Infinitive: носи́ти — "to wear (clothes); to carry around / carry habitually" Aspect: imperfective (a state or a repeated activity, never a single completed act) Conjugation type: a second-conjugation -и-ти verb with the с → ш mutation in the 1sg (ношу́)
носи́ти is one of the first "real" verbs an A2 learner needs every single day, because it is how Ukrainian says "to wear." Я ношу́ окуля́ри "I wear glasses," вона́ но́сить су́кні "she wears dresses" — clothing, jewellery, glasses, and a beard or a hairstyle all go with носи́ти. Its second job is the motion sense: носи́ти is the indeterminate ("multidirectional") twin of нести́, used for carrying something around, back and forth, or habitually (я за́вжди ношу́ із собо́ю парасо́льку "I always carry an umbrella with me"). The form to nail is the 1sg ношу́, with the с → ш mutation and end-stress; every other present form keeps с and stem-stress (но́сиш, но́сить…). The object is in the accusative. Stress is marked on every form below.
Present tense
носи́ти is a second-conjugation verb on the stem нос-. The 1sg shows the regular с → ш mutation with end-stress (ношу́); everywhere else the stem keeps с and the stress moves back to но́-.
| Person | носи́ти — PRESENT | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | ношу́ (с→ш!) | I wear / carry around |
| ти | но́сиш | you wear / carry (sg.) |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | но́сить | he / she / it wears / carries |
| ми | но́симо | we wear / carry |
| ви | но́сите | you wear / carry (pl./formal) |
| вони́ | но́сять | they wear / carry |
The 1sg ношу́ is the form to over-learn: the stem-final с becomes ш before the ending (the same alternation as проси́ти → прошу́, коси́ти → кошу́), and the stress is on the -у́. The mutation hits only the 1sg; every other person keeps с: но́сиш, но́сить, но́сять.
Я ношу́ окуля́ри відто́ді, як почав бага́то працюва́ти за комп’ю́тером.
I've worn glasses ever since I started working a lot at the computer. (1sg ношу́ — the 'wear' sense, с→ш mutation.)
Вона́ рі́дко но́сить підбо́ри — ка́же, що в кросі́вках зручні́ше.
She rarely wears heels — she says trainers are more comfortable. (но́сить — habitual 'wear', stem-stress.)
Я за́вжди ношу́ із собо́ю пляшку води́, навіть узимку.
I always carry a water bottle with me, even in winter. (1sg ношу́ — the 'carry around habitually' sense.)
Офіціа́нти тут но́сять чо́рні фа́ртухи.
The waiters here wear black aprons. (но́сять — habitual 'wear' for a group.)
Past tense
Fully regular, stem носи́-, end-stress on -и́-.
| Gender / number | носи́ти — PAST | English |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | носи́в | (he) wore / carried around |
| feminine | носи́ла | (she) wore / carried around |
| neuter | носи́ло | (it) wore / carried around |
| plural | носи́ли | (they) wore / carried around |
Note the contrast with the determinate нести́, whose masculine past is the bare ніс "(he) was carrying (one load, one way)." носи́ти keeps the full regular носи́в — there is no shortening.
У шко́лі я носи́в окуля́ри з товсте́нними скельця́ми й соромився їх.
At school I wore glasses with very thick lenses and was embarrassed by them. (Past носи́в — the 'wear' sense.)
Вона́ до́вго носи́ла коро́тку стри́жку, а торі́к відпусти́ла воло́сся.
She wore a short haircut for a long time, then last year grew her hair out. (носи́ла — 'wear' applied to a hairstyle.)
Future tense — imperfective only
носи́ти is imperfective, so its future is бу́ду + infinitive or the synthetic -му form. (There is no perfective "wear" — wearing is a state; for "put on" once, you switch to the perfective наді́ти / вдягну́ти.)
| Person | analytic | synthetic (-му) |
|---|---|---|
| я | бу́ду носи́ти | носи́тиму |
| ти | бу́деш носи́ти | носи́тимеш |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | бу́де носи́ти | носи́тиме |
| ми | бу́демо носи́ти | носи́тимемо |
| ви | бу́дете носи́ти | носи́тимете |
| вони́ | бу́дуть носи́ти | носи́тимуть |
Цьо́го сезо́ну всі бу́дуть носи́ти широ́кі штани́.
This season everyone will be wearing wide trousers. (Imperfective future — habitual 'wear'; бу́дуть носи́ти.)
Imperative
| Addressee | носи́ти |
|---|---|
| ти (informal) | носи́ |
| ви (formal / plural) | носі́ть |
| 3rd person (let…) | хай / неха́й но́сить |
There is a warm idiom here: носи́ на здоро́в’я! — said when you give someone clothing or a gift, literally "wear it in good health," i.e. "enjoy wearing it!"
Носі́ть ша́пку, на ву́лиці справжній моро́з!
Wear a hat, it's truly freezing outside! (Formal/plural imperative носі́ть — habitual 'wear'.)
Ось тобі́ ша́рф у пода́рунок — носи́ на здоро́в’я!
Here's a scarf for you as a gift — wear it in good health! (Imperative носи́ + the gift-giving idiom.)
Participles and verbal adverbs
| Form | носи́ти |
|---|---|
| verbal adverb (present) | но́сячи "(while) wearing / carrying around" |
| related noun | но́шений "worn (second-hand)"; одяг "clothing" (the thing you носи́ти) |
The verbal adverb но́сячи is (literary / written); in speech a коли́-clause is used.
Key uses & case government
1. "To wear" — the everyday meaning
This is the use you reach for first at A2. носи́ти + accusative = "to wear (habitually / as a rule)." It covers clothing, footwear, glasses, jewellery, a beard, a hairstyle, a perfume. For the case of the object, see accusative uses. Note the key distinction below: носи́ти is the habitual "wear"; for what someone has on right now you often switch verbs (бу́ти в + locative).
Він но́сить бо́роду вже кі́лька ро́ків і голи́тися не зби́рається.
He's worn a beard for a few years now and has no plans to shave. (носи́ти 'wear' applied to a beard.)
2. носи́ти (habitual 'wear') vs бу́ти в + locative ('have on now')
Ukrainian splits what English squashes into "wear." носи́ти = wear as a rule / habit (я ношу́ окуля́ри "I wear glasses [generally]"). For what someone has on at this moment, the natural phrasing is бу́ти в + locative or у + locative: вона́ сього́дні в черво́ній су́кні "she's in a red dress today." Using носи́ти for a one-time, right-now outfit sounds odd.
Я зазвича́й ношу́ джи́нси, але́ сього́дні я в костю́мі — у ме́не співбесі́да.
I usually wear jeans, but today I'm in a suit — I have an interview. (Habitual ношу́ vs right-now я в костю́мі.)
3. носи́ти vs нести́ — carrying around vs carrying one way
In its motion sense, носи́ти is the indeterminate twin of нести́. нести́ = one load, one direction, right now (я несу́ су́мку додо́му "I'm carrying the bag home"). носи́ти = carrying around, back and forth, or habitually (я ношу́ ноутбу́к у рюкзаку́ "I carry my laptop in a backpack"). The full pair, with the irregular past ніс of нести́, is on the нести́ / носи́ти page; how aspect interacts with this direction split is under the motion verbs overview.
Зазвича́й я ношу́ докуме́нти в па́пці, але́ за́раз несу́ їх про́сто в руці́.
I usually carry the documents in a folder, but right now I'm carrying them just in my hand. (Habitual ношу́ vs single, current несу́ — the whole split in one sentence.)
4. носи́ти vs наді́ти / вдягти́ — "wear" vs "put on"
English "put on" and "wear" are two different verbs in Ukrainian, and learners regularly collapse them. носи́ти (imperfective) = to wear habitually, the ongoing state. наді́ти / вдягну́ти (вдягти́) (perfective) = to put on, the single act of getting dressed. So я ношу́ цей светр "I wear this jumper" (regularly) but я наді́в светр "I put the jumper on" (just now). For taking off you switch again to зня́ти / роздягти́ся. Note that наді́ти takes the garment in the accusative just like носи́ти.
Уранці я наді́в па́льто, бо надво́рі хо́лодно, але́ взагалі́ ношу́ ку́ртку.
This morning I put on a coat because it's cold out, but generally I wear a jacket. (Perfective наді́в 'put on, once' vs imperfective ношу́ 'wear, habitually'.)
5. Figurative носи́ти — bear a name, carry a feeling
носи́ти has set figurative uses: носи́ти і́м’я / прі́звище "to bear a name / surname," носи́ти в собі́ "to carry within oneself" (a feeling, a memory). These keep the accusative object.
Ця ву́лиця но́сить і́м’я відо́мої поете́си.
This street bears the name of a famous poet. (Figurative но́сить і́м’я — accusative і́м’я.)
Common Mistakes
❌ Я но́сю окуля́ри.
Mutation/stress error — the 1sg of носи́ти shows с→ш and end-stress: ношу́, not *но́сю: Я ношу́ окуля́ри.
✅ Я ношу́ окуля́ри.
I wear glasses.
❌ Сього́дні я ношу́ черво́ну су́кню.
Wrong verb for a right-now outfit — habitual носи́ти doesn't fit a single occasion; use бу́ти в + locative: Сього́дні я в черво́ній су́кні.
✅ Сього́дні я в черво́ній су́кні.
Today I'm wearing a red dress.
❌ Я ношу́ су́мку додо́му пря́мо за́раз.
Wrong half of the motion pair — a single trip right now is нести́, not носи́ти: Я несу́ су́мку додо́му за́раз. (носи́ти is for habitual / back-and-forth carrying.)
✅ Я несу́ су́мку додо́му за́раз.
I'm carrying the bag home right now.
❌ Вони́ но́сають форму на робо́ту.
Form error — the 3pl of носи́ти is но́сять (-ять, not -ають): Вони́ но́сять фо́рму на робо́ту.
✅ Вони́ но́сять фо́рму на робо́ту.
They wear a uniform to work.
❌ Я бу́ду наді́ти цю ку́ртку щодня́.
Aspect/verb mismatch — habitual wearing is the imperfective носи́ти; наді́ти is a one-off 'put on'. For 'wear every day' use носи́ти: Я бу́ду носи́ти цю ку́ртку щодня́.
✅ Я бу́ду носи́ти цю ку́ртку щодня́.
I'll wear this jacket every day.
Key Takeaways
- носи́ти means "to wear" (clothes, glasses, a hairstyle) and "to carry around / habitually" (the indeterminate twin of нести́).
- Present: ношу́ (с→ш, end-stress) / но́сиш / но́сить / но́симо / но́сите / но́сять — mutation in the 1sg only.
- Past носи́в / носи́ла / носи́ло / носи́ли (regular, end-stress); imperative носи́ / носі́ть.
- Future (imperfective): бу́ду носи́ти or носи́тиму; for a single "put on," switch to perfective наді́ти / вдягну́ти.
- "Wear" split: носи́ти = habitual ('I wear glasses'); for what you have on now, use бу́ти в + locative (я в костю́мі).
- Government: object in the accusative (носи́ти су́кню); figurative носи́ти і́м’я "bear a name."
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- Нести / Носити (to carry — uni/multi)B1 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for нести́ / носи́ти 'to carry' — a paired motion verb of transporting a load. Covers the unidirectional нести́ (несу́ / несе́ш / несе́ / несу́ть) with its bare suppletive past ніс / несла́ / несло́ / несли́, and the multidirectional носи́ти (ношу́ with с→ш, но́сиш / но́сить / но́сять) with the past носи́в / носи́ла. Notes that носи́ти also means 'to wear (clothes)', that the object is in the accusative (нести́ су́мку), and how the одно-/багатоспрямований split works for things you carry.
- Одягатися / Одягнутися (to get dressed)B1 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for одяга́тися / одягну́тися 'to get dressed, to dress oneself' — a TRUE reflexive -ся verb (the action turns back on the subject). Covers the first-conjugation imperfective present одяга́юся / одяга́єшся, the -ну- perfective одягну́тися (одягну́ся / одягне́шся), the gendered past одяга́вся / одягну́вся, the +у/в+accusative 'dress in' pattern, and the contrast with the non-reflexive одяга́ти / одягну́ти 'to dress someone'. Sits inside the clothing-verb family with взува́тися and роздяга́тися.
- Other Motion Pairs (Летіти/Літати, Нести/Носити, Везти/Возити)B1 — The same unidirectional/multidirectional logic extends beyond go-on-foot and go-by-vehicle: fly (леті́ти/літа́ти), run (бі́гти/бі́гати), swim (пливти́/пла́вати), plus the transitive carry-triple — нести́/носи́ти (carry in hands), ве́зти/вози́ти (transport by vehicle), вести́/води́ти (lead). Two idioms to lock in: носи́ти = 'to wear' (ношу́ окуля́ри) and води́ти маши́ну = 'to drive' (skill). General ability and generic statements take the MULTIdirectional (Я вмі́ю пла́вати; Пта́хи літа́ють).
- Verbal Aspect: The Big PictureA2 — Aspect is the central, pervasive feature of the Ukrainian verb: nearly every verb belongs to an aspect PAIR — imperfective (недоко́наний вид), which views an action as a process, ongoing, repeated, or general (чита́ти), and perfective (доко́наний вид), which views it as a single completed whole with a result or boundary (прочита́ти). The consequences are sharp: imperfectives have a present, a past, and BOTH futures (бу́ду чита́ти / чита́тиму); perfectives have NO present — their present-shaped form is future (прочита́ю = 'I will read it through') — only a past (прочита́в) and a simple future (прочита́ю). Aspect is chosen for EVERY verb in EVERY clause; it is not optional, and it has no English equivalent.
- Accusative: Uses Beyond the Direct ObjectB1 — The accusative does more than mark the object — with в/у, на, за, під, через it marks motion TOWARD a target (іду в школу), it expresses bare-preposition duration (чекав годину 'waited an hour'), and it stands in a pivotal contrast with the locative: the same prepositions в/у and на take the accusative for direction (куди? в школу) but the locative for static location (де? в школі).