Verb Reference: Народжуватися / Народитися (to be born)

Infinitive (imperfective): наро́джуватися — "to be born (in general / repeatedly)" Perfective partner: народи́тися — "to be born (one specific birth)" Type: a reflexive -ся verb with a д→дж 1sg mutation

народи́тися is the verb every learner needs early: it is how you say where and when you were born — Я народи́вся в Ки́єві "I was born in Kyiv." Three things make it a proper B1 page. First, it is reflexive: the -ся is obligatory and untranslatable (English "be born" is a passive, but Ukrainian uses a reflexive). Second, the 1sg of both aspects mutates д→дж: наро́диться but народжу́ся, наро́джуюся — the д of the root turns into дж before the -у ending. Third, the past is gendered, so a man and a woman literally say it differently: народи́вся vs народи́лася. Strip the -ся and you get the transitive народи́ти "to give birth to someone." Stress is marked on every form.

Present tense — наро́джуюся / наро́джуєшся… (imperfective only)

The imperfective наро́джуватися is the -ува- → -у- class, root-stressed on наро́-, and used for births in general — birth rates, repeated or habitual births, the bare fact that people are born. The 1sg keeps the д→дж of the stem: наро́джуюся.

You will mostly meet this in general statements: Ді́ти наро́джуються щодня́ "Children are born every day," or the proverb-like Геро́ями не наро́джуються — ни́ми стаю́ть "Heroes are not born — they are made." It is also the verb of birth rates: У краї́ні наро́джується деда́лі ме́нше діте́й.

Future tense — perfective народи́тися, the simple future

The perfective народи́тися names one specific birth. Its present-form is the future ("will be born"), and apart from the 1sg народжу́ся (д→дж) the stem is root-stressed on наро́-: наро́дишся, наро́диться…

The 1sg народжу́ся is the form to drill: the root д becomes дж and the stress jumps to the ending (народжу́ся), while every other person keeps д and root-stress (наро́дишся, наро́диться). This д→дж before -у is the same mutation you see in ходи́ти → ходжу́, носи́ти → ношу́. In the future it usually refers to expected babies: Ско́ро наро́диться на́ша до́нечка "Our little daughter will be born soon."

Imperfective future — both compound forms

The imperfective forms its future analytically (бу́ду + infinitive) or synthetically (the -му form). It is rare with this verb — births are usually single, perfective events — but it appears in generalisations about the future.

Past tense — народи́вся (m) vs народи́лася (f)

This is the form you will use most — and it is gendered, so it changes with the speaker. Both aspects are suffix-stressed on -ди́-. The everyday autobiographical sentence lives here.

The perfective народи́вся / народи́лася is "was born" for one person, one event — almost always what you want. The imperfective наро́джувався is for repeated/general past ("children used to be born…"). A man says Я народи́вся, a woman Я народи́лася — get the gender right and you sound native immediately.

Imperative

The imperative is rare — you can hardly command someone to be born — but it appears in elevated or wishful registers (Народи́ся зно́ву! "Be born again!") and very commonly in the 3rd person хай / неха́й наро́диться "may (s)he be born," a blessing over an unborn child.

Participles and verbal adverbs

The transitive participle наро́джений "born" is common in fixed phrases: наро́джений у соро́чці "born in a shirt" (= born lucky), наро́джений вільним "born free." The verbal adverb народи́вшись sets up a clause: Народи́вшись у бі́дній сім’ї́, він усьо́го домі́гся сам.

Key uses & case government

1. The place of birth — в / у + locative

Where you were born goes in в (у) + locative: народи́тися в Ки́єві / в Украї́ні / у се́лі "to be born in Kyiv / in Ukraine / in a village." Note the standard Ukrainian в Украї́ні (not на Украї́ні). The в/у alternates by euphony, like elsewhere. See verb government.

2. The date of birth — the genitive

The day and month of birth stand in the genitive, with the day as an ordinal: народи́тися п’я́того тра́вня "to be born on the fifth of May," деся́того жо́втня "on the tenth of October." The year takes року in the genitive too: народи́вся ти́сяча дев’ятсо́т дев’яно́сто дру́гого ро́ку. See dates in the genitive.

3. народи́ти (transitive) vs народи́тися (reflexive) — give birth vs be born

Strip the -ся and the verb flips: народи́ти (transitive) means "to give birth to someone," taking the accusative: Вона́ народи́ла си́на "She gave birth to a son" / Вона́ народи́ла "She gave birth." Add -ся and the focus moves to the child being born: Си́н народи́вся "The son was born." So народи́ти is from the mother's side, народи́тися from the child's. See the meanings of -ся.

Common Mistakes

Key Takeaways

• народи́тися = to be born (reflexive; the -ся is obligatory). The perfective is the single birth; the imperfective is for general / repeated births.
• 1sg mutation д→дж: народжу́ся (pf future), наро́джуюся (impf present) — every other person keeps д and root-stress (наро́дишся, наро́диться).
• Past is gendered: народи́вся (m) vs народи́лася (f) — match the speaker.
• Government: place in в (у) + locative (народи́тися в Ки́єві, в Украї́ні — not на Украї́ні); date in the genitive (п’я́того тра́вня).
• Strip the -ся for the transitive народи́ти "to give birth to someone" (+ accusative).