Infinitive (imperfective): зна́ти — "to know (a fact, a person, a language)" Related perfectives: узна́ти / дізна́тися "to find out, to come to know" (a different event — see below) Type: first conjugation; perfectly regular vowel-stem verb
зна́ти is the most regular verb on this whole list — a clean vowel-stem in -а-, taking the -ю endings with no mutation, no stress shift, no surprises (зна́ю, зна́єш, зна́є…). Its difficulty is entirely semantic, not morphological. зна́ти covers knowing facts (зна́ю відповідь "I know the answer"), knowing people (зна́ю його́ "I know him"), and knowing a language (зна́ю украї́нську) — but it must be kept strictly apart from умі́ти, which is "to know how / to be able" for learned skills. And зна́ти is imperfectiva tantum: it names an ongoing state, so its "perfective" is not really a partner verb but the separate event узна́ти / дізна́тися "to find out." Every form is stress-marked.
Present tense — the textbook regular paradigm
зна́ти adds the first-conjugation endings to the vowel stem зна-, with stress fixed on the root throughout. The 1sg is зна́ю (-ю after the vowel), the 3pl зна́ють. There is no consonant mutation anywhere — this is the verb to use as your mental template for the whole regular -ати class.
| Person | зна́ти — PRESENT | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | зна́ю | I know |
| ти | зна́єш | you know (sg.) |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | зна́є | he / she / it knows |
| ми | зна́ємо | we know |
| ви | зна́єте | you know (pl./formal) |
| вони́ | зна́ють | they know |
Я зна́ю цю люди́ну, ми ра́зом навча́лися.
I know this person, we studied together. (зна́ти + accusative люди́ну = know a person.)
Ти зна́єш, котра́ годи́на?
Do you know what time it is? (зна́єш + indirect question — know a fact.)
Вони́ до́бре зна́ють украї́нську й англі́йську.
They know Ukrainian and English well. (зна́ти + accusative language names.)
Past tense — знав / зна́ла / зна́ло / зна́ли
The past adds -в / -ла / -ло / -ли to the stem зна-. Stress is on the root: masculine знав (monosyllable, unmarked), feminine зна́ла, neuter зна́ло, plural зна́ли.
| Gender / number | Past | English |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | знав | (he / I / you m.) knew |
| feminine | зна́ла | (she / I / you f.) knew |
| neuter | зна́ло | (it) knew |
| plural | зна́ли | (we / you / they) knew |
Because зна́ти names a state, its past means "knew / used to know." The moment of coming to know is a different verb — past дізна́вся / дізна́лася "found out."
Я завжди́ знав, що ти спра́вишся.
I always knew you'd manage. (Masculine past знав + що-clause.)
Вона́ не зна́ла, що збо́ри перене́сли.
She didn't know the meeting had been moved. (Feminine past зна́ла + що-clause.)
Future tense — all three forms
зна́ти is imperfective with no aspectual partner of its own, so its native futures are the two imperfective ones. The "perfective future" belongs to the separate event-verbs узна́ти / дізна́тися and means "I'll find out," not "I'll know."
Imperfective futures — analytic vs synthetic
| Person | Analytic (бу́ду + inf.) | Synthetic (-му) |
|---|---|---|
| я | бу́ду зна́ти | зна́тиму |
| ти | бу́деш зна́ти | зна́тимеш |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | бу́де зна́ти | зна́тиме |
| ми | бу́демо зна́ти | зна́тимемо |
| ви | бу́дете зна́ти | зна́тимете |
| вони́ | бу́дуть зна́ти | зна́тимуть |
The "find out" perfective — дізна́юся / узна́ю
For the bounded event "I'll find out / I'll come to know," conjugate the perfective дізна́тися (reflexive) or узна́ти with present-shaped endings and a future meaning: дізна́юся, дізна́єшся… / узна́ю, узна́єш…
Не хвилю́йся, за́втра ти вже зна́тимеш результа́ти.
Don't worry, you'll know the results by tomorrow. (Synthetic imperfective future зна́тимеш = the resulting state.)
Я зателефону́ю в кліні́ку й дізна́юся, коли́ при́йом.
I'll call the clinic and find out when the appointment is. (Perfective дізна́юся = the act of finding out.)
Imperative
Built on the present stem: 2sg знай, 2pl зна́йте, 3rd person хай / неха́й зна́є. The phrase Зна́й на́ших! "That's us! / Show 'em what we're made of!" is a fixed colloquial boast.
| Addressee | Imperative |
|---|---|
| ти (informal) | знай |
| ми (let's) | зна́ймо |
| ви (formal / plural) | зна́йте |
| 3rd person (let him/them) | хай / неха́й зна́є |
Знай свою́ ва́ртість і не погоджуйся на ме́нше.
Know your worth and don't settle for less. (Informal imperative знай + accusative.)
Хай усі́ зна́ють, що ми не зда́лися.
Let everyone know that we didn't give up. (3rd-person хай + present + що-clause.)
Participles and verbal adverbs
| Form | зна́ти |
|---|---|
| passive participle | зна́ний / відо́мий "known, well-known" (зна́ний is the related adjective) |
| imperfective verbal adverb | зна́ючи "knowing, while knowing" |
The verbal adverb зна́ючи is common — "knowing (that)…, given that…" The adjective зна́ний "renowned" is (literary / elevated); everyday "known/famous" is відо́мий.
Зна́ючи його́ хара́ктер, я б на це не розрахо́вував.
Knowing his character, I wouldn't count on that. (Verbal adverb зна́ючи + accusative.)
Key uses & case government
1. зна́ти + accusative — a direct object
The thing or person known is a direct object in the accusative, no preposition: зна́ти відповідь, зна́ти доро́гу, зна́ти ма́му, зна́ти украї́нську. (For animate objects the accusative looks like the genitive — зна́ю його́, зна́ю Окса́ну — but it is still the direct-object slot.)
Ти зна́єш доро́гу до вокза́лу?
Do you know the way to the station? (зна́ти + accusative доро́гу.)
2. зна́ти, що / як / де… — a subordinate clause
To "know that / how / where / whether," follow зна́ти with a clause introduced by що, як, де, чи etc. Note: зна́ти, як + clause ("know how the thing works / how to get there") is fine — the skill-sense "know how to do" is what goes to умі́ти instead.
Я не зна́ю, чи він прийде́ на зу́стріч.
I don't know whether he'll come to the meeting. (зна́ти + чи-clause.)
3. зна́ти про + accusative — know about a topic
To "know about" something, use про + accusative, just like in English.
Усі́ вже зна́ють про нову́ політи́ку компа́нії.
Everyone already knows about the company's new policy. (зна́ти про + accusative.)
зна́ти vs умі́ти — the split English hides
English "know" does two jobs that Ukrainian keeps apart, and getting this wrong is the number-one error. Use зна́ти for facts, people, languages, information; use умі́ти (вмі́ти) for acquired skills — things you have learned to do. The full contrast is on the знати vs вміти page.
Я зна́ю украї́нську, але́ ще не вмі́ю на ній жартува́ти.
I know Ukrainian, but I can't joke in it yet. (зна́ти a language vs умі́ти a skill — in one sentence.)
A note for Russian and English speakers
In Russian the verb is знать (znat’) with the present зна́ю / зна́ешь — close to Ukrainian, but the standard Ukrainian endings are зна́єш / зна́є / зна́ємо (with the -є- of the productive type), not Russian -ешь/-ет, and the synthetic future зна́тиму has no Russian counterpart. The "find out" perfective in standard Ukrainian is дізна́тися or узна́ти; reaching for the Russian узна́ть as your only option will sound off. In English, "know" merges the fact-sense and the skill-sense — Ukrainian splits them into зна́ти and умі́ти.
Common Mistakes
❌ Я зна́ю пла́вати.
Skill error — for 'know HOW to do' a skill, use умі́ти/вмі́ти: Я вмі́ю пла́вати. зна́ти is for facts and people.
✅ Я вмі́ю пла́вати.
I know how to swim.
❌ Я зна́ю про доро́гу до вокза́лу.
A direct object takes the bare ACCUSATIVE, no 'про' — про is only for 'know about a topic': зна́ю доро́гу.
✅ Я зна́ю доро́гу до вокза́лу.
I know the way to the station.
❌ За́втра я бу́ду узна́ти результа́ти.
Aspect/future error — узна́ти is PERFECTIVE and forms its own future узна́ю; and the 'know' state is зна́тиму. бу́ду takes only an imperfective infinitive (бу́ду зна́ти).
✅ За́втра я дізна́юся результа́ти.
I'll find out the results tomorrow.
❌ Вона́ знав ві́дповідь.
Agreement error — the past agrees with gender; a female subject takes зна́ла: вона́ зна́ла.
✅ Вона́ зна́ла ві́дповідь.
She knew the answer.
❌ Ми зна́ємо це нови́ну.
The accusative of a feminine noun must agree: це → цю; зна́ти governs the accusative directly: зна́ємо цю нови́ну.
✅ Ми зна́ємо цю нови́ну.
We know this piece of news.
Key Takeaways
- The model regular verb: зна́ю / зна́єш / зна́є / зна́ємо / зна́єте / зна́ють — vowel stem, no mutation, root stress everywhere.
- зна́ти = facts, people, languages, information (accusative object or a що/як/де/чи-clause); умі́ти = skills ('know how to do').
- Imperfectiva tantum: зна́ти has no aspect partner; 'find out' is the separate event дізна́тися / узна́ти.
- Past: знав / зна́ла / зна́ло / зна́ли (root stress); future: бу́ду зна́ти = зна́тиму (the resulting state), дізна́юся (the act).
- 'Know about' a topic = про + accusative; the plain direct object is the bare accusative.
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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).
- Knowing: Знати vs Вміти vs УявлятиB1 — English splits across three Ukrainian verbs: зна́ти is for facts, information and people (зна́ю мо́ву, зна́ю Оле́ну, зна́ю, що…) — Ukrainian does NOT split 'know a fact' from 'know a person' the way savoir/connaître does; вмі́ти/умі́ти is for a learned SKILL plus an infinitive (вмі́ю пла́вати); and уявля́ти is 'to imagine, picture' (уявля́ю собі́), so 'I know how to drive' is вмі́ю, not зна́ю.
- Can: Могти vs Вміти/УмітиA2 — English 'can' splits in two: могти́ (мо́жу, мо́жеш) is situational possibility, ability-in-the-moment and permission (Я мо́жу прийти́ за́втра), while вмі́ти/умі́ти (вмі́ю, вмі́єш) is a LEARNED skill, 'know how to' (Я вмі́ю пла́вати) — so 'I can swim' as a skill is вмі́ю, but 'I can swim today' as a circumstance is мо́жу.
- Accusative: Uses Beyond the Direct ObjectB1 — The accusative does more than mark the object — with в/у, на, за, під, через it marks motion TOWARD a target (іду в школу), it expresses bare-preposition duration (чекав годину 'waited an hour'), and it stands in a pivotal contrast with the locative: the same prepositions в/у and на take the accusative for direction (куди? в школу) but the locative for static location (де? в школі).
- Розуміти (to understand)A2 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for розумі́ти 'to understand' — an -і- stem first-conjugation verb that takes -ю in the present (розумі́ю, розумі́єш, розумі́є…). It governs a direct accusative object (Я тебе́ розумі́ю), a що-clause, and — in the reflexive розумі́тися на + locative — 'be knowledgeable about.' The perfective зрозумі́ти / зрозумі́ю marks the moment of getting it. Covers the past розумі́в / розумі́ла, all three futures, the imperative розумі́й, and the everyday Я розумі́ю / Не розумі́ю.
- 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.