Блискавка й ґудзик нові.

In the present tense, Ukrainian usually leaves out the verb to be. So Блискавка й ґудзик нові literally looks like Zipper and button new, but it means The zipper and the button are new.

This is very normal in Ukrainian.

Because together they make a compound subject: the zipper and the button. Since there are two things, Ukrainian uses the plural adjective нові.

Compare:

• Блискавка нова = The zipper is new.
• Ґудзик новий = The button is new.
• Блискавка й ґудзик нові = The zipper and the button are new.

• блискавка is feminine
• ґудзик is masculine

That is why, when they are singular, you get:

• нова блискавка
• новий ґудзик

But when they are joined together, the predicate adjective becomes plural: нові.

Both й and і can mean and. Ukrainian often switches between them for smoother pronunciation.

After a vowel, й is often preferred, so Блискавка й ґудзик sounds more natural than Блискавка і ґудзик, though і would still be understandable.

Both блискавка and ґудзик are in the nominative case, because they are the subject of the sentence.

The adjective нові is also nominative, plural, because it agrees with the whole subject.

The letter ґ is a hard g sound, like g in go.

It is different from Ukrainian г, which sounds more like a voiced h.

A rough pronunciation guide:

• блискавка ≈ blis-KAV-ka
• й ≈ y in yes
• ґудзик ≈ GOO-dzyk
• нові ≈ no-VEE

Yes. Блискавка can also mean lightning.

So the word has more than one meaning:

• блискавка = zipper
• блискавка = lightning

Usually the context makes the intended meaning clear.

Ukrainian does not have articles like English a/an and the.

So Блискавка й ґудзик нові could mean:

• The zipper and the button are new
• A zipper and a button are new

Context tells you which meaning is intended.

Yes. Ukrainian word order is more flexible than English word order.

Блискавка й ґудзик нові is a normal, neutral way to say it. Other orders are possible, but they may sound more marked or change the emphasis.

Usually no. If the adjective comes directly before each noun, it normally agrees with each one separately:

• нова блискавка й новий ґудзик = a new zipper and a new button

In Блискавка й ґудзик нові, нові is not modifying just one noun. It is the predicate describing both nouns together, so the plural form is used.