LingoflyPronouns in Ukrainian
27 words in Ukrainian on the topic “pronouns”: я (ya) — I, ти (ty) — you (informal), ви (vy) — you (formal), мій (mii) — my.
27 words on the topic
- яyaIOften dropped: the verb ending already names the doer — rozumiyu alone means "I understand". Keep ia only for emphasis, like Spanish yo.
- тиtyyou (informal)The letter y here is a tight "ih" sound, closer to "ti". Like French tu or Spanish tu — one friend, never a stranger.
- виvyyou (formal)One word for polite "you" and for "you all" — the same double duty as in French vous. Written with a capital V in formal letters.
- мійmiimyChanges with gender: mii droug "my friend", moya kava "my coffee", moye more "my sea". Like Spanish mi/mi/mi — but Ukrainian has three shapes.
- вінvinheSaid "vin". The ending letter i takes the softness that other languages write as a separate sign.
- вонаvonasheThe plural is vony, "they" — one word for any group, no matter the gender. English "they" works the same way.
- миmyweSaid "mih" — the letter y inside is that tight vowel again. Two look-alikes to keep apart: my "we" and ty "you".
- вониvonytheySaid "voneh". The plural covers everyone at once — men, women, things — exactly like English "they".
- твійtviiyour (informal)Declines like an adjective through the genders: tvii, tvoia, tvoie — the same row as mii, "my". The i in the closed syllable is the spelling to watch.
- нашnashourThe gender shows at the end: nash "our", nasha, nashe. Same shape you would guess from a hundred European cousins.
- вашvashyour (formal)Written exactly as expected. Use it with the polite vy, never with ty — swapping them by accident changes the whole tone.
- його, її, їхнійyoho, yii, yikhniihis, her, theirThe first two never bend at all: yoho knyzhka, yiyi knyzhka keep one shape everywhere. Yikhnii is the odd one out and declines like an adjective: yikhnia, yikhnie, yikhni.
- свійsviione's ownCompulsory for things belonging to the subject: vzyav svii klyuch — he took his OWN key; yoho klyuch would mean someone else's. Declines like mii.
- самsammyselfRuns through the genders: sam, sama, same, sami. The set phrase sam na sam, "one on one", means face to face with nobody else around.
- весьvesthe wholeGenders: ves, vsia, vse, vsi — note the i in the plural. Vse there is the neuter singular, not a plural: vse misto, the whole town.
- кожен зkozhen zeach ofKozhen is the everyday short form of kozhnyi, "each". After it the of-form follows: kozhen z nas — literally "each of us".
- будь-якийbud-yakyianyWritten with a hyphen, from bud, "may it be", plus yakyi, "which". Say plain yakyi here and you will not be understood — the hyphenated shape is the word.
- цейtseithisBends through the genders: tsei, tsia, tse, tsi. The everyday tse, "this is", is just the neuter member of this family.
- тойtoithatBuilt on o: toi, ta, te, ti. It pairs with tsei the way near pairs with far — tsei is the one within reach, toi is the one across the street.
- такийtakyisuchSame shape as the question word yakyi with a t in front: takyi, taka, take, taki. Takyi samyi — "the very same" — is the everyday way to match two things.
- іншийinshyianother (different)Starts with an i where English has a different vowel entirely: inshyi. The everyday job is "a different one" — pokazhte inshyi kolir, show me another color.
- котрий зkotryi zwhich ofKotryi asks you to pick one out of a set, while yakyi asks about qualities. The of-form follows: kotryi z nykh — which of them.
- ніякийniiakyino (of any kind)Yakyi with a negative ni- welded on, and it demands a second negative at the verb: niiakyi ne pidkhodyt — none of them fits. Two negatives, one sentence, as standard.
- хтосьkhtossomeoneKhto plus -s, the same "some" ending as in shchos. On the ear khtos and shchos are a breath apart — the first consonant decides.
- дещоdeshchosomething (a certain thing)The prefix de- does the work that the little tail does in des: a certain something, something you have in mind. Vaguer shchos stays noncommittal; deshcho leans definite.
- ніхто зnikhto znone of (nobody)Takes the of-form after it: nikhto z nas — none of us. And the verb must carry its own negative too: the sentence wears two negatives like a uniform.
- ніщоnishchonothingIts of-form, nichoho, is the shape you actually hear most: nichoho ne stalosia — nothing happened. The bare form mostly stands at the head of dramatic sentences.
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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.
What is worth knowing about these words
я (ya) — I. Often dropped: the verb ending already names the doer — rozumiyu alone means "I understand". Keep ia only for emphasis, like Spanish yo.
ти (ty) — you (informal). The letter y here is a tight "ih" sound, closer to "ti". Like French tu or Spanish tu — one friend, never a stranger.
ви (vy) — you (formal). One word for polite "you" and for "you all" — the same double duty as in French vous. Written with a capital V in formal letters.
мій (mii) — my. Changes with gender: mii droug "my friend", moya kava "my coffee", moye more "my sea". Like Spanish mi/mi/mi — but Ukrainian has three shapes.
Test yourself
Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than recognizing a familiar word — and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “I” in Ukrainian?
Often dropped: the verb ending already names the doer — rozumiyu alone means "I understand". Keep ia only for emphasis, like Spanish yo.
- How do you say “they” in Ukrainian?
Said "voneh". The plural covers everyone at once — men, women, things — exactly like English "they".
- How do you say “the whole” in Ukrainian?
Genders: ves, vsia, vse, vsi — note the i in the plural. Vse there is the neuter singular, not a plural: vse misto, the whole town.
- How do you say “which of” in Ukrainian?
Kotryi asks you to pick one out of a set, while yakyi asks about qualities. The of-form follows: kotryi z nykh — which of them.
- How do you say “you (informal)” in Ukrainian?
The letter y here is a tight "ih" sound, closer to "ti". Like French tu or Spanish tu — one friend, never a stranger.
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
I, you, we, they. There is a handful of them, they turn up in every sentence, and politeness rides on them: most of these languages keep a formal “you” apart from a familiar one, and choosing the wrong one is noticed faster than a mispronounced word.
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 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.
- Study spread over days wins not only in experiments but in ordinary classrooms, with real students.checked many timesMawson & 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.
Frequently asked
How do you say “I” in Ukrainian?
«я» (ya), read “ya”. Often dropped: the verb ending already names the doer — rozumiyu alone means "I understand". Keep ia only for emphasis, like Spanish yo. It is one of 27 words in the set “pronouns” — the rest are in the table above.
How many pronouns do you need to start?
The whole set on this page is 27 words, but there is no need to start with all of it: the words you will need in the next few days are enough. Take them a few at a time — five to seven new ones per session.