LingoflyGreetings and goodbyes in Ukrainian
9 words in Ukrainian on the topic “greetings and goodbyes”: привіт (pryvit) — hi, добрий день (dobryi den) — good day, доброго ранку (dobroho ranku) — good morning, як справи? (yak spravy) — how are you?
9 words on the topic
- привітpryvithiAn easy start: privit sounds friendly and informal, exactly like "hi". Save it for people you already know.
- добрий деньdobryi dengood dayThe neutral, polite greeting for strangers, shops and offices. Literally "good day" — dobyi den has no surprises in it.
- доброго ранкуdobroho rankugood morningLiterally "of good morning" — a wish in the "of" form, like wishing someone "a good morning's worth". Ranku is morning.
- як справи?yak spravy?how are you?Literally "how are the affairs?" — sprava is "matter, business". With a stranger, add the polite you: yak u vas spravy?
- до побаченняdo pobachenniagoodbyeLiterally "until seeing" — do "until" plus pobachennia "seeing". The formal, safe goodbye for any stranger.
- бувайbuvaibyeFrom buvaty, "to be, hang around" — literally "carry on being". Casual, for friends; with strangers use do pobachennia.
- добрий вечірdobryi vechirgood eveningVechir is "evening", said "vechir". Do not mix it up with vecherya, "supper" — evening the time and supper the meal are different words.
- на добранічna dobranichgood nightLiterally "onto the good night". Works both when leaving someone in the evening and when going to bed yourself.
- до зустрічіdo zustrichisee youLiterally "until the meeting". Less formal than do pobachennia; zustricha is "meeting" — a word you will keep meeting.
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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
привіт (pryvit) — hi. An easy start: privit sounds friendly and informal, exactly like "hi". Save it for people you already know.
добрий день (dobryi den) — good day. The neutral, polite greeting for strangers, shops and offices. Literally "good day" — dobyi den has no surprises in it.
доброго ранку (dobroho ranku) — good morning. Literally "of good morning" — a wish in the "of" form, like wishing someone "a good morning's worth". Ranku is morning.
як справи? (yak spravy?) — how are you? Literally "how are the affairs?" — sprava is "matter, business". With a stranger, add the polite you: yak u vas spravy?
Test yourself
Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than recognizing a familiar word — and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “hi” in Ukrainian?
An easy start: privit sounds friendly and informal, exactly like "hi". Save it for people you already know.
- How do you say “good night” in Ukrainian?
Literally "onto the good night". Works both when leaving someone in the evening and when going to bed yourself.
- How do you say “bye” in Ukrainian?
From buvaty, "to be, hang around" — literally "carry on being". Casual, for friends; with strangers use do pobachennia.
- How do you say “how are you?” in Ukrainian?
Literally "how are the affairs?" — sprava is "matter, business". With a stranger, add the polite you: yak u vas spravy?
- How do you say “good day” in Ukrainian?
The neutral, polite greeting for strangers, shops and offices. Literally "good day" — dobyi den has no surprises in it.
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Every conversation starts here, and so does every first impression: say hello in the local language and you stop being a stranger in about a second.
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 “hi” in Ukrainian?
«привіт» (pryvit), read “pryvit”. An easy start: privit sounds friendly and informal, exactly like "hi". Save it for people you already know. It is one of 9 words in the set “greetings and goodbyes” — the rest are in the table above.
How many greetings do you need to start?
The whole set on this page is 9 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.