English has one word — "despite" — that happily attaches to either a noun ("despite the rain") or a whole clause ("despite the fact that it rained"), and a second word, "although," that introduces clauses. Ukrainian draws the line more sharply, and getting it right is the whole game on this page. Concession — admitting an obstacle and then overriding it — splits cleanly in two. When the obstacle is a clause (a subject doing a verb), you reach for the conjunction хоч / хоча́ "although." When the obstacle is a noun phrase, you reach for the prepositions попри or незважа́ючи на, both of which govern the accusative. So "although it rained" is хоча́ йшов дощ (a clause), but "despite the rain" is попри дощ / незважа́ючи на дощ (a noun). Mixing these up is the single most common concession error English speakers make.
| What follows | Use | Government | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| a full CLAUSE (subject + verb) | хоч / хоча́ / дарма́ що | conjunction → finite clause | Хоча́ йшов дощ, ми пішли́. |
| a NOUN phrase | попри / незважа́ючи на | preposition → accusative | Попри дощ ми пішли́. |
| a CLAUSE, but with the noun-preposition | незважа́ючи на те, що | preposition + те, що + clause | Незважа́ючи на те, що йшов дощ, ми пішли́. |
| "no matter what / however" | хоч + question word (+ би) | concessive-generalising clause | Хоч би що ста́лося, я з тобо́ю. |
Clause-introducing: хоч / хоча́ "although"
When you want to admit a whole situation — a subject performing an action — use the conjunction хоч (shorter, more conversational) or хоча́ (slightly fuller, identical in meaning). The concessive clause can come first or second; when it comes first, a comma separates it, and the main clause often picks it up with а / але́ / та / все одно́ "but / still."
Хоч було́ вже пі́зно, він усе́-таки прийшо́в.
Although it was already late, he came all the same.
Хоча́ я страше́нно втоми́вся, я доробив звіт до кінця́.
Although I was terribly tired, I finished the report to the end.
Вона́ всміха́лася, хоч на душі́ було́ ва́жко.
She was smiling, although her heart was heavy.
Note that хоч has a second, completely separate life as the particle "at least / even" (дай хоч сто гри́вень "give me at least a hundred hryvnias") — context tells the two apart instantly, but don't be thrown when you meet it outside a concession.
Noun-governing: попри + accusative, незважа́ючи на + accusative
To concede a noun, Ukrainian uses two near-synonymous prepositions, both taking the accusative case.
Попри is the tighter, slightly more bookish one — a single word that drops straight onto the noun: попри все "despite everything," попри тру́днощі "despite the difficulties." Незважа́ючи на is built from the adverbial participle незважа́ючи ("not looking at") plus the preposition на, and that на is what carries the accusative — you must never drop it.
Попри всі тру́днощі, прое́кт удало́ся завершити вча́сно.
Despite all the difficulties, the project was finished on time.
Незважа́ючи на си́льний дощ, матч не скасува́ли.
Despite the heavy rain, the match wasn't cancelled.
Він пішо́в працюва́ти попри хворо́бу — лежа́ти вдо́ма не зміг.
He went to work despite being ill — he just couldn't lie at home.
Because both are accusative, a feminine noun shows its accusative ending: незважа́ючи на втому "despite the tiredness" (втома → втому), попри небезпе́ку "despite the danger" (небезпе́ка → небезпе́ку). The masculine inanimate accusative looks like the nominative (попри дощ, попри страх), which can hide the case — but it is accusative all the same.
When the obstacle really is a clause but you still want the heavier незважа́ючи на, bridge it with те, що "the fact that": незважа́ючи на те, що + clause. Here на governs the pronoun те (accusative), and що opens the clause.
Незважа́ючи на те, що ми ма́йже не готува́лися, і́спит склали всі.
Despite the fact that we'd barely prepared, everyone passed the exam.
Дарма́ що: the dismissive "even though"
A more colloquial clause-conjunction is дарма́ що "even though / never mind that," which carries a faint shrug — it concedes the point while brushing it aside as not mattering.
Дарма́ що мали́й, а характер у ньо́го залізний.
Never mind that he's little — he's got an iron will.
Вона́ впо́ралася сама́, дарма́ що ніхто́ не ві́рив.
She managed on her own, even though nobody believed she would.
"No matter what / however": хоч + question word
To say "no matter what / whoever / however much," Ukrainian combines хоч with a question word (що, хто, як, скі́льки, де, коли́…), very often reinforced by the particle би/б and sometimes a following не. This is the concessive-generalising clause: it concedes every value of the variable at once.
| English | Ukrainian |
|---|---|
| no matter what happens | хоч би що ста́лося / що б не ста́лося |
| no matter who | хоч хто / хто б не |
| however hard you try | хоч як старайся / як не старайся |
| however much it costs | хоч скі́льки це кошту́є |
Хоч би що ста́лося, я за́вжди буду на твоє́му бо́ці.
No matter what happens, I'll always be on your side.
Як я не намага́вся, відчини́ти ці две́рі так і не вдало́ся.
However hard I tried, I just couldn't get this door open.
Хоч скі́льки йому́ поясню́й, він усе́ роби́ть по-сво́єму.
No matter how much you explain to him, he still does everything his own way.
Here the не in як я не намага́вся is not a real negation — "however hard I tried" does not mean I failed to try. It is a fixed concessive-generalising marker; translating it as a negative is a classic mistake.
The хай / неха́й concessive and "still / anyway"
The imperative particle хай / неха́й (normally "let / may") has a concessive use meaning "let it be so, granted — but…": хай і так "even so / let that be the case." The follow-up clause then overrides it, usually with все одно́ / все ж / все ж таки́ "still / all the same / anyway."
Хай так, але́ я все одно́ не зго́дна з таки́м рі́шенням.
Granted, but I still don't agree with such a decision.
Неха́й він і не геній, зате́ працьови́тий і наді́йний.
So he's no genius — still, he's hard-working and reliable.
Дорого, звича́йно. Але́ воно́ того́ ва́рте, все ж таки́.
Expensive, of course. But it's worth it, all the same.
The pair все одно́ ("it's all the same / anyway") and все ж (таки́) ("still / nonetheless") are the everyday "anyway" words that close off a concession — keep them in your pocket for spoken Ukrainian.
Source-language comparison
For an English speaker, the one rewiring that matters: stop using a single word for both nouns and clauses. English "despite" works on both ("despite the rain," "despite the fact that…"); Ukrainian splits them — попри / незважа́ючи на + accusative for a noun, хоч / хоча́ for a clause. And "no matter what/how" is not a separate idiom to memorise whole; it is хоч + a question word (хоч що, хоч як, хоч скі́льки), often with би and a non-negating не.
For a Russian speaker, the building blocks rhyme (несмотря на → незважа́ючи на, хотя → хоча́, пусть → хай/неха́й), but попри has no everyday Russian equivalent and is worth adopting as the crisp, native "despite." Note too that the participle is незважа́ючи (not the Russian несмотря), and remember the obligatory на that carries the accusative.
Common Mistakes
❌ Незважа́ючи дощ, ми пішли́.
Incorrect — незважа́ючи needs its preposition на before the noun: Незважа́ючи на дощ, ми пішли́.
✅ Незважа́ючи на дощ, ми пішли́.
Despite the rain, we set off.
❌ Попри що йшов дощ, ми пішли́.
Incorrect — попри governs a NOUN, not a clause. For a clause use хоча́: Хоча́ йшов дощ, ми пішли́ (or незважа́ючи на те, що йшов дощ).
✅ Хоча́ йшов дощ, ми пішли́.
Although it was raining, we set off.
❌ Хоча́ на тру́днощі, прое́кт завершили.
Incorrect — the opposite slip: хоча́ introduces a clause, not a noun. For the noun 'difficulties' use попри/незважа́ючи на: Попри тру́днощі, прое́кт завершили.
✅ Попри тру́днощі, прое́кт завершили.
Despite the difficulties, the project was finished.
❌ Як я намага́вся, нічо́го не ви́йшло.
Incomplete — the concessive-generalising 'however hard I tried' needs не: Як я не намага́вся, нічо́го не ви́йшло (the не doesn't negate trying).
✅ Як я не намага́вся, нічо́го не ви́йшло.
However hard I tried, nothing worked out.
❌ Незважа́ючи на те що ми втоми́лися, ми продо́вжили.
Punctuation — the comma falls inside the bridge, between те and що: Незважа́ючи на те, що ми втоми́лися, ми продо́вжили.
✅ Незважа́ючи на те, що ми втоми́лися, ми продо́вжили.
Despite the fact that we were tired, we carried on.
Key Takeaways
- Noun vs clause is the whole decision. Noun → попри / незважа́ючи на
- accusative. Clause → хоч / хоча́ (или дарма́ що).
- незважа́ючи на must keep its на — that preposition carries the accusative. To attach a clause to it, bridge with те, що: незважа́ючи на те, що….
- попри is the crisp, native "despite" for a noun phrase: попри все, попри тру́днощі.
- "No matter what/how" = хоч + question word (+ би / non-negating не): хоч би що ста́лося, як не старайся, хоч скі́льки.
- Close a concession in speech with хай і так, все одно́, все ж таки́ "even so / anyway / still."
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- Connectors of Contrast and ConcessionB1 — The Ukrainian toolkit for marking that two ideas clash: contrast connectors (одна́к / проте́ 'however', натомі́сть 'instead', з одного́ бо́ку… з і́ншого бо́ку 'on one hand… on the other', а 'whereas') and concession (все ж / все-та́ки 'still', тим не ме́нш 'nonetheless', незважа́ючи на це 'despite this', хоча́ 'although'), plus the counter-expectation pair наспра́вді 'actually' and навпаки́ 'on the contrary' — and the key insight that written Ukrainian keeps the inter-sentential 'however' (одна́к, проте́) distinct from the clause-internal 'but' (але́, а).
- Subordinating Conjunctions: Condition, Purpose, ConcessionB1 — Three families of subordinators that English collapses or marks only with verb forms. CONDITION: якщо́ 'if' for real/likely conditions (with the FUTURE — Якщо́ бу́де дощ, залиши́мося вдо́ма) versus якби́ 'if' for hypotheticals (with PAST + би/б — Якби́ був дощ, ми б залиши́лися). PURPOSE: щоб 'so that / in order to', + infinitive for the same subject, + past form for a different subject; also для то́го щоб, аби́. CONCESSION: хоч/хоча́ 'although', незважа́ючи на те що 'despite', дарма́ що, хай/нехай 'even if'. Comma before the subordinator.
- Conditional Sentences (Real and Unreal)B1 — Ukrainian splits 'if'-sentences into just two patterns where English has three or more. REAL conditions use якщо́ + the indicative (typically the FUTURE in BOTH clauses): Якщо́ бу́де дощ, ми залиши́мося вдо́ма. UNREAL/hypothetical conditions use якби́ + the past form, with би/б in BOTH clauses: Якби́ я був бага́тий, я б подорожува́в — and this single form covers BOTH 'if I were' (present-unreal) and 'if I had been' (past-unreal); context and aspect tell them apart. There is no separate 'would have'.
- Types of Subordinate Clause: An OverviewB2 — A map of the Ukrainian subordinate-clause system — complement (що 'that', чи 'whether'), relative (який, що, котрий), and adverbial clauses of time, cause, purpose, condition and concession — showing that every subordinate clause is overtly introduced by a conjunction AND set off by a comma, and that the clause type dictates the verb form (future after коли, past + би after якби, past after щоб with a different subject).
- Modal and Imperative Particles (Хай/Нехай, -но, Давай, Бодай)B1 — Ukrainian builds third-person commands and wishes with хай/нехай + a present/future verb (Хай прийде́ 'let him come', Неха́й живе́ Украї́на! 'long live Ukraine!'), says 'let's' with дава́й/дава́йте, softens or urges a direct command with the enclitic -но/-бо (Скажи́-но 'do tell', Гля́нь-но! 'just look!'), and wishes with бода́й and нехай би/хоч би 'if only'. Where English needs a whole periphrastic 'let him…' or 'do… would you', Ukrainian uses a single particle.