This four-word proverb is a miniature machine for two grammar points at once: the як…так correlative ("as… so…") and the generalized present-tense "you" that means everyone. It says, simply, that the result you get matches the care you put in — you reap what you sow. Ukrainians use it as gentle moral arithmetic: to a child who didn't water the garden and now has no tomatoes, to a student who skipped the lectures and failed, or as quiet satisfaction when honest effort pays off. The whole saying turns on a perfect grammatical symmetry that you can copy in your own sentences.
«Як дба́єш, так і ма́єш.»
As you tend, so you have (you reap what you sow).
Як дба́єш, так і ма́єш. "As you take care, so you have."
Word by word
| Word | Lemma | Form | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| Як | як | correlative conjunction | "as / in the way that" — opens the first half |
| дба́єш | дба́ти | 2nd person singular, present (imperfective) | "you take care, you tend" — generalized "you" |
| так | так | correlative adverb | "so / in that way" — answers як |
| і | і | emphatic particle | "likewise, just so" — reinforces так |
| ма́єш | ма́ти | 2nd person singular, present (imperfective) | "you have" — the matching result |
The grammar
1. The як…так і correlative — "as… so likewise…"
Як дба́єш, так і ма́єш.
As you tend, so you have.
The backbone of the proverb is a correlative pair: як ("as, in the way that") opens the condition, and так ("so, in that way") delivers the matching consequence, with the emphatic і ("likewise, just so") snug against так to lock the two halves into proportion. This is not the comparative як of "as big as" — it is the manner correlative, "the way you do X, that is the way Y turns out." The structure is fully productive; you can build your own proportions on this frame:
Як посі́єш, так і пожне́ш.
As you sow, so shall you reap.
Як замо́виш, так і зро́блять.
However you order it, that's how they'll make it.
Як до люде́й, так і лю́ди до те́бе.
As you treat people, so people treat you.
See correlative conjunctions and comparative constructions.
2. The generalized 2nd person — "you" means anyone
Як дба́єш, так і ма́єш.
Whatever you put in, that's what you get out (anyone, not one named person).
Both verbs are in the 2nd person singular — ти дба́єш, ти ма́єш — yet no particular "you" is addressed. This is the generalized (impersonal) 2nd person, the standard Ukrainian way to phrase a universal truth, just like English "you reap what you sow." The subject pronoun ти is dropped because the verb ending already marks the person, and dropping it makes the statement feel even more universal — it floats free of any one listener. You meet this generalized "you" constantly in sayings and in life advice:
Гро́ші лю́биш — а́ле й рахува́ти їх ма́єш.
If you love money, you also have to count it.
Що посі́єш — те й збере́ш.
Whatever you sow, that's what you'll gather.
See the present-tense conjugation.
3. The gnomic present — a tense for timeless truths
Як дба́єш, так і ма́єш.
As one tends, so one has — true at all times.
Both verbs are imperfective present (дба́ти and ма́ти are first-conjugation -аю/-аєш verbs: дба́ю, дба́єш…; ма́ю, ма́єш…). The present here is not "right now this minute" — it is the gnomic present, the tense of proverbs, scientific facts, and habitual rules: a statement true always and for everyone. Ukrainian, like English, reaches for the plain present to state a law of life. Compare:
Вода́ кипи́ть при ста гра́дусах.
Water boils at a hundred degrees.
Хто бі́льше працю́є, той бі́льше вто́млюється.
Whoever works more, gets more tired.
See uses of the present tense.
4. The parallel structure — why it sticks
The proverb's power is its symmetry: two clauses of identical shape, each a correlative + 2nd-person-present verb, mirrored across the comma. Дба́єш and ма́єш even rhyme (both -а́єш), which is no accident — proverbs survive because their form is easy to say and hard to forget. When you build your own як…так sentences, keeping the two verbs parallel in tense and person is what makes them ring true.
Як говори́ш, так тебе́ й сприйма́ють.
The way you speak is the way people perceive you.
Using it in context
Він ці́лий рік не вчи́вся, а тепе́р диву́ється низьки́м оці́нкам. Ну що ж — як дба́єш, так і ма́єш.
He didn't study all year and now he's surprised at the low grades. Well — you reap what you sow.
Ти щодня́ полива́ла свій горо́д, і ось — повні́сінькі ко́шики помідо́рів. Як дба́єш, так і ма́єш!
You watered your garden every day, and look — baskets brimming with tomatoes. You reap what you sow!
Glossary
- дба́ти — "to take care of, to tend, to look after"; fully current, first-conjugation. Often paired with
про- accusative (
дба́ти про роди́ну, "to care for the family").
- accusative (
- ма́ти — "to have"; here in its plain "possess / end up with" sense.
- There are no archaic or dialectal words in this proverb — every word is everyday modern Ukrainian, which is part of why it stays in active use.
Common Mistakes
❌ Як дбаєш, тому маєш.
Incorrect — the partner of як is так, not тому.
✅ Як дба́єш, так і ма́єш.
As you tend, so you have.
❌ Як ти дбаєш, так ти маєш.
Overstuffed — the generalized 'you' drops the pronoun ти in a proverb.
✅ Як дба́єш, так і ма́єш.
As you tend, so you have.
❌ Як дбав, так і маєш.
Incorrect — keep both verbs in the same tense; mixing past and present breaks the parallel.
✅ Як дба́єш, так і ма́єш.
As you tend, so you have.
❌ Як дбаєш, так маєш.
Weaker — dropping the emphatic і makes the proportion lose its punch.
✅ Як дба́єш, так і ма́єш.
As you tend, so you have.
як рахуєш — так і живеш, "as you budget, so you live"). Keep both verbs the same tense and person, and you have a native-sounding proportion every time.Now practice Ukrainian
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Start learning Ukrainian→Related Topics
- Correlative and Paired ConjunctionsB1 — Paired conjunctions that bracket two elements and require BOTH halves: і…і 'both…and', ні…ні 'neither…nor' (with obligatory verb negation — double negation!), або́…або́ / чи…чи 'either…or', не ті́льки…а й / не лише́…але́ й 'not only…but also' (fixed frame, а й not 'але́ тако́ж'), то…то 'now…now', як…так і 'both…and / as…so', and чим…тим 'the…the' (Чим бі́льше, тим кра́ще). Comma falls between the halves; ні…ні carries the mandatory не on the verb.
- Using the Present TenseA2 — When to use the Ukrainian present, which — being imperfective-only — naturally covers BOTH 'I am reading' and 'I read (habitually)'. It expresses ongoing action now (За́раз я чита́ю), habit and repetition (Я щора́нку п’ю ка́ву), general truths (Вода́ кипи́ть при ста гра́дусах), the scheduled/planned near future with motion and time verbs (За́втра ї́демо до Ки́єва), the narrative/historical present in storytelling, and the present in time clauses (Коли́ чита́ю, слу́хаю му́зику). It CANNOT express a completed-now event — that forces the perfective past or future (Я прочита́ю книжку).
- Present Tense: First ConjugationA1 — The first conjugation (пе́рша дієвідмі́на) takes the present endings -у/-ю, -еш/-єш, -е/-є, -емо/-ємо, -ете/-єте, -уть/-ють, built on the theme vowel -е-/-є- with a 3pl in -уть/-ють. Drill three models: vowel-stem чита́ти (чита́ю, чита́єш…), consonant-stem нести́ (несу́, несе́ш…), mutating писа́ти (пишу́, пи́шеш…), могти́ (можу́…), and the huge -увати/-ювати class (працюва́ти → працю́ю).
- Comparative and Equative ConstructionsB2 — The syntax of comparison once you have a comparative form: 'than' has three competing renderings (за + accusative, ніж + same case, від + genitive — all 'than me'), the equative 'as…as' runs through такий самий, як and так само…як, the proportional 'the more…the more' is чим/що…тим, and quantified comparison splits between у/в…рази and вдвічі/втричі for MULTIPLES (twice as big) versus на + accusative for ADDITIVE differences (older by two years).
- Emphatic Particles (Же/Ж, Таки́, Аж, Наві́ть, Тільки)B1 — The high-frequency emphatic and focus particles that carry attitude English marks with stress or words like 'after all / even / just'. же/ж (ж after a vowel) 'after all / then / indeed', enclitic, sits second (Що ж роби́ти?, Ти ж обіця́в!). таки́ 'still / after all / indeed' (Він таки́ прийшо́в). аж 'as much as / all the way / even' (аж до Ки́єва, аж три ра́зи). наві́ть 'even'. ті́льки/лише́/лиш 'only / just'. саме́ 'exactly'. -бо/-но urge a command (Іди́-бо!, скажи́-но). Peppering speech with these is what makes Ukrainian sound native; же/ж especially is ubiquitous and almost untranslatable.