Buying a kilo of apples and ordering a coffee are among the first real things you'll do in Ukrainian — and both run on case grammar you can't fudge. The thing you ask for goes in the accusative (Да́йте ка́ву "give me a coffee"), but as soon as you name a quantity, the noun flips to the genitive (кілогра́м я́блук "a kilo of apples"), and both the container and its contents inflect (ча́шку ка́ви "a cup of coffee"). "Do you have…?" is Чи є у вас…? with the thing in the nominative. This page is your transactional phrasebook for shops, markets, cafés, and restaurants — with the grammar made explicit so your requests land right.
How much? — Скі́льки це ко́штує?
Every transaction starts with the price. The verb is ко́штувати "to cost"; the question word скі́льки "how much/many" governs the genitive of what's counted, but for a simple "how much is this?" you just point.
| Ukrainian | English |
|---|---|
| Скі́льки це ко́штує? | How much is this? |
| Скі́льки ко́штує кілогра́м? | How much is a kilo? |
| Це до́рого / деше́во. | That's expensive / cheap. |
| А зни́жка є? | Is there a discount? |
| Я розплачу́ся ка́рткою / готі́вкою. | I'll pay by card / cash. |
Скі́льки це ко́штує? — Сто два́дцять гри́вень. — Ой, це задо́рого.
How much is this? 'A hundred and twenty hryvnias.' 'Oh, that's too expensive.' (Скі́льки це ко́штує — the standard price question.)
А зни́жка є на цю ку́ртку? Вона́ тро́хи до́рога.
Is there a discount on this jacket? It's a bit expensive. (зни́жка 'discount'; до́рога agrees with feminine ку́ртка.)
Я розплачу́ся ка́рткою, якщо мо́жна.
I'll pay by card, if that's possible. (ка́рткою — instrumental of means; готі́вкою 'by cash' likewise.)
Asking for things: Да́йте / Я візьму́ + accusative
To ask the shopkeeper for an item, use the polite imperative Да́йте, будь ла́ска… ("give me, please…") or Я візьму́… ("I'll take…"). The thing you ask for is the direct object → accusative.
| Ukrainian | English | Case |
|---|---|---|
| Да́йте, будь ла́ска, ка́ву. | A coffee, please. | ка́ву = accusative |
| Я візьму́ оце́. | I'll take this one. | оце́ = accusative |
| Я хоті́в би / хоті́ла б… | I'd like… |
|
| Мо́жна пакува́ти? | Can you wrap it up? | — |
| Це все, дя́кую. | That's all, thanks. | — |
Да́йте, будь ла́ска, оту́ си́ню ку́ртку — приміря́ю.
Could you give me that blue jacket, please — I'll try it on. (ку́ртку — accusative direct object after Да́йте.)
Я візьму́ оце́ і ще дві таки́х, дя́кую.
I'll take this one and two more like it, thanks. (Я візьму́ + accusative оце́.)
For feminine nouns the accusative is visible (ка́ва → ка́ву, ку́ртка → ку́ртку); for inanimate masculines and neuters it looks like the nominative (хліб, молоко́), so the case is silent but still "there." The full pattern is on accusative uses.
Quantities: the genitive grabs the noun
Here is the heart of shopping grammar. The moment you put a number, weight, or container in front of a noun, that noun goes genitive. And with containers, both words inflect: the container is accusative (the thing you're asking for), its contents genitive.
| Ukrainian | English | Structure |
|---|---|---|
| кілогра́м я́блук | a kilo of apples | weight + gen. plural |
| пів кіло́ сиру́ | half a kilo of cheese | weight + gen. singular |
| пля́шка води́ | a bottle of water | container + gen. |
| ча́шку ка́ви | a cup of coffee | acc. container + gen. contents |
| дві́сті гра́мів шинки́ | 200 grams of ham | number + gen. |
| буха́нець хлі́ба | a loaf of bread | container + gen. |
Да́йте, будь ла́ска, кілогра́м я́блук і дві́сті гра́мів шинки́.
Could you give me a kilo of apples and two hundred grams of ham, please. (я́блук, гра́мів, шинки́ — all genitive after the quantity word.)
Мені́ ча́шку ка́ви й пля́шку води́, будь ла́ска.
A cup of coffee and a bottle of water for me, please. (ча́шку/пля́шку accusative containers; ка́ви/води́ genitive contents.)
Скі́льки бра́ти? — Та пів кіло́ сиру́ ви́стачить.
How much should I get? 'Half a kilo of cheese will be enough.' (сиру́ — genitive after пів кіло́.)
"Do you have…?" — Чи є у вас…?
To ask whether a shop stocks something, use the existential frame Чи є у вас…? (or just У вас є…?) — literally "is there at you…?". Crucially, what you're asking about stays in the nominative, because it's the subject of "there is."
| Ukrainian | English |
|---|---|
| Чи є у вас…? | Do you have…? |
| У вас є хліб? | Do you have bread? |
| А бі́льшого розмі́ру нема́є? | Don't you have a bigger size? |
| Де примі́рочна? | Where's the fitting room? |
| Мо́жна примі́ряти? | Can I try it on? |
Чи є у вас цей светр на розмі́р бі́льший?
Do you have this sweater one size bigger? (Чи є у вас + nominative светр; розмі́р 'size'.)
Мо́жна примі́ряти? Де у вас примі́рочна?
Can I try it on? Where's your fitting room? (примі́ряти 'to try on'; примі́рочна 'fitting room'.)
Note the flip in the negative: "we don't have it" is нема́є + genitive (Тако́го розмі́ру нема́є "there's no such size"), because Ukrainian negation pulls the noun into the genitive. So є + nominative, but нема́є + genitive — a contrast worth fixing in memory.
На жаль, тако́го розмі́ру нема́є — закінчи́вся.
Unfortunately we don't have that size — it's sold out. (нема́є + genitive розмі́ру; the genitive of negation.)
At the restaurant
Restaurants have their own little script, and several phrases are fixed wishes you simply memorise — above all Сма́чного!, a genitive wish "[I wish you] a tasty [meal]," said before eating.
| Ukrainian | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Ме́ню, будь ла́ска. | The menu, please. | — |
| Я хоті́в би замо́вити… | I'd like to order… |
|
| Що ви пора́дите? | What do you recommend? | — |
| Сма́чного! | Enjoy your meal! | genitive wish |
| Раху́нок, будь ла́ска. | The bill, please. | — |
| Усе́ було́ ду́же сма́чно. | Everything was delicious. | — |
Я хоті́в би замо́вити борщ і ча́шку ча́ю, будь ла́ска.
I'd like to order borscht and a cup of tea, please. (борщ accusative; ча́шку ча́ю — container acc. + contents gen.)
Що ви пора́дите? Я тут упе́рше.
What do you recommend? It's my first time here. (Що ви пора́дите — the standard 'what do you recommend?')
Сма́чного! — Дя́кую, і вам.
Enjoy your meal! 'Thanks, you too.' (Сма́чного — a genitive wish, said before the meal.)
Раху́нок, будь ла́ска. Мо́жна ка́рткою?
The bill, please. Can I pay by card? (Раху́нок 'the bill'; ка́рткою — instrumental of means.)
Сма́чного! patterns exactly like До́брого ра́нку! and Усьо́го найкра́щого! — a genitive wish-formula, not a full sentence. You say it to others before they eat; the reply is Дя́кую, і вам/тобі́.
Source-language comparison
For an English speaker, the case switches are the whole story. English keeps a noun in one form throughout ("a coffee," "two coffees," "a cup of coffee"); Ukrainian moves it: ка́ву (accusative, "give me a coffee"), я́блук (genitive plural, "a kilo of apples"), ка́ви (genitive, "a cup of coffee"). The rule of thumb: the bare requested item is accusative; anything measured or counted is genitive, and with containers both words inflect. Also note Чи є у вас…? + nominative for "do you have" versus нема́є + genitive for "we don't have" — the negative drags the noun into the genitive.
For a Russian speaker, the structures rhyme but the words differ: the currency is the гри́вня (gen. pl. гри́вень), "change" is ре́шта, "discount" is зни́жка, "fitting room" is примі́рочна, and the meal-wish is Сма́чного! Use дя́кую for thanks and keep в Украї́ні for "in Ukraine."
Common Mistakes
❌ Да́йте кілогра́м я́блука. (singular/nominative after the weight)
Incorrect — a quantity takes the genitive plural: кілогра́м я́блук.
✅ Да́йте кілогра́м я́блук.
Give me a kilo of apples. — genitive plural after the weight word.
❌ ча́шка ка́ва (both words in the nominative)
Incorrect — accusative container + genitive contents: ча́шку ка́ви.
✅ ча́шку ка́ви
a cup of coffee — ча́шку (acc.) + ка́ви (gen.).
❌ У вас є хлі́ба? (genitive in the existential question)
Incorrect — with є the noun is nominative: У вас є хліб?
✅ У вас є хліб?
Do you have bread? — є + nominative.
❌ Сма́чне! (using the adjective instead of the fixed wish)
Incorrect — the meal-wish is the fixed genitive Сма́чного!
✅ Сма́чного!
Enjoy your meal! — a genitive wish-formula.
Key Takeaways
- Ask the price with Скі́льки це ко́штує?; pay ка́рткою / готі́вкою (instrumental of means) and get your ре́шта (change).
- Request items with Да́йте, будь ла́ска, / Я візьму́
- accusative (Да́йте ка́ву).
- Quantities take the genitive: кілогра́м я́блук, пля́шку води́, ча́шку ка́ви — container accusative, contents genitive.
- "Do you have…?" is Чи є у вас + nominative; "we don't have" is нема́є + genitive.
- Restaurant essentials: Ме́ню / Раху́нок, будь ла́ска, Що ви пора́дите?, and the fixed wish Сма́чного!
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- Accusative: Uses Beyond the Direct ObjectB1 — The accusative does more than mark the object — with в/у, на, за, під, через it marks motion TOWARD a target (іду в школу), it expresses bare-preposition duration (чекав годину 'waited an hour'), and it stands in a pivotal contrast with the locative: the same prepositions в/у and на take the accusative for direction (куди? в школу) but the locative for static location (де? в школі).
- Genitive After Numbers and QuantityB1 — When numbers and quantity words trigger the genitive — numbers 5+ (and any number ending in 5–9 or 0) take the genitive PLURAL (п’ять столі́в, де́сять книг, сто гри́вень, два́дцять ро́ків), as do quantity words бага́то, ма́ло, кі́лька, скі́льки, тро́хи; fractions and полови́на/чверть take the genitive singular (полови́на я́блука) — all contrasted with the 2/3/4 rule that takes nominative plural, plus the suppletive рік→ро́ків and люди́на→люде́й you must drill as fixed combinations.
- Quantities, Containers, and MeasuresA2 — Container, measure, and quantity words in Ukrainian, all built on the GENITIVE. 'A cup of coffee' drops the 'of': ча́шка ка́ви (container + bare genitive). Containers (ча́шка, скля́нка, пля́шка, паке́т, ло́жка), measures (кілогра́м, літр, метр, шмато́к), and the quantifiers бага́то / ма́ло / тро́хи + genitive. Counted plurals (дві ча́шки ка́ви, п’ять я́блук) trigger their own number agreement on the container. The everyday face of the genitive of quantity.
- Politeness Formulas (Please, Thank You, Sorry)A1 — The core politeness kit of Ukrainian. 'Please / you're welcome': будь ла́ска, прошу́. 'Thank you': Дя́кую! / Вели́ке дя́кую! / Щи́ро дя́кую! — taking the DATIVE (дя́кую тобі́/вам) and за + accusative (дя́кую за допомо́гу). 'You're welcome': Будь ла́ска / Прошу́ / Нема́ за що / Нема́є за що. 'Sorry / excuse me': Ви́бачте! / Перепро́шую! / Проба́чте! / Дару́йте!; Перепро́шую also flags down attention. Polite requests: Чи не могли́ б ви + infinitive. The insight English speakers miss: дя́кувати governs the DATIVE (дя́кую вам, not *дя́кую вас — a constant error), 'please' and 'you're welcome' are BOTH прошу́/будь ла́ска, and 'don't mention it' is Нема́(є) за що (lit. 'there's nothing for').
- Money, Age, and Everyday CountingA2 — The numeral-agreement rule made practical: counting money (одна́ гри́вня, дві гри́вні, п’ять гри́вень), asking and stating prices (Скі́льки ко́штує? — ко́штує п’ять гри́вень), and the dative-experiencer age construction (Мені́ два́дцять ро́ків) where 'year' is suppletive — рік (1), ро́ки (2–4), ро́ків (5+) — so 'I am five' literally says 'to-me five years' with no verb 'to be'.
- 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'.