English packs three different ideas into the verb "to know": you know a fact ("I know the answer"), you know a person ("I know Olena"), and — slightly disguised — you "know how to do" a skill ("I know how to swim"). Ukrainian distributes these across separate verbs, and getting them right is one of the cleaner intermediate wins. Зна́ти covers both facts and people — Ukrainian, unlike French or German, does not split "know a fact" from "know a person." A learned skill, though, is вмі́ти / умі́ти plus an infinitive, never зна́ти. And the related verb уявля́ти "to imagine, picture" handles the mental-image sense of "know" in expressions like "I have no idea." This page draws the lines and gives you the contrast pairs to lock them in.
зна́ти — facts, information, people
Зна́ти is the broad verb of knowledge. It takes an accusative object (зна́ю відповідь, зна́ю Оле́ну) or a що-clause "that…" / an indirect question (зна́ю, що він прийде; зна́ю, де він живе́). It conjugates regularly:
| Person | Form | 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 |
Ти зна́єш відповідь на тре́тє запита́ння?
Do you know the answer to the third question? (Fact — accusative object.)
Я до́бре зна́ю Оле́ну — ми ра́зом навча́лися.
I know Olena well — we studied together. (A person — still зна́ти.)
Я зна́ю, що ти стара́єшся, і ду́же це ціну́ю.
I know that you're trying hard, and I really appreciate it. (що-clause.)
Він чудо́во зна́є англі́йську й трохи́ розумі́є німе́цьку.
He knows English excellently and understands a little German. (A language as knowledge — зна́ти.)
The key thing for English speakers is that one verb covers all of this. "Know the city," "know the rules," "know Olena," "know that…," "know a language" — every one is зна́ти. There is no second verb for "know a person."
вмі́ти / умі́ти — a learned skill + infinitive
Вмі́ти means you have acquired a skill and retain it: swimming, driving, cooking, reading, dancing. It is almost always followed by an infinitive naming the skill, and it is a regular verb. The в- / у- variation (вмі́ти / умі́ти, вмі́ю / умі́ю) is the regular Ukrainian euphonic alternation, not two different verbs.
| Person | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | вмі́ю | I know how to |
| ти | вмі́єш | you know how to (sg.) |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | вмі́є | he / she / it knows how to |
| ми | вмі́ємо | we know how to |
| ви | вмі́єте | you know how to (pl./formal) |
| вони́ | вмі́ють | they know how to |
Я вмі́ю пла́вати ще з дити́нства.
I've known how to swim since childhood. (A learned skill — вмі́ти + infinitive.)
Ти вмі́єш води́ти маши́ну?
Do you know how to drive a car? (Asking about a skill, not about the road right now.)
Вона́ чудо́во вмі́є готува́ти — у не́ї як у рестора́ні.
She's a wonderful cook — it's like a restaurant at her place. (Cooking as an acquired skill.)
Do not confuse вмі́ти with могти́ "can (be able / be allowed in the circumstances)." вмі́ти is the stable skill; могти́ is the here-and-now possibility. The full могти́ vs вмі́ти split has its own page: Can: могти vs вміти.
The decisive contrast: знати a fact vs вміти a skill
Put them side by side and the line is sharp. You can know the theory without having the skill, and Ukrainian lets you say exactly that, because зна́ти and вмі́ти are different verbs:
Я зна́ю пра́вила ша́хів, але́ ще не вмі́ю до́бре гра́ти.
I know the rules of chess, but I can't play well yet. (зна́ю пра́вила = the facts; не вмі́ю гра́ти = the skill is missing.)
Вона́ зна́є всю́ тео́рію воді́ння, та поки що́ не вмі́є парку́ватися.
She knows all the driving theory, but she can't park yet. (Knowledge of facts vs the practical skill.)
Я зна́ю, як це́ працю́є, але́ сам не вмі́ю цьо́го роби́ти.
I know how it works, but I can't do it myself. (зна́ю, як… = a fact about the mechanism; не вмі́ю роби́ти = no hands-on skill.)
Notice the subtle trap in the third example: зна́ти, як + clause ("know how X works / is done") is fine — it's factual knowledge — but the skill itself is still вмі́ти. "I know how it works" = зна́ю, як воно́ працю́є (fact); "I know how to do it" = вмі́ю це роби́ти (skill). English "know how" hides this distinction; Ukrainian keeps it visible.
уявля́ти — to imagine, picture
The third verb, уявля́ти (perfective уяви́ти), means "to imagine, to picture in your mind." It often comes with the reflexive dative собі́ "to oneself" — уявля́ти собі́ "to picture to oneself." It overlaps with "know" only in one very common idiom: не ма́ю уя́влення / уяви́ти не мо́жу "I have no idea, I can't imagine."
Уяви́ собі́: ми зустрі́ли його́ за ти́сячі кіломе́трів від до́му!
Imagine: we ran into him thousands of kilometres from home! (уяви́ собі́ — 'picture this'.)
Я не уявля́ю свого́ життя́ без му́зики.
I can't imagine my life without music.
Я ще не уявля́ю, як ми все́ це всти́гнемо.
I can't yet picture how we'll get all this done in time. (уявля́ти + indirect question.)
So the English "I have no idea" maps to уявля́ння, not зна́ти: не ма́ю жо́дного уя́влення is the idiomatic "I have absolutely no idea." Use уявля́ти whenever the meaning is forming a mental image rather than possessing a fact.
розумі́тися на — to be knowledgeable about
A useful neighbour worth knowing: розумі́тися на (+ locative) means "to be knowledgeable about, to be well-versed in" a field. It's stronger than зна́ти — it implies expertise, a feel for the subject.
Він до́бре розумі́ється на вина́х — спита́й у ньо́го пора́ди.
He really knows his wines — ask him for advice. (розумі́тися на + locative.)
Я зо́всім не розумі́юся на полі́тиці, тому́ не спереча́тимусь.
I don't understand politics at all, so I won't argue. (розумі́тися на — expertise, not bare facts.)
Quick reference
| Verb | Meaning | Takes | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| зна́ти | know (facts, info, people) | accusative / що-clause | зна́ю мо́ву, зна́ю Оле́ну, зна́ю, що… |
| вмі́ти / умі́ти | know how to (skill) | infinitive | вмі́ю пла́вати |
| уявля́ти | imagine, picture | (собі́ +) acc. / clause | уявля́ю собі́, не ма́ю уя́влення |
| розумі́тися на | be knowledgeable about | на + locative | розумі́юся на му́зиці |
Source-language comparison
For an English speaker, the surprise cuts in two directions. On one side, English makes a distinction Ukrainian doesn't: a learner of French or German expects "know a person" and "know a fact" to be different verbs (connaître / savoir, kennen / wissen), but Ukrainian uses зна́ти for both — зна́ю Оле́ну and зна́ю відповідь take the same verb. On the other side, English hides a distinction Ukrainian insists on: "I know how to swim" looks like a "know" sentence, but it is a skill, so Ukrainian demands вмі́ти (вмі́ю пла́вати), not зна́ти. The classic learner error, *зна́ю пла́вати, comes straight from translating English "know how to" with зна́ти. Burn in the rule: skill = вмі́ти + infinitive.
For a Russian speaker, the split is familiar (знать vs уме́ть), so the concept transfers; the work is the forms. Ukrainian вмі́ти / умі́ти carries the в/у alternation (not уме́ть), and уявля́ти "imagine" is a different lexeme from Russian представля́ть / вообража́ть — learn it as a fresh word. The collocation не ма́ю уя́влення "I have no idea" also differs from the Russian phrasing, so don't calque it.
Common Mistakes
❌ Я зна́ю пла́вати.
Incorrect — swimming is a skill, so use вмі́ти + infinitive: я вмі́ю пла́вати. (зна́ти cannot take a bare infinitive of a skill.)
✅ Я вмі́ю пла́вати.
I know how to swim — вмі́ти + infinitive.
❌ Я вмі́ю цю́ відповідь.
Incorrect — a fact is known with зна́ти + accusative, not вмі́ти: я зна́ю цю́ відповідь.
✅ Я зна́ю цю́ відповідь.
I know this answer — зна́ти + accusative.
❌ Я не зна́ю, як це зроби́ти, бо ще не зна́ю.
Muddled — knowing how it's done is a fact (зна́ю, як…), but lacking the practical skill is не вмі́ю: я зна́ю, як це зроби́ти, але́ ще не вмі́ю цьо́го роби́ти.
✅ Я зна́ю, як це зроби́ти, але́ ще не вмі́ю цьо́го роби́ти.
I know how it's done, but I can't do it yet — fact (зна́ти) vs skill (вмі́ти).
❌ Я не зна́ю, як ми все́ це всти́гнемо — про́сто не зна́ю собі́.
Wrong verb for the mental-image sense — 'I can't picture it' is уявля́ти собі́: …про́сто не уявля́ю собі́.
✅ Я не уявля́ю собі́, як ми все́ це всти́гнемо.
I can't imagine how we'll manage all this — уявля́ти собі́.
Key Takeaways
- зна́ти = know facts, information, languages and people — Ukrainian does not split fact-knowing from person-knowing (no savoir/connaître). Takes the accusative or a що-clause.
- вмі́ти / умі́ти = a learned skill, always with an infinitive (вмі́ю води́ти). The в/у is the euphonic alternation, not two verbs.
- The classic error is зна́ю пла́вати — a skill is *вмі́ти, never зна́ти.
- зна́ти, як
- clause ("know how it works") is a fact; the skill of doing it is still вмі́ти.
- уявля́ти (собі́) = imagine, picture; "I have no idea" is не ма́ю уя́влення / не уявля́ю.
- розумі́тися на (+ locative) = be knowledgeable/expert about (розумі́юся на му́зиці).
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- 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.
- Types of Subordinate Clause: An OverviewB2 — A map of the Ukrainian subordinate-clause system — complement (що 'that', чи 'whether'), relative (який, що, котрий), and adverbial clauses of time, cause, purpose, condition and concession — showing that every subordinate clause is overtly introduced by a conjunction AND set off by a comma, and that the clause type dictates the verb form (future after коли, past + би after якби, past after щоб with a different subject).
- The Infinitive (-ти / -ть)A1 — The infinitive (неозна́чена фо́рма) is the dictionary form of a Ukrainian verb, ending in standard -ти (чита́ти, говори́ти, бу́ти) with a colloquial/poetic variant -ть. It carries aspect, so 'to read' splits into чита́ти (process) and прочита́ти (read through), and it follows modal and phase verbs (хо́чу чита́ти, тре́ба йти) and builds both futures.
- 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).
- Бути: The Complete PictureA2 — Ukrainian's verb 'to be' is defective in the present — normally omitted (Він студе́нт) with a single form є kept for existence and possession (У ме́не є…) — but fully inflected in the past (був, була́, було́, були́) and future (бу́ду, бу́деш, бу́де…), where the predicate noun switches from nominative to INSTRUMENTAL (Він був учи́телем); бу́ду also doubles as the future auxiliary (бу́ду чита́ти), and existence is negated with нема́є + genitive.
- Verb Government: Which Case for the ObjectB1 — Most Ukrainian verbs take an accusative object (читаю книгу), but a large core group governs the dative (дякую тобі, допомагаю мамі), the genitive (боюся темряви, потребую допомоги), or the instrumental (керую фірмою, ціка́влюся історією) — and the governed case is a fixed lexical property of each verb that English speakers must memorise, because none of these behave like English transitives.