The Question Particle Чи | Ukrainian Grammar

Чи is one word doing three jobs, and learning all three at once is efficient because they share an underlying logic of alternatives. Чи (1) opens a yes/no question ("are you…?"), (2) means "or" between alternatives ("tea or coffee?"), and (3) renders "whether / if" in indirect questions ("I don't know whether he'll come"). The English equivalents — the auxiliary-fronting of "do you…?", the word "or," and the subordinator "whether" — all collapse onto this single Ukrainian word. The one thing to nail down: for indirect "whether/if," it is чи, never якщо́.

Job 1: чи as a yes/no question particle

A Ukrainian yes/no question can be formed in two ways. The everyday spoken way is intonation only — keep statement word order and raise the pitch:

Ти вдо́ма?

Are you home? (Intonation-only yes/no question — most common in speech.)

The second way fronts the particle чи. Чи is optional but adds clarity and a slightly more neutral or formal tone — it signals "a yes/no question is coming" right at the start, which is useful in writing, in polite requests, and whenever you want to remove any ambiguity.

Чи ти гото́вий?

Are you ready? (чи fronts a neutral, clear yes/no question.)

Чи мо́жна увійти́?

May I come in? (чи + the impersonal мо́жна — a polite request.)

Чи пра́вда, що ви переїжджа́єте за кордо́н?

Is it true that you're moving abroad? (Чи пра́вда, що…? — a polished way to open a yes/no question.)

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Чи and rising intonation are alternatives, not partners — you don't need both, and stacking чи onto every casual question sounds stiff. Use bare intonation in relaxed speech (Ти йдеш?) and reach for чи when you want clarity, formality, or a clean written question (Чи ви запи́сані на при́йом?).

Job 2: чи as "or" in alternative questions

When a question offers a choice between alternatives, the "or" is чи (not або́, which is the "or" of statements — see coordinating conjunctions). This is the чи of alternative questions.

Чай чи ка́ва?

Tea or coffee? (чи 'or' between two offered alternatives.)

Ти пі́деш пі́шки чи пої́деш авто́бусом?

Will you walk or take the bus? (чи 'or' offering two ways to travel.)

Ти пі́деш чи ні?

Are you going or not? (чи ні — the bare 'or not' alternative.)

For a doubled, more bookish "either…or," there is the correlative чи…чи (covered on the correlatives page):

Чи то він заба́рився, чи то по́тяг пішо́в ра́ніше.

Either he was late, or the train left early. (чи…чи — paired, uncertain alternatives.)

Job 3: чи as "whether / if" in indirect questions

This is the use that matters most and that English speakers most often get wrong. When a yes/no question is embedded inside another clause — reported, asked about, wondered — English uses "whether" or "if": I don't know *whether he'll come, Ask **if there are tickets. Ukrainian uses *чи for both.

Не зна́ю, чи він при́йде.

I don't know whether he'll come. (Indirect question — чи = 'whether'.)

Запита́й, чи є квитки́.

Ask whether there are any tickets. (Embedded yes/no question with чи.)

Ска́жеш мені́, чи ти прийдеш на весі́лля?

Will you tell me whether you're coming to the wedding? (Indirect 'whether' inside a direct question.)

The trap: English "if" is ambiguous — "I don't know if he'll come" uses "if" to mean "whether," not to state a condition. Ukrainian keeps these strictly apart. Conditional "if" is якщо́; indirect-question "whether/if" is чи. Using якщо́ here is a hard error.

Не зна́ю, чи бу́де дощ.

I don't know whether it'll rain. (Embedded question → чи, NOT якщо́, even though English can say 'if it'll rain'.)

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Decision rule for English 'if': can you swap it for 'whether' and keep the meaning? If yes → indirect question → чи (I don't know whether he'll come → чи). If 'if' states a real condition and can't become 'whether' → якщо́ (If it rains, we'll stay home → Якщо́ бу́де дощ…).

There is always a comma before чи when it introduces an indirect question, because it opens a subordinate clause: Не зна́ю*, чи він при́йде.*

Softening with чи не…?

A useful idiom: чи не…? softens a question into a tentative suggestion or polite check, roughly "wouldn't you…? / might it be that…?" It's gentler than a bare request.

Чи не могли́ б ви мені́ допомогти́?

Might you be able to help me? (чи не + conditional — a very polite request.)

Чи не хо́чеш ча́ю?

Wouldn't you like some tea? (чи не — a soft, inviting offer.)

Source-language comparison

For an English speaker, the headline is that three different English mechanisms map onto one word. (1) The auxiliary-fronting that builds an English yes/no question ("Do you know…?", "Are you ready?") has no equivalent verb-juggling in Ukrainian — you either just raise intonation or front чи. (2) The word "or" in a question is чи (statements use або́). (3) The subordinator "whether" (and the "whether"-sense of "if") is чи — and this is the key correction: I don't know *if he'll come is *Не зна́ю, чи він при́йде, never …якщо́ він при́йде. Якщо́ is reserved for real conditions.

For a Russian speaker, the closest analogue is ли, but the mechanics differ. Russian ли is an enclitic that sits after the focused word inside the question (Зна́ешь ли ты…); Ukrainian чи is a proclitic that fronts the question (Чи ти зна́єш…). Don't carry the ли-placement over. For "or" in questions Ukrainian uses чи (Russian also и́ли/ли depending), and for indirect "whether" Ukrainian uses чи where Russian uses ли — same role, different word and position.

Common Mistakes

❌ Не зна́ю, якщо́ він при́йде.

Wrong word — embedded 'whether/if' is чи, not the conditional якщо́: Не зна́ю, чи він при́йде.

✅ Не зна́ю, чи він при́йде.

I don't know whether he'll come — indirect questions take чи.

❌ Хо́чеш чай або́ ка́ву?

Wrong 'or' — in a question the alternative 'or' is чи, not або́: Хо́чеш чай чи ка́ву?

✅ Хо́чеш чай чи ка́ву?

Do you want tea or coffee? — 'or' in a question is чи.

❌ Запита́й, якщо́ є квитки́.

Wrong word — 'ask whether there are tickets' is an indirect question → чи: Запита́й, чи є квитки́.

✅ Запита́й, чи є квитки́.

Ask whether there are any tickets — чи for the embedded question.

❌ Ти чи гото́вий?

Wrong position — as a yes/no opener чи fronts the whole question, it doesn't sit second like Russian ли: Чи ти гото́вий?

✅ Чи ти гото́вий?

Are you ready? — чи opens the question (it's a proclitic, not enclitic ли).

❌ Не зна́ю чи він при́йде.

Missing comma — чи opens a subordinate clause, so a comma precedes it: Не зна́ю, чи він при́йде.

✅ Не зна́ю, чи він при́йде.

I don't know whether he'll come — comma before чи in an indirect question.

Key Takeaways

Чи is triple-duty: (1) fronts a yes/no question (optional, neutral/formal — Чи ти гото́вий?), (2) means "or" in alternative questions (Чай чи ка́ва?), (3) means "whether / if" in indirect questions (Не зна́ю, чи він при́йде).
Indirect "whether/if" is чи, never якщо́. Якщо́ is for real conditions only; if English "if" can become "whether," use чи.
"Or" in a question is чи; "or" in a statement is або́.
As a yes/no opener, чи fronts the question (a proclitic) — unlike Russian enclitic ли, which sits second.
A comma precedes чи when it introduces an indirect (embedded) question.

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