Indefinite pronouns are the "some-" and "any-" words: someone, something, anyone, anything, some kind of, somewhere. English makes do with two stems, some- and any-, and leaves most of the nuance to context and stress. Ukrainian is far more precise: it takes a question pronoun (хто, що, який, де...) and bolts on a particle — and the particle you choose tells the listener exactly how indefinite you mean. Is it a specific person whose identity you just don't know? A free choice, "anyone at all"? A vague "some or other"? A dismissive "just any old"? Each shade has its own particle. This page lays out the four main formants, their meanings, how to decline them, and how to spell them.
The four formants at a glance
| Particle | Meaning | хто → | що → | який → |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -сь | specific but unknown ('some-') | хтось | щось | яки́йсь |
| будь- | free choice ('any- at all') | будь-хто | будь-що | будь-яки́й |
| -небудь | vague, non-specific ('some/any') | хто-не́будь | що-не́будь | яки́й-не́будь |
| аби- | dismissive ('just any old') | абихто́ | абищо́ | абияки́й |
Two more stems round out the set: де- "a certain / some" (де́хто "some people," де́що "a few things," де́який "some, certain") and the plain adjective-pronouns деякий "some / certain," кілька "several / a few," дехто "some people."
-сь: a specific person or thing you can't name
The -сь particle (from "-якийсь") marks a referent that is real and specific but unidentified — someone definitely did it, you just don't know who. This is the everyday "someone / something."
Хтось дзвони́в, поки́ тебе́ не було́.
Someone called while you were out. — a real, specific caller; you simply don't know who.
Я щось почу́в у коридо́рі.
I heard something in the corridor. — a definite noise, source unknown.
Він живе́ десь під Льво́вом.
He lives somewhere near Lviv. — a real place, name unknown (десь, the adverb form).
будь-: free choice, "anyone at all"
The будь- prefix means free choice — it does not matter which one; pick any, and it works. This is the emphatic "anyone / anything at all."
Це мо́же зроби́ти будь-хто, нічо́го складно́го.
Anyone can do this, there's nothing hard about it. — будь-хто, free choice, 'anyone at all.'
Замо́в будь-що з меню́ — тут усе́ смачне́.
Order anything from the menu — everything here is delicious. — будь-що, 'whatever you like.'
Прихо́дь у будь-яки́й час, я вдо́ма ці́лий день.
Come at any time, I'm home all day. — будь-яки́й, 'any time at all.'
-небудь: vague and non-specific, "some/any"
The -небудь particle is the non-specific "some or any" — typically in questions, requests, and futures, where the referent isn't pinned down and may not even exist yet. Прийде́ хто-не́будь? "Will anyone come?" — you don't have a particular person in mind.
Прийде́ хто-не́будь сього́дні чи ні?
Is anyone coming today or not? — хто-не́будь, non-specific, no particular person in mind.
Купи́ що-не́будь на вече́рю, мені́ все одно́.
Buy something for dinner, I don't mind what. — що-не́будь, 'anything will do.'
аби-: dismissive, "just any old"
The аби- prefix adds a flavour of carelessness or low standards — "just anyone," "any old thing," done without thought. It often carries a mild negative judgement.
Не бери́ абищо́ — вибира́й я́кісне.
Don't grab just any old thing — choose something of quality. — абищо́, dismissive.
Він зроби́в це абияк, аби́ відче́питися.
He did it any old way, just to get it over with. — абияк, 'carelessly, any old how.'
де-: "a certain / some (of them)"
The де- stem (де́хто, де́що, де́який) means "some of a set / a certain few" — it picks out an unspecified part of a known group, often with a hint that the speaker could name them but won't.
Де́хто вже пішо́в, а ре́шта лиши́лася.
Some people had already left, while the rest stayed. — де́хто, 'some of them.'
Мені́ тре́ба сказа́ти тобі́ де́що ва́жливе.
I need to tell you something important. — де́що, 'a certain thing.'
Де́які кни́ги я вже прочита́в, де́які — ще ні.
Some of the books I've already read, some not yet. — де́які, 'some of them.'
How they decline: bend the base, keep the particle
The good news: you do not decline the particle. You decline the question-word base in the middle and leave the particle hanging on the outside. So хтось → когось, комусь, кимсь; щось → чогось, чомусь, чимсь; with будь- and -небудь the base inflects between the two halves.
| Case | хтось | щось | будь-хто | хто-небудь |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | хтось | щось | будь-хто | хто-не́будь |
| Genitive | когось | чогось | будь-кого́ | кого́-не́будь |
| Dative | комусь | чомусь | будь-кому́ | кому́-не́будь |
| Accusative | когось | щось | будь-кого́ | кого́-не́будь |
| Instrumental | кимсь | чимсь | будь-ким | ким-не́будь |
Я мушу́ з кимсь про це поговори́ти.
I have to talk to someone about this. — instrumental кимсь (the -сь rides along on the inflected base).
Розка́жи це будь-кому́ — все одно́ ніхто́ не пові́рить.
Tell it to anyone — nobody will believe it anyway. — dative будь-кому́, the base кому́ inflected between будь- and the rest.
The hyphen rule — graded, get it right
Spelling is where learners slip, and Ukrainian has a clear rule:
- будь- and -небудь are written with a hyphen: будь-хто, будь-яки́й, будь-де; хто-не́будь, що-не́будь, де-не́будь.
- -сь, де-, аби- are written solid, no hyphen: хтось, щось, де́хто, де́який, абихто́, абищо́.
One refinement: when a preposition comes between будь- and the base, the hyphens drop and the three pieces are written separately — будь-хто but будь з ким "with anyone at all," будь-що but будь до чо́го "to anything." With -небудь the preposition simply precedes the whole word (з ким-не́будь). Don't overthink it: hyphenate будь- and -небудь when they sit directly on the base, write -сь / де- / аби- solid, and split будь- around an intervening preposition.
Спита́й у будь-кого́ на ву́лиці — ко́жен зна́є цю істо́рію.
Ask anyone on the street — everyone knows this story. — будь-кого́, hyphenated; де́хто-type words would be solid.
Source-language comparison
For an English speaker, the big idea is that "some / any" is not one choice but a system keyed to specificity. English leans on stress and context — "somebody called" (specific) vs "did anybody call?" (open) — but Ukrainian forces the distinction into the word itself: -сь for the real-but-unknown (хтось дзвони́в), будь- for free choice (будь-хто), -небудь for the vague/hypothetical (хто-не́будь), аби- for the dismissive (абихто́). Choosing the particle is choosing the nuance. Second, you decline the base, not the particle (когось, будь-кому́), and third, the hyphenation is mandatory (будь-хто, що-не́будь) — a spelling error, not a stylistic one.
For a Russian speaker, the formants line up roughly but the shapes are Ukrainian: -сь (not -то), будь- (not любой as a particle), -небудь (hyphenated, like Russian but with Ukrainian bases когось, кого́-не́будь), and аби-, де- which are distinctively productive in Ukrainian. Use щось / щонебудь-type Ukrainian bases, never что-stems.
Common Mistakes
❌ Будьхто мо́же це зроби́ти.
Spelling error — будь- is always hyphenated: будь-хто, not the solid form.
✅ Будь-хто мо́же це зроби́ти.
Anyone can do this — будь-хто with the obligatory hyphen.
❌ Хто-небудь дзвони́в, поки́ тебе́ не було́.
Wrong particle — a real, specific caller takes -сь (хтось); -небудь is for the vague/hypothetical, not for something that actually happened.
✅ Хтось дзвони́в, поки́ тебе́ не було́.
Someone called while you were out — хтось, a definite-but-unknown caller.
❌ Я говори́в з хтось про це.
The base must decline — after з the form is instrumental: з кимсь, not the nominative хтось.
✅ Я говори́в з кимсь про це.
I talked to someone about it — instrumental кимсь, the base inflected with -сь riding along.
❌ Де́-хто вже пішо́в.
Spelling error — де- words are written solid: де́хто, де́що, де́який, no hyphen.
✅ Де́хто вже пішо́в.
Some people had already left — де́хто, written solid.
❌ Замо́в хтось з меню́.
Wrong word — 'order anything from the menu' is free choice: будь-що, not the person-referring, specific хтось.
✅ Замо́в будь-що з меню́.
Order anything from the menu — будь-що, free choice, 'whatever you like.'
Key Takeaways
- Indefinite pronouns = question word + particle, and the particle encodes specificity: -сь (specific-but-unknown), будь- (free choice), -небудь (vague/hypothetical), аби- (dismissive), де- (a certain few).
- хтось дзвони́в (a real caller) vs хто-не́будь (no one in particular) vs будь-хто (anyone at all) — pick the shade English leaves to stress.
- Decline the base, not the particle: когось, комусь, будь-кому́, кого́-не́будь.
- Hyphenation is graded and mandatory: будь- and -небудь take a hyphen (будь-хто, що-не́будь); -сь, де-, аби- are solid (хтось, де́хто, абищо́).
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- Negative Pronouns (Ніхто, Ніщо) and Double NegationA2 — Ukrainian's ні- pronouns — ніхто́ 'no one,' ніщо́ 'nothing,' нія́кий 'no kind of,' нічи́й 'nobody's' — REQUIRE the verb to ALSO carry не: Ніхто́ не прийшо́в 'no one came' (literally 'no one didn't come'). Negatives stack without cancelling (Я ніко́ли ніко́му нічо́го не каза́в is correct and emphatic), the exact opposite of prescriptive English. And a preposition wedges INSIDE the pronoun: ні з ким 'with no one,' ні на що́ 'on nothing.'
- Interrogative Pronouns (Хто, Що, Який, Чий, Котрий)A1 — Ukrainian asks 'who/what/which/whose' with pronouns that DECLINE: хто 'who' (кого́, кому́, ким), що 'what' (чого́, чому́, чим), and the agreeing який 'what kind', чий 'whose', котрий 'which one' that change ending with their noun and case. Two traps for English speakers: який/чий/котрий are full agreeing adjectives (Яки́м авто́бусом? 'by which bus?'), and хто always takes masculine-singular agreement even about a woman (Хто прийшо́в?, never *прийшла́).
- Negative and Indefinite AdverbsB1 — The adverbial ні-, -сь, будь-, аби-, and -небудь series — ніко́ли 'never' (with obligatory double negation), десь 'somewhere', будь-де 'anywhere', and the нема де + infinitive 'nowhere to…' pattern.
- Wh-Questions (Хто, Що, Де, Коли, Чому, Як)A1 — Ukrainian wh-questions put the question word FIRST and keep the rest in statement order — no do-support, no inversion: Де ти живе́ш? 'where do you live?', Що ти ро́биш? 'what are you doing?', Чому́ ти пла́чеш? 'why are you crying?'. Pronominal question words DECLINE for their role in the clause, so the case is a grammatical signal English lacks: Кому́ ти телефону́єш? 'who(m) are you calling?' (dative, because телефонува́ти governs dative), З ким ти був? 'who were you with?' (instrumental). Prepositions front with the question word (Зві́дки?, Про що?, З ким?), and the intonation falls rather than rises.
- The Seven Cases: OverviewA1 — Ukrainian has SEVEN cases — nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, instrumental, locative, and a living vocative — each marked by an ending on the noun rather than by word order, so the same job English does with prepositions and position, Ukrainian does with the word's tail.