«Поспіши́ш — лю́дей насміши́ш» packs three of Ukrainian's most useful patterns into four syllables of rhyme: a conditional with no "if" (the bare perfective future carries the whole "if you…, then you'll…"), the generalised "you" that means "anyone," and the animate accusative that looks like a genitive. It is the everyday way to warn against rushing — and a near-perfect drill for the perfective future.
The proverb
Поспіши́ш — лю́дей насміши́ш.
(If you) hurry, (you'll) make people laugh. (≈ Haste makes waste; more haste, less speed.)
Поспіши́ш — лю́дей насміши́ш.
[You'll] hurry — [the] people [you'll] make-laugh.
This is traditional folk wisdom (наро́дне прислі́в’я), public-domain. The meaning: work done in a rush comes out badly, and the botched result makes you a laughing-stock. You say it when someone is rushing a task — better to slow down than to produce something everyone will mock. English "haste makes waste" or "more haste, less speed" matches the sense, but Ukrainian is sharper and more social: the penalty for hurrying isn't waste, it's ridicule — you'll "make people laugh." The rhyme поспіши́ш / насміши́ш (both with stressed final -и́ш) is why it sticks in the ear.
Word by word
| Word | What it is | Literal sense |
|---|---|---|
| поспіши́ш | verb, 2nd sg perfective future of поспіши́ти | "[you] will hurry" |
| — (dash) | marks the silent "if…, then…" link | "[then]" |
| люде́й | noun, animate accusative pl (= gen pl) of лю́ди | "people" (object) |
| насміши́ш | verb, 2nd sg perfective future of насміши́ти | "[you] will make laugh" |
Two verbs, one object, and a dash that is worth a whole conjunction.
The grammar
The conditional with no "if" — juxtaposition
The proverb's most striking feature is that it expresses "if you hurry, you'll make people laugh" without any word for "if." Two clauses simply sit next to each other, divided by a dash, and the listener supplies the conditional link. This conditional-by-juxtaposition is fully idiomatic in Ukrainian, especially in proverbs and gnomic sayings: the first perfective future states the condition, the second states the consequence, and the relationship — "do this, and that follows" — is understood. You could spell it out as «Якщо́ поспіши́ш, то люде́й насміши́ш» ("If you hurry, then you'll make people laugh"), but the bare two-beat version is punchier and far more proverb-like. English does the same thing colloquially — "snooze, you lose" — but rarely in fixed proverbs.
Не зна́єш — не кажи́.
(If you) don't know, don't say. (conditional by juxtaposition, no 'if')
Поси́єш ві́тер — пожне́ш бу́рю.
(If you) sow the wind, (you'll) reap the storm. (condition + consequence, no conjunction)
Запита́єш — ска́жуть.
(If you) ask, (they'll) tell you. (juxtaposed condition and result)
For the full range of conditional sentences, including the якщо́…то version, see Conditional Sentences.
поспіши́ш / насміши́ш — the perfective future (one word, present-shaped)
Both verbs are perfective, and a perfective verb forms its future with present-tense endings: поспіши́ш and насміши́ш look like a present ("you hurry," "you make laugh") but mean "you will hurry," "you will make laugh." This is the synthetic (simple) future — one word, no helper verb. The trap for learners: the same -иш ending that marks present tense on an imperfective verb marks the future on a perfective verb. поспіши́ш = future precisely because поспіши́ти is perfective; its imperfective partner поспіша́ти would give present поспіша́єш ("you are hurrying"). The aspect is doing the time-telling.
Я зателефону́ю тобі́, як ті́льки прийду́.
I'll call you as soon as I arrive. (perfective зателефоную = future, one word)
Поспіши́ш — все зіпсу́єш.
(If you) hurry, (you'll) spoil everything. (two perfective futures, condition→result)
Як попроси́ш че́мно, то допомо́жуть.
If you ask politely, they'll help. (perfective futures throughout)
The perfective is also the right aspect for the meaning: each verb names a single, complete event — one act of hurrying produces one act of looking ridiculous. For how aspect chooses the future form, see Aspect in the Future and The Synthetic Future.
The generalised "you" — поспіши́ш = "if one hurries"
The verbs are 2nd person singular, but the proverb is not addressed to any particular "you." This is the generalised (impersonal) second person: "you" stands for anyone, people in general. It is the same move English makes in "you can't win them all" — "you" = "one." Ukrainian uses this generalised ти constantly in proverbs and rules of thumb, precisely because it makes the listener feel personally implicated ("yes, I'd be laughed at"). Note that no pronoun ти is spoken — Ukrainian is a pro-drop language, so the -иш ending alone says "you (sg)," and leaving the pronoun out reinforces the impersonal, anyone-at-all reading.
Що посі́єш, те й пожне́ш.
What you sow, that you'll also reap. (generalised 'you' = anyone)
Як до люде́й — так і лю́ди до те́бе.
As you treat people, so people treat you. (impersonal second person)
On ти vs. ви and this generalising use, see Ти vs. Ви.
люде́й — the animate accusative that copies the genitive
The object is люде́й ("people"), the accusative plural of лю́ди. Why does it end in -ей and not the dictionary -и (лю́ди)? Because лю́ди is animate, and for animate nouns the accusative plural is identical to the genitive plural — so the accusative of "people" is люде́й, the same form as "of people." This animacy rule is one of Ukrainian's quiet pillars: with people and animals, "I see them" borrows the genitive ending. насміши́ш люде́й = "you'll make people (acc=gen) laugh." Compare an inanimate plural, where accusative = nominative: насміши́ш діте́й (anim, acc = gen) vs. збуду́єш буди́нки (inanim, acc = nom).
Я не хо́чу сміши́ти люде́й.
I don't want to make people laugh (at me). (animate acc pl = gen pl: людей)
Він заспоко́їв діте́й.
He calmed the children down. (діте́й = animate acc pl, = gen pl)
Не суди́ люде́й за оди́н вчи́нок.
Don't judge people by a single deed. (людей = animate accusative)
For why animate nouns borrow the genitive in the accusative, see Accusative and Animacy: A Deep Dive.
When you'd actually say it
You say it the moment someone rushes a job that needs care — assembling something, writing in a hurry, deciding too fast.
— Я закінчу́ за п’ять хвили́н! — Не поспіша́й: поспіши́ш — люде́й насміши́ш.
'I'll finish in five minutes!' 'Don't rush — haste makes waste.'
Перечита́й допи́с пе́ред тим, як надсила́ти. Поспіши́ш — люде́й насміши́ш.
Reread the post before you send it. Hurry and you'll make a fool of yourself.
Glossary
| Word | Form / note | Everyday equivalent / contrast |
|---|---|---|
| поспіши́ш | 2sg perfective future of поспіши́ти | imperfective поспіша́ти → present поспіша́єш |
| насміши́ш | 2sg perfective future of насміши́ти ("make laugh") | imperfective сміши́ти; reflexive сміши́тися = "look ridiculous" |
| люде́й | animate acc pl (= gen pl) of лю́ди | nom лю́ди; "people" — note the suppletive stem люд- |
| — (dash) | silent conditional "if…, then…" | can be spelled out: якщо́… то… |
Common Mistakes
❌ Поспіши́ш — лю́ди насміши́ш.
Incorrect — насміши́ти takes an object, and 'people' is its animate accusative: люде́й, not nominative лю́ди.
✅ Поспіши́ш — люде́й насміши́ш.
Hurry and you'll make people laugh. (animate acc pl людей)
❌ Бу́деш поспіша́ти — бу́деш люде́й насміша́ти.
Loses the proverb — the analytic imperfective future flattens the punch; the proverb uses the one-word perfective future.
✅ Поспіши́ш — люде́й насміши́ш.
Hurry and you'll make people laugh. (crisp perfective future)
❌ Якщо́ ти поспіши́ш — людей насміши́ш.
Heavy-handed — the proverb deliberately drops 'якщо' and 'ти'; the bare juxtaposition is the idiom.
✅ Поспіши́ш — люде́й насміши́ш.
Hurry and you'll make people laugh. (conditional by juxtaposition, no 'if', no pronoun)
❌ Поспіша́єш — люде́й насміши́ш.
Inconsistent — поспіша́єш is present (imperfective), but the proverb pairs two perfective futures: поспіши́ш / насміши́ш.
✅ Поспіши́ш — люде́й насміши́ш.
Hurry and you'll make people laugh. (matching perfective futures, with the rhyme)
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- The Synthetic Future (читатиму)A2 — Ukrainian's distinctive one-word imperfective future (про́ста фо́рма майбу́тнього ча́су): take the imperfective infinitive whole — keeping its -ти — and fuse on the enclitic endings -му, -меш, -ме, -мемо, -мете, -муть. чита́ти → чита́тиму, чита́тимеш, чита́тиме, чита́тимемо, чита́тимете, чита́тимуть; говори́ти → говори́тиму; роби́ти → роби́тиму; ходи́ти → ходи́тиму. The endings descend from a fused old 'have' (я́ти); the stress stays where the infinitive carries it. It works ONLY with imperfectives (no *прочита́тиму), so it always carries ongoing/repeated meaning, and it is fully equivalent to бу́ду + infinitive — but more compact, very common, and with NO Russian counterpart.
- Conditional Sentences (Real and Unreal)B1 — Ukrainian splits 'if'-sentences into just two patterns where English has three or more. REAL conditions use якщо́ + the indicative (typically the FUTURE in BOTH clauses): Якщо́ бу́де дощ, ми залиши́мося вдо́ма. UNREAL/hypothetical conditions use якби́ + the past form, with би/б in BOTH clauses: Якби́ я був бага́тий, я б подорожува́в — and this single form covers BOTH 'if I were' (present-unreal) and 'if I had been' (past-unreal); context and aspect tell them apart. There is no separate 'would have'.
- Aspect in the Future TenseA2 — English 'will read' is ambiguous; Ukrainian forces a choice. The PERFECTIVE future is the simple one-word form — прочита́ю, напишу́, зроблю́, куплю́ — for a single completed future result. The IMPERFECTIVE future is a two-piece form, either analytic (бу́ду чита́ти) or synthetic (чита́тиму), for an ongoing, repeated, or process-focused future. The perfective can NEVER use бу́ду — *бу́ду прочита́ти is impossible — because бу́ду builds only on imperfective infinitives.
- Animacy in the Accusative: Edge CasesB2 — Grammatical animacy is not biology: the dead (ба́чу мерця́), playing cards and chess pieces (відкри́ти туза́, взя́ти короля́), and dolls behave as ANIMATE — their accusative copies the genitive — while collectives like наро́д and на́товп stay inanimate, so the accusative occasionally surprises (купи́ти коня́ vs ба́чу буди́нок).
- Ти vs Ви: Informal and Formal YouA1 — English 'you' splits in two in Ukrainian: ти is singular and informal (family, friends, children, peers, God), while ви is both the plural 'you' and the polite singular for strangers, elders, and officials. The verb takes plural agreement with ви even for one person (Ви ма́єте ра́цію), the capitalized Ви signals respect in letters, and moving from ви to ти (перейти́ на «ти») is a real social step you often propose out loud.
- Proverb: «Тихше їдеш — далі будеш»B1 — A close grammatical reading of the proverb «Тихше їдеш — далі будеш», anchoring comparative adverbs, the generalized second-person, the implicit чим…тим correlative, and the dash that replaces the verb 'to be'.