A menu is one of the highest-value texts a beginner can decode, because it packs an enormous amount of food vocabulary into a tiny, repeating grammar: a dish name, then з + instrumental ("with …") for what is in it, then the price in гри́вень. Decode one menu and you can read almost any other. Below is a short, authentic-style Ukrainian menu written for this page, followed by a line-by-line walk-through of exactly how each entry is built.
The text
ЗАКУ́СКИ Сала́т із се́зонних о́вочів — 95 грн Оселе́дець під шу́бою — 110 грн Налисники́ з си́ром — 85 грн STARTERS. Salad of seasonal vegetables — 95 UAH. "Herring under a fur coat" — 110 UAH. Crêpes with cottage cheese — 85 UAH.
ПЕ́РШІ СТРА́ВИ Борщ зі смета́ною та па́мпушками — 120 грн Кури́ний бульйо́н із локши́ною — 90 грн FIRST COURSES. Borshch with sour cream and garlic buns — 120 UAH. Chicken broth with noodles — 90 UAH.
ОСНОВНІ́ СТРА́ВИ Варе́ники з карто́плею (10 шт.) — 130 грн Деруни́ зі смета́ною — 115 грн Котле́та по-ки́ївськи з пюре́ — 185 грн MAIN COURSES. Varenyky with potato (10 pcs.) — 130 UAH. Potato pancakes with sour cream — 115 UAH. Chicken Kyiv with mashed potato — 185 UAH.
НАПО́Ї ТА ДЕСЕ́РТИ Узва́р (склянка) — 35 грн Ка́ва з молоко́м — 45 грн Сирни́к із варе́нням — 80 грн DRINKS AND DESSERTS. Uzvar (a glass) — 35 UAH. Coffee with milk — 45 UAH. Cheesecake with jam — 80 UAH.
(This is original, authentic-style menu prose written for this page in standard Ukrainian.)
Line-by-line grammar
"With …" — з / зі / із + the instrumental
The workhorse of any menu is the preposition з ("with"), used to name accompaniments and add-ins. After it the noun goes into the instrumental case: молоко́ → молоко́м, смета́на → смета́ною, сир → си́ром, картопля → карто́плею. This з + instrumental = "served with / together with" is the single most repeated pattern on the page.
Ка́ва з молоко́м.
'Coffee with milk.' — з + instrumental молоко́м names the accompaniment.
Налисники́ з си́ром.
'Crêpes with cottage cheese.' — з + instrumental си́ром; сир here is the soft Ukrainian cottage cheese.
The form з has two euphonic variants chosen purely for sound: зі before an awkward consonant cluster (зі смета́ною, before см-), and із as an alternative, also before consonant clusters (із локши́ною, із варе́нням). The meaning never changes; only the ease of pronunciation does.
Борщ зі смета́ною та па́мпушками.
'Borshch with sour cream and garlic buns.' — зі (euphonic before см-) + instrumental смета́ною; та joins a second instrumental, па́мпушками.
Деруни́ зі смета́ною.
'Potato pancakes with sour cream.' — again зі before см-, plus the instrumental смета́ною.
See з and its three meanings and uses of the instrumental.
"Salad of …" — the genitive of the main ingredient
When a dish is defined by its main ingredient rather than served with an extra, Ukrainian uses the genitive — "salad of vegetables," not "salad with vegetables." So сала́т із се́зонних о́вочів literally reads "a salad of seasonal vegetables," with о́вочі ("vegetables") in the genitive plural о́вочів and the adjective agreeing: се́зонних. This genitive-of-content is how you name what something is fundamentally made of.
Сала́т із се́зонних о́вочів.
'Salad of seasonal vegetables.' — the defining ingredient is genitive plural о́вочів, with the adjective се́зонних agreeing.
Кури́ний бульйо́н із локши́ною.
'Chicken broth with noodles.' — кури́ний ('chicken-') is an adjective describing the broth; із локши́ною adds the noodles in the instrumental.
Notice the contrast on one line: кури́ний describes what kind of broth (an adjective, "chicken broth"), while із локши́ною adds what comes with it (з + instrumental). Adjective for the base, instrumental for the add-in. See the genitive of belonging and "of".
Categories — bare nominative plurals
The section headings are simple nominative plurals with no preposition or verb: заку́ски ("starters / appetizers"), пе́рші стра́ви ("first courses," literally "first dishes"), основні́ стра́ви ("main courses"), напо́ї ("drinks"), десе́рти ("desserts"). Each adjective agrees with its noun in the plural: пе́рш-і стра́в-и, основн-і стра́в-и.
Пе́рші стра́ви та основні́ стра́ви.
'First courses and main courses.' — plural adjective + noun agreement: пе́рші / основні́ стра́ви.
A common A2 spelling trap: the word is десе́рти, with one с in the middle — not деся́рти. Borrowed from French dessert, it keeps a single Ukrainian с.
На десе́рт — сирни́к із варе́нням.
'For dessert — cheesecake with jam.' — note десе́рт (one с); із варе́нням is the instrumental of варе́ння ('jam').
Prices and portions — гри́вень, шт., склянка
Prices appear as a number plus грн, the abbreviation for гри́вень (the genitive plural of гри́вня, the currency — counted forms take the genitive). Portions are marked in parentheses: шт. is шту́к ("pieces," genitive plural of шту́ка), and склянка is "a glass." These are the standard menu shorthands.
Варе́ники з карто́плею (10 шт.) — 130 грн.
'Varenyky with potato (10 pcs.) — 130 UAH.' — з + instrumental карто́плею for the filling; шт. = шту́к (pieces); грн = гри́вень.
Узва́р (склянка) — 35 грн.
'Uzvar (a glass) — 35 UAH.' — узва́р is the traditional dried-fruit drink; склянка marks the portion.
See money and counting.
Glossary
| Ukrainian | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| заку́ски | starters, appetizers | nom. pl.; sing. заку́ска |
| пе́рші / основні́ стра́ви | first / main courses | стра́ва ("dish") + agreeing adjective |
| напо́ї | drinks | nom. pl.; sing. напі́й |
| десе́рти | desserts | one с — not «десярти» |
| борщ | borshch (beetroot soup) | Ukraine's signature first course |
| варе́ники | varenyky (filled dumplings) | з + instr. names the filling |
| деруни́ | potato pancakes | served зі смета́ною |
| узва́р | uzvar (dried-fruit drink) | traditional, often at holidays |
| смета́на | sour cream | instr. смета́ною after з/зі |
| гри́вень (грн) | hryvnias | gen. pl. of гри́вня, used in prices |
How this differs from English
English uses a single word, "with," for both ideas a menu needs to express — "salad with chicken" and "salad with dressing." Ukrainian splits them by case. If the ingredient defines the dish, it goes in the genitive (сала́т з куря́тини, "salad of chicken"); if it is merely served alongside, it goes in the instrumental with з (ка́ва з молоко́м, "coffee with milk"). The English "with" hides this distinction; the Ukrainian case makes it explicit, so reading a menu trains your ear for genitive-as-content versus instrumental-as-accompaniment.
The second difference is invisible to an English eye: there is no "a" or "the" anywhere. A menu line is just noun + з + instrumental + price, stacked with no articles and usually no verb. Once you stop waiting for the missing little words and read the cases instead, the whole page snaps into focus.
Common Mistakes
❌ Ка́ва з молоко́.
Incorrect — з ('with') requires the instrumental, so молоко́ must become молоко́м.
✅ Ка́ва з молоко́м.
Correct — 'coffee with milk,' з + instrumental молоко́м.
❌ Борщ з смета́ною.
Incorrect — before the cluster см- the euphonic form is зі, not bare з.
✅ Борщ зі смета́ною.
Correct — 'borshch with sour cream,' zi chosen for smooth pronunciation before см-.
❌ Сала́т з се́зонні о́вочі.
Incorrect — a defining ingredient takes the genitive, with the adjective agreeing: се́зонних о́вочів.
✅ Сала́т із се́зонних о́вочів.
Correct — 'salad of seasonal vegetables,' genitive plural о́вочів.
❌ На десярт — сирни́к.
Incorrect — the word is десе́рт, with a single с in the middle.
✅ На десе́рт — сирни́к.
Correct — 'for dessert, a cheesecake,' with десе́рт spelt with one с.
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Start learning Ukrainian→Related Topics
- Instrumental: Core UsesA2 — What the instrumental does — the bare 'by means of' (писа́ти ру́чкою, ї́хати авто́бусом, говори́ти украї́нською) with no preposition, the predicate noun after past/future/infinitive of бу́ти and after ста́ти/працюва́ти (він був учи́телем, хо́чу ста́ти лі́карем), companionship with з (з дру́гом, чай з цу́кром), route (іти́ лі́сом), and time adverbials (вра́нці, весно́ю).
- Genitive: Possession and 'of'A2 — How Ukrainian shows possession and the English 'of' relationship — by putting the owner in the genitive AFTER the thing owned (кни́га бра́та 'the brother's book', центр мі́ста 'the centre of the city'), with no apostrophe-s and no separate word for 'of', and with the WHOLE possessor phrase declining (маши́на мого́ дру́га), contrasted with possessive pronouns like мій/твій that agree instead.
- З/Із/Зі: 'from', 'with', and 'off'B1 — З is three prepositions in one word, separated by case: з + GENITIVE = 'from / out of / off / since' (з Ки́єва, зі столу́, з ра́нку, одна́ з книг), з + INSTRUMENTAL = 'with' (з дру́гом, ка́ва з молоко́м), з + ACCUSATIVE = 'about / approximately' (з годи́ну) — and the із/зі shapes are chosen purely by the surrounding sounds.
- Money, Age, and Everyday CountingA2 — The numeral-agreement rule made practical: counting money (одна́ гри́вня, дві гри́вні, п’ять гри́вень), asking and stating prices (Скі́льки ко́штує? — ко́штує п’ять гри́вень), and the dative-experiencer age construction (Мені́ два́дцять ро́ків) where 'year' is suppletive — рік (1), ро́ки (2–4), ро́ків (5+) — so 'I am five' literally says 'to-me five years' with no verb 'to be'.
- Food, Drink, and EatingA2 — Food and drink vocabulary plus the grammar of eating. Foods (хліб, сир, м’я́со — apostrophe!, о́вочі, фру́кти, борщ, варе́ники, ка́ша) and drinks (вода́, чай, ка́ва, сік, молоко́); the meal verbs снідати / обідати / вечеряти; the fixed wish Сма́чного! 'enjoy your meal'. The grammatical heart: the PARTITIVE genitive for 'some' (нали́й води́ 'pour some water', хо́чеш ча́ю? 'want some tea?', дода́й со́лі) vs the accusative for the whole (з’їв борщ). And the apostrophe in м’я́со / п’є. The insight English speakers miss: offering and taking food runs on the partitive genitive, Сма́чного! is a genitive wish said before eating, and the apostrophe is non-negotiable.
- Shopping and Restaurant PhrasesA2 — Transactional Ukrainian for shops, markets, cafés and restaurants. Buy with Скі́льки це ко́штує? 'how much is this?', Да́йте, будь ла́ска… + ACCUSATIVE 'give me…', Я візьму́… 'I'll take…', Чи є у вас…? 'do you have…?', Мо́жна примі́ряти? 'can I try it on?'. Order with Я хоті́в би замо́вити… 'I'd like to order', Ме́ню, будь ла́ска, Що ви пора́дите? 'what do you recommend?', Раху́нок, будь ла́ска 'the bill please', Сма́чного! 'enjoy your meal'. Quantities take the GENITIVE: кілогра́м я́блук, пля́шка води́, ча́шку ка́ви. The insight English speakers miss: the requested item is ACCUSATIVE (Да́йте ка́ву), but quantities are GENITIVE (both container and contents inflect), and 'do you have?' is Чи є у вас + nominative.