Aspect pair: жартува́ти (imperfective) — пожартува́ти (perfective) Meaning: "to joke, kid, crack jokes; to make fun (of), tease" Conjugation: first conjugation, of the very common -ува́ти type, where the -ува- of the infinitive becomes -у- in the present (жартува́ти → жарту́ю). Government: intransitive, or з + genitive for the person/thing made fun of. Note the stress shift: the infinitive and past stress the -ва́- (жартува́ти, жартува́в), but the present stresses the -у́- (жарту́ю).
жартува́ти belongs to the huge family of -ува́ти verbs (малюва́ти, дя́кувати, керува́ти, танцюва́ти…), and learning its pattern teaches you hundreds of verbs at once. The signature move is the -ува- → -у- present shift: you drop -ува- and conjugate on -у-, so "I joke" is жарту́ю, "you joke" жарту́єш. Watch the stress too: it travels from -ва́- in the infinitive/past to -у́- in the present. Government is the second thing to fix: to "joke about" or "make fun of" a person, Ukrainian uses з + genitive, not "про + accusative." Stress is marked on every form.
Present tense — жартува́ти (imperfective only)
The -ува- drops and -у- endings attach; stress sits on -у́- throughout the present.
| Person | Present (impf) | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | жарту́ю | I joke / am joking |
| ти | жарту́єш | you joke (sg.) |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | жарту́є | he / she / it jokes |
| ми | жарту́ємо | we joke |
| ви | жарту́єте | you joke (pl./formal) |
| вони́ | жарту́ють | they joke |
Ти жарту́єш? Не мо́же бу́ти, щоб квитки́ вже розпро́дали.
Are you kidding? There's no way the tickets are sold out already. (Ти жарту́єш? is the everyday 'are you kidding / serious?')
Я не жарту́ю — це́ серйо́зно, нам тре́ба ї́хати ни́ні.
I'm not joking — this is serious, we need to leave today. (1sg negated жарту́ю; the present's -у́- stress.)
Future tense
The perfective пожартува́ти forms its future on its own present-shaped stem (пожарту́ю — one quip, a single joke). The imperfective жартува́ти builds the future the two regular ways: analytic бу́ду жартува́ти and synthetic жартува́тиму.
| Person | Perfective future (пожартува́ти) | Impf. analytic | Impf. synthetic |
|---|---|---|---|
| я | пожарту́ю | бу́ду жартува́ти | жартува́тиму |
| ти | пожарту́єш | бу́деш жартува́ти | жартува́тимеш |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | пожарту́є | бу́де жартува́ти | жартува́тиме |
| ми | пожарту́ємо | бу́демо жартува́ти | жартува́тимемо |
| ви | пожарту́єте | бу́дете жартува́ти | жартува́тимете |
| вони́ | пожарту́ють | бу́дуть жартува́ти | жартува́тимуть |
For when to pick the "one joke" perfective over the "keep joking" imperfective, see aspect overview.
Я про́сто пожарту́ю, щоб розряди́ти обстано́вку, і все.
I'll just crack one joke to break the tension, and that's it. (Perfective future пожарту́ю — a single quip.)
Past tense
The past keeps the full -ува́- stem and stresses -ва́- (jumping back from the present's -у́-): жартува́в, жартува́ла. The masculine ends in -в after the vowel.
| Gender / number | Past (impf) | Past (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | жартува́в | пожартува́в |
| feminine | жартува́ла | пожартува́ла |
| neuter | жартува́ло | пожартува́ло |
| plural | жартува́ли | пожартува́ли |
Він так серйо́зно це сказа́в, що ми не зрозумі́ли — він жартува́в.
He said it so seriously that we didn't realise — he was joking. (Imperfective past жартува́в — ongoing/process, note the -ва́- stress.)
Imperative
The imperative keeps the -у- present stem: жартуй / жарту́йте. For the 3rd person use хай / неха́й. The most common form is the negative — telling someone not to joke.
| Addressee | Imperfective | Perfective |
|---|---|---|
| ти (informal) | жартуй | пожартуй |
| ви (formal / plural) | жарту́йте | пожарту́йте |
| 3rd person (let…) | хай жарту́є | хай пожарту́є |
Не жартуй з вогне́м — це не іграшки́.
Don't play with fire — it's no toy. (Negated imperative жартуй; the idiom жартува́ти з вогне́м 'play with fire' — here з + instrumental вогне́м, the 'together-with' sense.)
Participles and verbal adverbs
| Form | Word | Note |
|---|---|---|
| verbal adverb (impf) | жарту́ючи | "joking / while joking" (як жарту́ючи — 'as if for fun, effortlessly') |
| verbal adverb (pf) | пожартува́вши | "having joked" |
Government — з + genitive
The verb is often intransitive ("to joke, crack jokes" — no object). But when you joke about or make fun of someone or something, Ukrainian uses з + genitive (the company/source-of-laughter preposition), not "про + accusative."
Не годи́ться жартува́ти з люди́ни, яка́ цього́ не розумі́є.
It's not right to make fun of a person who doesn't get it. (жартува́ти з + genitive люди́ни 'of a person'.)
Вони́ ці́лий ве́чір жартува́ли з мого́ акце́нту, але́ по-до́брому.
They joked about my accent all evening, but good-naturedly. (з + genitive акце́нту 'about my accent'.)
One case subtlety follows from this: the "make fun of" sense puts the target in the genitive (жартува́ти з дру́га, з ме́не), but the "play / trifle with" sense — as in the set idiom жартува́ти з вогне́м "play with fire" or з таки́ми реча́ми не жарту́ють — is the ordinary "together-with" з + instrumental (вогне́м, реча́ми). Same preposition, two different cases keyed to two different meanings.
There is a further meaning split worth noting: жартува́ти з ко́гось can mean both "make fun of someone" and, depending on context, "joke with someone." A clearer way to say "joke together with" is жартува́ти з ким (разом) or simply name the company; for unambiguous "mock," кепкува́ти / насміха́тися з + genitive are stronger.
З таки́ми реча́ми не жарту́ють — це пита́ння безпе́ки.
You don't joke about such things — it's a safety matter. (Impersonal жарту́ють; here з + instrumental реча́ми 'with such things' — the 'together-with' sense, distinct from the 'make fun of' genitive.)
The noun жарт
The matching noun is жарт "(a) joke." Useful collocations: це не жарт "this is no joke," на жарт / жа́ртома "as a joke, in jest," жа́рти вбік "joking aside," зрозумі́ти жарт "take a joke." Note the related adjective/adverb жартівли́вий / жартівли́во "jocular(ly)."
Жа́рти вбік — нам тре́ба домо́витися сього́дні.
Joking aside — we need to reach an agreement today. (Set phrase жа́рти вбік with the noun жарт.)
Common Mistakes
❌ Я жартова́ю, не сприйма́й серйо́зно.
The -ува- drops in the present and the ending is -у-: the 1sg is жарту́ю, not 'жартова́ю': Я жарту́ю, не сприйма́й серйо́зно.
✅ Я жарту́ю, не сприйма́й серйо́зно.
I'm joking, don't take it seriously. (Present жарту́ю — the -ува-→-у- shift, stress on -у́-.)
❌ Він жарту́є про мене́ пе́ред усіма́.
'Make fun of / joke about' a person is з + genitive, not 'про + accusative': Він жарту́є з ме́не пе́ред усіма́.
✅ Він жарту́є з ме́не пе́ред усіма́.
He makes fun of me in front of everyone. (з + genitive ме́не.)
❌ Учо́ра він жарту́вав на вечі́рці.
The past keeps the full -ува́- stem with -ва́- stress: жартува́в, not 'жарту́вав': Учо́ра він жартува́в на вечі́рці.
✅ Учо́ра він жартува́в на вечі́рці.
Yesterday he was joking at the party. (Past жартува́в — -ва́- stress, not the present's -у́-.)
❌ Не жартуй с вогне́м.
The preposition is the Ukrainian з (or зі/із before clusters), never the Russian 'с': Не жартуй з вогне́м.
✅ Не жартуй з вогне́м.
Don't play with fire. (з + instrumental вогне́м — and Ukrainian uses з, never the Russian 'с'.)
Key Takeaways
- жартува́ти / пожартува́ти = "joke, kid, make fun"; an -ува́ти verb — the model for hundreds of verbs.
- Present = -ува- → -у-: жарту́ю / жарту́єш / жарту́є / жарту́ємо / жарту́єте / жарту́ють (stress on -у́-).
- Past keeps the full stem with -ва́- stress: жартува́в / жартува́ла — don't carry the present's -у́- stress into the past.
- Government: intransitive, or з + genitive to "make fun of / joke about" (жартува́ти з ко́гось), never "про".
- Everyday phrases: Ти жарту́єш? "Are you kidding?", жа́рти вбік "joking aside"; noun жарт.
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