Learn Hardcore Ukrainian: У мене є зустріч сьогодні о третій годині.

Literally it’s “there is at me.” Ukrainian often expresses possession with the existential verb є (“is”) plus у мене (“at me”), rather than using a direct equivalent of English have.

Can I say Я маю зустріч instead of У мене є зустріч?

Yes. Я маю зустріч uses the verb мати (“to have”) in the first person: маю. It means exactly the same thing, though У мене є is more common in spoken Ukrainian.

Why is the preposition о used before the time (and not в)?

When telling the exact clock time, Ukrainian uses о (or об before vowels) + the locative case. It literally means “at” a certain hour. В is not used for precise clock times in this construction.

What case are третій and годині in о третій годині?

Both words are in the locative case, as required after the preposition о when specifying the time on the clock.

Can you drop годині and simply say о третій?

Yes. If the context is clear, о третій by itself perfectly conveys “at three o’clock.”

What case is мене in У мене є? It looks like the genitive of “I.”

It’s actually the locative form of the pronoun я used with у (“in/at”). Pronoun forms often overlap, but here у мене means “at me.”

Could the sentence word order change? For example, Сьогодні у мене є зустріч о третій годині?

Yes. Ukrainian word order is flexible. Placing сьогодні at the start simply highlights “today,” but the meaning stays the same.

How would you write and say the time using digits, e.g. “at 3:00 PM”?

In 24-hour format you’d write о 15:00 and say о п’ятнадцятій годині. In 12-hour contexts you might write о 3:00, but still say о третій годині and add вечора (“in the afternoon/evening”) if needed.

What part of speech is зустріч, and where is the stress?

Зустріч is a feminine noun (meaning “meeting”). The stress falls on the first syllable: ZU-strich.