Please, thank you, sorry — the small change of social life. Ukrainian's politeness kit is compact and learnable in a single sitting, but it hides two grammatical traps that even confident learners trip over for years: the verb "to thank" governs the dative (so it's дя́кую вам, never дя́кую вас), and a single word, прошу́, does the job of both "please" and "you're welcome." Get these right and you sound courteous and correct; get them wrong and the error is audible in every interaction. This page covers thanking, requesting, apologising, and responding, with the case grammar made explicit.
"Please": будь ла́ска and прошу́
There are two everyday words for "please," and they're largely interchangeable.
- будь ла́ска — the universal, neutral "please." Literally "be [so] kind." Works in any register, with ти or ви.
- прошу́ — literally "I ask/beg," from проси́ти. Slightly more formal or earnest as "please," and — crucially — it also means "here you are" and "you're welcome" (see below). Common as a warm, courteous all-purpose word.
Переда́йте, будь ла́ска, цу́кор.
Pass the sugar, please. (будь ла́ска — the neutral all-purpose 'please', dropped into the request.)
Прошу́, сіда́йте, я за́раз бу́ду.
Please, sit down, I'll be right there. (прошу́ — 'please' as an earnest invitation; also functions as 'here you are'.)
"Thank you" — and the dative trap
The basic thanks is Дя́кую! ("[I] thank"). Intensify it with Вели́ке дя́кую! ("big thanks") or the warm Щи́ро дя́кую! / Щи́ро вдя́чний ("sincerely thank you / I'm sincerely grateful"). The verb behind all of these, дя́кувати, takes its object in the dative — this is the single most important rule on the page.
| Ukrainian | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Дя́кую! | Thank you! | neutral, universal |
| Дя́кую тобі́! / Дя́кую вам! | Thank you! (to you) | dative тобі́ / вам |
| Вели́ке дя́кую! | Thanks a lot! | warm, common |
| Щи́ро дя́кую! | Thank you sincerely! | heartfelt |
| Дя́кую за допомо́гу. | Thanks for the help. | за + accusative |
Дя́кую вам за те́плий прийо́м!
Thank you for the warm welcome! (дя́кую вам — DATIVE of the person; за прийо́м — за + accusative for the thing.)
Вели́ке дя́кую тобі́, ти мене́ ду́же ви́ручив.
Thanks a lot, you really helped me out. (тобі́ — dative; note дя́кую never takes the accusative вас/тебе́.)
Щи́ро дя́кую за запро́шення, обов’язко́во прийде́мо.
Sincerely thank you for the invitation, we'll definitely come. (за запро́шення — the reason for thanks goes under за + accusative.)
The full conjugation and aspect pair (дя́кувати / подя́кувати) sit on the verb дя́кувати; the dative government is part of the broader uses of the dative.
"You're welcome" / "Don't mention it"
When someone thanks you, the standard replies are:
- Будь ла́ска — "you're welcome" (yes, the same word as "please").
- Прошу́ — "you're welcome / not at all" (again doubling as "please").
- Нема́ за що / Нема́є за що — "don't mention it," literally "there's nothing for [it]" — i.e. nothing worth thanking for.
— Дя́кую вам! — Будь ла́ска, зверта́йтеся!
'Thank you!' 'You're welcome, do come again!' (будь ла́ска answers thanks just as it makes a request — one word, two jobs.)
— Ду́же дя́кую! — Нема́ за що, мені́ це неважко́.
'Thank you so much!' 'Don't mention it, it was no trouble for me.' (Нема́ за що — literally 'there's nothing to thank for'.)
So будь ла́ска and прошу́ are genuinely two-faced: each means both "please" and "you're welcome," and context tells them apart. This is a feature to lean into, not a bug to fear.
"Sorry" and "excuse me"
Ukrainian distributes apologies and attention-getting across a small set, partly by aspect/form and partly by register.
| Ukrainian | English | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Ви́бач! / Ви́бачте! | Sorry! / Excuse me! | everyday; ти / ви |
| Проба́ч! / Проба́чте! | Forgive me! | a touch warmer/softer |
| Перепро́шую! | Excuse me / I'm sorry | polite; also to get attention |
| Дару́йте! | Pardon me! | polite, slightly old-fashioned |
Note the singular/plural (ти/ви) pairing in the imperative apologies: Ви́бач! to a friend, Ви́бачте! to the formal ви sphere or several people. Перепро́шую is special — it's first-person ("I beg pardon"), so it doesn't change for ти/ви, and it's the natural way to flag down a stranger ("excuse me…?").
Ви́бачте, я вас не одра́зу впізна́в.
Sorry, I didn't recognise you right away. (Ви́бачте — polite/plural; Ви́бач to a close friend.)
Перепро́шую, ви не підка́жете, котра́ годи́на?
Excuse me, could you tell me what time it is? (Перепро́шую — the standard way to get a stranger's attention.)
Проба́чте за невели́ку за́тримку, поча́тку дове́деться тро́хи почека́ти.
Sorry for the small delay, you'll have to wait a little for the start. (Проба́чте — a slightly softer, warmer apology.)
The imperative forms (Ви́бач/Ви́бачте) and their politeness logic connect to the imperative and politeness, and the ти/ви choice that selects between -ø and -те runs through ти vs ви.
Polite requests: Чи не могли́ б ви…?
To make a request sound courteous rather than blunt, Ukrainian — like English — reaches for the conditional as a softener. The flagship frame is Чи не могли́ б ви + infinitive ("Could you possibly…?"), where the conditional б does the softening. A gentler everyday request simply adds будь ла́ска to an imperative.
Чи не могли́ б ви тро́хи посу́нутися?
Could you move over a little, please? (Чи не могли́ б ви + infinitive — the conditional б softens the request.)
Заче́кайте, будь ла́ска, одну́ хвили́ну.
Please wait one moment. (imperative + будь ла́ска — the simplest polite request.)
The conditional machinery behind могли́ б lives on uses of the conditional.
Congratulations, wishes, and "enjoy your meal"
A close cousin of politeness is the small stock of good-wishes you exchange constantly. Віта́ю! does double duty as "congratulations!" (it also means "hello"). To wish someone well you use Бажа́ю + dative + genitive — literally "I wish (to) you (of) X" — as in Бажа́ю вам успі́хів ("I wish you success"). And before a meal Ukrainian says Смачно́го! ("enjoy your meal," literally "of something tasty" — itself a genitive wish).
Віта́ю з днем наро́дження! Бажа́ю тобі́ здоро́в’я та ща́стя.
Happy birthday! I wish you health and happiness. (Віта́ю з + instrumental for the occasion; Бажа́ю + dative тобі́ + genitive здоро́в’я, ща́стя.)
Смачно́го! — Дя́кую, і вам та́кож.
Enjoy your meal! 'Thanks, you too.' (Смачно́го — a genitive good-wish before eating; the reply mirrors it back.)
Notice the pattern: like greetings, Ukrainian wishes are often genitives (Смачно́го, успі́хів, здоро́в’я) — short for "[I wish you] of good X." This thread of the genitive-of-wishes runs right through Ukrainian courtesy.
Source-language comparison
For an English speaker, three things are new. First, "thank" governs the dative — дя́кую вам/тобі́, with the reason under за + accusative (дя́кую за допомо́гу); there's no direct-object "thank you" the way English has. Second, one word covers "please" and "you're welcome" — both будь ла́ска and прошу́ flip between the two by context, which feels strange at first and natural fast. Third, "don't mention it" is Нема́ за що ("there's nothing for [it]"), a fixed phrase, not a literal translation of any English words. Politeness, requests, and softened asks all lean on the conditional Чи не могли́ б ви…?
For a Russian speaker, swap the lexicon to standard Ukrainian: thank with Дя́кую (not Спаси́бо — though Спаси́бі exists in Ukrainian, the everyday default is Дя́кую), say "please/you're welcome" with будь ла́ска / прошу́ (not Пожа́луйста), and "don't mention it" with Нема́ за що. Keep the dative government of дя́кувати, mind the apostrophe (за́пис, прийо́м have none, but watch words like з’ясува́ти elsewhere) and the stress on Дя́кую, Перепро́шую, будь ла́ска.
Common Mistakes
❌ Дя́кую вас за допомо́гу. (accusative after дя́кувати)
дя́кувати takes the DATIVE of the person — Дя́кую вам за допомо́гу. (за + accusative is only for the reason.)
✅ Дя́кую вам за допомо́гу.
Thank you for the help — dative вам, reason under за.
❌ Дя́кую для допомо́ги. (для for the reason of thanks)
The reason for thanks goes under за + accusative, not для: Дя́кую за допомо́гу.
✅ Дя́кую за допомо́гу.
Thanks for the help — за + accusative.
❌ Ви́бач! (said to a stranger or elder)
Ви́бач is informal singular — for the formal ви sphere use Ви́бачте! or Перепро́шую!
✅ Ви́бачте!
Excuse me / Sorry — polite/plural form.
❌ — Дя́кую! — Нема́ за що дя́кувати ме́не. (over-literal reply)
The fixed reply is simply Нема́ за що — 'there's nothing for [it]', no extra words.
✅ Нема́ за що.
Don't mention it — the set 'you're welcome' phrase.
Key Takeaways
- "Please": будь ла́ска (neutral) or прошу́ — and both also mean "you're welcome."
- "Thank you": Дя́кую, intensified to Вели́ке дя́кую / Щи́ро дя́кую — and the verb takes the dative (Дя́кую вам/тобі́), with the reason under за + accusative (за допомо́гу).
- "You're welcome / don't mention it": Будь ла́ска / Прошу́ / Нема́(є) за що ("there's nothing for it").
- "Sorry / excuse me": Ви́бач(те)! / Проба́ч(те)! / Перепро́шую! / Дару́йте! — Перепро́шую also flags down a stranger; the -те form is polite/plural.
- Polite requests use the conditional: Чи не могли́ б ви + infinitive, or simply imperative + будь ла́ска. </content>
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- Using the Imperative (Politeness and Softening)A2 — How commands land depends on form. The bare 2sg (Дай!, Іди!) is intimate or blunt; the -те plural doubles as the POLITE singular with ви (Да́йте, будь ла́ска). Softeners — будь ла́ска, прошу́, чи не могли́ б ви, дава́йте — turn an order into a request. Invitations and offers use the imperfective for warmth (Заходьте! Сіда́йте! Пригоща́йтеся!), and prohibitions take the imperfective (Не хвилю́йтеся). The хай / неха́й forms carry wishes and slogans (Неха́й щасти́ть!).
- Ти vs Ви: Informal and Formal YouA1 — English 'you' splits in two in Ukrainian: ти is singular and informal (family, friends, children, peers, God), while ви is both the plural 'you' and the polite singular for strangers, elders, and officials. The verb takes plural agreement with ви even for one person (Ви ма́єте ра́цію), the capitalized Ви signals respect in letters, and moving from ви to ти (перейти́ на «ти») is a real social step you often propose out loud.
- Greetings and FarewellsA1 — Everyday Ukrainian hellos and goodbyes with register and time-of-day. Greetings: Приві́т! (informal 'hi'), Добри́день! / До́брий день! 'good day', До́брого ра́нку! 'good morning', До́брий ве́чір! / Добри́вечір! 'good evening', Віта́ю! 'greetings', and the folksy Здоро́в був! / Здоро́ві були́!. Farewells: До поба́чення! 'goodbye' (lit. 'until our seeing'), Бува́й! / Бува́йте! (informal 'bye'), До зу́стрічі! 'see you', На добра́ніч! 'good night', Щасли́во! and Усьо́го найкра́щого! 'all the best'. The insight English speakers miss: Ukrainian often greets in the GENITIVE (До́брого ра́нку! — a wish 'of a good morning'), and farewells like До поба́чення literally mean 'until (our) seeing' (до + genitive); the choice Приві́т/Бува́й (informal) vs Добри́день/До поба́чення (neutral-formal) tracks the ти/ви relationship.
- Using the Conditional (Якби, Polite Requests, Wishes)B1 — One conditional construction (past-tense verb + би/б) does the work English splits across 'would', 'would have', 'could', and polite 'I'd like'. This page covers hypothetical and counterfactual conditions with якби́ ('if'), polite softened requests (Я хоті́в би, Чи не могли́ б ви), and wishes (Якби́ ж, Хоч би) — and shows why Ukrainian needs no separate 'would have' past conditional.