Weather and Small Talk | Ukrainian Grammar

Weather is the universal icebreaker, and in Ukrainian it comes with a grammatical lesson built in: almost every weather statement is impersonal — there is no dummy "it" the way English insists on one. "It's raining" is Іде́ дощ (literally "rain goes," with дощ "rain" as the real subject) or simply Дощи́ть; "it's cold" is Хо́лодно — a bare predicative adverb with no subject at all. The same subjectless logic powers casual small talk: "How are you?" (Як спра́ви?) is answered with adverbs (до́бре, непога́но, поти́хеньку), not "I am fine." This page gives you the weather phrases and the conversational glue, and shows why both lean on subjectless, adverb-based patterns.

Asking about the weather

The opener is Яка́ сього́дні пого́да? "What's the weather like today?" — feminine яка́ agreeing with пого́да "weather."

Ukrainian	English
Яка́ сього́дні пого́да?	What's the weather like today?
Яка́ пого́да на за́втра?	What's the forecast for tomorrow?
Скі́льки сього́дні гра́дусів?	What's the temperature today?
Що там на ву́лиці?	What's it like outside?

Яка́ сього́дні пого́да? Брати́ парасо́льку?

What's the weather like today? Should I take an umbrella? (Яка́ — feminine, agreeing with пого́да.)

Що там на ву́лиці — усе́ ще ллє?

What's it like outside — is it still pouring? (Що там на ву́лиці 'what's it like out there'; ллє 'it's pouring', impersonal.)

Weather is impersonal: no "it"

Here is the core insight. English builds weather on a fake subject: "it is raining," "it is cold." Ukrainian does not. Weather statements come in two impersonal shapes:

A real noun-subject + verb: Іде́ дощ (lit. "rain goes"), where дощ is the grammatical subject.
A bare predicative adverb, no subject at all: Хо́лодно, Те́пло, Со́нячно.

Ukrainian	English	Type
Іде́ дощ. / Дощи́ть.	It's raining.	noun-subject / verb
Іде́ сніг. / Сніжи́ть.	It's snowing.	noun-subject / verb
Со́нячно.	It's sunny.	predicative adverb
Хма́рно.	It's cloudy.	predicative adverb
Ві́тряно.	It's windy.	predicative adverb

Іде́ дощ уже́ тре́тю годи́ну, а я без парасо́льки.

It's been raining for three hours straight, and I'm without an umbrella. (Іде́ дощ — 'rain goes'; дощ is the subject, there's no 'it'.)

Сього́дні со́нячно, але́ ві́тряно — одяга́йся тепло.

It's sunny today but windy — dress warmly. (Со́нячно, ві́тряно — bare predicative adverbs, subjectless.)

Усю́ ніч сніжи́ло, і ра́нком усе́ було́ бі́ле.

It snowed all night, and by morning everything was white. (сніжи́ло — impersonal weather verb, neuter past, no subject.)

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There is no Ukrainian word for the "it" in "it's raining." Either name the real subject (Іде́ дощ — rain is the subject) or use a subjectless adverb/verb (Хо́лодно, Дощи́ть). Adding a pronoun (✗ Воно́ дощи́ть) is ungrammatical. This is the impersonal sentence at work — see impersonal sentences.

Temperature and conditions

Ukrainian	English
Хо́лодно / Те́пло / Спе́котно	It's cold / warm / hot
Моро́зно / Сього́дні моро́з	It's freezing / There's a frost today
Прохоло́дно / Ду́шно	It's chilly / It's stuffy
Десять гра́дусів тепла́	Ten degrees above zero
П’ять гра́дусів моро́зу	Five degrees below zero

Брр, як хо́лодно! Скі́льки там гра́дусів? — Мі́нус де́сять.

Brr, it's so cold! What's the temperature out there? 'Minus ten.' (Хо́лодно — predicative adverb; гра́дусів — genitive plural after the number.)

Улі́тку тут бува́є ду́же спе́котно, аж за три́дцять.

In summer it can get really hot here, over thirty. (спе́котно — predicative adverb; за три́дцять 'over thirty'.)

Ukrainian distinguishes degrees above zero (гра́дусів тепла́, "of warmth") from below (гра́дусів моро́зу, "of frost"), both with the genitive after the number — or you can just say плюс/мі́нус де́сять. Note гра́дусів is the genitive plural that any number above four requires.

Small talk: "How are you?"

Casual conversation opens with a "how are you?" and Ukrainian offers a few flavours by register. Crucially, the answers are adverbs, not "I am + adjective."

Ukrainian	English	Register
Як спра́ви?	How are you? (lit. "how are things?")	neutral
Як ся ма́єте? / Як ся ма́єш?	How are you keeping?	warm; western-flavoured
Як життя́?	How's life?	informal
Що ново́го?	What's new?	informal
Як ва́ші спра́ви?	How are things with you?	polite (ви)

And the replies — all adverbs:

Ukrainian	English
Все до́бре, дя́кую.	All good, thanks.
Непога́но.	Not bad.
Норма́льно.	Fine / OK.
Поти́хеньку / Потро́ху.	So-so / ticking along.
Та нічо́го.	Can't complain / not bad.

Приві́т! Як спра́ви? — Та нічо́го, поти́хеньку. А в те́бе?

Hi! How are you? 'Oh, not bad, ticking along. And you?' (Як спра́ви + the modest adverb-reply поти́хеньку.)

Як ся ма́єте, па́не Іва́не? — Дя́кую, все до́бре.

How are you keeping, Mr Ivan? 'Thanks, all is well.' (Як ся ма́єте — warm, with the reflexive particle ся; пане Іва́не is vocative.)

Що ново́го? — Та нічо́го осо́бливого, усе́ як за́вжди.

What's new? 'Nothing special, everything as usual.' (Що ново́го — informal; нічо́го осо́бливого is the stock reply.)

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Notice the form of Як ся ма́єте? — the reflexive particle ся stands before the verb here (a feature kept in western usage and older standard). Both Як спра́ви? (neutral, everywhere) and Як ся ма́єте? (warmer) are standard Ukrainian; pick by register and region.

Unlike English "How are you?", which often expects no real answer, Ukrainian Як спра́ви? between friends can genuinely open the floor — a curt reply can read as cold. With strangers, though, it works as a pure formula, just like English.

Conversational filler

Real speech is held together by small particles and softeners. A few high-frequency ones:

Ukrainian	English
Не зважа́йте. / Не зважа́й.	Never mind. / Don't worry about it.
Ну, як сказа́ти…	Well, how to put it…
До ре́чі…	By the way…
Зрозумі́ло.	I see. / Got it.
Та ну? / Серйо́зно?	Really? / Seriously?

Ви́бач, я тебе́ переби́в. — Та нічо́го, не зважа́й.

Sorry, I interrupted you. 'It's nothing, never mind.' (не зважа́й — informal 'don't mind it'; не зважа́йте to the ви-form.)

До ре́чі, ти чув, що за́втра обіця́ють сніг?

By the way, did you hear they're forecasting snow tomorrow? (До ре́чі 'by the way' — a classic topic-shift filler back to weather.)

Source-language comparison

For an English speaker, drop the dummy "it." Weather is impersonal: either name the real subject (Іде́ дощ — "rain" is the subject) or use a subjectless predicative adverb (Хо́лодно, Со́нячно). There is no pronoun to translate "it" with, and inserting one is wrong. The same subjectless habit shapes small talk: "how are you?" is Як спра́ви? ("how are the affairs?"), and you answer with adverbs (до́бре, непога́но, поти́хеньку), not "I am fine." Get comfortable with sentences that have no grammatical subject — they are everywhere in casual Ukrainian.

For a Russian speaker, the everyday phrases differ: "it's raining" is Іде́ дощ / Дощи́ть, "how are you?" is Як спра́ви? or the warm Як ся ма́єте?, and replies include the very Ukrainian поти́хеньку and та нічо́го. Keep the native predicative adverbs (хо́лодно, спе́котно, моро́зно) and remember it's в Украї́ні.

Common Mistakes

❌ Воно́ дощи́ть. (adding a dummy 'it' subject)

Incorrect — weather is impersonal, no pronoun: Дощи́ть. or Іде́ дощ.

✅ Іде́ дощ.

It's raining. — дощ is the real subject; no 'it'.

❌ Це хо́лодно сього́дні. (using це as a subject for 'it's cold')

Incorrect — 'it's cold' is a bare predicative adverb: Сього́дні хо́лодно.

✅ Сього́дні хо́лодно.

It's cold today. — predicative adverb, subjectless.

❌ Я є до́брий, дя́кую. (answering 'how are you?' with 'I am + adjective')

Incorrect — answer with an adverb: Все до́бре, дя́кую.

✅ Все до́бре, дя́кую.

All good, thanks. — the reply is an adverb (до́бре), not an adjective.

❌ де́сять гра́дуса (singular genitive after a high number)

Incorrect — numbers above four take the genitive plural: де́сять гра́дусів.

✅ де́сять гра́дусів

ten degrees — genitive plural after the number.

Key Takeaways

Weather is impersonal: name the real subject (Іде́ дощ / Іде́ сніг) or use a predicative adverb (Хо́лодно, Со́нячно, Ві́тряно) — never a dummy "it."
Ask Яка́ сього́дні пого́да? and Скі́льки гра́дусів?; degrees above/below zero are гра́дусів тепла́ / моро́зу (genitive plural).
"How are you?" is Як спра́ви? (neutral) or Як ся ма́єте? (warm); answer with adverbs: до́бре, непога́но, норма́льно, поти́хеньку.
Openers and fillers: Що ново́го?, До ре́чі…, Не зважа́йте.
The thread through it all: casual Ukrainian loves subjectless, adverb-based sentences.

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