Відпочива́ти (imperfective) and відпочи́ти (perfective) mean "to rest, to relax, to take a break," and — in the right context — "to go on holiday / to be on holiday." This is an intransitive verb: it never takes a direct object. You simply rest; you do not rest something. That alone makes it gentler on learners than most pairs, since there is no accusative object to track — only the verb, its aspect, and an optional "from what" phrase.
The aspectual contrast
Відпочива́ти describes resting as an ongoing state or a habit: lying on the beach right now, relaxing every weekend, being on holiday. Відпочи́ти describes resting as a single completed unit — getting a proper rest, recharging fully, having had your break.
Влі́тку ми за́звичай відпочива́ємо в Карпа́тах.
In summer we usually holiday in the Carpathians (habit).
Поспи́ кі́лька годи́н — тобі́ тре́ба відпочи́ти пе́ред доро́гою.
Sleep a few hours — you need to get a proper rest before the journey.
The habitual "we holiday in the Carpathians" is imperfective; the one-off "get a proper rest" is perfective. Because відпочи́ти is perfective, its present-shaped forms (відпочи́ну...) mean the future.
Imperfective: відпочива́ти
Stress sits on -ва́- through the present. Regular class 1 — and there is no consonant mutation anywhere, so the 1sg is a clean відпочива́ю.
| Form | Present | Future (analytic) | Future (synthetic) |
|---|---|---|---|
| я | відпочива́ю | бу́ду відпочива́ти | відпочива́тиму |
| ти | відпочива́єш | бу́деш відпочива́ти | відпочива́тимеш |
| він / вона / воно | відпочива́є | бу́де відпочива́ти | відпочива́тиме |
| ми | відпочива́ємо | бу́демо відпочива́ти | відпочива́тимемо |
| ви | відпочива́єте | бу́дете відпочива́ти | відпочива́тимете |
| вони | відпочива́ють | бу́дуть відпочива́ти | відпочива́тимуть |
| Past | Imperative | Verbal adverb |
|---|---|---|
| відпочива́в (m) | відпочива́й (2sg) | відпочива́ючи |
| відпочива́ла (f) | відпочива́йте (2pl) | (while resting) |
| відпочива́ло (n) | хай / неха́й відпочива́є (3rd) | |
| відпочива́ли (pl) |
Perfective: відпочи́ти
The perfective stem is відпочи́н-, with a fixed stress on -чи́- in every form — there is no stress shift to memorize. Note the -н- that surfaces in the conjugation (відпочи́ну) but not in the infinitive (відпочи́ти) or the past (відпочи́в). The present-shaped forms carry future meaning.
| Form | Future (= simple/perfective future) |
|---|---|
| я | відпочи́ну |
| ти | відпочи́неш |
| він / вона / воно | відпочи́не |
| ми | відпочи́немо |
| ви | відпочи́нете |
| вони | відпочи́нуть |
| Past | Imperative |
|---|---|
| відпочи́в (m) | відпочи́нь (2sg) |
| відпочи́ла (f) | відпочи́ньте (2pl) |
| відпочи́ло (n) | хай / неха́й відпочи́не (3rd) |
| відпочи́ли (pl) | відпочи́ньмо (1pl, "let's rest") |
Usage and case government
1. Resting (no object). In its basic use, the verb stands alone — no case to manage. Add adverbs and place phrases freely.
Сядь, відпочи́нь хвили́нку, ти ці́лий день на нога́х.
Sit down, rest a minute, you've been on your feet all day.
Ми до́бре відпочи́ли на ви́хідних і пове́рнулися по́вні сил.
We had a good rest over the weekend and came back full of energy.
2. Resting from something — від + genitive. To say you are resting from work, from people, or from the city, use від + genitive. This is the verb's one real piece of government, and it mirrors English "rest from."
Мені́ тре́ба тро́хи відпочи́ти від робо́ти і ту́рбот.
I need to rest a little from work and worries (від + genitive).
На да́чі вона́ нарешті́ відпочива́є від мі́ського шу́му.
At the country house she finally gets a rest from the city noise.
3. The "be on holiday / vacation" sense. With a place phrase, відпочива́ти naturally means "to holiday, to vacation" — it is the everyday Ukrainian verb for it.
Цьо́го ро́ку ми відпочива́тимемо на мо́рі в Одесі.
This year we'll holiday at the seaside in Odesa.
4. The imperative Відпочи́нь! The perfective imperative is the standard "(go and) get some rest!" — a piece of caring advice. The imperfective Відпочива́й! is "rest / take it easy (in general)," gentler and open-ended.
Не працю́й сього́дні вве́чері — відпочи́нь, ти заслужи́в.
Don't work this evening — get some rest, you've earned it.
The noun відпочи́нок
The matching noun is відпочи́нок ("rest, relaxation, holiday"), genitive відпочи́нку. It appears constantly in fixed phrases: ба́за відпочи́нку ("holiday resort, recreation centre"), день відпочи́нку ("day off"), and зо́на відпочи́нку ("recreation area"). Knowing the noun makes the whole word family click into place.
Усім потрі́бен повноці́нний відпочи́нок, а не лише́ сон.
Everyone needs proper rest, not just sleep.
Common Mistakes
1. Giving the verb a direct object. Influenced by transitive English phrasings, learners try to "rest something." The verb is intransitive; what you rest from takes від + genitive.
❌ Я хо́чу відпочи́ти робо́ту.
Incorrect — the verb takes no object; use від + genitive.
✅ Я хо́чу відпочи́ти від робо́ти.
I want to rest from work.
2. Adding -ся. Unlike many "self-care" verbs (умива́тися, одяга́тися), this one is not reflexive. There is no *відпочива́тися.
❌ Ми відпочива́ємося на мо́рі.
Incorrect — the verb has no -ся form.
✅ Ми відпочива́ємо на мо́рі.
We're holidaying at the seaside.
3. Wrong stress on the imperfective. The stress is on -ва́-: відпочива́ю, not *відпочи́ваю. Pulling it toward -чи́- accidentally evokes the perfective.
❌ Я ра́но відпочи́ваю по обі́ді.
Incorrect stress — should be відпочива́ю.
✅ Я ра́но відпочива́ю по обі́ді.
I rest early after lunch.
4. Using the imperfective for a one-off completed rest. English "I rested well yesterday" is a single finished event — that is perfective territory.
❌ Учо́ра я до́бре відпочива́в і ви́спався.
For one finished rest yesterday, the imperfective відпочива́в describes the process; the completed result needs the perfective відпочи́в.
✅ Учо́ра я до́бре відпочи́в і ви́спався.
Yesterday I had a good rest and slept my fill.
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