Infinitive (imperfective): жи́ти — "to live, to be alive, to reside" Perfective partner: прожи́ти "to live through, to spend (a stretch of life), to live out" Type: first conjugation; end-stressed present, hidden stem жив-
жи́ти is one of the first verbs you need and one of the first that surprises you. From the calm infinitive жи́ти (stress on the root) you would never guess that the present tense is end-stressed — живу́, живе́ш, живе́ — with the accent leaping onto the endings. And the stem is жив-, not жи-: the -в- is "hidden" by the -ти of the infinitive and only reappears once you conjugate. жи́ти covers both senses of English "live" — to be alive and to reside somewhere — and the residence sense is built with the locative case. Every form below carries its stress mark; watch the shifts especially in the past.
Present tense — end-stressed живу́ / живе́ш…
The present runs on the stem жив- plus the first-conjugation endings, and the stress sits on the ending throughout. Note the 1sg живу́ (-у after the consonant stem, no -ю) and the 3pl живу́ть.
| Person | жи́ти — PRESENT | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | живу́ | I live |
| ти | живе́ш | you live (sg.) |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | живе́ | he / she / it lives |
| ми | живемо́ | we live |
| ви | живете́ | you live (pl./formal) |
| вони́ | живу́ть | they live |
Я живу́ в Ки́єві, на ліво́му бе́резі Дніпра́.
I live in Kyiv, on the left bank of the Dnipro. (Present 1sg живу́ + locative of residence.)
Де ви живете́?
Where do you live? (Polite/plural 2pl живете́ — end-stressed.)
Вона́ ще живе́ з батька́ми.
She still lives with her parents. (3sg живе́; з + instrumental батька́ми.)
Past tense — жив / жила́ / жило́ / жили́ (mind the stress)
The past adds -в / -ла / -ло / -ли to the stem жи-. The masculine жив is a bare monosyllable (left unmarked), but the feminine, neuter and plural are end-stressed: жила́, жило́, жили́. This is a classic stress trap — learners say "жи́ла" by analogy with the infinitive, but the correct form is жила́.
| Gender / number | Past | English |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | жив | (he / I / you m.) lived |
| feminine | жила́ | (she / I / you f.) lived |
| neuter | жило́ | (it) lived |
| plural | жили́ | (we / you / they) lived |
The imperfective past means "lived / used to live (for a stretch)." For "lived through (a defined period and came out the other side)," use the perfective прожи́в.
Вона́ жила́ в Пари́жі п’ять ро́ків, по́ки навча́лася.
She lived in Paris for five years while she was studying. (Feminine жила́ — end-stressed; в + locative.)
Мої́ діди́ все життя́ жили́ в карпа́тському се́лі.
My grandparents lived their whole lives in a Carpathian village. (Plural жили́ — end-stressed.)
Future tense — all three forms
Because прожи́ти exists as a perfective partner, жи́ти shows the complete future system: a perfective simple future (present-shaped, future-meaning) and the two imperfective futures (analytic and synthetic).
Perfective simple future — проживу́ "I'll live through / spend"
The perfective прожи́ти is end-stressed in the same way as the simple verb: проживу́, проживе́ш… It means living through a span of time or spending a defined period somewhere.
| Person | прожи́ти (pf.) — FUTURE |
|---|---|
| я | проживу́ |
| ти | проживе́ш |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | проживе́ |
| ми | проживемо́ |
| ви | проживете́ |
| вони́ | проживу́ть |
Imperfective futures — analytic vs synthetic
"Will live / will be living" comes two equivalent ways: бу́ду + жи́ти, or the fused -му form. The synthetic жи́тиму keeps the infinitive's root stress.
| Person | Analytic (бу́ду + inf.) | Synthetic (-му) |
|---|---|---|
| я | бу́ду жи́ти | жи́тиму |
| ти | бу́деш жи́ти | жи́тимеш |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | бу́де жи́ти | жи́тиме |
| ми | бу́демо жи́ти | жи́тимемо |
| ви | бу́дете жи́ти | жи́тимете |
| вони́ | бу́дуть жи́ти | жи́тимуть |
The synthetic form is explained on the synthetic -му future page.
Коли́ ви́йду на пе́нсію, я житиму бі́ля мо́ря.
When I retire, I'll live by the sea. (Synthetic imperfective future житиму.)
Ду́маю, ми проживемо́ це лі́то на да́чі.
I think we'll spend this summer at the dacha. (Perfective future проживемо́ — a bounded span.)
Imperative
The imperative is built on the present stem and is end-stressed: 2sg живи́, 2pl живі́ть (note живі́ть, not "живите"), and the 3rd person хай / неха́й живе́. The famous toast Хай живе́…! "Long live…!" comes straight from here.
| Addressee | Imperative |
|---|---|
| ти (informal) | живи́ |
| ми (let's) | живі́мо |
| ви (formal / plural) | живі́ть |
| 3rd person (let him/them) | хай / неха́й живе́ |
Живи́ так, щоб не було́ со́ромно.
Live in a way you won't be ashamed of. (Informal imperative живи́.)
Хай живе́ Украї́на!
Long live Ukraine! (3rd-person хай + present живе́ — a fixed patriotic formula.)
Participles and verbal adverbs
| Form | жи́ти |
|---|---|
| active adjective | живи́й "alive, living" (a related adjective, not a true participle) |
| imperfective verbal adverb | живучи́ "(while) living" |
| perfective verbal adverb | прожи́вши "having lived (through)" |
жи́ти has no productive active participle in -чий; the adjective живи́й "alive" covers that ground. The verbal adverb живучи́ is (literary / written).
Живучи́ за кордо́ном, він шви́дко ви́вчив мо́ву.
While living abroad, he quickly learned the language. (Verbal adverb живучи́.)
Key uses & case government
1. жи́ти в / на + locative — where you reside
Residence is expressed with в/у + locative (settlements, countries, enclosed places: в Ки́єві, в Украї́ні, в буди́нку) or на + locative for certain words by convention (на ву́лиці "on the street," на острові "on the island," and traditionally на хуторі). This follows the broader location vs motion split — location takes the locative, motion would take the accusative.
Вони́ живу́ть на ву́лиці Шевче́нка, в буди́нку но́мер сім.
They live on Shevchenko Street, in building number seven. (на + locative ву́лиці; в + locative буди́нку.)
2. жи́ти з + instrumental — live with someone
"Live with" someone takes з + instrumental.
Пі́сля весі́лля молода́ па́ра жи́ла з його́ батька́ми.
After the wedding the young couple lived with his parents. (з + instrumental батька́ми.)
3. жи́ти + adverb / на + accusative — the manner and means of living
"Live well / modestly / for the moment" uses an adverb; "live on an income" uses на + accusative (жи́ти на зарпла́ту "live on a salary").
Важко жи́ти на саму́ сти́пендію.
It's hard to live on a grant alone. (на + accusative сти́пендію = the means of living.)
A note for Russian and English speakers
In Russian the verb is жить (zhit’), with the present живу́ / живёшь and the past жил / жила́ — the stem and end-stress are similar, but the standard Ukrainian forms are живу́ / живе́ш / живе́ (note Ukrainian -е́ш, -е́, not Russian -ёшь, -ёт) and the imperative живи́ rather than живи with Russian phonology. And Ukrainian adds the synthetic future жи́тиму, which Russian lacks entirely. In English, "live in / on / with" map onto distinct Ukrainian cases (locative / accusative / instrumental) — the preposition alone is not enough.
Common Mistakes
❌ Я живу́ Ки́їв.
Residence needs a preposition + LOCATIVE, not a bare noun: живу́ в Ки́єві.
✅ Я живу́ в Ки́єві.
I live in Kyiv.
❌ Вона́ жи́ла в Пари́жі.
Stress error — the feminine past is END-stressed жила́, not 'жи́ла.'
✅ Вона́ жила́ в Пари́жі.
She lived in Paris.
❌ Я живю́ в Льво́ві.
The 1sg of a consonant stem is живу́ (with -у), never 'живю́.'
✅ Я живу́ у Льво́ві.
I live in Lviv.
❌ Я бу́ду прожи́ти тут рік.
Aspect/future error — прожи́ти is PERFECTIVE and already forms its own future: проживу́ тут рік. бу́ду only takes an imperfective infinitive (бу́ду жи́ти).
✅ Я проживу́ тут рік.
I'll spend a year living here.
❌ Я живу́ в ву́лиці Франка́.
Streets idiomatically take НА + locative, not 'в': живу́ на ву́лиці Франка́.
✅ Я живу́ на ву́лиці Франка́.
I live on Franko Street.
Key Takeaways
- Stem жив-, end-stressed present: живу́ / живе́ш / живе́ / живемо́ / живете́ / живу́ть — the accent leaps off the calm infinitive root.
- Past stress trap: жив (m.) but жила́ / жило́ / жили́ end-stressed — never "жи́ла."
- Residence = в/у or на + locative (в Ки́єві, на ву́лиці); з + instrumental for living with someone.
- Future: perfective проживу́ (a bounded span) vs imperfective бу́ду жи́ти = жи́тиму (ongoing).
- Set phrase: Хай живе́…! "Long live…!" — the 3rd-person imperative frozen as a slogan.
Now practice Ukrainian
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- Present Tense: First ConjugationA1 — The first conjugation (пе́рша дієвідмі́на) takes the present endings -у/-ю, -еш/-єш, -е/-є, -емо/-ємо, -ете/-єте, -уть/-ють, built on the theme vowel -е-/-є- with a 3pl in -уть/-ють. Drill three models: vowel-stem чита́ти (чита́ю, чита́єш…), consonant-stem нести́ (несу́, несе́ш…), mutating писа́ти (пишу́, пи́шеш…), могти́ (можу́…), and the huge -увати/-ювати class (працюва́ти → працю́ю).
- Locative: Uses (Location, Time, Topic)A2 — What the locative does — static location with у/в and на (у шко́лі, на столі́, у Ки́єві), the crucial case-not-preposition contrast with the accusative (я в шко́лі 'at school' vs іду́ в шко́лу 'to school'), calendar time with у/в (у сі́чні, у 1991 ро́ці), clock time with о + locative (о тре́тій годи́ні), 'around/along' with по (по мі́сту), and 'at/with' with при.
- Motion vs Location: The Case SwitchA2 — The three-way pivot at the centre of Ukrainian prepositions: куди? (motion toward → accusative: іду в шко́лу, кладу́ на стіл, сів за стіл), де? (location → locative with в/на, instrumental with за/під/над: я в шко́лі, лежи́ть на столі́, сиди́ть за столо́м), and зві́дки? (origin → genitive: зі шко́ли, від ліка́ря). The same preposition keeps its shape; only the case changes — в шко́лу, в шко́лі, зі шко́ли differ by case alone — so mastering the куди/де/зві́дки question is the master key to the whole preposition system.
- The Synthetic Future (читатиму)A2 — Ukrainian's distinctive one-word imperfective future (про́ста фо́рма майбу́тнього ча́су): take the imperfective infinitive whole — keeping its -ти — and fuse on the enclitic endings -му, -меш, -ме, -мемо, -мете, -муть. чита́ти → чита́тиму, чита́тимеш, чита́тиме, чита́тимемо, чита́тимете, чита́тимуть; говори́ти → говори́тиму; роби́ти → роби́тиму; ходи́ти → ходи́тиму. The endings descend from a fused old 'have' (я́ти); the stress stays where the infinitive carries it. It works ONLY with imperfectives (no *прочита́тиму), so it always carries ongoing/repeated meaning, and it is fully equivalent to бу́ду + infinitive — but more compact, very common, and with NO Russian counterpart.
- Бути (to be)A1 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for бу́ти 'to be' — the most important irregular verb in Ukrainian. The present is normally OMITTED (є survives only for existence, possession у ме́не є, and emphasis); the past is gendered був / була́ / було́ / були́; and бу́ду / бу́деш / бу́де / бу́демо / бу́дете / бу́дуть is both the verb's own future and the universal future auxiliary. Predicate nouns are NOMINATIVE in the present but INSTRUMENTAL in the past, future and infinitive.
- Жити, Бути, Існувати — being and livingB1 — A comparison reference for the Ukrainian verbs of being and living: жи́ти 'live, be alive, reside' (живу́, end-stressed), бу́ти 'be' (present є invariant and usually dropped; past був / була́), існува́ти 'exist' (існу́ю, abstract existence), plus formal-register synonyms ме́шкати / прожива́ти 'reside' and перебува́ти 'be located / stay'. Full paradigms with stress, locative government (жи́ти в Ки́єві, ме́шкати на ву́лиці), and how to choose among them by meaning and register.