Дірка є біля шва.

Yes — in many everyday Ukrainian sentences, є can be omitted.

So all of these are possible:

• Дірка є біля шва.
• Дірка біля шва.

Both mean essentially the same thing here: There is a hole near the seam / The hole is near the seam.

A few notes:

• є is the present-tense form of бути (to be).
• In modern Ukrainian, the present-tense to be is often dropped, especially in simple statements.
• Including є can make the existence a little more explicit, somewhat like there is.

So this sentence is grammatical with є, but in natural speech you will also often hear it without є.

Because the preposition біля requires the genitive case.

The dictionary form is:

• шов = seam

But after біля (near, by), you need the genitive singular:

• біля шва = near the seam

So:

• шов = nominative singular
• шва = genitive singular

This is a very common pattern in Ukrainian: a preposition often determines the case of the following noun.

Біля means near, by, or next to, depending on context.

In this sentence:

• біля шва = near the seam

It is commonly used for physical location:

• біля дверей = near the door
• біля вікна = by the window
• біля будинку = near the house

As mentioned above, біля takes the genitive case.

Дірка is in the nominative singular because it is the grammatical subject of the sentence.

Dictionary form:

• дірка = hole

In Дірка є біля шва, the sentence is about the hole, so дірка stays in the nominative.

Breakdown:

• дірка = subject
• є = is
• біля шва = near the seam

So literally, the structure is something like:

• Hole is near seam

or more naturally in English:

• There is a hole near the seam
• The hole is near the seam

depending on context.

It can suggest either one, depending on context.

Ukrainian does not have articles like a and the, so дірка can mean:

• a hole
• the hole

Also, with є, the sentence can sound existential, like there is:

• Дірка є біля шва = There is a hole near the seam

But in the right context, it can also mean:

• The hole is near the seam

The surrounding conversation usually makes it clear which meaning is intended.

Yes. Ukrainian word order is flexible, though different orders can slightly change emphasis.

Possible versions include:

• Дірка є біля шва.
• Біля шва є дірка.
• Біля шва дірка.

These all express roughly the same basic idea, but the focus shifts:

• Дірка є біля шва. → emphasis starts with the hole
• Біля шва є дірка. → emphasis starts with the location
• Біля шва дірка. → very natural in speech, especially if you are pointing something out

So the sentence is flexible, but the original version is perfectly understandable.

A rough pronunciation guide for an English speaker is:

• Дірка ≈ DEER-ka
• є ≈ ye
• біля ≈ BEE-lya
• шва ≈ shva

So the whole sentence is approximately:

• DEER-ka ye BEE-lya shva

A few pronunciation tips:

• і sounds like ee in see
• є usually sounds like ye
• я in біля gives a lya sound
• шв in шва is pronounced as a consonant cluster: shv

Both words can mean hole, but дірка is often the more neutral, everyday word for a small or specific hole.

• дірка = hole, small opening, puncture, tear
• діра = hole, gap; sometimes sounds bigger, rougher, or more dramatic

In clothing, fabric, or manufactured objects, дірка is often very natural:

• дірка в шкарпетці = a hole in a sock
• дірка біля шва = a hole near the seam

So in this sentence, дірка is a good choice.

Usually, yes. Шов commonly means a seam or stitch line, especially in clothing, fabric, or anything sewn.

Examples:

• шов на сорочці = the seam on the shirt
• розійшовся шов = the seam came apart

It can also be used in technical or medical contexts, depending on situation, but in a sentence like Дірка є біля шва, most learners should understand it first as a seam in fabric or clothing.

Yes, it is natural and understandable.

A speaker might also say:

• Біля шва є дірка.
• Біля шва дірка.
• На шві дірка. if they mean a hole in/on the seam itself

There is a slight difference:

• біля шва = near the seam
• на шві = on the seam
• у шві = in the seam

So if the hole is next to the seam, біля шва is a good choice.