Торгуємося: Negotiating a Price | Ukrainian Grammar

A buyer is haggling over a hand-embroidered shirt at a market, and the whole exchange runs on three pieces of grammar: comparatives (деше́вше "cheaper," дорожче "more expensive") to argue value, за + accusative to name a price ("for 800"), and the якби-conditional ("if you knocked off a bit, I'd take it") to make a soft offer that commits to nothing. Tying it together is the genitive plural of money — гри́вень — which trips up almost every learner. Watch how the polite imperative and the discourse markers (з одного́ бо́ку…) keep the bargaining friendly while both sides push hard on the number.

The dialogue

Покупе́ць: До́брий день! А скі́льки ко́штує оця́ виши́ванка? Hello! And how much is this embroidered shirt?
Прода́вчиня: Вісімсо́т гри́вень. Ручна́ робо́та, натура́льний льон. Eight hundred hryvnias. Hand-made, natural linen.
Покупе́ць: Ой, це тро́хи за́дорого як на ме́не. А зни́жка бу́де? Oof, that's a bit too pricey for me. Any discount?
Прода́вчиня: Ну, мо́жу тро́хи поступи́тися. Сімсо́т п’ятдеся́т. Well, I can come down a little. Seven hundred fifty.
Покупе́ць: З одного́ бо́ку — кра́сива, з і́ншого — у сусі́дів деше́вше. On the one hand it's beautiful, on the other, it's cheaper at the neighbours'.
Прода́вчиня: У сусі́дів і я́кість і́нша, поди́віться на ши́ття. The neighbours' quality is different too — just look at the stitching.
Покупе́ць: Зго́ден, га́рна. Якби́ ви ски́нули ще со́тню, я б одра́зу взяв. Agreed, it's lovely. If you knocked off another hundred, I'd take it right away.
Прода́вчиня: Ну добре, шістсо́т п’ятдеся́т — і тільки тому́, що ви́шивка вам пасу́є. Oh fine, six hundred fifty — and only because the embroidery suits you.
Покупе́ць: Домо́вилися! Дава́йте за шістсо́т п’ятдеся́т. Карто́ю мо́жна? Deal! Let's do six fifty. Can I pay by card?
Прода́вчиня: Зві́сно. Носі́ть на здоро́в’я! Of course. Wear it in good health!

Line-by-line grammar

"How much?" — скі́льки + genitive

The price question is скі́льки ко́штує…? ("how much does … cost?"). The quantifier скі́льки itself governs the genitive of whatever it counts, though here it stands alone with the verb. The pointing word оця́ ("this one right here") is the emphatic demonstrative — це + ось fused — pointing at the item in front of you. See money and counting and the verb коштувати.

Скі́льки ко́штує оця́ виши́ванка?

'How much is this embroidered shirt?' скі́льки asks the price; ко́штувати ('to cost') takes no preposition; оця́ ('this one here') is the emphatic feminine demonstrative pointing at the item.

The genitive plural of money — гри́вень

Prices land in the genitive plural: вісімсо́т гри́вень ("eight hundred hryvnias"). The form trips everyone up — the nominative singular is гри́вня, but the genitive plural is гри́вень (with the fleeting vowel and a soft -нь), not "гри́вней" or "гри́вн". After the round hundreds (сто, двісті, …, вісімсо́т) you always need this genitive plural. See genitive after numbers and money and counting.

Вісімсо́т гри́вень.

'Eight hundred hryvnias.' гри́вень is the genitive plural of гри́вня, required after hundreds; not 'гри́вней' — that ending is a common Russian-influenced error.

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The hryvnia counts like this: одна́ гри́вня (nom. sg.), дві / три / чоти́ри гри́вні (nom. pl. after 2–4), п’ять / со́тні / many гри́вень (gen. pl. after 5+ and round numbers). Lock in гри́вень for everything from five upward — it is the form you'll say most.

за́дорого and за́дешево — the за- prefix of excess

To say something is "too expensive," Ukrainian fuses за- ("too, over-") onto the adverb: за́дорого ("too pricey"). The same prefix gives за́важко ("too hard"), за́пізно ("too late"). It is a tidy one-word way to say "more than I want." Note the hedge як на ме́не ("for my taste / if you ask me"), which softens the complaint. See degree and manner adverbs.

Це тро́хи за́дорого як на ме́не.

'That's a bit too pricey for me.' за́дорого = за- ('too') + дорого; тро́хи ('a bit') softens it; як на ме́не is the idiom 'in my view / for my taste.'

The comparative — деше́вше, до́рожче

Bargaining is built on comparatives. The comparative adverb adds -ше / -іше: дешево → деше́вше ("cheaper"), дорого → до́рожче ("more expensive," with consonant mutation г→ж). When you compare against a place or person, Ukrainian often just uses у + genitive ("at someone's"): у сусі́дів деше́вше ("at the neighbours' it's cheaper"). See the comparative and comparative constructions.

У сусі́дів деше́вше.

'It's cheaper at the neighbours'.' деше́вше is the comparative adverb of дешево; у + genitive сусі́дів ('at the neighbours'') locates the comparison without a separate 'than.'

The якби́-conditional of bargaining — якби́ … я б …

The classic soft offer is the counterfactual conditional: якби́ ("if [hypothetically]") + past verb in the if-clause, and the particle б + past verb in the then-clause. Both halves use the past tense, never the future — that is what marks it as hypothetical rather than a real promise. Because the buyer is male, both verbs are masculine: ски́нули (you, plural polite), взяв (I would have taken). See conditional uses and conditional sentences.

Якби́ ви ски́нули ще со́тню, я б одра́зу взяв.

'If you knocked off another hundred, I'd take it right away.' якби́ + past ски́нули (the hypothesis) and я б + past взяв (the consequence); both clauses are past tense — the signature of the unreal conditional; со́тню = 'a hundred (hryvnias).'

Naming a price — за + accusative; the persuasion imperative

The preposition for a price is за + accusative: за шістсо́т п’ятдеся́т ("for six fifty"). And the seller's clincher is a polite imperative, поди́віться ("look [at it]"), used to redirect attention and win the point — the imperative here persuades rather than orders. See the preposition за.

Дава́йте за шістсо́т п’ятдеся́т.

'Let's do six fifty.' за + accusative шістсо́т п’ятдеся́т names the agreed price; дава́йте ('let's,' polite plural) seals the deal without repeating the verb 'sell/buy.'

Поди́віться на ши́ття.

'Just look at the stitching.' The polite imperative поди́віться (perfective, 'take a look') redirects attention to win the argument; на + accusative ши́ття marks what to look at.

Discourse markers — з одного́ бо́ку … з і́ншого

Weighing pros and cons, Ukrainian uses the paired marker з одного́ бо́ку … з і́ншого (бо́ку) ("on the one hand … on the other"). Both halves are з + genitive (бік → бо́ку). It signals you are still deciding — a classic bargaining stall. See the preposition з.

З одного́ бо́ку — кра́сива, з і́ншого — у сусі́дів деше́вше.

'On the one hand it's beautiful, on the other, it's cheaper at the neighbours'.' The paired з одного́ бо́ку … з і́ншого weighs two sides; both use з + genitive бо́ку.

How this differs from English

English forms comparatives two ways — -er (cheaper) and more (more expensive) — and always needs an explicit than for the comparison: "cheaper than at the neighbours'." Ukrainian forms the comparative with one suffix (-ше/-іше, often with a consonant mutation: дорого → до́рожче) and frequently drops "than" entirely, letting у + genitive carry it: у сусі́дів деше́вше is literally "at-the-neighbours cheaper," no "than" in sight. English speakers tend to over-build with більш ("more") where a one-word comparative is natural, and to reach for a ніж ("than") clause where a bare у-phrase would sound more native.

The bigger trap is the conditional of bargaining. English uses a tense backshift — "if you knocked off a hundred, I'd take it" — but the verbs still feel past/conditional in a familiar way. Ukrainian instead uses якби́ + past + б + past, with the unchanging particle б/би doing all the "would" work and the verbs agreeing in gender (взяв for a man, взяла́ for a woman). Learners routinely substitute the future (якщо́ ви ски́нете … я візьму́), which turns a soft hypothetical offer into a firm conditional promise — a real change of stance at the bargaining table. And the price preposition is за, not "for" mapped onto anything else: за шістсо́т, never для шістсо́т.

Common Mistakes

❌ Вісімсо́т гри́вней.

Incorrect — the genitive plural of гри́вня is гри́вень, not the Russian-style гри́вней.

✅ Вісімсо́т гри́вень.

Correct — 'eight hundred hryvnias,' genitive plural гри́вень.

❌ Якщо́ ви ски́нете ще со́тню, я візьму́.

Marginal for haggling — the future makes it a firm promise; a soft hypothetical offer wants the conditional.

✅ Якби́ ви ски́нули ще со́тню, я б узя́в.

Correct — якби́ + past + я б + past, the unreal conditional of a tentative offer.

❌ У сусі́дів більш деше́во.

Incorrect — Ukrainian prefers the one-word comparative деше́вше, not більш + adverb.

✅ У сусі́дів деше́вше.

Correct — 'cheaper at the neighbours'', with the synthetic comparative.

❌ Дава́йте для шістсо́т п’ятдеся́т.

Incorrect — a price takes за + accusative, not для.

✅ Дава́йте за шістсо́т п’ятдеся́т.

Correct — за + accusative names the price.

❌ Це тро́хи ду́же до́рого як на ме́не.

Incorrect — 'too expensive' is the one-word за́дорого; ду́же means 'very,' not 'too.'

✅ Це тро́хи за́дорого як на ме́не.

Correct — за́дорого ('too pricey'), the за- prefix of excess.

Phrases to reuse

Скі́льки ко́штує…? — "How much is…?"
Це за́дорого як на ме́не. — "That's too pricey for me."
А зни́жка бу́де? — "Any discount?" (the polite opener to haggling)
Якби́ ви ски́нули…, я б узя́в. — "If you knocked off…, I'd take it." (the soft offer)
Дава́йте за + (price). — "Let's do it for…" (sealing the deal)
Носі́ть на здоро́в’я! — "Wear it in good health!" (the seller's send-off)

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