Infinitive (imperfective): рахува́ти — "to count, to calculate; (also) to consider, to reckon" Perfective partner: порахува́ти — "to count up, to tally (once, to a result)" Type: a regular -ува- verb of the first conjugation; takes a plain accusative object
рахува́ти is the everyday verb for counting — money, days, people, votes. It is a clean, regular -ува- verb, which makes it a useful model: in the present the -ува- suffix contracts to -у-, giving раху́ю, раху́єш (the same pattern as малюва́ти → малю́ю, купува́ти → купу́ю). Two things make it worth its own page. First, рахува́ти carries a second meaning — "to consider, to reckon, to be of the opinion (that…)" — which overlaps with вважа́ти "to consider," so the same verb counts coins and weighs opinions. Second, it has a near-synonym, лічи́ти, that also means "to count," and learners should know how the two divide the ground. Stress is marked on every form.
Present tense — imperfective рахува́ти (the -ува- → -у- contraction)
Only the imperfective has a present tense. The -ува- contracts to -у-, the first-conjugation -ю / -єш / -є endings attach, and the stress sits on раху́- throughout.
| Person | рахува́ти — PRESENT | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | раху́ю | I count / I'm counting |
| ти | раху́єш | you count (sg.) |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | раху́є | he / she / it counts |
| ми | раху́ємо | we count |
| ви | раху́єте | you count (pl./formal) |
| вони́ | раху́ють | they count |
The imperfective present is for the ongoing or habitual activity of counting: Я раху́ю до десяти́ "I count to ten," Касир раху́є ре́шту "The cashier is counting out the change." For a single tally taken to its result, switch to the perfective порахува́ти.
Заче́кай, я раху́ю здачу́, щоб не помили́тися.
Hang on, I'm counting the change so I don't make a mistake. (Ongoing imperfective раху́ю + accusative здачу́.)
Ма́ленька Со́ня вже раху́є до двадцяти́ украї́нською.
Little Sonia can already count to twenty in Ukrainian. (Habitual ability раху́є + до + genitive двадцяти́.)
Perfective future — порахува́ти (пораху́ю…)
The perfective порахува́ти adds the prefix по- and means "to count up, to tally to a result" — the single completed act. It has no present; its conjugated forms are the simple future "will count up." Same -у- contraction and stress on -раху́-.
| Person | порахува́ти — FUTURE | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | пораху́ю | I'll count up |
| ти | пораху́єш | you'll count up |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | пораху́є | he / she / it will count up |
| ми | пораху́ємо | we'll count up |
| ви | пораху́єте | you'll count up |
| вони́ | пораху́ють | they'll count up |
The aspect contrast: imperfective рахува́ти = the activity of counting (in progress, repeated); perfective порахува́ти = the count carried through to a total. Я порахува́в — нас двана́дцятеро "I counted it up — there are twelve of us." This is the regular aspect future.
Дай хвили́нку, я пораху́ю, скі́льки нас бу́де на вечі́рці.
Give me a minute, I'll count up how many of us will be at the party. (Perfective future пораху́ю — a count taken to a total.)
Пораху́ємо голоси́ ще раз, щоб усе́ було́ че́сно.
Let's count the votes again, so everything is fair. (Perfective 1pl пораху́ємо + accusative голоси́.)
Past tense — рахува́в / порахува́ла
The past is regular, end-stressed on рахува́- / порахува́-, with the gendered -в / -ла / -ло / -ли endings.
| Gender / number | рахува́ти (impf) | порахува́ти (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | рахува́в | порахува́в |
| feminine | рахува́ла | порахува́ла |
| neuter | рахува́ло | порахува́ло |
| plural | рахува́ли | порахува́ли |
Я тричі́ порахува́ла квитки́, і щора́зу вихо́дило по-рі́зному.
I counted the tickets three times, and each time I got a different result. (Perfective past порахува́ла — female speaker, a completed tally.)
Imperative
| Addressee | рахува́ти (impf) | порахува́ти (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| ти (informal) | раху́й | пораху́й |
| ви (formal / plural) | раху́йте | пораху́йте |
| 3rd person (let…) | хай / неха́й раху́є | хай / неха́й пораху́є |
Пораху́й, будь ла́ска, скі́льки тут усьо́го сторіно́к.
Please count up how many pages there are here in total. (Perfective imperative пораху́й — a single specific tally.)
Participles and verbal adverbs
| Form | рахува́ти / порахува́ти |
|---|---|
| related noun | рахуно́к "bill, account, score, count" |
| past passive participle (pf.) | порахо́ваний "counted, tallied" |
| imperfective verbal adverb | раху́ючи "(while) counting" |
The related noun рахуно́к is everyday and richly polysemous: it is the bill at a restaurant (Раху́нок, будь ла́ска! "The check, please!"), a bank account (відкри́ти раху́нок "open an account"), and the score of a match (рахуно́к 2:1 "the score is 2-1"). The participle порахо́ваний "counted" and the verbal adverb раху́ючи are (written).
Офіціа́нте, принесі́ть, будь ла́ска, раху́нок.
Waiter, please bring the bill. (Noun рахуно́к 'bill' — a restaurant staple.)
Usage and government
1. рахува́ти + accusative — "count something"
In its primary sense, рахува́ти governs a plain accusative object — рахува́ти гро́ші, дні, голоси́ — with no preposition. See the accusative.
Не ва́рто рахува́ти чужі́ гро́ші — це непристо́йно.
It's not worth counting other people's money — it's improper. (рахува́ти + accusative гро́ші.)
2. рахува́ти = "consider, reckon (that…)"
рахува́ти has a second, very common sense: "to consider, to reckon, to be of the opinion." Here it is close to вважа́ти "to consider," and takes either an accusative + instrumental ("count X as Y") or a що-clause: Я раху́ю його́ дру́гом "I count him a friend," Раху́ю, що це поми́лка "I reckon that's a mistake." In careful written Ukrainian, вважа́ти is often preferred for "consider/believe," while рахува́ти in this sense has a slightly more colloquial, calculating flavour ("by my count / the way I figure it"). See the government overview and compare ду́мати.
Я раху́ю його́ одни́м із найкра́щих фахівці́в у кома́нді.
I count him as one of the best specialists on the team. (рахува́ти + accusative його́ + instrumental — 'count as'.)
Раху́ю, що нам тре́ба ще раз усе́ переві́рити.
I reckon we need to check everything once more. (рахува́ти + що-clause = 'consider/reckon that'.)
3. рахува́ти vs лічи́ти — two verbs for "count"
Ukrainian has a second verb for counting, лічи́ти (лічу́, лі́чиш). The two overlap heavily and are often interchangeable for plain counting, but there are tendencies: рахува́ти dominates everyday and arithmetical/financial counting (counting money, doing sums), while лічи́ти leans toward enumerating, reciting numbers, or counting off, and survives in fixed phrases (лічи́ти дні до… "count the days until…," не злічи́ти "too many to count"). For "count" in the calculating sense, рахува́ти is the safer default; лічи́ти is its slightly more literary cousin.
Вона́ лі́чить дні до приї́зду си́на з-за кордо́ну.
She's counting the days until her son's arrival from abroad. (лічи́ти — counting off, the more lyrical 'count'.)
4. рахува́ти + dative reflexive — "take into account / reckon with"
Two further everyday turns of phrase round out the verb. рахува́тися з + instrumental (note the -ся) means "to reckon with, to take someone's view into account": З його́ ду́мкою всі раху́ються "Everyone reckons with his opinion." And врахо́вувати / врахува́ти + accusative is the standard "take into account, factor in": тре́ба врахува́ти всі ри́зики "we must factor in all the risks." Keep these straight from the bare рахува́ти "count" — the -ся and the prefix вра- change the meaning entirely.
З тако́ю люди́ною дове́деться рахува́тися — вона́ ма́є вели́кий вплив.
One will have to reckon with such a person — they have great influence. (рахува́тися з + instrumental, with -ся.)
Плану́ючи бюдже́т, ва́рто врахува́ти й непередба́чувані ви́трати.
When planning the budget, it's worth factoring in unforeseen expenses too. (врахува́ти + accusative — 'take into account'.)
Common Mistakes
❌ Я рахуваю гро́ші.
Wrong present form — the -ува- contracts to -у- in the present: it is раху́ю, not 'рахуваю': Я раху́ю гро́ші.
✅ Я раху́ю гро́ші.
I'm counting the money.
❌ Я порахую гро́ші зара́з? Ні, я рахую їх кожен день.
Aspect mismatch — for a habitual, ongoing count use the imperfective раху́ю; the perfective пораху́ю is the single completed tally: Я раху́ю їх щодня́.
✅ Я раху́ю їх щодня́, а сього́дні пораху́ю ще раз.
I count them every day, and today I'll count them once more. (impf habit раху́ю vs pf one-off пораху́ю)
❌ Я рахую на тебе́.
Wrong verb for 'rely on' — 'I'm counting on you' is not рахува́ти but розрахо́вувати / сподіва́тися: Я розрахо́вую на те́бе. (рахува́ти is the literal 'count', not 'count on'.)
✅ Я розрахо́вую на те́бе.
I'm counting on you. (idiomatic 'count on' = розрахо́вувати на + accusative)
❌ Я рахуюся, що це поми́лка.
No -ся here — рахува́ти 'count/reckon' is not reflexive in this sense; the form is раху́ю: Раху́ю, що це поми́лка.
✅ Раху́ю, що це поми́лка.
I reckon that's a mistake.
❌ Дай мені́ рахунка, будь ла́ска.
The bill in the request is accusative singular = рахуно́к (= nominative here), not the genitive 'рахунка': Дай мені́ рахуно́к, будь ла́ска / Принесі́ть раху́нок.
✅ Принесі́ть, будь ла́ска, раху́нок.
Please bring the bill.
Key Takeaways
- рахува́ти is a regular -ува- verb: the suffix contracts in the present — раху́ю / раху́єш / раху́є / раху́ємо / раху́єте / раху́ють.
- Aspect: imperfective рахува́ти (the activity) vs perfective порахува́ти (counted up to a total, future пораху́ю).
- Past: рахува́в / рахува́ла (impf), порахува́в / порахува́ла (pf).
- Government: plain accusative object (рахува́ти гро́ші); in the "reckon" sense, accusative + instrumental or a що-clause.
- Two meanings: "count/calculate" and "consider/reckon (that…)"; for the latter, вважа́ти is the more formal synonym.
- рахува́ти vs лічи́ти: both "count"; рахува́ти for arithmetic/everyday, лічи́ти for counting off / enumerating. Don't confuse with розрахо́вувати на "count on (rely on)."
- Noun рахуно́к = bill / account / score — one of the most useful derived nouns to know.
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