Scientific and technical Ukrainian is a register built for one purpose: to demonstrate something impersonally and define it exactly. It is not the language of the newsroom (which narrates events) nor of the ministry (which issues instructions); it is the language of the proof, the experiment, the specification, and the thesis. Three instincts run through all of it. The author effaces themselves — facts are presented as facts, not as someone's claims, via the impersonal passive (доведено́ 'it has been proven') or the inclusive authorial ми (розгля́немо 'let us consider'). Definitions are exact and structural — the dash-definition (X — це Y) and the genus-plus-differentia template. And the logic is made visible by a fixed set of connectors (о́тже, таки́м чи́ном, зві́дси виплива́є). Master these and you can both write and confidently read the densest Ukrainian there is. For the closely related scholarly-prose conventions, see journalistic and academic style.
The impersonal -но/-то: 'it has been done'
The backbone of scientific demonstration is the -но/-то impersonal: a subjectless, doer-less form built on the passive participle — дослі́джено 'it has been studied', доведено́ 'it has been proven', встано́влено 'it has been established', розрахо́вано 'it has been calculated'. There is no subject, the form is invariant, and the object (if any) stands in the accusative. This is the workhorse of methods and results sections: it states what was done without ever naming who did it. (For the full grammar, see the -но/-то impersonal.)
У робо́ті дослі́джено вплив температу́ри на шви́дкість реа́кції.
In the study, the effect of temperature on reaction rate has been investigated. (-но impersonal, accusative object, no doer.)
Доведено́, що да́ний ряд збіга́ється за будь-яки́х початко́вих умо́в.
It has been proven that the given series converges under any initial conditions.
На осно́ві експериме́нту встано́влено три осно́вні зако́номірності.
On the basis of the experiment, three principal regularities have been established.
The authorial ми: 'let us consider'
Alongside the impersonal, the register uses the inclusive authorial ми ('we'), which folds the reader into the demonstration as a fellow traveller. It is most visible in the first-person plural future / imperative-of-invitation that frames each step: розгля́немо 'let us consider', отри́маємо 'we obtain', позна́чимо 'let us denote', дове́демо 'we shall prove', зверні́мо ува́гу 'let us note'. The "we" is not literally plural authorship — it is a convention of shared reasoning, used even by a single author.
Розгля́немо тепе́р випа́док, коли́ фу́нкція не є непере́рвною.
Let us now consider the case where the function is not continuous. (authorial розгля́немо — inclusive 'we / let us'.)
Підста́вивши ці зна́чення, отри́маємо шука́ну величину́.
Substituting these values, we obtain the sought quantity.
Позна́чимо че́рез n кі́лькість елеме́нтів множини́.
Let us denote by n the number of elements in the set.
The dash-definition: X — це Y
Scientific Ukrainian defines with a dash, not a copular verb. The present-tense "is" is normally null, and a dash marks the definitional equation: X — це Y ('X is Y') or, more formally, X — Y with the dash alone. The Y-side typically follows the classical genus + differentia template ("a kind of Y that…"), often extended by де… ('where…') to gloss the variables.
Фу́нкція — це відпові́дність, за яко́ї ко́жному елеме́нту мно́жини X зіста́влено рі́вно оди́н елеме́нт мно́жини Y.
A function is a correspondence under which exactly one element of set Y is assigned to each element of set X.
Алгори́тм — це скінче́нна послідо́вність то́чно ви́значених дій.
An algorithm is a finite sequence of precisely defined actions.
Густина́ ρ обчи́слюється за фо́рмулою ρ = m / V, де m — ма́са, а V — об’є́м ті́ла.
Density ρ is calculated by the formula ρ = m / V, where m is mass and V is the volume of the body. (де… gloss.)
This dash-definition is the single most recognisable structural signature of the register. Reaching for a copular є ('is') here is not wrong but is felt as heavier and more formal still; the bare dash is the neutral scientific default.
Heavy nominalization and precise terminology
The register packs verbs into nouns — nominalization — so that processes become countable, classifiable objects: not коли́ температу́ра підви́щується ('when the temperature rises') but при підви́щенні температу́ри ('upon the rise of temperature'). This abstraction is what lets a single sentence carry several linked processes. (See nominalization for the machinery.)
Terminology is precise and internationalized: scientific Ukrainian freely uses international roots adapted to Ukrainian phonology and morphology — молеку́ла, гіпо́теза, алгори́тм, інтегра́л, дисперсі́я — and these decline like native nouns. Precision means one term, one meaning: a term is fixed by definition and used identically throughout, with no stylistic variation for variety's sake.
При підви́щенні температу́ри шви́дкість дифу́зії зроста́є експоненці́йно.
Upon a rise in temperature, the rate of diffusion grows exponentially. (nominalized 'rise', internationalized terms.)
Розв’я́зання ціє́ї систе́ми рівня́нь потребу́є застосува́ння чисе́льних ме́тодів.
Solving this system of equations requires the application of numerical methods. (two nominalizations: 'solving', 'application'.)
Measured hedging: claiming exactly as much as the evidence allows
Good scientific writing calibrates certainty. Ukrainian hedges with a small, precise inventory: ймові́рно 'probably', очеви́дно 'evidently', мо́жна припусти́ти 'one may assume', за пе́вних умо́в 'under certain conditions', як пра́вило 'as a rule', на́че / нена́че (literary, rarer in science). The hedge marks the claim as inferred or conditional rather than established, and choosing the right strength is part of the rigour.
Мо́жна припусти́ти, що відхи́лення спричи́нене системати́чною по́хибкою.
One may assume that the deviation is caused by a systematic error. (hedged inference, not a flat claim.)
За пе́вних умо́в ця зале́жність стає́ ліні́йною.
Under certain conditions this dependence becomes linear. (conditional hedge.)
Ймові́рно, на результа́т впли́нув і неконтрольо́ваний чи́нник.
An uncontrolled factor probably also influenced the result.
Agentless citation: за да́ними + genitive
Scientific Ukrainian attributes without naming an agent as subject. The standard frames are за да́ними ('according to the data of…') + genitive, згі́дно з ('in accordance with') + instrumental, на ду́мку ('in the opinion of…') + genitive, and як пока́зано в ('as shown in') + locative. These keep the sentence impersonal while crediting a source.
За да́ними дослі́дження, час реа́кції скоро́тився на двана́дцять відсо́тків.
According to the data of the study, the reaction time decreased by twelve per cent. (за да́ними + genitive дослі́дження.)
Згі́дно з чи́нним станда́ртом, по́хибка не пови́нна переви́щувати оди́н відсо́ток.
In accordance with the current standard, the error must not exceed one per cent. (згі́дно з + instrumental.)
Як пока́зано в попере́дньому розді́лі, ця умо́ва є необхі́дною, але́ не доста́тньою.
As shown in the previous section, this condition is necessary but not sufficient.
The logical connectors
What turns a list of facts into an argument is the connector layer — the words that make the inference explicit. Scientific Ukrainian draws on a fixed, formal set, sharper and more deductive than everyday "so" and "then":
| Connector | Function | English |
|---|---|---|
| о́тже | conclusion | therefore, hence |
| таки́м чи́ном | summative conclusion | thus, in this way |
| зві́дси виплива́є, що… | deduction | whence it follows that… |
| відта́к | consequence / next step | consequently, thereupon |
| за умо́ви, що… | condition | provided that… |
| на відмі́ну від… | contrast | unlike, in contrast to… |
| зокрема́ | specification | in particular |
Усі́ доданки́ додатні́, о́тже, су́ма та́кож додатна́.
All the terms are positive, therefore the sum is also positive. (о́тже — formal deductive 'therefore'.)
Зві́дси виплива́є, що систе́ма не ма́є розв’я́зків у ді́йсних чи́слах.
Whence it follows that the system has no solutions in the real numbers.
Таки́м чи́ном, гіпо́тезу підтве́рджено на рі́вні значу́щості 0,05.
Thus, the hypothesis is confirmed at the 0.05 significance level. (таки́м чи́ном + -но impersonal — a typical closing move.)
When it is — and is not — appropriate
This register is for papers, theses, technical specifications, lab reports, and lectures — contexts of formal demonstration. It is wrong everywhere else. In conversation, Розгля́немо це пита́ння sounds absurdly pompous; you would say Дава́й поба́чимо or Ну, погля́немо. The -но/-то impersonal in a personal email reads as cold and evasive. And crucially, scientific style is not the same as administrative/official style: the ministry's register issues directives and uses bureaucratic clichés (у зв’язку́ з ви́щенаведеним), whereas the scientific register demonstrates and defines. Keep them apart.
Таки́м чи́ном, мо́жна зроби́ти ви́сновок про адеква́тність запропоно́ваної моде́лі.
Thus, one can draw a conclusion about the adequacy of the proposed model. (perfect in a thesis — stilted at a dinner table.)
Source-language comparison
For an English speaker, several moves have no neat English counterpart. The authorial ми with the future (розгля́немо 'let us consider', отри́маємо 'we obtain') corresponds to English "let us / we shall", but Ukrainian carries it in a single inflected verb, used far more systematically. The -но/-то impersonal is denser than the English be-passive: where English needs "it has been proven that…", Ukrainian says доведено́, що… in one word with no auxiliary. And the dash-definition replaces the English copula entirely — A function is a correspondence… becomes Фу́нкція — це відпові́дність…, the dash doing the work of "is". Learn to suppress the auxiliary "is" you instinctively insert.
For a Russian speaker, the register maps closely — both languages use the authorial мы, the impersonal passive, and dash-definitions. Drill the Ukrainian forms and connectors specifically: о́тже (not итак / следовательно by reflex), таки́м чи́ном, зві́дси виплива́є, за да́ними, дослі́джено / доведено́ (note the -но/-то form and Ukrainian stress). The architecture transfers; the lexis must be the Ukrainian one, since calqued Russian terminology is the commonest leak in technical Ukrainian.
Common Mistakes
❌ Я дослі́див вплив температу́ри на реа́кцію. (personal 'I' in a results section)
Too personal for the register — use the impersonal or authorial we: Дослі́джено вплив температу́ри… / Ми дослі́дили вплив…
✅ Дослі́джено вплив температу́ри на реа́кцію.
The effect of temperature on the reaction has been investigated.
❌ Фу́нкція є відпові́дність… (heavy copula where the dash is standard)
The neutral scientific definition uses a dash: Фу́нкція — це відпові́дність…
✅ Фу́нкція — це відпові́дність…
A function is a correspondence… — dash-definition.
❌ За да́ні дослі́дження час скоро́тився. (wrong case after за да́ними)
за да́ними governs the genitive of the source: За да́ними дослі́дження, час скоро́тився.
✅ За да́ними дослі́дження, час скоро́тився.
According to the data of the study, the time decreased.
❌ Усі́ доданки́ додатні́, так що су́ма додатна́. (colloquial 'так що' in formal deduction)
Formal deduction takes о́тже: Усі́ доданки́ додатні́, о́тже, су́ма додатна́.
✅ Усі́ доданки́ додатні́, о́тже, су́ма додатна́.
All the terms are positive, therefore the sum is positive.
❌ Розгля́немо, що ти прині́с на вече́рю. (scientific authorial 'we' in casual speech)
Pompous in conversation — say: Поба́чмо, що ти прині́с на вече́рю.
✅ Поба́чмо, що ти прині́с на вече́рю.
Let's see what you brought for dinner — everyday register.
Key Takeaways
- Scientific/technical Ukrainian is the register of impersonal demonstration and exact definition — for papers, theses, specs, and lectures, never for conversation.
- Impersonal -но/-то: дослі́джено, доведено́, встано́влено — subjectless, doer-less, object in the accusative.
- Authorial ми: розгля́немо 'let us consider', отри́маємо 'we obtain', позна́чимо 'let us denote' — inclusive 'we', often with a gerund.
- Dash-definition: X — це Y (Фу́нкція — це відпові́дність…), genus + differentia, extended by де… to gloss variables.
- Nominalization packs processes into nouns (при підви́щенні температу́ри); terminology is precise and internationalized (молеку́ла, алгори́тм).
- Hedge to fit the evidence (ймові́рно, мо́жна припусти́ти, за пе́вних умо́в); cite agentlessly (за да́ними + genitive, згі́дно з + instrumental).
- Connectors make the logic visible: о́тже, таки́м чи́ном, зві́дси виплива́є, відта́к, за умо́ви, що… — and the register is distinct from official/administrative style.
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- Journalistic and Academic StyleC1 — News and scholarly Ukrainian share a subjectless, passive-leaning architecture. Headlines and reports favour the -но/-то impersonal (Підписано угоду 'an agreement signed', Затримано підозрюваного 'a suspect detained'), agentless attribution (за словами…, як повідомляє…, за даними…), and a fixed set of reporting verbs (зазначив, наголосив, повідомив 'noted/stressed/reported'). Academic prose adds impersonal examination formulas (у статті розглянуто 'the article examines', варто зазначити 'it is worth noting'), the authorial ми (ми вважаємо 'we consider'), hedging (ймовірно, можна припустити), heavy nominalization, and precise connectors (таким чином, отже, відтак). The insight English speakers miss: where English uses a be-passive or an active sentence with a subject, formal Ukrainian reaches for the subjectless -но/-то impersonal — Виявлено порушення 'violations found', Доведено теорему 'the theorem proven'.
- Nominalization: Verbal Nouns and Nominal StyleC1 — Formal and academic Ukrainian heavily nominalizes — turning verbs into verbal nouns in -ння / -ття (чита́ти → чита́ння, прибу́ти → прибуття́) and packing an action into a noun phrase with a genitive complement (підписа́ння уго́ди 'the signing of the agreement') instead of a clause; this page shows how the nouns are formed and stressed, how to rewrite clauses as nominalizations, and why good Ukrainian still avoids heavy noun-chains.
- Passive, Impersonal, and Agentless StyleB2 — Where English reaches for a be-passive ('the report was written', 'mistakes were made'), Ukrainian backgrounds or drops the agent through native routes: the invariant -но/-то impersonal (Робо́ту ви́конано 'the work has been done', object in the ACCUSATIVE, no agent — the idiomatic past passive); the -ся middle/passive for ongoing processes (Буди́нок буду́ється, Як це пи́шеться?); the agentless 3rd-plural (Ка́жуть, Закон ухвали́ли); and plain recasting to the active. A named agent goes in the INSTRUMENTAL (напи́саний а́втором), never a 'by'-phrase. The insight English speakers miss: an English agentless passive is rendered by -но/-то (Зако́н ухва́лено) or the 3rd-plural (Зако́н ухвали́ли), NOT by бути + participle — so 'the work has been done' is Робо́ту ви́конано, not *Робо́та є зро́блена.
- The -но / -то Impersonal PassiveB1 — The -но/-то predicative (безособо́ва фо́рма на -но/-то) is a hallmark of authentic Ukrainian that Russian lacks. Built from the passive-participle stem (прочи́тано, напи́сано, зро́блено, збудо́вано, відкри́то, забу́то), it is INVARIANT — it never agrees with anything — and forms an agentless, subjectless past passive: Кни́гу прочи́тано 'the book has been read', Робо́ту ви́конано 'the work has been completed', Вхід заборо́нено 'entry forbidden'. The logical object stays in the ACCUSATIVE (Кни́гу, not Кни́га), there is no grammatical subject, and було́ can be added for a past-perfect nuance (Робо́ту було́ ви́конано). This is the natural Ukrainian passive — everywhere in signs, news, and formal writing.
- Connectors of Cause, Result, and PurposeB1 — How Ukrainian links reasons to outcomes: cause connectors (тому́ що / оскі́льки 'because/since', че́рез це 'because of this', and the distinctly Ukrainian justifying адже́ 'after all/since'), result connectors (тому́ 'that's why', о́тже 'thus', таки́м чи́ном 'in this way', в результа́ті 'as a result', тож 'so'), and purpose/conclusion markers (для цьо́го 'for this', з ціє́ю мето́ю 'with this aim', підсумо́вуючи 'to sum up', одни́м сло́вом 'in a word') — with the key contrast that тому́ means result ('therefore') while тому́ що means cause ('because').