Imperfective: шука́ти — "to look for, search, seek (the process)" Perfective: знайти́ — "to find (the result)" Type: a suppletive aspect pair — two etymologically unrelated roots (шук- and знай-) paired by meaning, not by form
шука́ти / знайти́ is one of the most useful pairs in the language, and it teaches a deep point about Ukrainian aspect: a perfective is not always built from its imperfective by adding a prefix or suffix. Here the two halves come from completely different roots. шука́ти describes the activity of searching — the looking — while знайти́ names its result, the moment of finding. English splits this lexically too ("look for" vs "find"), so the logic will feel familiar; what is new is that Ukrainian treats these two verbs as a single aspectual unit. Two things to master: знайти́ is irregular (future знайду́, past знайшо́в), and шука́ти changes the case of its object depending on whether you are searching for something concrete or something abstract. Every form below is stress-marked.
Present tense — шука́ти (imperfective only)
Only the imperfective шука́ти has a present tense. It is a fully regular first-conjugation -а- verb: drop the -ти, add -ю, -єш, -є…. Stress sits on -а́- (шука́-) throughout.
| Person | шука́ти — PRESENT | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | шука́ю | I look for / am searching |
| ти | шука́єш | you look for (sg.) |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | шука́є | he / she / it looks for |
| ми | шука́ємо | we look for |
| ви | шука́єте | you look for (pl./formal) |
| вони́ | шука́ють | they look for |
Because шука́ти is the process verb, its present is constant in everyday speech — "I'm looking for…", "we're searching…". The perfective знайти́ has no present at all; its forms are future.
Я вже мі́сяць шука́ю но́рмальну кварти́ру в це́нтрі, але́ все за́надто дороге́.
I've been looking for a decent flat in the centre for a month, but everything's too expensive. — present шука́ю, ongoing process + accusative кварти́ру.
Що ти шука́єш? — Окуля́ри, ні́де не мо́жу їх знайти́.
What are you looking for? — My glasses, I can't find them anywhere. — шука́єш (process) contrasted with знайти́ (result).
Past tense — шука́в / знайшо́в
This is where the suppletion shows most dramatically. The imperfective past is regular (шука́в, шука́ла…), but the perfective past comes from the знай-ш- stem with end stress throughout: знайшо́в, знайшла́, знайшло́, знайшли́. You simply have to memorise it.
| Gender / number | Perfective знайти́ | Imperfective шука́ти |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | знайшо́в | шука́в |
| feminine | знайшла́ | шука́ла |
| neuter | знайшло́ | шука́ло |
| plural | знайшли́ | шука́ли |
The masculine знайшо́в keeps the -в but inserts an -о- before it (the vowel that surfaces when a consonant cluster would otherwise be unpronounceable) — compare ніс / несла́. The feminine, neuter and plural drop straight to знайшл-. Use the imperfective past шука́в for "was searching / used to look for," the perfective past знайшо́в for "found."
Я до́вго шука́в цю кни́жку по букіністи́чних крамни́цях і наре́шті знайшо́в її́ у Льво́ві.
I searched for this book in second-hand shops for a long time and finally found it in Lviv. — шука́в (process) → знайшо́в (result).
Вона́ знайшла́ га́манець на ла́вці й відда́ла його́ до полі́ції.
She found a wallet on a bench and handed it in to the police. — perfective past знайшла́.
Future tense — perfective знайти́ vs imperfective шука́ти
The perfective знайти́ has no present; its conjugated forms are future. The stem is the irregular знайд-, and the stress is mobile: it sits on the ending in the 1sg знайду́ but retreats to the root зна́- in every other person (зна́йдеш, зна́йде…).
| Person | Perfective simple future (знайти́) | Imperfective analytic (бу́ду…) | Imperfective synthetic (-му) |
|---|---|---|---|
| я | знайду́ | бу́ду шука́ти | шука́тиму |
| ти | зна́йдеш | бу́деш шука́ти | шука́тимеш |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | зна́йде | бу́де шука́ти | шука́тиме |
| ми | зна́йдемо | бу́демо шука́ти | шука́тимемо |
| ви | зна́йдете | бу́дете шука́ти | шука́тимете |
| вони́ | зна́йдуть | бу́дуть шука́ти | шука́тимуть |
The aspect contrast in the future is sharp: бу́ду шука́ти / шука́тиму promises an ongoing search ("I'll be looking for it"), while знайду́ promises a result ("I'll find it"). Choose by whether you mean the effort or the outcome.
Не хвилю́йся, я знайду́ ро́зв’язок, навіть якщо́ доведе́ться сиді́ти всю ніч.
Don't worry, I'll find a solution, even if I have to stay up all night. — perfective future знайду́, a promised result.
Поки́ ти на робо́ті, я бу́ду шука́ти нам го́тель на ви́хідні.
While you're at work, I'll be looking for a hotel for us for the weekend. — imperfective future, the ongoing search.
Якщо́ загуби́шся, зна́йдемо тебе́ за геолока́цією.
If you get lost, we'll find you by your location. — 1pl future зна́йдемо, root stress.
Imperative — шука́й vs знайди́
The aspects are not interchangeable. The perfective знайди́ / знайді́ть demands a result ("find it!"); the imperfective шука́й / шука́йте orders the activity ("keep looking, search!"). A frustrated parent says шука́й ("go on looking"); a boss who wants the result says знайди́.
| Addressee | Perfective знайти́ | Imperfective шука́ти |
|---|---|---|
| ти (informal) | знайди́ | шука́й |
| ви (formal / plural) | знайді́ть | шука́йте |
| 3rd person (let him/them) | хай / неха́й зна́йде | хай / неха́й шука́є |
Знайди́ мені́ телефо́н га́рного адвока́та, будь ла́ска.
Find me a good lawyer's number, please. — perfective imperative знайди́, demanding a result.
Шука́й ува́жніше — окуля́ри десь тут, на столі́.
Look more carefully — the glasses are here somewhere, on the table. — imperfective imperative шука́й, urging the activity.
Participles and verbal adverbs
| Form | знайти́ / шука́ти |
|---|---|
| passive past participle (pf.) | зна́йдений "found" |
| imperfective verbal adverb | шука́ючи "(while) searching" |
| perfective verbal adverb | знайшо́вши "having found" |
The passive participle зна́йдений is everyday — зна́йдені ре́чі "found items / lost property," рі́шення зна́йдено "a solution has been found" (the -но impersonal). For the related pair знахо́дити / знайти́ "find (as a habit) / be located," see знаходити / знайти — there знайти́ pairs with знахо́дити; here it pairs with шука́ти, and Ukrainian lets the same perfective serve both imperfectives.
Government
1. шука́ти + accusative — a concrete, definite object
For a tangible, specific thing — a job, keys, a flat, a person — the object is plain accusative. This is the default and by far the most common. See accusative uses.
Він уже́ півро́ку шука́є робо́ту за фа́хом.
He's been looking for a job in his field for six months now. — concrete object робо́ту in the accusative.
2. шука́ти + genitive — an abstract or indefinite object
For an abstract noun — truth, help, salvation, support, an answer (as a concept) — older and more literary usage puts the object in the genitive: шука́ти пра́вди, шука́ти допомо́ги, шука́ти поря́тунку. This genitive carries a flavour of seeking something not yet grasped. In modern colloquial speech the accusative is creeping in here too, but the genitive remains the polished choice and is what you will meet in writing. See the genitive of "of".
У важки́й час лю́ди шука́ють підтри́мки одне́ в о́дного.
In hard times people seek support from one another. — abstract object підтри́мки in the genitive.
Не шука́й тут справедли́вості — її́ тут нема́.
Don't look for fairness here — there isn't any. — abstract справедли́вості, genitive.
3. знайти́ — always the accusative
The perfective знайти́ takes the plain accusative, abstract or concrete alike: знайти́ робо́ту, знайти́ ро́зв’язок, знайти́ пра́вду. The genitive option belongs to шука́ти, not to знайти́.
Наре́шті ми знайшли́ спі́льну мо́ву з нови́м кері́вником.
We finally found common ground with the new manager. — accusative мо́ву, idiomatic 'found a common language'.
Common Mistakes
❌ Я знайшо́в робо́ту, але́ ще шука́ю кра́ще.
Aspect slip — for the ongoing search use the imperfective with a clear object: …але́ ще шука́ю щось кра́ще. (And note знайшо́в = found, шука́ю = am still looking — the contrast is correct, just complete the object.)
✅ Я знайшо́в робо́ту, але́ ще шука́ю щось кра́ще.
I found a job, but I'm still looking for something better.
❌ Я знайшов → Я зна́йшов вчо́ра твій лист.
Stress error — the masculine perfective past is end-stressed знайшо́в, not *зна́йшов: Я знайшо́в вчо́ра твій лист.
✅ Я знайшо́в вчо́ра твій лист.
I found your letter yesterday.
❌ За́втра я бу́ду знайти́ кварти́ру.
The auxiliary бу́ду takes an IMPERFECTIVE infinitive; the perfective forms its own future: За́втра я знайду́ кварти́ру (one result) or Я бу́ду шука́ти кварти́ру (ongoing).
✅ За́втра я знайду́ кварти́ру.
Tomorrow I'll find a flat.
❌ Я шука́ю за робо́тою.
No preposition — шука́ти takes a direct object, not *за + instrumental (that is a russism, искать за). Standard: Я шука́ю робо́ту.
✅ Я шука́ю робо́ту.
I'm looking for a job.
❌ Лю́ди шука́ють пра́вду в таки́х моме́нтах.
With an abstract object, polished Ukrainian prefers the GENITIVE: Лю́ди шука́ють пра́вди в таки́х моме́нтах. (The accusative is colloquially spreading but the genitive is the literary norm.)
✅ Лю́ди шука́ють пра́вди в таки́х моме́нтах.
People seek the truth at such moments.
Key Takeaways
- Suppletive pair: шука́ти (process, "look for") and знайти́ (result, "find") are different roots paired by meaning — there is no shared stem.
- знайти́ is irregular: future знайду́ / зна́йдеш / зна́йде…; past знайшо́в / знайшла́ / знайшло́ / знайшли́ (end-stressed throughout).
- Mobile future stress: ending in знайду́, root in зна́йдеш, зна́йде, etc.
- Government: шука́ти + accusative for concrete objects (робо́ту), + genitive for abstract ones (пра́вди); знайти́ is always accusative.
- No "за": шука́ти takes a direct object — шука́ти за робо́тою is a russism; say шука́ти робо́ту.
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