

  stilets

  chair

  Literally "a little table" — built from stil, "table", with the diminutive suffix -ets. The other half of the trap: stilets is a CHAIR, and a table is stil.
• ліжко

  lizhko

  bed

  Kin to English "lair" and "lie" — the lying-down word. The borrowed krevat exists in books, but at home it is lizhko.
• шафа

  shafa

  wardrobe

  A built-in one is vbudovana shafa — and every Ukrainian stairwell seems to have one. The word is its own; nothing borrowed.
• вікно

  vikno

  window

  An i where you would guess an o — vikno. It bends with a vowel jump too: u vikni, "in the window".
• двері

  dveri

  door

  Always plural, even for one door — like "the doors are closed" about a single door: dveri zakryti.
• ключ

  kliuch

  key

  A key to a door and a key to a riddle — the same word, the same trick as English. A spring of water is a different word entirely.
• лампа

  lampa

  lamp

  The same lamp as everywhere in Europe. Light in general is svitlo, a separate word worth knowing too.
• гаряча вода

  hariacha voda

  hot water

  Hariacha is its own word for "hot to the touch". For hot weather the language switches to spekotno — two kinds of heat, two words.
• електрика

  elektryka

  electricity

  The bill writes it this way: rakhunok za elektryku, "the bill for electricity" — and it arrives every single month.
• сміття

  smittia

  garbage

  The bin is smitnyk, and sorting is taken seriously here. The word is native and short; just plant it.
• прибирання

  prybyrannia

  cleaning

  From prybiraty, "to tidy" — the same verb tidies a room and sorts out affairs. Saturday is its day.
• прання

  prannia

  laundry

  From praty, "to wash clothes" — the noun for the ongoing chore. The washing machine, pralna mashyna, carries the same root front and center.
• посуд

  posud

  dishes

  Almost the international word, just missing the final vowel. Pomyty posud — "to wash the dishes" — the standing evening chore.
• рушник

  rushnyk

  towel

  Also the embroidered rushnyk on the wall — cloth for everything clean, ritual and kitchen alike. One word, one culture.
• мило

  mylo

  soap

  Stress up front: MYlo. Do not confuse it with mylo said of a person — "nice, sweet" — same spelling, different word.
• сусід

  susid

  neighbor

  The letters shifted from anything guessable: susid. A female neighbor is susidka — one ending does the whole job.
• власник квартири

  vlasnyk kvartyry

  landlord

  From vlasnyi, "own": the landlord is the own-er of the apartment. Speech often says hospodar, but in the contract you will read vlasnyk.
• оренда

  orenda

  rent

  A Latin-born word, cousin of "rendition" ideas. Orenduvaty is "to rent" — rental ads are full of it.
• ремонт

  remont

  repairs

  Fixing a faucet and renovating a whole flat answer to the same word — context stretches it from a washer to a wrecking ball.
• гамірно

  hamirno

  noisy

  From hamir, a din and a hubbub. The noun is ordinary everyday vocabulary here, not a colorful slang word — the courtyard in the evening simply is hamirno.
• не працює

  ne pratsiuie

  it does not work

  Pratsiuvaty is to work; ne goes in front and the machine is dead. About a device and about a person — one phrase, context decides.
• зламалося

  zlamalosia

  it broke down

  The reflexive tail is written solid onto the verb. Note the a in the stem: lamaty is the base verb, and the past form keeps that a — zlamalosia.
• тече

  teche

  it leaks

  From tekti, to flow. For a dripping tap or a leaky ceiling people just say it flows — no prefix, no special verb for plumbing troubles.
• викличте майстра

  vyklychte maistra

  call a repairman

  From vyklykaty, "to call out". A maister is any skilled pair of hands — plumber, electrician, handyman — one word covers the trade.
• коли ви прийдете?

  koly vy pryidete?

  when will you come?

  Koly is "when". The politeness sits in vy and the ending -te — the same respectful plural English shows with "you".
• холодильник

  kholodylnyk

  fridge

  Built from "kholod", cold — the cold-thing. The milk is in the fridge, and so is everything else.
• дах

  dakh

  roof

  Akin to German Dach. In fast speech do not confuse it with dam, "I will give".
• стіна

  stina

  wall

  The same ancient wall-word family as English stone relatives, with an i where you expect another vowel. Pictures hang on it: na stini.
• спальня

  spalnia

  bedroom

  From spaty, to sleep: the sleeping room, with the same -nia place-ending. The living room is vitalnia — from vitaty, to greet.
• двір

  dvir

  yard

  Closed syllable with i: dvir, opening up in the of-form — dvoru, u dvori. Close in sound to dveri, the door, so mind the spelling.
• стеля

  stelia

  ceiling

  From stelyty, to spread or lay — the ceiling as the thing spread above you. The pair to remember: vid pidlohy do steli, from floor to ceiling.
• ворота

  vorota

  gate

  Always plural, exactly like the English word — no singular exists. The same vorota guards the football net, so the sports sense comes free.
• паркан

  parkan

  fence

  An old borrowing, arriving via Polish from German — the everyday fence around a yard, usually wooden and repainted almost every year. A fresh shape; learn it whole.
• гараж

  harazh

  garage

  The international word, stressed on the second syllable like English. An underground parking in an apartment building is also a harazh — same word on every rental listing.
• поштова скринька

  poshtova skrynka

  mailbox

  Literally a postal little-chest: skrynia is a chest, so the mailbox is a small chest for letters. Your email inbox is also a skrynka — same metaphor, newer mail.
• підвал

  pidval

  basement

  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.
• мити посуд

  myty posud

  to wash the dishes

  Word for word like English, with myty, to wash, from your kitchen words. The dishwasher is a posudomyika — a dish-washer, built exactly the way you would build it.
• підмітати

  pidmitaty

  to sweep

  From mitla, the broom — the sweeping verb grew its own root. The yard gets swept with it, and for the dvirnyk it is the main verb of the trade.
• прати

  praty

  to wash clothes

  Praty is the laundry verb — styraty would erase writing, not clean sweaters. From it come prannia, the washing, and pralnia, the laundromat.
• прасувати

  prasuvaty

  to iron (clothes)

  Clothes are prasuiut, but a person you hladysh — the petting verb never touches an iron. One verb for linen, another for strokes.
• готувати вечерю

  hotuvaty vecheriu

  to cook dinner

  Vecheria is the evening meal, not the evening — the evening is vechir, the day's biggest false friend. Hotuvaty means "to cook"; now the meal has its name.
• виносити сміття

  vynosyty smittia

  to take out the trash

  Smittia is trash, from the same sweeping family. The bins are sorted, and sortuvaty, to sort, is the verb the whole system runs on.
• пилосос

  pylosos

  vacuum cleaner

  Built exactly like the old English word dust-sucker: pyl, dust, plus sosaty, to suck. The verb is simply pylososyty — honest, see-through construction.
• щітка

  shchitka

  brush

  The everyday word for a brush, with the special letter shch at the start. A toothbrush is a zubna shchitka — pairs assemble just the way you would hope.
• відро

  vidro

  bucket

  Same family as the English word for water-carrier, one letter off — and an eye-trap: vidro, bucket, is not vikno, window. One letter changes the whole room.
• праска

  praska

  iron (for clothes)

  The homegrown word for the appliance — a fresh shape. It anchors a whole family: prasuvaty, to iron, prasuvalna doshka, the ironing board.
• допомагати

  dopomahaty

  to help

  Do- plus pomahaty — helping goes with the toward-form of the person: dopomahaiu mami, I help mother. One helper, one little ending, done.
• зачини двері

  zachyny dveri

  to close the door

  A door is zachyniaiut, not shut with the everyday verb — the same word behind zachyneno on shop signs. Dveri is always plural.
• відчини вікно

  vidchyny vikno

  to open the window

  The partner of zachyny dveri: windows and doors are vidchyniaiut, while a book you would open with vidkryty. Two opening verbs — flaps and covers.
• подай мені

  podai meni

  hand me

  A short command, and meni, to me, follows the verb right away — the same rhythm as hand-me. Polite version: podaite meni, bud laska.
• тихіше, будь ласка

  tykhishe, bud laska

  quieter, please

  The comparative ends in -ishe: tyshe, povilnishe, teplishe — one recipe for every "a bit more" plea, from silence to warmth.
• винаймати квартиру

  vynaimaty kvartyru

  to rent an apartment

  From naimaty, to hire: an apartment is hired, not "taken off" anyone. The person doing it is naimach — the lease word is built right in.
• здавати квартиру

  zdavaty kvartyru

  to let out an apartment

  One verb, two directions: people "zdayut" an exam and an apartment alike. The ad is short — "zdam kvartyru", I am letting one — the first line of every listing.
• договір оренди

  dohovir orendy

  rental agreement

  "Orenda" is renting, and "dohovir" is a contract — here the two words finally meet. The parties are "orendodavets" and "orendar": who lets and who rents.
• орендна плата

  orendna plata

  rent (payment)

  Paid by the fifth of the month, separate from the utilities bill, "komunalnyi rakhunok". People just ask: "skilky orenda?"
• термін оренди

  termin orendy

  lease term

  Termin again means a stretch of time. To extend is prodovzhyty, from dovghyi, long — renewing a lease is, literally, making it longer.
• рієлтор

  riieltor

  realtor

  The ie pair reads "ye": riieltor. The fee is komisiia riieltora — the whole transaction vocabulary arrives with the same borrowed spelling.
• огляд квартири

  ohliad kvartyry

  apartment viewing

  From "hliadity", to look — a "perehliad" is a viewing of a flat and of a film with the same word. In Kyiv a dozen people show up for one viewing.
• квартира з меблями

  kvartyra z mebliamy

  furnished apartment

  "Mebli" is always plural — that is the headline news. Ads say "z mebliamy", furnished, "chastkovo z mebliamy", partly, and "bez mebliv", empty.
• вʼїхати

  vikhaty

  to move in

  The apostrophe is not optional: v plus the yi letter needs a divider between them. The driveway sense lives in viizd, the entrance.
• зʼїхати

  zikhaty

  to move out

  The same apostrophe rule as its cousins: ziikhaty, ziizd, ziisty. One prefix, one divider — once you hear the pattern, moving vans make sense.
• переїзд

  pereizd

  moving (to a new home)

  The same "izd" as in "poizd", a train — the letter with two dots is read yi. A railway crossing is also "pereizd".
• переїжджати

  pereizhdzhaty

  to relocate

  On paper it is long; in the mouth the zhd fuses into one doubled dzh sound. The move itself, pereizd, is the short word everyone uses.
• вантажник

  vantazhnyk

  mover (laborer)

  "Vantazh" is cargo, and "vantazhivka", the truck, shares the root. There is no separate word for the person — an ad simply asks for "vantazhnyky".
• запакувати

  zapakuvaty

  to pack up

  The prefix "za-" closes things: to pack is to close the box. "Paket", the bag from the shop, is the same root doing the packing.
• розпакувати

  rozpakuvaty

  to unpack

  "Roz-" takes apart what "za-" put together — the prefixes work as a pair throughout the language. After a move, boxes wait unpacked for weeks.
• нова адреса

  nova adresa

  new address

  The gender trap: "adresa" is feminine, so it takes "nova", not "novyi". You already wrote an address on an envelope — now you can say it too.
• перевезення речей

  perevezennia rechei

  moving of belongings

  "Rechi" are the things you already packed for a trip. "Perevezennia" comes from "perevesty", to carry across, and covers passenger transport too.
• облаштуватися

  oblashtuvatysia

  to settle in

  Inside is "lashtuvaty", to arrange — a living root that also gives "oblashtuvannia", the settling-in itself. You do it in a flat and at a new job with the same word.
• звикнути до нового місця

  zvyknuty do novoho mistsia

  to get used to a new place

  The prefix is z-, and the preposition is do: zvyknuty do chohos. The habit itself is zvychka — know the family and the phrase assembles itself.
• меблі

  mebli

  furniture

  Always plural — "novi mebli", "kupyty mebli" — the word has no singular form at all. Learn it as a plural-only noun, like "scissors".
• диван

  dyvan

  couch

  A fold-out couch is "rozkladnyi dyvan", and sleeping on it is "spaty na dyvani" — the everyday guest bed of every home.
• крісло

  krislo

  armchair

  One i in the root is the whole difference. But a seat in a cinema or on a plane is "mistse", not "krislo" — the word used on tickets.
• полиця

  polytsia

  shelf

  A bookshelf is "knyzhkova polytsia", and the whole tall unit is a "stelazh".
• килим

  kylym

  carpet

  A little one by the door is a "kylymok", the affectionate form — and you will hear it in every home: "wipe your feet on the kylymok".
• дзеркало

  dzerkalo

  mirror

  Starts with dz, one buzzing sound, as in dzvin, a bell. The rear-view mirror is "dzerkalo zadannoho vydu".
• штора

  shtora

  drapes

  A light curtain is a "zaviska", a heavy one a "shtora" — the curtain rod is "karniz", and it holds curtains and pictures alike.
• подушка

  podushka

  pillow

  An airbag in a car is "podushka bezpeky", a safety pillow, with the same word. The pillowcase is navolochka.
• ковдра

  kovdra

  blanket (duvet)

  The duvet cover is "pidkovdra" — literally "under-the-kovdra" — so the pair memorizes itself in one second.
• люстра

  liustra

  ceiling lamp

  In speech people just say "svitlo": "uvimkny svitlo", switch on the light. A desk lamp is a "nastilna lampa".
• фарба

  farba

  paint

  To paint is "farbuvaty" — the same root carries both. Paint comes in "banky", cans, and a room needs two of them.
• фарбувати стіни

  farbuvaty stiny

  to paint the walls

  The same verb dyes hair — the language does not split those two "paintings". The brush is a "penzel", the roller a "valyk".
• шпалери

  shpalery

  wallpaper

  Always plural, like the furniture word. You "kleite shpalery", glue them on — and in Ukraine people paint more often than they paper.
• плитка

  plytka

  tile

  You lay it — "klasty plytku". No bathroom or kitchen escapes it, and the word travels everywhere hand in hand with "farba".
• викрутка

  vykrutka

  screwdriver

  From "vykruchuvaty", to twist out — the tool named by its action. A screw is a "shurup", but a nail is a "tsviah", a word all its own.
• дриль

  dryl

  drill

  Feminine: "drill", "drilliuiu" — with the drill. Drilling on Sunday is not done — neighbors will mention the "tykhi hodyny", the quiet hours.
• труба

  truba

  pipe

  One word for the water pipe and the brass horn alike. A burst is announced as "the truba burst" — plumbing and music share the noun, context decides.
• перегоріла лампочка

  perehorila lampochka

  a light bulb burned out

  The prefix "pere-" carries the burning-through, and "lampochka" is the affectionate little lamp. Replacing it is "zaminity lampochku".
• опалення

  opalennia

  heating

  From "palyty", to burn or stoke — heating is literally the stoking. The radiator is "radiator", and underfloor heating is "tepla pidloha" — winter words worth having.
• зробити ремонт

  zrobyty remont

  to do renovations

  "Remont" is also what you call a repairman for — same word, bigger scale. "Zrobyty" is to do or make: renovations, an order, anything.
• лічильник

  lichylnyk

  utility meter

  From "lichyty", to count — the thing that counts. The water meter is "lichylnyk vody", the electric one "elektrolichylnyk", and you report it monthly.
• показники лічильника

  pokaznyky lichylnyka

  meter readings

  "Pokaznyky" are the readings, sent once a month through a site or an app. The second word is just the meter bent into the "of" form.
• рахунок за воду

  rakhunok za vodu

  water bill

  The same rakhunok as the cafe check and the bank account — one word for everything anyone bills you for. Za simply names what the money buys.
• рахунок за електрику

  rakhunok za elektryku

  electricity bill

  Elektryka is shorter than the English noun and a she-word at that. The bill arrives separately, and the phrase for it stays two words long.
• вимкнули воду

  vymknuly vodu

  the water was cut off

  The same vymknuty that switches off the television — light, water, sound, one verb switches them all. Utility notices read like remote-control buttons.
• сміттєвий бак

  smittievyi bak

  garbage bin

  From smittia, garbage, with the -ievyi adjective ending. The chute is smittieprovid and the bin-room is smitnyk — the waste family in three words.
• підʼїзд

  pidizd

  building entrance

  The apostrophe in the middle is required — it separates the two vowels like a tiny gate. In an address you say "pidizd dva", entrance two.
• домофон

  domofon

  intercom

  The buzzer on it is the same "dzvinok" as a doorbell or phone ring. "Poddzvonyty v domofon" — to ring the intercom — takes the same preposition as expected.
• шум від сусідів

  shum vid susidiv

  noise from the neighbors

  "Susid" is simply the word for neighbor. Quiet hours run from ten at night to six in the morning, and the complaint phrase is "meni zavazhaie shum".
• правила будинку

  pravyla budynku

  building rules

  Budynok is the apartment block; dim is home as family and hearth. The rules hang in the budynok, so the phrase picks the building word.
• духовка

  dukhovka

  oven

  Preheat the oven is rozihrity dukhovka — the phrase every recipe starts with. A folksier spelling dukhivka exists, but the manual on your appliance says dukhovka.
• мікрохвильовка

  mikrokhvylovka

  microwave

  The physics is in the word: khvylia is "a wave", so this is literally a micro-wave oven. The full name, mikrokhvylova pich, is for manuals.
• тертка

  tertka

  grater

  Built on terty, "to grate": the tool is named straight from the action. The phrase for grating cheese reuses the same root: naterty.
• ополоник

  opolonyk

  ladle

  The deep spoon of the kitchen, named honestly. A long word, but it stands at every soup pot in the country, so it earns its syllables.
• кришка

  kryshka

  lid

  From kryty, "to cover": a lid is "the covering". Cover the pot with the lid — nakryi kastryliu kryshkoiu — the with-form does exactly what "with" does.
• дошка для нарізання

  doshka dlia narizannia

  cutting board

  A plank and its job: doshka is any board, and dlia narizannia says "for slicing". A purpose phrase instead of a fancy adjective.
• фартух

  fartukh

  apron

  An old borrowed word, ending in a firm kh. Masculine: nadity fartukh — put on the apron — the first commandment of any flour-based cooking.
• скатертина

  skatertyna

  tablecloth

  The thing you spread on the table, from "to spread or lay". The diminutive skatertynka lives in stories about grandmothers' kitchens — and on real ones too.
• блендер

  blender

  blender

  International, stress on the first syllable: BLEN-der. An immersion blender is a zanuriiuvalnyi blender — "diving blender" — a description longer than the appliance.
• контейнер для їжі

  konteiner dlia yizhi

  food container

  Izha is "food", born fromisty, "to eat" — and the two-dotted i reads as "yi". Same recipe as the board next door: container for food.
• гребінець

  hrebinets

  comb

  A comb as a little raker: the root hreb- means "to rake, to row", and -ets is the same small-agent ending you see in job titles.
• бритва

  brytva

  razor

  From bryty, "to shave" — the tool named by its verb. A disposable razor is a odnorazova brytva, an honest disposable description.
• шампунь

  shampun

  shampoo

  Ends in a soft sign, masculine gender. Hair conditioner is a balzam dlia volOssia — "balm for hair" — built like your "balm".
• ножиці

  nozhytsi

  scissors

  From nizh, "knife": nozhytsi are "little knives", plural only — the same always-pair grammar as English scissors. Pass me the scissors: podai nozhytsi.
• голка

  holka

  sewing needle

  The eye of the needle is the ushko holky — the "little ear", the same tender metaphor as English. Thread is a nytka, its inseparable partner.
• нитка

  nytka

  thread

  Stress on the first syllable: NYT-ka. I need a white thread and a needle.
• викинути

  vykynuty

  to throw out

  From kynuty, "to throw": vykynuty is to throw out or away. Taking out the trash is the same verb — vykynuty smittia — one word for the whole chore.
• зберігати

  zberihaty

  to store

  Born from berehty, "to keep safe" — the verb you use for keeping a receipt. Its noun zberihannia is "storage", as on left-luggage signs.
• пральна машина

  pralna mashyna

  washing machine

  From praty, "to launder": pralna mashyna is literally "the laundering machine". The machine has been washing for two hours — it praie — its own verb at work.
• посудомийна машина

  posudomyina mashyna

  dishwasher

  Posudomyina — "dish-washing" — from posud, dishes, and myty, to wash. At home people shorten it to posudomyika, because nobody has breath for the full name.
• морозильник

  morozylnyk

  freezer (compartment)

  From moroz, "frost": the freezer is the frost-box. Do not confuse it with the kholodylnyk, the fridge — two appliances, two temperatures, two words.
• вентилятор

  ventyliator

  fan (electric)

  International, stressed on the lia: ven-ty-LIA-tor. An air conditioner is a kondytsioner — longer, calmer, and more expensive.
• обігрівач

  obihrivach

  heater

  The -ach ending is a machine-maker: the switch and the heater share it. Built on hrity, "to warm", with ob- saying "around".
• фен

  fen

  hair dryer

  One syllable, borrowed from a brand name long ago. In a shop ask for a fen dlia volOssia — "a fen for hair" — and the shelf finds itself.
• подовжувач

  podovzhuvach

  extension cord

  From dOvhyi, "long": an extension cord is a "lengthener". The socket is a rozetka — a word as round and friendly as the hole it names.
• вимикач

  vymykach

  light switch

  From vymknuty, "to switch off": the switch is named for its job, not its shape. The light switch by the door: vymykach svitla v dvEri.
• шуруп

  shurup

  screw

  A German borrowing, like so much of the toolbox. A nail is a tsviakh, a screwdriver is a vykrutka — each tool its own name, none shared.
• гайковий ключ

  haikovyi kliuch

  wrench

  From haika, "nut": the wrench is "the nut key". Kliuch alone is a door key — in a toolbox you must say the whole phrase or get the wrong tool.
• плоскогубці

  ploskohubtsi

  pliers

  Flat plus pinch, plural only — jaws that pinch flat. The workshop also knows them under a second, borrowed name.
• ізолента

  izolenta

  insulating tape

  From izoliatsiia, "insulation": izolenta is insulating tape, the electrician's duct tape. Strichka is tape in general; izolenta is the black sticky specific.
• клей

  klei

  glue

  From kleity, "to glue" — noun and verb, same three letters. Superglue is superklei, borrowed and bolted on, exactly as you would predict.
• скотч

  skotch

  sticky tape

  The borrowed word, said exactly as the brand. The native name is kliika strichka, "gluey ribbon" — the same strichka that runs a news feed.
• мотузка

  motuzka

  rope

  From motatyy, "to wind": a rope is "the windable thing" — the laundry line is a motuzka dlia bilizni. The verb and the noun share one winding motion.
• приклеїти

  prykleity

  to stick on

  Klei, "glue", sits inside with yi packed in front of the ending. Turn the prefix around and the handle comes unglued all by itself.
• закрутити

  zakrutyty

  to screw in tight

  From krutity, "to turn": zakrutytyy is to twist shut, done. To unscrew is vykrutity — out. The prefixes do all the directions.
• виміряти

  vymiriaty

  to measure

  From mira, "measure": vy-miriatiy is to measure out. A tape measure is a ruletka — borrowed, round, and indispensable. Measure the width of the door first.
• лагодити своїми руками

  lahodyty svoimy rukamy

  to fix things with your own hands

  Lahodyty is the repair word, and there is no shortcut for it — it has to be learned as itself. The tools are your own two hands, in the with-form.
• душ

  dush

  shower

  International. To go to the shower: piti v dush — the first word said after leaving the gym.
• будильник

  budylnyk

  alarm clock

  Built on budyty, "to wake" — transparent. Postavyty budylnyk, "set the alarm"; prospaty budylnyk, "sleep through it" — with prospaty, the oversleep verb.
• термометр

  termometr

  thermometer

  International — outdoor and medical alike; at the pharmacy they say hradusnyk, the everyday thermometer word. Air temperature uses the same word.
• тостер

  toster

  toaster

  Borrowed as is. The toasted slice is a pidsmazhenyi khlib, "toasted bread" — the drink toast is another word, said at the table, not the kitchen.
• швейна машина

  shveina mashyna

  sewing machine

  Shyty, "to sew", hands the adjective its root: a machine for sewing, nothing more. Thread and needle are the plain everyday words.
• фундамент

  fundament

  foundation

  The same word, usually plural here: fundamenty domu. Figuratively a basis: fundamenty demokratii. The verb phrase is poklasty fundament, to lay a foundation.
• оздоблення

  ozdoblennia

  finishing work

  From ozdobyty, "to adorn": all the finishing — plaster, tile, paint. There is no separate everyday word; even a facade gets ozdoblennia fasadu.
• опускати

  opuskaty

  to lower

  The same verb lowers your eyes and the blinds. Zhaluzi is the blinds word, as in English from French.
• рухати

  rukhaty

  to move (something)

  Rukh is "movement". Ne rukhai! is both "do not move it!" and "do not touch!" — one command for both warnings.
• упускати

  upuskaty

  to let fall

  The image is a thing slipping out of the hands — upustyty z ruk, to let it slip from the hands. Glasses, keys, coins.
• піднімати з підлоги

  pidnimaty z pidlohy

  to pick up (from the floor)

  Pidloha is the floor of a room; povierkh is the storey of a building. The floor word cannot stand in for the level word.
• вішати

  vishaty

  to hang

  Vishalka is the hanger — same root, same job. A chandelier hangs with the same verb: povisyty liustru.
• знімати

  znimaty

  to take down

  A verb of many jobs, like English "take off": a picture from a wall, a film, an apartment — all znymaiut, all one verb.
• складати

  skladaty

  to fold

  One verb folds laundry, packs a suitcase and adds numbers in a column — exactly the range of "fold" in arithmetic.
• розкладати

  rozkladaty

  to lay out

  The roz- prefix unfolds what skladaty folded. Rozklad, from the same root, is a schedule — the day laid out.
• загортати

  zahortaty

  to wrap

  From obhortka, "a wrapper". In a shop they ask exactly this: zahornuty? — "shall I wrap it?"
• розгортати

  rozghortaty

  to unwrap

  The partner that opens what the other wrapped. Rozhornuta knyzhka — an opened book; parcels are only the beginning.
• відчиняти

  vidchyniaty

  to open (doors and windows)

  Doors and windows take this verb; books and eyes take vidkryvaty. The object you act on picks the verb, not you.
• зачиняти

  zachyniaty

  to close (doors and windows)

  The partner of vidchyniaty and, like it, tied to doors and windows. A book gets shut with a different verb, zakryvaty.
• замикати

  zamykaty

  to lock

  From the same root as zamok, the lock. ZAMOK with stress at the front is a castle; zamok with stress at the end is the lock on your door.
• відмикати

  vidmykaty

  to unlock

  The opening partner of zamykaty. On a phone the same verb unlocks the screen: vidimkny ekran.
• вмикати світло

  vmykaty svitlo

  to turn on the light

  Shares its mik root with zamykaty, to latch, but the prefix flips the current on. The wall switch is vmykach — a word worth keeping.
• вимикати світло

  vymykaty svitlo

  to turn off the light

  Its on-partner differs by one little i in the prefix — an easy slip for the ear. The noun vymkach, the switch, belongs to this side of the pair.
• натискати

  natyskaty

  to press

  Pressing a button and pressing on a pain — one verb for both. Natyskaty knopku — to press a button.
• повертати ручку

  povertaty ruchku

  to turn the handle

  Ruchka is both a door handle and a pen — one word, two pockets. The verb is the returning one, minus its -sia.
• стукати

  stukaty

  to knock

  One knock is stuknuty — a single hit. And knocking at the door takes u, not v: u dveri, the same u as everywhere.
• дзвонити у двері

  dzvonyty u dveri

  to ring at the door

  From dzvinok, a bell. Dzvinytsia, a bell tower, grows from the same root — the ringing family.
• різати ножицями

  rizaty nozhytsiamy

  to cut (with scissors)

  Nozhytsi, the scissors, is always plural, and the with-form is nozhytsiamy. The verb keeps its i through every form.
• клеїти

  kleity

  to glue

  The yi in the middle packs two sounds into one breath: kle-yi-ty. The noun for glue is plain klei, so the family sticks together.
• шити

  shyty

  to sew

  An ear trap: shyty is "to sew", sytyi is "full (of food)". Shvets is a tailor — kin to the seam word.
• вʼязати

  viazaty

  to tie, to knit

  The apostrophe matters: v-iazaty, two sounds. The same root lives in zv-iazok, "a connection" — to tie is to join.
• лагодити

  lahodyty

  to repair

  From lad, order and accord: fixing a thing means bringing it back into working order. The cousin nalahodyty, to set up, shares the root.
• розбивати

  rozbyvaty

  to shatter

  The roz- prefix sets it apart from lamaty: lamaty snaps a whole thing in two, this one smashes it into pieces. Same scene, different wreckage.
• дряпати

  driapaty

  to scratch

  A word that sounds like its own sound effect. Podriapyna is the scratch itself; on a phone, a podriapanyi ekran.
• бруднити

  brudnyty

  to make dirty

  From brud, "dirt", and brudnyi, "dirty" — the same family of words. To get something dirty: zabrudnyty.
• чистити

  chystyty

  to clean

  Watch the family: the adjective chystyi can also mean blank or empty — chystyi arkush, a blank sheet. Cleaning and blankness share one word.
• витирати пил

  vytyraty pyl

  to dust

  Pyl is the dust, vytyraty is "to wipe". The same verb wipes a table and dries tears — one verb, both sorrows.
• прати білизну

  praty bilyznu

  to wash laundry

  Two laundry verbs with one job each: praty washes clothes, while stryraty erases writing off a page. Pick the wrong one and your homework gets scrubbed.
• сушити

  sushyty

  to dry

  From sukhyy, "dry". A drying rack is a susharka; to dry something thoroughly: vysushyty.
• випрасувати

  vyprasuvaty

  to iron

  The iron itself is praska, and pressing clothes is prasuvaty — iron and action from one root. The vy- prefix adds until-done: a shirt pressed through.
• мити підлогу

  myty pidlohu

  to mop the floor

  Pidloha, the floor, already came up when things fell on it; now it gets washed. One verb, myty, serves washing by hand or with a mop.
• провітрювати

  provitriuvaty

  to air out

  From viter, "wind": to air a room is to let the wind in. The word wears its meaning on its sleeve.
• поливати квіти

  polyvaty kvity

  to water the flowers

  Kvitka is a bloom, kviti the plural — and the month kviten, April, is named for when they open. Watering is literally pouring over.
• садити

  sadyty

  to plant

  One letter from sydity, "to sit" — plant versus sit, decided by a single vowel. The sad, "garden", anchors the family.
• копати

  kopaty

  to dig

  A kopach is a digger. The prefix vy- works like English "out": vykopaty — to dig out.
• переписувати

  perepysuvaty

  to copy out

  Both honest rewriting of a draft and copying homework — the verb does not judge, exactly as in English. Nabelo: in clean copy.
• друкувати

  drukuvaty

  to print

  From druk, print — borrowed from German Druck, the pressure of the press. A printing house is drukarnia; the machine itself stays printer.
• вітальня

  vitalnia

  living room

  From vitaty, "to greet": the room where guests are greeted. English "living room" builds the idea on dwelling instead.
• передпокій

  peredpokii

  entryway

  Literally "the room before the room" — the first space past the door, where shoes come off. Vzuttia waits exactly there.
• коридор

  korydor

  hallway

  The corridor of schools and hospitals is the same word. Long is dovhyi, narrow is vuzkyi — both already yours.
• комора

  komora

  storeroom

  The pantry-store room, from an old word for a supply place. On the ear it brushes against kimnata — a room — do not let them blur.
• поріг

  porih

  threshold

  The o runs away when the word bends: porih, poroha. And in one case the h turns into a z: na porozi — "on the threshold".
• дверна ручка

  dverna ruchka

  door handle

  Ruchka also means a pen — one word, two hands of work. The door one just takes the adjective of dveri, "door".
• дверний замок

  dvernyi zamok

  door lock

  Stress splits two words: zaMOK is the lock, ZAMOK is a castle. Same letters, different buildings.
• дверний дзвінок

  dvernyi dzvinok

  doorbell

  Dzvinok alone is a bell, and also a phone call; the door one takes the door adjective. To ring it is dzvonyty u dveri.
• підвіконня

  pidvikonnia

  windowsill

  Literally "under-the-window", a neuter noun in -nia. Flowers stand on it: na pidvikonni, with a soft double n.
• фіранка

  firanka

  curtain

  Came from German by way of Polish, like many household words. A heavy drape is shtora, and delicate tulle keeps its international name.
• лампочка

  lampochka

  light bulb

  Lampa, "lamp", plus the cozy -ochka ending. When it dies it perehorila — burned out — never "broke".
• ліхтарик

  likhtaryk

  flashlight

  A little likhtar — from an old word for lantern or tower with a light. The street lamp, vulychnyi likhtar, is its big brother.
• нічник

  nichnyk

  night light

  From nich, "night": the small lamp that stays on. The child sleeps z nichnykom — "with a night light", like with a friend.
• кран

  kran

  faucet

  The tap and the towering construction crane share one name. When it kapaie — drips — you know the rest of the sentence.
• раковина

  rakovyna

  sink

  Really from "shell" — the basin curves like a shell, the same picture English drew. The faucet stands over it.
• ванна

  vanna

  bathtub

  Double n in the middle. One word covers the tub and the bathroom, vanna kimnata — the room is literally the tub's room.
• унітаз

  unitaz

  toilet bowl

  Stress on the last syllable: unitaZ. When it clogs it zasmityvsia — from the smittia, the garbage word you own.
• шланг

  shlanh

  hose

  From German Schlange, a snake — picture the coiled shape. For the garden kind add dlia polyvu, for watering: shlanh dlia polyvu.
• сірники

  sirnyky

  matches

  From sirka, "sulphur" — the striking head. One match is a sirnyk, but the word lives in the plural, like the matches in the box.
• запальничка

  zapalnychka

  lighter

  From zapalyty, "to light": the little ending turned the act of lighting into a pocket object. Rival of the matches next to it.
• швабра

  shvabra

  mop

  The same word as everywhere for the floor-washer. The floor is pidloha — new here, and it returns two lines later.
• ганчірка

  hanchirka

  rag

  Its own word; wiping is vyterty, and dust is nearby — the rag exists for the dust. A kitchen cloth is the same word.
• віник

  vinyk

  broom

  The indoor sweeper with the small head. Its bigger outdoor cousin is mitla — same job, different scale, different word.
• совок

  sovok

  dustpan

  Dust is swept onto it — zmetaiut. The partner of the broom: one sweeps, the other receives.
• пил

  pyl

  dust

  Shorter than its relatives by a letter. But pylyty means "to saw" — the sawdust verb, not the dust one. Context, always context.
• бруд

  brud

  dirt

  Its own shape: brud, and brudnyi — dirty. Street mud after rain is the classic sighting.
• мийний засіб

  myinyi zasib

  detergent

  Zasib means a means or an agent; in the of-form it is zasobu. Do not cross it with zasidka — that is an ambush, a very different household item.
• пилососити

  pylososyty

  to vacuum

  Built exactly like the machine itself: pyl plus sosaty — dust plus suck. The vacuum cleaner is a pylosos; the verb needs no machine to be understood.
• підмести підлогу

  pidmesty pidlohu

  to sweep the floor

  Pidloha is the floor — what lies pid, "under", your feet. In the command form the vowel shortens: pidmety pidlohu.
• навести лад

  navesty lad

  to tidy up

  Lad is "order" — an old word for harmony. The phrase pours order into the room; the borrowed "order word" exists but never steps in here.
• настінний годинник

  nastinnyi hodynnyk

  wall clock

  Built from stina, wall, with a doubled n in the middle. Hodynnyk is the timepiece word — here the kind that hangs and watches the room.
• килимок

  kylymok

  mat

  The little one of kylym, a carpet: the same word with a diminutive tail. The small square that greets every doorway.
• плед

  pled

  throw blanket

  Borrowed from Scottish plaid — Highland draped wool that ended up on sofas. A proper duvet is kovdra, a different bedmate.
• наволочка

  navolochka

  pillowcase

  The root means to pull over: you drag this case onto the pillow. The flat sheet goes by its own word, prostyradlo.
• покривало

  pokryvalo

  bedspread

  From pokryty, to cover — the topmost layer thrown over the made bed. The name tells you its single job.
• гачок

  hachok

  hook

  From hak, the crooked metal fastener, plus the small-ending. Wall pegs and fishing tackle both bend through this word.
• рамка для фото

  ramka dlia foto

  photo frame

  Foto never bends, whatever case slides around it. A picture itself can also be svitlina — the native alternative worth knowing.
• ваза

  vaza

  vase

  Came from French, like the English word — an easy cognate. Do not tangle it with vazon, the flower pot; different objects.
• вазон

  vazon

  flower pot

  Locals call the plant pot vazon, while horschyk is a kitchen pot for cooking. The distinction matters at the garden shop.
• скриня

  skrynia

  storage chest

  The big lidded box for keepsakes and linens. Add the small-ending and you get skrynka — a little drawer, or a mailbox.
• витирати

  vytyraty

  to wipe

  Its companion noun is rushnyk, the towel, rooted in ruka, the hand. The vy- prefix says the wiping goes away and off.
• свердлити

  sverdlyty

  to drill

  The handheld tool is dril, and a borehole is sverdlovyna — one root serves the workshop and the wellsite.
• забивати цвях

  zabyvaty tsviakh

  to hammer in a nail

  Tsviakh is the native nail — no borrowing will fit in its place. The hammer stays molotok and the twisting fastener stays shurup: the toolbox splits by origin.
• прикрутити

  prykrutyty

  to screw on

  From krutyty, to twist — the root that also named vykrutka, the twisting tool. The reverse move flips the prefix: vidkrutyty backs it out.
• зібрати меблі

  zibraty mebli

  to assemble furniture

  Mebli is always plural, a loan from French meubles — there is no singular for one piece. Assembling is literally gathering it together.
• розібрати

  rozibraty

  to take apart

  The roz- prefix undoes the assembly, and a fleeting i appears in the infinitive only: rozi-braty, but the present drops it — rozberu.
• наповнити

  napovnyty

  to fill

  Built on povnyi, full — a distant cousin of the English word full. Halfway is napolovynu; all the way is povnistiu.
• заклеїти

  zakleity

  to tape over

  From kleity, to glue: glue a thing shut and the gap is gone. The sticky tape itself is skotch, borrowed intact from English.
• полоскати

  poloskaty

  to rinse

  In the present the sk softens to shch — poloshchu, I rinse. A small sound-shift worth expecting rather than fearing.
• застелити ліжко

  zastelyty lizhko

  to make the bed

  The bed is lizhko; the bedding linen is postil, a separate word. The action itself is literally spreading the linen over.
• світло згасло

  svitlo zghaslo

  the light went out

  From hasnuty, to die out the way a flame does — the z- prefix closes the story. The word for light is svitlo.
• кран тече

  kran teche

  the tap is leaking

  From tekti, to flow: teche, plain and ending in e. A leak as a noun is techiia or protikannia — the flowing made into a thing.
• батарея не гріє

  batareia ne hriie

  the radiator is not heating

  Hriie comes from hriity, to warm. Central heating is opalennia, from the verb to burn — the household heater warms by fiery ancestry.
• розетка не працює

  rozetka ne pratsiuie

  the socket is not working

  Pratsiuie means "works". Mind the table setting: vylka is the electric plug here, while the eating fork is vydylka.
• двері не зачиняються

  dveri ne zachyniaiutsia

  the door does not close

  Dveri is grammatically plural even for one door, so the verb must match it: zachyniaiutsia. Expect that plural ending whenever a door acts.
• змастити завіси

  zmastyty zavisy

  to oil the hinges

  Door hinges are zavisy, from visyty, to hang. A petlia is a loop of rope — the hanging hardware picked a different word.
• поміняти замок

  pominiaty zamok

  to change the lock

  From miniaty, to exchange, with an i inside. Say za-MOK for the lock — stress the first syllable and you have built a castle instead.
• вкрутити лампочку

  vkrutyty lampochku

  to screw in a lightbulb

  From krutyty, to twist: twist it in until it sits snug. The reverse move, vykrutyty, backs it out — that verb also named the twisting tool.
• полагодити стілець

  polahodyty stilets

  to mend the chair

  Stilets keeps its i even in the of-form: stiltsia. Its ancestor is stil, the table — furniture of one family.
• капати

  kapaty

  to drip

  The drop is kraplia, with an r slipped into the middle. The verb behaves as English expects; the noun adds a letter.

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How it sounds in a sentence

A word list is a blank. Conversation is made of sentences, and these are the ones the words fit into most often.

• Мій дім — мій замок

  Mii dim — mii zamok

  My house is my castle
• Моя квартира в центрі

  Moia kvartyra v tsentri

  My apartment is in the center
• Шукаю житло на місяць

  Shukaiu zhytlo na misiats

  This is my lodging
• У квартирі дві кімнати

  U kvartyri dvi kimnaty

  My room is here
• Кухня маленька, але світла

  Kukhnia malenka, ale svitla

  The kitchen is here, and the bathroom is there
• Ванна кімната в кінці коридору

  Vanna kimnata v kintsi korydoru

  The bathroom and the kitchen are here

What is worth knowing about these words

дім (dim) — house. Said "deem", with a long i. Doma, "at home", becomes vdoma — one small word, and the preposition v grows onto the front of it.

квартира (kvartyra) — apartment. The 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.

житло (zhytlo) — lodging. The word of rental ads: zdaetsia zhytlo — "lodging for rent". In live conversation people just say kvartyra.

кімната (kimnata) — room. Apartments are counted by rooms: dvokimnatna kvartyra — a two-room apartment, said in one breath.

Test yourself

Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than recognizing a familiar word — and therefore more useful.

How to learn the set instead of just reading it

Room, key, water, electricity. You will need them on your first day in a rented flat.

A list is read in a minute and forgotten in a day. What works: hide the translation, try to recall, get it wrong — and come back to the same words tomorrow.

• Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many times
  Adesope, 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.
• Study spread over days wins not only in experiments but in ordinary classrooms, with real students.checked many times
  Mawson & Kang, 2025, Behavioral Sciences 15(6):771 · 22 studies, d = 0.54 (confidence interval 0.31–0.77). The authors warn that individual studies disagree widely.

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