Литка під коліном.

The calf is under the knee.

Breakdown of Литка під коліном.

• під: under
• коліно: the knee
• литка: the calf

Questions & Answers about Литка під коліном.

What does литка mean exactly? Is it calf or shin?

Литка usually means the calf of the leg — the fleshy part at the back of the lower leg.

Depending on context, some speakers may use it a bit more loosely for the lower-leg area, but if you are learning basic body-part vocabulary, the main meaning to remember is calf.

Grammatically, литка here is:

• nominative singular
• a feminine noun

Why is it під коліном and not під коліно?

Because під changes case depending on meaning.

Here it describes a location: something is under the knee.
So під takes the instrumental case:

• коліно = knee
• під коліном = under the knee

If there were movement to a position under something, Ukrainian could use the accusative instead:

• під коліно = to under the knee / beneath the knee

So in your sentence, коліном is instrumental because the meaning is static location.

Why is there no word for is in the sentence?