Real Ukrainian texts are full of short forms that no phrasebook teaches but that appear on every page, signpost, price tag, and address. The trap for English speakers is assuming the abbreviations match their own: "etc." is not "etc." in Ukrainian, "e.g." is not "e.g.," and "p." for page is not "p." Each has its own fixed Ukrainian shape, with its own rules about periods and spacing. This page collects the ones you genuinely need to read everyday Ukrainian, grouped by where you meet them.
How graphic abbreviations are built
A graphic abbreviation (графі́чне скоро́чення) is read aloud as the full word — you write напр. but you say наприкла́д. The standard rule is that the word is cut at a consonant and closed with a period: наприкла́д → напр., о́бласть → обл., сторі́нка → стор. A few fixed forms (mostly units) take no period at all: грн, км, кг, м (metre, when a unit). And a small set use a doubled letter to mark the plural: р. is "year," but рр. is "years."
"etc." and "e.g.": the multi-word abbreviations
These are the ones that surprise everyone, both because of their form and their spacing:
| Abbreviation | Full form | English |
|---|---|---|
| і т. д. | і так да́лі | and so on, etc. |
| і т. п. | і тому́ поді́бне | and the like |
| і т. ін. | і таке́ і́нше | and other such things |
| напр. | наприкла́д | for example, e.g. |
| тобто | (written in full) | that is, i.e. |
The critical detail is the spacing of і т. д.: there is a period and a space after each shortened word — і т. д., never ітд or і.т.д. The т abbreviates так / тому́ / таке́, and the д / п / ін. abbreviates да́лі / поді́бне / і́нше, so each needs its own period.
Візьми́ все потрі́бне: па́спорт, квитки́, гро́ші і т. д.
Take everything you need: passport, tickets, money, etc. — і т. д. = і так да́лі, each piece with its own period and a space.
Купи́ ово́чі — морква́, цибу́ля, карто́пля і т. п.
Buy vegetables — carrots, onions, potatoes and the like. — і т. п. = і тому́ поді́бне.
Reference abbreviations: see, page, compare
In any book, article, or encyclopedia you will hit these constantly:
| Abbreviation | Full form | English |
|---|---|---|
| див. | диви́сь / диві́ться | see (cross-reference) |
| пор. | порі́вняй | compare (cf.) |
| с. / стор. | сторі́нка | page (p.) |
| табл. | таблиця | table |
| мал. / рис. | малю́нок / рису́нок | figure, illustration |
Дета́льніше про це див. стор. 42.
For more on this, see p. 42. — див. = диви́сь 'see', стор. = сторі́нка 'page'.
Пор. напр. розгля́нутий ви́ще ви́падок.
Cf. e.g. the case discussed above. — пор. = порі́вняй, напр. = наприкла́д.
Years, decades, and centuries
Time abbreviations are everywhere in history texts, captions, and dates. The doubled-letter plural is the thing to watch:
| Abbreviation | Full form | English |
|---|---|---|
| р. | рік | year (2024 р.) |
| рр. | роки́ | years (1990–1991 рр.) |
| ст. | столі́ття / сторі́ччя | century (XXI ст.) |
| до н. е. / н. е. | до на́шої е́ри / на́шої е́ри | BC / AD |
Уго́да була́ підпи́сана у 2014 р.
The agreement was signed in 2014. — р. = рік, said 'two thousand fourteenth year.'
Голодомо́р 1932–1933 рр. забра́в мільйо́ни життів.
The Holodomor of 1932–1933 took millions of lives. — рр. = роки́, the doubled р marking the plural span.
The way you actually read these dates — the chain of genitives and the ordinal year — is its own topic; see Dates, Years, and Centuries.
Addresses: city, street, building
Ukrainian addresses and any text naming a place lean on a fixed set of short forms placed before the name:
| Abbreviation | Full form | English |
|---|---|---|
| м. | мі́сто | city (м. Ки́їв) |
| с. | село́ | village (с. Гаврилі́вка) |
| вул. | ву́лиця | street (вул. Хреща́тик) |
| пр-т / просп. | проспе́кт | avenue |
| пл. | пло́ща | square |
| буд. / кв. | буди́нок / кварти́ра | building / apartment |
| обл. / р-н | о́бласть / райо́н | oblast (region) / district |
Я живу́ за адре́сою: м. Льві́в, вул. Городо́цька, буд. 15, кв. 7.
My address is: Lviv, Horodotska St., building 15, apartment 7. — м. = мі́сто, вул. = ву́лиця, буд. = буди́нок, кв. = кварти́ра.
Note the non-breaking space convention: in careful typography, м. Ки́їв and вул. Хреща́тик keep the abbreviation glued to the name so the line never breaks between them. The same applies to a number and its unit (100 грн).
Money, units, and quantities
For prices and measurements:
| Abbreviation | Full form | English |
|---|---|---|
| грн | гри́вня | hryvnia (no period: 100 грн) |
| коп. | копі́йка | kopiyka |
| тис. | ти́сяча | thousand |
| млн / млрд | мільйо́н / мілья́рд | million / billion (no period) |
| кг / г / км / м | кілогра́м / грам / кіломе́тр / метр | kg / g / km / m (no period) |
Ця ку́ртка ко́штує 1 200 грн — це ма́йже на тис. дорожче, ніж торі́к.
This jacket costs 1,200 hryvnias — almost a thousand more than last year. — грн and тис. for price and 'thousand'.
До мі́ста ще 5 км, тож зупини́мося на ка́ву.
It's 5 km more to the city, so let's stop for coffee. — км (no period) for the unit.
Titles and acronyms
Personal titles and well-known acronyms round out the everyday set. Acronyms (read letter-by-letter or as a word) are written without periods:
| Abbreviation | Full form | English |
|---|---|---|
| п. | пан / пані | Mr / Ms (п. Шевче́нко) |
| проф. / д-р | профе́сор / до́ктор | Prof. / Dr |
| ім. / і́мені | і́мені | named after (named-after X) |
| ООН / НАТО / ЄС | — | UN / NATO / EU |
| ВНЗ / ЗВО | — | higher-education institution (university) |
Шано́вний п. Коваленко, дя́кую за лист.
Dear Mr Kovalenko, thank you for your letter. — п. = пан, an everyday letter opening.
Украї́на пода́ла за́явку на чле́нство в ЄС у 2022 році.
Ukraine applied for EU membership in 2022. — ЄС = Європе́йський Сою́з, an acronym written without periods.
Common Mistakes
❌ ітд / і.т.д. / і т.д. (no spaces or wrong dots)
Incorrect — the standard form is і т. д. with a period AND a space after each part.
✅ і т. д.
and so on — і так да́лі, each abbreviated word closed with its own period and a space.
❌ Using «etc.» or «e.g.» in Ukrainian text
Incorrect — Ukrainian uses і т. д. (or тощо) for 'etc.' and напр. for 'e.g.'
✅ … і т. д.; напр., …
Use the native abbreviations, not the English ones.
❌ 100 грн. (period after грн)
Incorrect — currency and metric units take no period: 100 грн, 5 км, 3 кг.
✅ 100 грн
100 hryvnias — no period on unit abbreviations.
❌ 1990–1991 р. (singular р. for a span)
Incorrect — a span of years takes the doubled-letter plural: 1990–1991 рр.
✅ 1990–1991 рр.
the years 1990–1991 — рр. = роки́, doubled letter for plural.
❌ Київ м. / Хреща́тик вул. (abbreviation after the name)
Incorrect — the address abbreviations go BEFORE the name: м. Ки́їв, вул. Хреща́тик.
✅ м. Ки́їв, вул. Хреща́тик
м. and вул. precede the place name.
Key Takeaways
- і т. д. (і так да́лі) = "etc.", і т. п. (і тому́ поді́бне) = "and the like", напр. (наприкла́д) = "e.g." — and note the period-plus-space spacing of і т. д.
- The idiomatic native alternative to і т. д. / і т. п. is тощо (one word, written out).
- с. / стор. = page, див. = see, пор. = compare — the apparatus of any book.
- р. = year, рр. = years (doubled = plural), ст. = century.
- Addresses: м. city, с. village, вул. street, буд. building, кв. apartment — all before the name, ideally with a non-breaking space.
- Units take no period: грн, тис., км, кг, млн.
Now practice Ukrainian
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Ukrainian→Related Topics
- Ukrainian Punctuation and Quotation MarksB1 — The punctuation conventions that differ from English: guillemets « » for quotes, the dash for dialogue, the dash that replaces a missing 'is', the obligatory comma before що / який / щоб / бо / коли, the decimal comma, and the lowercase months, days, and nationalities.
- Capitalization RulesB1 — Ukrainian capitalization differs sharply from English: days, months, nationalities, and languages are all lowercase, and titles capitalize only the first word — the mirror image of English habits.
- Dates, Years, and CenturiesB1 — A full Ukrainian date is a chain of GENITIVES — day-ordinal + month + year-ordinal + ро́ку (деся́того тра́вня дві ти́сячі два́дцять четве́ртого ро́ку) — but 'in (a year)' switches to the LOCATIVE (у дві ти́сячі два́дцять четве́ртому ро́ці). Only the last word of the compound number is the ordinal; centuries use ordinals (XXI = два́дцять пе́рше столі́ття).
- Money, Age, and Everyday CountingA2 — The numeral-agreement rule made practical: counting money (одна́ гри́вня, дві гри́вні, п’ять гри́вень), asking and stating prices (Скі́льки ко́штує? — ко́штує п’ять гри́вень), and the dative-experiencer age construction (Мені́ два́дцять ро́ків) where 'year' is suppletive — рік (1), ро́ки (2–4), ро́ків (5+) — so 'I am five' literally says 'to-me five years' with no verb 'to be'.
- Non-Fiction: Encyclopedia Article — Київ (Kyiv)B2 — An annotated encyclopedic paragraph about Kyiv, training the nominal style, -но/-то passives, genitive chains, and date constructions of reference prose.
- The Ukrainian AlphabetA1 — All 33 letters of the modern Ukrainian Cyrillic alphabet — their printed forms, names, and approximate sounds — sorted into the familiar friends, the dangerous false friends that look Latin but aren't, and the brand-new shapes, plus the four letters (і ї є ґ) that mark Ukrainian apart from Russian at a glance.