На кухні було коротке замикання.

A natural word-for-word breakdown is:

• На = in / on / at depending on context
• кухні = kitchen in the locative case, so here in the kitchen
• було = was / there was
• коротке = short
• замикання = circuit / closure, and together with коротке it means short circuit

So the whole sentence means There was a short circuit in the kitchen.

Both на кухні and в кухні can mean in the kitchen, but на кухні is very common in Ukrainian when talking about being in the kitchen as a room or area of the home.

This is one of those place expressions that you often just learn as a set phrase:

• на кухні = in the kitchen
• у кімнаті / в кімнаті = in the room
• у ванній = in the bathroom

So for learners, it is best to memorize на кухні as the usual way to say in the kitchen.

Because after на in this meaning, Ukrainian uses the locative case.

The noun кухня is the dictionary form, but in the locative singular it becomes кухні:

• кухня = kitchen
• на кухні = in the kitchen

This is very common with location:

• у школі = at school
• у місті = in the city
• на столі = on the table

So на кухні literally means on/in the kitchen with the locative ending.

Here було is the neuter past form of бути (to be), and it is often used in impersonal or existential sentences, especially when English uses there was.

So:

• Було коротке замикання = There was a short circuit

The noun замикання is also neuter, so було matches it naturally.

Compare:

• був = masculine
• була = feminine
• було = neuter
• були = plural

Because замикання is neuter, було is the expected form.

Ukrainian often does not need a separate word like English there in existential sentences.

English says:

• There was a short circuit

Ukrainian simply says:

• Було коротке замикання

The idea of existence is built into the structure. So було here can feel like there was rather than just plain was.

Коротке замикання is the standard term for a short circuit in electricity.

It is made of:

• коротке = short
• замикання = closing, connection, circuiting/shorting

Together they form one fixed expression: коротке замикання.

It is a technical but very common phrase, especially in news, repairs, or accident reports.

Because adjectives must agree with the noun they describe.

The noun замикання is neuter singular, so the adjective must also be neuter singular:

• masculine: короткий
• feminine: коротка
• neuter: коротке
• plural: короткі

So:

• коротке замикання = a short circuit

Yes, it is natural and correct.

It sounds like a factual report, for example:

• in a conversation about an accident
• in a police or fire report
• in an explanation of why power went out

It is neutral in style. You could also hear alternatives such as:

• На кухні сталося коротке замикання = A short circuit happened in the kitchen
• На кухні було коротке замикання електропроводки = There was a short circuit in the wiring in the kitchen

But the original sentence is perfectly normal.

Yes. Ukrainian word order is flexible, though the original order is very natural.

Possible versions include:

• На кухні було коротке замикання.
• Коротке замикання було на кухні.
• Було коротке замикання на кухні.

These all mean roughly the same thing, but the focus changes a little:

• На кухні було коротке замикання emphasizes the place first
• Коротке замикання було на кухні emphasizes the short circuit
• Було коротке замикання на кухні sounds a bit more report-like or neutral

For learners, the original sentence is a very good default choice.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

Na KUKH-ni bu-LO ko-ROT-ke za-my-KAN-nya

A few notes:

• х sounds like the ch in Scottish loch or German Bach
• и is not exactly English ee or ih; it is a central vowel, somewhere in between for English speakers
• ння in замикання has a soft ny sound before a

A rougher English-style approximation could be:

nah KOOKH-nee boo-LOH ko-ROT-keh zah-mih-KAHN-nya

The standard fixed term is коротке замикання. That is what you should use.

Even though English says a short circuit, Ukrainian normally uses this noun замикання for the event or electrical fault itself. It is the ordinary dictionary expression, not a strange grammar choice.

So:

• коротке замикання = short circuit

A learner should treat the whole phrase as one vocabulary item.

You can change було depending on the time:

• На кухні є коротке замикання. = There is a short circuit in the kitchen.
• На кухні буде коротке замикання. = There will be a short circuit in the kitchen.

In real-life speech, the present tense with є is often omitted in Ukrainian, but in this kind of sentence it may still appear for clarity.

You might also hear more natural alternatives depending on context:

• На кухні коротке замикання. = There is a short circuit in the kitchen.
• На кухні станеться коротке замикання. = A short circuit will happen in the kitchen.

You make it negative by adding не before було:

• На кухні не було короткого замикання. = There was no short circuit in the kitchen.

Notice something important: after negation, коротке замикання changes form to короткого замикання.

That is because Ukrainian often uses the genitive after не було in existential negative sentences.

So compare:

• Було коротке замикання. = There was a short circuit.
• Не було короткого замикання. = There was no short circuit.

This is a very useful pattern to learn.