English shuffles between talk, speak, say, tell mostly by instinct; Ukrainian draws the lines sharply and draws them in a different place. The single payoff of this page is realising that those four English words map onto four distinct Ukrainian verbs, sorted by two questions: is this ongoing speaking or a single utterance? and is it a two-way conversation or not? This is the consolidation page — a fast decision tree plus six worked cases. For the full paradigms (the mobile stress of говори́ти, the ж-mutation of каза́ти) see the deep Speaking page; here we just make the choice quick.
The quick answer
| You mean… | Verb | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| speak / talk (in general) | говори́ти | — | не говори́ так |
| speak a language | говори́ти / розмовля́ти |
| говорю́ украї́нською |
| converse, talk WITH someone | розмовля́ти |
| розмовля́ти з дру́гом |
| say / tell (a single utterance) | сказа́ти (perf.) / каза́ти (impf.) |
| він сказа́в мені́, що… |
| tell a story, recount | розповіда́ти / розпові́сти |
| розкажи́ нам |
The decision tree
Step 1: Are you reporting a specific thing that was said?
If you can paraphrase it as «X said that…» or «tell me the truth / the answer» — a definite utterance or piece of information delivered to someone — you want каза́ти / сказа́ти. The addressee goes in the dative (no «to» preposition), and the content follows as a що-clause. For a single finished utterance, reach for the perfective сказа́ти; for a repeated or in-progress one, the imperfective каза́ти.
Лі́кар сказа́в, що тре́ба бі́льше відпочива́ти.
The doctor said I need to rest more. (A single utterance — perfective сказа́в + що-clause.)
Скажи́ мені́ че́сно: тобі́ сподо́балося?
Tell me honestly: did you like it? (Imperative of сказа́ти + dative addressee мені́.)
Ма́ма за́вжди ка́же, що сні́данок пропуска́ти не мо́жна.
Mum always says you mustn't skip breakfast. (Habitual, repeated — imperfective ка́же.)
Step 2: Are you naming the language you speak — or just speaking in general?
«Speak a language» is говори́ти + the bare instrumental of the language — говорю́ украї́нською, англі́йською — with no preposition at all. This is the instrumental of means: you speak by means of Ukrainian. General «talk / produce speech» (talk loudly, the child can already talk) is also говори́ти.
Ти гово́риш украї́нською вдо́ма чи на робо́ті?
Do you speak Ukrainian at home or at work? (Speaking a language — bare instrumental, no preposition.)
Не говори́ так го́лосно — мали́й щойно́ засну́в.
Don't talk so loudly — the little one's just fallen asleep. (говори́ти = talk in general.)
Step 3: Is it a two-way conversation — talking WITH someone?
If the point is the exchange — chatting, conversing, talking with a person — use розмовля́ти, and put the partner in з + instrumental. Розмовля́ти can also take a language in the bare instrumental (розмовля́ти украї́нською «to converse in Ukrainian»), overlapping with говори́ти, but it always carries the flavour of an actual back-and-forth.
Ми ці́лий ве́чір розмовля́ли з сусі́дами про ремо́нт.
We talked with the neighbours all evening about the renovation. (A conversation — з + instrumental сусі́дами.)
Про що ви так до́вго розмовля́ли?
What were you talking about for so long? (Topic of a conversation — про + accusative.)
The line between говори́ти and розмовля́ти: говори́ти can be one-directional ("he was talking and talking"), while розмовля́ти needs a partner, real or implied. A useful diagnostic is whether you could add a partner with з: розмовля́ти з ке́рівником "to talk with the manager" is natural, but говори́ти з leans toward "to have a word with / to speak to" someone about a matter, often with a hint of confrontation or business. So if the emphasis is the shared back-and-forth, reach for розмовля́ти; if it is producing speech, addressing, or holding forth, говори́ти. The colloquial twin балака́ти (informal) "to chat, natter" covers the same casual-conversation ground as розмовля́ти, but drops in register — you балака́єш with a neighbour over the fence, you do not балака́єш at a conference.
Step 4: Are you recounting a story or a sequence of events?
For telling a story, an account, a chain of events — not just one fact — use розповіда́ти / розпові́сти. So «tell» itself splits: a single piece of information delivered to someone is сказа́ти (сказа́ти пра́вду), but telling a whole account is розпові́сти (розпові́сти істо́рію).
Розкажи́ нам, як ти прові́в кані́кули — з усіма́ подро́бицями!
Tell us how you spent your holidays — with all the details! (розповіда́ти/розпові́сти — recounting a story.)
Він до́вго розповіда́в про по́дорож гора́ми.
He recounted his trip through the mountains at length. (A narrative, not a single fact — розповіда́ти.)
The more formal повідомля́ти / повідо́мити "to inform, report" (formal) handles official passing-on of information: повідо́мити про змі́ни "to report the changes."
Six worked cases — decide before you check
Cover the right column. Ask in order: (1) reporting a specific utterance? → каза́ти / сказа́ти; (2) naming a language / general speech? → говори́ти; (3) a two-way conversation? → розмовля́ти з; (4) recounting a story? → розповіда́ти.
| Sentence (English) | Cue | Verb |
|---|---|---|
| "I speak English" | a language | говорю́ англі́йською |
| "I was talking with him" | two-way, з + instr. | розмовля́в з ним |
| "He said that he'd come" | single utterance | сказа́в, що |
| "Tell me a story" | a narrative | розкажи́ мені́ |
| "Don't talk so loudly" | general speech | не говори́ |
| "What did you say?" | utterance, in progress | що ти ка́жеш? |
Two deserve a second look. "I speak English" is говори́ти + the bare instrumental — говорю́ англі́йською, never говорю́ англі́йську (accusative) and never with an «in». And *"tell me a story" is розпові́сти, not сказа́ти: a story is an account, not a single fact. Reaching for сказа́ти there would sound like you're asking for one sentence.
Source-language comparison
For an English speaker, the trap is that English picks among talk/speak/say/tell by collocation and feel, and none of the four lines up cleanly with a Ukrainian verb. Three habits to build. First, «speak a language» is говори́ти / розмовля́ти + bare instrumental — говорю́ украї́нською — with no «in» and no accusative; this is the same instrument-not-companion logic covered on the bare instrumental vs з page and the instrumental uses page. Second, a single reported «he said» is the perfective сказа́в, not говори́в — English speakers under-use the perfective here and it sounds oddly drawn-out. Third, the person you tell is dative with no preposition: сказа́ти мені́, not сказа́ти до ме́не. For how these feed full reported-speech structures, see reported speech.
For a Russian speaker, the framework transfers (говори́ть / разгова́ривать / сказа́ть), but two things differ: standard Ukrainian uses розмовля́ти, not разгова́ривати, and «to speak a language» strongly prefers the bare instrumental (украї́нською) over the Russian-style на украї́нській мо́ві — calquing «на + locative» is a frequent slip.
Common Mistakes
❌ Я говорю́ англі́йську.
Wrong case — 'speak a language' takes the bare instrumental, not the accusative: Я говорю́ англі́йською.
✅ Я говорю́ англі́йською.
I speak English — говори́ти + instrumental of means.
❌ Я розмовля́ю на украї́нській мо́ві.
Russian-style calque — drop 'на + locative'; standard Ukrainian uses the bare instrumental: Я розмовля́ю украї́нською.
✅ Я розмовля́ю украї́нською.
I speak / converse in Ukrainian — bare instrumental.
❌ Він говори́в, що запізни́ться, і ді́йсно запізни́вся.
Aspect slip — a single completed 'he said' is the perfective сказа́в: Він сказа́в, що запізни́ться…
✅ Він сказа́в, що запізни́ться, і ді́йсно запізни́вся.
He said he'd be late, and indeed he was — single utterance, perfective сказа́в.
❌ Ми говори́ли з дру́гом ці́лий ве́чір.
Wrong verb for a two-way chat — a conversation 'with' someone is розмовля́ти: Ми розмовля́ли з дру́гом ці́лий ве́чір.
✅ Ми розмовля́ли з дру́гом ці́лий ве́чір.
We talked with a friend all evening — розмовля́ти з + instrumental.
❌ Скажи́ мені́ ціка́ву істо́рію.
Wrong verb for a narrative — telling a whole story is розпові́сти, not сказа́ти: Розкажи́ мені́ ціка́ву істо́рію.
✅ Розкажи́ мені́ ціка́ву істо́рію.
Tell me an interesting story — розпові́сти for a narrative.
Key Takeaways
- Four verbs, sorted by two questions: utterance vs ongoing, and conversation vs not.
- говори́ти = speak / talk in general and speak a language (говорю́ украї́нською — bare instrumental, no preposition).
- розмовля́ти = have a conversation, talk with someone (+ з + instrumental); colloquial twin балака́ти (informal).
- каза́ти / сказа́ти = the everyday say/tell of a specific utterance; a single finished «he said» is the perfective сказа́в; addressee in the dative, content as a що-clause.
- розповіда́ти / розпові́сти = recount a story; повідомля́ти / повідо́мити = inform, report (formal).
Now practice Ukrainian
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Start learning Ukrainian→Related Topics
- Speaking: Говорити, Казати, Розмовляти, СказатиB1 — English 'talk / speak / say / tell' maps onto four Ukrainian verbs: говори́ти 'speak/talk' (and 'speak a language' — українською, bare instrumental!), розмовля́ти 'have a conversation' (+ з + instrumental), and the everyday aspect pair каза́ти/сказа́ти 'say/tell' (+ dative + що-clause) — so a single 'he said' is Він сказа́в, while 'I speak Ukrainian' is Я говорю́ украї́нською.
- Instrumental: Core UsesA2 — What the instrumental does — the bare 'by means of' (писа́ти ру́чкою, ї́хати авто́бусом, говори́ти украї́нською) with no preposition, the predicate noun after past/future/infinitive of бу́ти and after ста́ти/працюва́ти (він був учи́телем, хо́чу ста́ти лі́карем), companionship with з (з дру́гом, чай з цу́кром), route (іти́ лі́сом), and time adverbials (вра́нці, весно́ю).
- Reported (Indirect) SpeechB1 — How to report what someone said — and the one rule English speakers must unlearn: Ukrainian does NOT backshift tenses. 'He said he would come' is Він сказа́в, що при́йде (the future is kept, not turned into 'would'); the embedded tense reflects the ORIGINAL utterance, not the reporting verb. Statements take що + comma; yes/no questions take чи ('whether'); wh-questions keep the question word; and commands/requests use щоб + the past form, never an infinitive.
- Говорити (to speak)A1 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for говори́ти 'to speak / talk / say' — a second-conjugation verb with the codified MOBILE STRESS that trips up everyone: end-stressed only in the 1sg говорю́, then stem-stressed гово́риш, гово́рить, гово́римо, гово́рите, гово́рять. Covers the gendered past, both imperfective futures, the imperative, the bare-INSTRUMENTAL pattern for 'speak a language' (говори́ти украї́нською), and the three-way split with розмовля́ти 'converse' and каза́ти / сказа́ти 'say'.
- Verbal Aspect: The Big PictureA2 — Aspect is the central, pervasive feature of the Ukrainian verb: nearly every verb belongs to an aspect PAIR — imperfective (недоко́наний вид), which views an action as a process, ongoing, repeated, or general (чита́ти), and perfective (доко́наний вид), which views it as a single completed whole with a result or boundary (прочита́ти). The consequences are sharp: imperfectives have a present, a past, and BOTH futures (бу́ду чита́ти / чита́тиму); perfectives have NO present — their present-shaped form is future (прочита́ю = 'I will read it through') — only a past (прочита́в) and a simple future (прочита́ю). Aspect is chosen for EVERY verb in EVERY clause; it is not optional, and it has no English equivalent.
- Bare Instrumental vs З + InstrumentalB1 — The decision page for English 'with'. The BARE instrumental (no preposition) marks the instrument or means BY which something is done: пишу́ ру́чкою, ї́ду авто́бусом, рі́жу ноже́м. З + instrumental marks accompaniment — being together with a companion or an added ingredient: йду з дру́гом, ка́ва з молоко́м. One question resolves the English 'with': is X the tool you use, or the company you keep?