Не те щоб я не любив капусту, але сьогодні купую кабачок.

Не те щоб... is a very common Ukrainian pattern meaning something like:

• It’s not that...
• Not exactly that...
• It’s not as if...

So Не те щоб я не любив капусту means:

• It’s not that I don’t like cabbage
• or more naturally, It’s not that I dislike cabbage

It softens what follows. The speaker is not making a strong negative statement about cabbage; they are just saying that the reason for buying zucchini today is not simply because they hate cabbage.

That не is the normal negation of the verb любив:

• я любив капусту = I liked cabbage / I used to like cabbage
• я не любив капусту = I didn’t like cabbage / I don’t like cabbage, depending on context

So the sentence has:

• Не те щоб... = a fixed expression meaning It’s not that...
• plus не любив = didn’t like

This is not “double negation” in the English-grammar sense of canceling itself out. It is just one negative expression introducing a clause, and inside that clause the verb is also negated.

The overall idea is: It’s not that I don’t like cabbage...

Good question. In Ukrainian, after expressions like Не те щоб..., speakers often use a past-form verb in a way that sounds softer, more hypothetical, or less blunt than a straightforward present tense.

So:

• Не те щоб я не люблю капусту... is possible in some contexts, but it sounds more direct or less idiomatic here.
• Не те щоб я не любив капусту... sounds more natural in this kind of softening structure.

A useful way to feel it is:

• не люблю = a direct statement about my current preference
• не любив in this pattern = a softened, less categorical way to phrase it

It is similar to how English sometimes uses forms that are not literally about past time in order to sound less direct, such as It’s not that I didn’t like it...

Yes. любив is the masculine past form.

Past tense verbs in Ukrainian agree with gender in the singular:

• я любив = I liked / I used to like (male speaker)
• я любила = I liked / I used to like (female speaker)

So a woman would say:

Не те щоб я не любила капусту, але сьогодні купую кабачок.

Because капуста is the direct object of любив, so it is in the accusative case.

Dictionary form:

• капуста = cabbage

Accusative singular:

• капусту

So:

• любити капусту = to like cabbage

This is a very common pattern in Ukrainian: the thing you like, buy, see, want, etc. often goes into the accusative.

Because кабачок is a masculine inanimate noun, and in the singular its accusative form is the same as the nominative.

Dictionary form:

• кабачок = zucchini / courgette / marrow (depending on region and exact usage)

In Ukrainian:

• masculine inanimate nouns usually have accusative = nominative
• masculine animate nouns usually have accusative = genitive

So in: сьогодні купую кабачок the word кабачок is a direct object in the accusative, but it looks the same as the dictionary form.

Compare:

• купую кабачок = I’m buying a zucchini
• бачу стіл = I see a table

Купую is the imperfective present-tense form of купувати.

• купувати = to buy, to be buying, to buy habitually / in process
• купити = to buy, to complete a purchase once

So:

• сьогодні купую кабачок = today I’m buying zucchini / today I’m buying a zucchini
• сьогодні куплю кабачок = today I will buy a zucchini

Why use купую here? Because it can sound like:

• what I’m buying today
• what I’ve chosen to buy today
• what I’m in the process of buying today

It fits a conversational, present-day situation. The speaker is contrasting today’s choice with their general attitude toward cabbage.

Yes, and the nuance would change slightly.

• сьогодні купую кабачок = today I’m buying a zucchini / today I buy zucchini
• сьогодні куплю кабачок = today I’ll buy a zucchini

купую sounds more immediate or descriptive of what is happening today. куплю sounds more like a future decision or plan.

Both are possible depending on context, but купую works well if the speaker is talking about what they are choosing at the store or what they are getting today.

That is normal Ukrainian word order. Ukrainian word order is flexible, but the default here is natural:

• але сьогодні купую кабачок

This puts emphasis on today as the contrast:

• not about disliking cabbage in general,
• but today I’m buying zucchini.

Other word orders are possible, for example:

• але купую сьогодні кабачок
• але я сьогодні купую кабачок

But the original version sounds smooth and natural.

Because Ukrainian often drops subject pronouns when they are clear from the verb ending.

In the first clause, я is kept because the phrase Не те щоб я... very commonly includes it and it helps the structure feel complete:

• Не те щоб я не любив капусту...

In the second clause, купую already clearly means I am buying, so я is not necessary:

• але сьогодні купую кабачок

You could say:

• але сьогодні я купую кабачок but it is not required.

Usually кабачок means zucchini or courgette.

Depending on region and context, English translations may vary:

• zucchini = common in American English
• courgette = common in British English

In some contexts it can also refer to a similar squash vegetable, but zucchini/courgette is the best everyday translation.

Yes. The sentence sounds conversational and mildly contrastive.

The speaker is saying something like:

• It’s not that I dislike cabbage, but today I’m buying zucchini.

The nuance is:

• they are not rejecting cabbage strongly,
• they are just making a different choice today.

So the sentence is not mainly about food preferences; it is about softening a contrast: I’m not anti-cabbage — I’m just buying something else today.

A little, but it is still understandable.

In many contexts:

• капуста is treated like a general food category: cabbage
• кабачок can easily mean one physical zucchini

So the sentence mixes:

• a general liking of cabbage with
• the purchase of a specific zucchini today

That is perfectly possible in natural language, even if the noun styles are slightly different. English does this too:

• It’s not that I don’t like cabbage, but today I’m buying a zucchini.

If you wanted to make both items feel more parallel, you could choose different wording, but the original is fine.

Yes. Але here is simply but.

It introduces the contrast between:

• the speaker’s attitude toward cabbage and
• what they are buying today

So the structure is:

• Не те щоб... = It’s not that...
• але... = but...

This is a very useful pattern in Ukrainian conversation.