Ми́ти (imperfective) and поми́ти (perfective) are the everyday pair for "to wash" — washing dishes, hands, a car, a window, fruit. As with every Ukrainian aspect pair, the two halves divide one English verb: ми́ти is the activity of washing as a process or a habit ("I'm washing the dishes," "I wash my hands before meals"), while поми́ти is one washing brought to completion ("I've washed the dishes — they're clean now"). English leans on context and tense to convey this; Ukrainian builds it into the choice of verb. One important boundary up front: ми́ти is for washing objects and body parts. To wash laundry, Ukrainian uses an entirely different verb, пра́ти, covered below.
The aspectual contrast
Ми́ти runs freely in the present tense, because washing is something you can be doing right now. Поми́ти has no present tense at all — a completed wash is either already finished (past) or still to come (future). So the perfective borrows present-tense endings to express the future: поми́ю looks present-shaped but means "I will wash (and finish)."
Я ми́ю по́суд, а ти поки́ що накрива́й на стіл.
I'm washing the dishes — you set the table in the meantime.
Зажди́ хвили́нку, я поми́ю ру́ки й сяду́ за стіл.
Hang on a second, I'll wash my hands and sit down to eat.
The first is an ongoing process (imperfective, present). The second is one bounded act you intend to complete (perfective, future). Swap them and a native speaker hears something off: a present-tense "я поми́ю" is impossible, and "я ми́тиму ру́ки" would describe washing them on and on rather than the quick, finished act the moment calls for.
Imperfective: ми́ти
This is a class-1 verb on the stem ми́- plus the linking -й- (spelled into the endings as -ю, -єш…). The stress sits on ми́- throughout — and note the masculine past мив is a monosyllable, so it carries no written stress mark.
| Form | Present | Future (analytic) | Future (synthetic) |
|---|---|---|---|
| я | ми́ю | бу́ду ми́ти | ми́тиму |
| ти | ми́єш | бу́деш ми́ти | ми́тимеш |
| він / вона / воно | ми́є | бу́де ми́ти | ми́тиме |
| ми | ми́ємо | бу́демо ми́ти | ми́тимемо |
| ви | ми́єте | бу́дете ми́ти | ми́тимете |
| вони | ми́ють | бу́дуть ми́ти | ми́тимуть |
| Past | Imperative | Verbal adverb |
|---|---|---|
| мив (m) | мий (2sg) | ми́ючи |
| ми́ла (f) | ми́йте (2pl) | (while washing) |
| ми́ло (n) | хай / неха́й ми́є (3rd) | |
| ми́ли (pl) | ми́ймо (1pl, "let's wash") |
The imperfective has two futures, freely interchangeable. The analytic future (бу́ду ми́ти) joins the future of "to be" to the infinitive; the synthetic future (ми́тиму) fuses the same meaning into one word. Both mean "will be washing / will wash repeatedly." The synthetic form is a touch more common in casual speech.
Поки́ ти ми́тимеш ві́кна, я попідмета́ю на балко́ні.
While you wash the windows, I'll sweep the balcony.
Perfective: поми́ти
The perfective is just ми́ти with the prefix по-, and the stress stays on -ми́- in every form. There is also the near-synonym ви́мити ("to wash thoroughly / wash up"), built with the prefix ви-, which always pulls the stress onto itself: ви́мию, ви́мив. The perfective present-shaped forms carry future meaning.
| Form | Future (= simple/perfective future) |
|---|---|
| я | поми́ю |
| ти | поми́єш |
| він / вона / воно | поми́є |
| ми | поми́ємо |
| ви | поми́єте |
| вони | поми́ють |
| Past | Imperative |
|---|---|
| поми́в (m) | поми́й (2sg) |
| поми́ла (f) | поми́йте (2pl) |
| поми́ло (n) | хай / неха́й поми́є (3rd) |
| поми́ли (pl) | поми́ймо (1pl) |
Usage and case government
1. Washing a thing — direct object in the accusative. The thing washed is a plain accusative object, exactly like English.
Ма́ма попроси́ла поми́ти по́суд після вече́рі.
Mum asked me to wash the dishes after dinner.
Ти не поми́в я́блука — їх тре́ба споча́тку сполосну́ти.
You didn't wash the apples — they need rinsing first.
2. Washing a body part — accusative, often without a possessive. Ukrainian usually says "wash the hands," not "wash my hands"; the owner is understood from context. To make the body-part-owner explicit you reach for the reflexive (see below) or a dative of reference.
Поми́й ру́ки, перш ніж сіда́ти за стіл.
Wash your hands before sitting down at the table.
3. The reflexive ми́тися — washing oneself. Add -ся and the verb turns the action back on the subject: ми́тися = "to wash oneself, to bathe, to shower." Crucially there is no object here — the -ся already supplies it, so adding a noun like ру́ки would be wrong (use plain ми́ти for that).
Він до́вго ми́ється вра́нці, тому́ ми ча́сто запі́знюємося.
He takes ages washing up in the morning, so we're often late.
Діти́, поми́йтеся й ляга́йте спа́ти.
Kids, get washed and go to bed.
The 1sg of the reflexive is ми́юся, the 2sg ми́єшся — the -ся simply rides along after the normal ending.
4. Washing the face — вмива́тися / вми́тися. For washing one's face specifically, Ukrainian prefers a separate pair built on вмива́ти / вми́ти (also spelled умива́ти / уми́ти). Saying ми́ти обли́ччя is understood but вмива́тися is the idiomatic choice.
Вона́ вми́лася холо́дною водо́ю, щоб прокину́тися.
She washed her face with cold water to wake up.
Ми́ти versus пра́ти
This is the trap English hides. English "wash" covers both the dishes and the laundry; Ukrainian splits them. You ми́ти / поми́ти dishes, hands, fruit, the car, the floor — and you пра́ти / ви́прати clothes, towels, bedsheets. Using ми́ти for laundry is a clear, immediate giveaway of a non-native speaker.
Цю соро́чку тре́ба ви́прати, а не про́сто провітри́ти.
This shirt needs washing, not just airing out.
Я ви́прала всі рушники́, поки́ ти ми́в маши́ну.
I washed all the towels while you were washing the car.
Common Mistakes
1. Using ми́ти for laundry. English "wash my clothes" tempts you to ми́ти; Ukrainian wants пра́ти.
❌ Мені́ тре́ба поми́ти ці джи́нси.
Incorrect — джинси are laundry, so this should be пра́ти/ви́прати.
✅ Мені́ тре́ба ви́прати ці джи́нси.
I need to wash these jeans.
2. Adding an object to the reflexive. -ся already means "oneself," so a body-part object is redundant and wrong.
❌ Я ми́юся ру́ки пе́ред обі́дом.
Incorrect — ми́юся already means 'wash myself'; drop -ся to take an object.
✅ Я ми́ю ру́ки пе́ред обі́дом.
I wash my hands before lunch.
3. Treating поми́ю as a present tense. Because поми́ю uses present endings, learners read it as "I wash." It always means "I will wash."
❌ Я поми́ю по́суд щодня́.
Intending 'I wash the dishes every day', but поми́ю means 'I will wash' — a single completed act, not a habit.
✅ Я ми́ю по́суд щодня́.
I wash the dishes every day.
4. Perfective for an ongoing process. "I'm washing the car right now" is a process, so it must be imperfective.
❌ Я поми́ю зара́з маши́ну.
Incorrect for an action in progress — поми́ю is future/completed, not 'right now'.
✅ Я ми́ю зара́з маши́ну.
I'm washing the car right now.
5. Wrong stress with the prefix ви-. The prefix ви- always takes the stress: it is ви́мити, ви́мию, ви́мив — never *вими́ти.
❌ Тре́ба вими́ти підло́гу на ку́хні.
Incorrect stress — should be ви́мити, with stress on ви-.
✅ Тре́ба ви́мити підло́гу на ку́хні.
The kitchen floor needs a good wash.
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