A short answer needs no signposting; a real conversation — a turn that runs several sentences, raises a topic, digresses, doubles back, and wraps up — needs discourse-management markers to stay coherent. Ukrainian organises longer turns with a set of fixed phrasal markers: щодо́ and стосо́вно introduce a topic ('as for X'), до ре́чі drops in an aside ('by the way'), тобто́ reformulates ('that is'), and коро́тше ка́жучи pulls everything together ('in short'). Deploying these well is one of the clearest markers of advanced command — it's the difference between a learner who answers questions and a speaker who holds the floor and steers the talk.
Introducing a topic: щодо́, стосо́вно, що ж до…
To raise or switch to a topic, the standard Ukrainian move is щодо́ + genitive ('as for, regarding, concerning'). Its slightly more formal twin is стосо́вно + genitive ('regarding, with respect to'). Both pull a topic to the front of the clause and frequently take a resumptive то before the comment ('as for X, then it is…'). For a heavier, more deliberate frame there's що ж до + genitive ('as far as X is concerned'), which signals you're now turning to a particular matter you've been holding back.
| Marker | Meaning | Note |
|---|---|---|
| щодо́ + gen. | as for, regarding | the standard topic-shifter; often + то |
| стосо́вно + gen. | regarding, concerning | slightly more formal |
| що ж до + gen. | as far as … is concerned | deliberate, foregrounds the topic |
Щодо́ ці́ни, то вона́ для нас зана́дто висо́ка.
As for the price, it's too high for us. (щодо́ + genitive ці́ни, with resumptive то.)
Стосо́вно ва́шого запи́ту, ми ві́дповімо протя́гом ти́жня.
Regarding your enquiry, we'll reply within a week. (стосо́вно + genitive; the more formal topic frame.)
План загало́м непога́ний. Що ж до строкі́в, то їх дове́деться перегля́нути.
The plan is decent overall. As far as the deadlines are concerned, though, we'll have to revise them. (що ж до — deliberately turns to a held-back point.)
Shifting and digressing: до ре́чі, між і́ншим, до сло́ва, а втім
To drop in a related aside, Ukrainian uses до ре́чі ('by the way, incidentally') — the everyday way to launch a relevant tangent — and its slightly bookish twin між і́ншим ('by the way, incidentally'). до сло́ва ('speaking of which, while we're at it') links the aside to what was just said. And а втім ('though, then again, on second thought') marks a digression that softens or qualifies your own previous statement — a small self-correction mid-flow.
До ре́чі, я за́втра бу́ду в твоє́му райо́ні — мо́жемо перети́нутися.
By the way, I'll be in your part of town tomorrow — we could meet up. (до ре́чі — the everyday aside.)
Між і́ншим, цю кни́жку мені́ ще в шко́лі ра́дили.
Incidentally, this book was recommended to me back in school. (між і́ншим — a slightly bookish 'by the way'.)
Ти каза́в про Льві́в — до сло́ва, ми туди́ ї́демо на ви́хідні.
You mentioned Lviv — speaking of which, we're going there for the weekend. (до сло́ва — links the aside to what was just said.)
Я ду́мав відмо́витися. А втім, мо́же, ва́рто спро́бувати.
I was thinking of declining. Then again, maybe it's worth a try. (а втім — qualifies one's own previous thought.)
Returning to the thread: поверта́ючись до…, о́тже
After a digression you need to come back. The dedicated marker is the gerund поверта́ючись до + genitive ('returning to, coming back to') — it explicitly re-opens the topic you left. The connector о́тже ('so, anyway') also serves to resume after a tangent ('so, as I was saying'), gathering the thread back up.
Поверта́ючись до на́шої розмо́ви, я все ж пого́джуюся з тобо́ю.
Coming back to our conversation, I do agree with you after all. (поверта́ючись до + genitive — explicitly re-opens the topic.)
…ну, це окре́ма істо́рія. О́тже, на чо́му ми зупини́лися?
…well, that's a separate story. So, where were we? (о́тже resumes after the tangent.)
Reformulating: тобто́, іна́кше ка́жучи, точні́ше, вла́сне ка́жучи
When you want to say it again, more clearly, Ukrainian reformulates with тобто́ ('that is, i.e.') — the workhorse for restating or specifying. іна́кше ка́жучи ('in other words') re-expresses the whole idea differently. точні́ше ('more precisely, or rather') tightens or corrects what you just said. And вла́сне ка́жучи ('as a matter of fact, actually, strictly speaking') introduces the real, precise version of the point — often after a looser first pass. (For the full reformulation toolkit see clarification and reformulation.)
Зу́стріч перенесли́ на пі́слязавтра, тобто́ на четве́р.
The meeting's been moved to the day after tomorrow, that is, to Thursday. (тобто́ — restates more specifically.)
Прое́кт не окупи́вся. Іна́кше ка́жучи, ми спрацюва́ли в мі́нус.
The project didn't pay off. In other words, we operated at a loss. (іна́кше ка́жучи — re-expresses the idea.)
Зустрі́немося вве́чері, точні́ше — о во́сьмій годи́ні.
Let's meet in the evening, or rather, at eight o'clock. (точні́ше — tightens the first version.)
Вла́сне ка́жучи, я й сам не зна́ю, чого́ хо́чу.
As a matter of fact, I don't even know myself what I want. (вла́сне ка́жучи — introduces the real, candid point.)
Closing and summarizing: коро́тше ка́жучи, одни́м сло́вом, підсумо́вуючи, зага́лом
To wrap up a long turn, Ukrainian reaches for коро́тше ка́жучи (often clipped to just коро́тше) — 'in short, to cut it short', the most conversational closer. одни́м сло́вом ('in a word, in short') and підсумо́вуючи ('to sum up, summarising') are tidier, more deliberate wrap-ups. зага́лом means 'in general, all in all, on the whole' — it offers an overall verdict after the details.
Коро́тше, ми запізни́лися, заблука́ли, але́ зре́штою все скла́лося.
In short, we were late, we got lost, but in the end it all worked out. (коро́тше — the conversational 'long story short'.)
Зага́лом, по́їздка вда́лася, попри дрібні́ накла́дки.
All in all, the trip was a success, despite a few small hitches. (зага́лом — an overall verdict.)
Підсумо́вуючи, я підтри́мую цю пропози́цію.
To sum up, I support this proposal. (підсумо́вуючи — a deliberate, formal wrap-up.)
Turn-taking and holding the floor
Real conversation is even-handed — you also need to hand the turn over and to buy yourself a moment. To invite the other side, Ukrainian uses а що ви ду́маєте? ('and what do you think?') or а як на ва́шу ду́мку? ('and in your view?'). To hold the floor while you gather a thought, the natural fillers are ну ('well…'), як би це сказа́ти ('how should I put it…') and зна́єте ('you know…'). These keep the turn yours without leaving an awkward silence.
Я б розпоча́в з найва́жливішого. А що ви ду́маєте?
I'd start with the most important thing. And what do you think? (hands the turn over.)
Ну, як би це сказа́ти… мені́ потрі́бно ще тро́хи поду́мати.
Well, how should I put it… I need to think a bit more. (floor-holders ну / як би це сказа́ти.)
Source-language comparison
For an English speaker, two things are new. First, the topic-shifter щодо́ / стосо́вно governs the genitive — there's no English case to worry about, so you must train the ending: щодо́ ці́ни, стосо́вно цьо́го пита́ння. The English 'as for / regarding' simply takes a noun; the Ukrainian equivalent demands a genitive object (see genitive prepositions). Second, the resumptive то ('Щодо́ X, то…') has no English counterpart — English just says 'as for X, it's…', with no linking word — so the то feels redundant to an English ear, but it's the idiomatic frame. Beyond that, the markers map well: до ре́чі ≈ 'by the way', тобто́ ≈ 'that is', коро́тше ≈ 'in short'.
For a Russian speaker: use the Ukrainian forms — щодо́, стосо́вно, до ре́чі, тобто́, іна́кше ка́жучи, коро́тше ка́жучи, зага́лом, підсумо́вуючи — and watch the stress (щодо́, тобто́, зага́лом) and the genitive government, which works as you'd expect.
Common Mistakes
❌ Щодо́ ці́на, то вона́ висо́ка.
щодо́ takes the GENITIVE — щодо́ ці́ни, not the nominative ці́на.
✅ Щодо́ ці́ни, то вона́ висо́ка.
As for the price, it's high.
❌ Що до строкі́в, то їх тре́ба перегля́нути.
The deliberate frame is що Ж до — with the particle же — not bare «що до»: Що ж до строкі́в, то…
✅ Що ж до строкі́в, то їх тре́ба перегля́нути.
As far as the deadlines are concerned, they need revising.
❌ Зу́стріч перенесли́ на четве́р, то є на пі́слязавтра.
The reformulator is one word, тобто́ ('that is'), not «то є»: …на четве́р, тобто́ на пі́слязавтра.
✅ Зу́стріч перенесли́ на четве́р, тобто́ на пі́слязавтра.
The meeting's moved to Thursday, that is, to the day after tomorrow.
❌ До ре́чі я за́втра бу́ду в твоє́му райо́ні.
Missing comma — до ре́чі is parenthetical: До ре́чі, я за́втра бу́ду в твоє́му райо́ні.
✅ До ре́чі, я за́втра бу́ду в твоє́му райо́ні.
By the way, I'll be in your area tomorrow.
❌ Коро́тше ка́жучи я підтри́мую цю іде́ю.
The closing frame is set off by a comma: Коро́тше ка́жучи, я підтри́мую цю іде́ю.
✅ Коро́тше ка́жучи, я підтри́мую цю іде́ю.
In short, I support this idea.
Key Takeaways
- Introduce a topic: щодо́ / стосо́вно + genitive ('as for / regarding'), often with resumptive то; що ж до + genitive deliberately foregrounds a held-back point.
- Digress: до ре́чі / між і́ншим ('by the way'), до сло́ва ('speaking of'), а втім ('then again', qualifies your own point).
- Return: поверта́ючись до + genitive ('coming back to'), о́тже ('so, as I was saying').
- Reformulate: тобто́ ('that is'), іна́кше ка́жучи ('in other words'), точні́ше ('or rather'), вла́сне ка́жучи ('as a matter of fact').
- Close: коро́тше (ка́жучи) ('in short'), одни́м сло́вом ('in a word'), підсумо́вуючи ('to sum up'), зага́лом ('all in all').
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- Connectors of Addition and SequenceB1 — Discourse connectors that add and sequence ideas in Ukrainian writing and speech: addition (тако́ж / теж 'also', крім то́го 'besides', до то́го ж 'moreover', бі́льше то́го 'what's more', не ті́льки… а й 'not only… but also') and sequence (по-пе́рше / по-дру́ге / по-тре́тє 'firstly/secondly/thirdly', споча́тку 'at first', по́тім / да́лі 'then/next', наре́шті / зре́штою 'finally', відта́к, вре́шті-решт) — the fixed chunks that structure a coherent paragraph, with written vs spoken register and the commas they need.
- 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).
- Clarifying and ReformulatingB2 — The fixed connectors Ukrainian uses to restate, sharpen, and illustrate a point. Reformulation: то́бто 'that is / i.e.' (the everyday workhorse), іна́кше ка́жучи 'in other words', точні́ше 'more precisely' (the self-correction marker), а са́ме 'namely'. Exemplifying: напри́клад 'for example', зокре́ма 'in particular', як-о́т 'such as', ска́жімо 'let's say'. Approximating: так би мо́вити 'so to speak'. The insight English speakers miss is that precise spoken and written Ukrainian leans on these fixed connectors — with то́бто doing the heavy lifting of English 'I mean / that is' — rather than just restarting the sentence.
- Prepositions Governing the GenitiveA2 — The genitive governs the largest set of Ukrainian prepositions — the prepositions of absence, benefit, origin, bounded destination, proximity, sequence, and opposition: без, для, до, від, з/із/зі, бі́ля/ко́ло, по́близу, се́ред/посере́д, навко́ло/довко́ла, після, про́ти/навпро́ти, замість, крім/окрім, ра́ди/зара́ди, протя́гом, під час. The key insight for English speakers is that the rich meanings of English 'to', 'from', and 'for' fan out across several fixed genitive pairings — до (to a person / up to a limit), від (from a source), з (out of a place), для (for a beneficiary) — each learned as one unit.
- Stance and Opinion MarkersB1 — The comma-set parentheticals that let a Ukrainian speaker frame a proposition: opinion (на мою́ ду́мку / по-мо́єму 'in my opinion', я вважа́ю 'I consider', як на ме́не 'as for me'), certainty (безпере́чно 'undoubtedly', очеви́дно 'obviously', напе́вно 'surely'), hedging (ма́буть 'probably', мо́жливо 'perhaps', зда́ється 'it seems', ні́би / ні́бито 'supposedly'), evaluation (на жаль 'unfortunately', на ща́стя 'fortunately', чесно ка́жучи 'frankly'), and the reported-speech particle мовля́в — explaining that Ukrainian carries attitude through these comma-set adverbials, not through tone alone.
- Conversational Formulae and FillersB1 — The fixed conversational chunks that lubricate Ukrainian speech: fillers and hesitation (ну, зна́єш, ти́пу, як би це сказа́ти, ко́ротше, вла́сне), reactions (Та ну?!, Спра́вді?, Невже́?, Бо́же мій!, Оце́ так!), agreement and turn-taking (Зго́ден, Авже́ж, Звича́йно, Ясна́ річ), and softeners (че́сно ка́жучи, до ре́чі, між і́ншим) — the formulaic chunks that make a learner sound fluent and engaged.