Ordering food, reading a recipe, doing the shopping — all of it runs on container and measure phrases, and in Ukrainian these are built on a single rule that surprises English speakers: the "of" disappears. "A cup of coffee" is ча́шка ка́ви — literally "cup coffee," with the contents simply standing in the genitive case right after the container. There's no preposition. This is the everyday, kitchen-table face of the genitive of quantity, and once you see it, a whole class of phrases falls into place: скля́нка води́ "a glass of water," пля́шка вина́ "a bottle of wine," кілогра́м цу́кру "a kilo of sugar." This page drills the container, the measure, and the bare-genitive contents.
Containers + genitive
Start with the containers you'll use daily. Each takes its contents in the genitive singular.
| Phrase | English | Genitive of… |
|---|---|---|
| ча́шка ка́ви | a cup of coffee | ка́ва → ка́ви |
| скля́нка води́ | a glass of water | вода́ → води́ |
| скля́нка со́ку | a glass of juice | сік → со́ку |
| пля́шка вина́ | a bottle of wine | вино́ → вина́ |
| тарі́лка су́пу | a bowl of soup | суп → су́пу |
| паке́т молока́ | a carton of milk | молоко́ → молока́ |
| ча́шка ча́ю | a cup of tea | чай → ча́ю |
| ло́жка со́лі | a spoon of salt | сіль → со́лі |
Notice that the genitive ending varies by noun (ка́ви, води́, вина́, со́лі) — that's normal declension, covered on the genitive pages. The constant is the structure: container in whatever case the sentence needs, contents always in the genitive.
Мо́жна ча́шку ка́ви й скля́нку води́, будь ла́ска?
Can I get a cup of coffee and a glass of water, please? (ча́шку — accusative of the container; ка́ви, води́ — genitive contents.)
Ві́зьми з холоди́льника паке́т молока́ — він майже поро́жній.
Grab the carton of milk from the fridge — it's almost empty. (паке́т молока́ = carton + genitive of молоко́.)
До ри́би замо́вили пля́шку біло́го вина́.
With the fish we ordered a bottle of white wine. (пля́шку — accusative container; вина́ — genitive contents.)
Measures + genitive
The same logic governs units of measure — weight, volume, length — and "a piece of." The unit comes first, the substance follows in the genitive.
| Phrase | English |
|---|---|
| кілогра́м цу́кру | a kilogram of sugar |
| кілогра́м я́блук | a kilogram of apples |
| пів кіло́ сиру | half a kilo of cheese |
| літр води́ | a litre of water |
| метр ткани́ни | a metre of fabric |
| шмато́к хлі́ба | a piece / slice of bread |
| шмато́к то́рта | a piece of cake |
One thing to flag: with a mass noun like sugar or cheese, the contents are genitive singular (цу́кру, сиру). But with a countable thing like apples, "a kilo of apples" puts them in the genitive plural: кілогра́м я́блук ("kilo of apples"). Same structure, but the contents pluralise because apples are counted, not poured.
Зва́жте, будь ла́ска, кілогра́м я́блук і пів кіло́ виногра́ду.
Please weigh out a kilo of apples and half a kilo of grapes. (я́блук — genitive PLURAL of countable apples; виногра́ду — genitive singular of the mass noun.)
Хо́чеш шмато́к то́рта? Я що́йно його́ розрі́зала.
Want a piece of cake? I've just cut it. (шмато́к + genitive то́рта.)
Quantifiers: бага́то / ма́ло / тро́хи + genitive
The "vague amount" words — бага́то "a lot," ма́ло "little / few," тро́хи "a bit," кі́лька / де́кілька "a few," сті́льки "so much" — also govern the genitive. With mass nouns it's genitive singular (бага́то ча́су "a lot of time"); with countables it's genitive plural (бага́то люде́й "a lot of people").
| Quantifier |
|
|
|---|---|---|
| бага́то | бага́то води́ (a lot of water) | бага́то книжо́к (a lot of books) |
| ма́ло | ма́ло ча́су (little time) | ма́ло друзі́в (few friends) |
| тро́хи | тро́хи цу́кру (a bit of sugar) | тро́хи горі́хів (a few nuts) |
| кі́лька | — | кі́лька хвили́н (a few minutes) |
Дода́й тро́хи со́лі й бага́то зе́лені — так смачні́ше.
Add a bit of salt and lots of herbs — it's tastier that way. (тро́хи со́лі, бага́то зе́лені — both + genitive.)
У ме́не ма́ло ча́су, тому́ ві́зьму лише́ ка́ву на ви́ніс.
I'm short on time, so I'll just grab a coffee to go. (ма́ло + genitive singular ча́су.)
Counting containers: дві ча́шки ка́ви
When you count the containers, a second agreement kicks in — on the container itself. After два / три / чоти́ри (and their compounds), the container takes the nominative plural form used with those numbers (дві ча́шки, три скля́нки); after п’ять and up, it takes the genitive plural (п’ять ча́шок). The contents stay in the genitive throughout. So you stack two layers: number → container, container → contents.
| Number | Phrase | English |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | одна́ ча́шка ка́ви | one cup of coffee |
| 2–4 | дві / три ча́шки ка́ви | two / three cups of coffee |
| 5+ | п’ять ча́шок ка́ви | five cups of coffee |
The number-driven shape of the container (ча́шка → ча́шки → ча́шок) is the standard numeral-agreement pattern — see numeral agreement. The contents (ка́ви) don't care about the number; they answer only to the container.
Нам, будь ла́ска, дві ча́шки ка́ви й одну́ скля́нку со́ку.
Two cups of coffee and one glass of juice for us, please. (дві ча́шки — number 2 + nom. pl. container; ка́ви — genitive contents.)
За ра́нок я ви́пив п’ять ча́шок ча́ю — забага́то, ма́буть.
Over the morning I drank five cups of tea — too much, probably. (п’ять ча́шок — number 5 + genitive plural container; ча́ю — genitive contents.)
Source-language comparison
For an English speaker, the headline is that there is no word for "of." English "a cup OF coffee," "a kilo OF sugar," "a lot OF time" all have an explicit "of"; Ukrainian deletes it and signals the relationship with a genitive ending on the contents — ча́шка ка́ви, кілогра́м цу́кру, бага́то ча́су. Don't hunt for a preposition. The second difference is the mass vs count split: pourable substances go genitive singular (цу́кру, води́), countable things go genitive plural (я́блук, друзі́в) — English uses the bare plural for both ("of apples," "of friends"). And when you count the containers, the container itself reshapes after the number (дві ча́шки, п’ять ча́шок) while the contents hold steady.
For a Russian speaker: the structure matches, but mind the surface forms — ча́шка for cup, скля́нка for (drinking) glass, паке́т молока́ for a milk carton, and the genitive endings (со́ку, ча́ю with -у/-ю). Say в Украї́ні and keep apostrophes (п’ять).
Common Mistakes
❌ ча́шка ка́ва
The contents go in the GENITIVE, not the nominative: ча́шка ка́ви ('a cup of coffee'). ка́ва is the dictionary form; here it must decline.
✅ ча́шка ка́ви
a cup of coffee.
❌ скля́нка з водо́ю
Don't insert a preposition — 'a glass of water' is the bare genitive: скля́нка води́. (скля́нка з водо́ю would mean a glass physically WITH water in it, a different nuance.)
✅ скля́нка води́
a glass of water.
❌ кілогра́м я́блука
Apples are countable, so 'a kilo of apples' takes the genitive PLURAL: кілогра́м я́блук, not the singular я́блука.
✅ кілогра́м я́блук
a kilo of apples.
❌ бага́то ча́с
Quantifiers govern the genitive: бага́то ча́су ('a lot of time'), not the nominative ча́с.
✅ бага́то ча́су
a lot of time.
❌ дві ча́шок ка́ви
After два/дві the container takes the plural form ча́шки (not the genitive plural): дві ча́шки ка́ви. The genitive plural ча́шок is for п’ять and up.
✅ дві ча́шки ка́ви
two cups of coffee.
Key Takeaways
- Container/measure + contents in the GENITIVE, no "of": ча́шка ка́ви, кілогра́м цу́кру, шмато́к хлі́ба.
- The contents are genitive singular for mass nouns (цу́кру, води́) but genitive plural for countables (я́блук).
- Quantifiers бага́то / ма́ло / тро́хи / кі́лька also take the genitive (бага́то ча́су, тро́хи со́лі).
- Counting containers adds a second agreement on the container: дві ча́шки (2–4, nom. pl.) vs п’ять ча́шок (5+, gen. pl.); the contents stay genitive.
- Don't translate "of" with a word — the genitive ending carries it.
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- Genitive with Comparatives and QuantifiersB1 — The genitive marks the substance being measured, quantified, or compared: 'than' is від + GENITIVE (ви́щий від бра́та) or за + ACCUSATIVE (ви́щий за бра́та); quantity words (бага́то, ма́ло, чима́ло, бі́льшість, кі́лька) govern the GENITIVE (бі́льшість студе́нтів, бага́то ча́су); and 'some more' is the bare genitive (ще ча́ю, дода́й со́лі).
- Numeral–Noun Agreement (The Hard Part)B1 — The notorious three-way rule: after 1 (and …1) the noun is nominative SINGULAR, after 2/3/4 (and …2/3/4) nominative PLURAL with the dual-reflex end-stress (два столи́, дві сестри́), and after 5+ genitive PLURAL — chosen by the LAST digit, and applying only when the whole phrase is nominative or inanimate-accusative.
- Approximation and Quantity ExpressionsB2 — How Ukrainian says 'about', 'roughly', and 'a few' — including the word-order trick English lacks: INVERTING the number and noun signals approximation (ро́ків п’ять 'about five years' vs п’ять ро́ків 'exactly five'). Plus бли́зько / ко́ло + genitive, з + accusative (з годи́ну), понад + accusative, and the vague quantifiers кі́лька, кі́льканадцять, чима́ло, сила-силе́нна.
- Genitive: Partitive and DatesB1 — Two more genitive jobs English handles differently: the partitive genitive marks an indefinite portion (налий води 'pour some water', випив води 'drank some water') and lets Ukrainian distinguish 'some' from 'the whole' by case alone (води vs воду); and dates put the ordinal day plus month both in the genitive with no 'on' — першого вересня 'on the first of September'.
- Food, Drink, and EatingA2 — Food and drink vocabulary plus the grammar of eating. Foods (хліб, сир, м’я́со — apostrophe!, о́вочі, фру́кти, борщ, варе́ники, ка́ша) and drinks (вода́, чай, ка́ва, сік, молоко́); the meal verbs снідати / обідати / вечеряти; the fixed wish Сма́чного! 'enjoy your meal'. The grammatical heart: the PARTITIVE genitive for 'some' (нали́й води́ 'pour some water', хо́чеш ча́ю? 'want some tea?', дода́й со́лі) vs the accusative for the whole (з’їв борщ). And the apostrophe in м’я́со / п’є. The insight English speakers miss: offering and taking food runs on the partitive genitive, Сма́чного! is a genitive wish said before eating, and the apostrophe is non-negotiable.
- Shopping and Restaurant PhrasesA2 — Transactional Ukrainian for shops, markets, cafés and restaurants. Buy with Скі́льки це ко́штує? 'how much is this?', Да́йте, будь ла́ска… + ACCUSATIVE 'give me…', Я візьму́… 'I'll take…', Чи є у вас…? 'do you have…?', Мо́жна примі́ряти? 'can I try it on?'. Order with Я хоті́в би замо́вити… 'I'd like to order', Ме́ню, будь ла́ска, Що ви пора́дите? 'what do you recommend?', Раху́нок, будь ла́ска 'the bill please', Сма́чного! 'enjoy your meal'. Quantities take the GENITIVE: кілогра́м я́блук, пля́шка води́, ча́шку ка́ви. The insight English speakers miss: the requested item is ACCUSATIVE (Да́йте ка́ву), but quantities are GENITIVE (both container and contents inflect), and 'do you have?' is Чи є у вас + nominative.