У мене болить лікоть.

Because Ukrainian often expresses possession with the pattern у/в + pronoun, literally something like at me.

So:

• У мене болить лікоть = literally At me, an elbow hurts
• natural English = My elbow hurts

This structure is very common in Ukrainian, especially with body parts, feelings, and states:

• У мене болить голова — My head hurts
• У мене температура — I have a fever
• У мене є брат — I have a brother

So even though English uses my, Ukrainian often prefers у мене.

Мене is the genitive/accusative form of я in this expression, and after у/в in the possessive pattern у мене it is understood as part of a fixed structure meaning at me / in my case / I have.

You do not say у я. The correct form is:

• я — I
• мене — me (used here after у)

So у мене is just something you learn as a very common chunk meaning I have or my in many contexts.

Because the verb agrees with лікоть, not with I.

In this sentence, the grammatical subject is лікоть (elbow), and it is singular, so the verb is also singular:

• болить = hurts / aches for one thing

Think of it like:

• The elbow hurts
• more literally in Ukrainian: At me hurts elbow

So Ukrainian is not saying I hurt. It is saying the elbow hurts.

Compare:

• У мене болить лікоть — My elbow hurts
• У мене болять лікті — My elbows hurt

Here болять is plural because лікті is plural.

Because лікоть is the grammatical subject of the sentence — the thing that is doing the hurting/aching in Ukrainian grammar.

So:

• лікоть = nominative singular
• болить agrees with it

This is different from English, where we often think of my elbow as a possessed body part. In Ukrainian, the structure is more like:

• At me hurts elbow

Since elbow is the subject, it stays in the nominative.

Yes, you can, but it sounds different.

• У мене болить лікоть is the most natural, neutral way to say My elbow hurts
• Мій лікоть болить is grammatical, but it puts more emphasis on my elbow

It can sound contrastive, like:

• My elbow hurts, not my wrist
• It’s my elbow that hurts

So for an ordinary statement about pain, У мене болить лікоть is usually the better choice.

Боліти means to hurt, to ache, or to be painful.

In this sentence:

• болить = hurts / aches

It is commonly used for body parts and pain:

• У мене болить зуб — My tooth hurts
• У мене болить спина — My back hurts
• У мене болить живіт — My stomach hurts

So болить is one of the main verbs you use when talking about physical pain.

Because Ukrainian has no articles.

There is no separate word for a/an/the in ordinary Ukrainian grammar. Whether something is definite or indefinite is understood from context.

So:

• лікоть can mean an elbow or the elbow
• in this sentence, context makes it clear that it means my elbow / the elbow

This is completely normal in Ukrainian.

Both у мене and в мене are possible.

They mean the same thing. The choice between у and в is often made for ease of pronunciation and smooth sound flow.

So both of these are natural:

• У мене болить лікоть
• В мене болить лікоть

Many textbooks show у мене, and that is a very good version to learn first.

You mainly learn it from the dictionary form and from agreement patterns.

Лікоть is a masculine noun. Even though it ends in a soft consonant-like pattern, it is still masculine.

You can see this more clearly when you add an adjective:

• лівий лікоть — left elbow
• правий лікоть — right elbow

The adjective is masculine:

• лівий, not ліва or ліве

That helps confirm the gender.

Then the noun and verb usually become plural.

Examples:

• У мене болять лікті — My elbows hurt
• У мене болять руки — My arms/hands hurt
• У мене болять коліна — My knees hurt

So the pattern is:

• singular body part → болить
• plural body parts → болять

That is a very useful pattern to remember.

You would say:

• У мене болить лівий лікоть

Breakdown:

• У мене — my / I have
• болить — hurts
• лівий — left (masculine singular)
• лікоть — elbow

The adjective лівий stays in the nominative masculine singular because it agrees with лікоть.

The usual stresses are:

• У мене́ боли́ть лі́коть

So the stressed syllables are:

• мене́
• боли́ть
• лі́коть

Stress is important in Ukrainian, because it is not always predictable and can affect how natural your speech sounds.

A very literal translation is:

• У мене болить лікоть
• At me hurts elbow

That sounds strange in English, but it helps explain the grammar:

• У мене = at me / in my case
• болить = hurts
• лікоть = elbow

Natural English then turns it into:

• My elbow hurts