Learn Hardcore Ukrainian: Нехай вона чекає біля входу.

It forms a jussive (third-person imperative) meaning “let/may.” So Нехай вона чекає = “Let her wait” or “Have her wait.” It can sound like an instruction, a decision, or giving permission depending on context and tone.

Is this a command or permission? How strong does it sound?

It’s a directive, but its force depends on context:

Neutral instruction/decision: “Let her wait (there).”
Permission: “She may wait (there).”
It can feel curt if said sharply; add softeners like будь ласка (please) or rephrase politely: Попросіть її почекати біля входу (Please ask her to wait by the entrance).

What’s the difference between Нехай and Хай?

They mean the same. Хай is the shorter, very common everyday form; Нехай can feel slightly more formal or neutral. Both are fully correct: Нехай/Хай вона чекає…

Why is the verb in the present (чекає) if it’s an imperative-like idea?

Ukrainian forms the third-person imperative/jussive with хай/нехай + present tense: Нехай вона чекає. If you want “let her wait for a while,” you switch to a perfective verb: Нехай вона почекає/зачекає.

Can I omit вона?

Yes. Ukrainian often drops subject pronouns when they’re clear from context. Нехай чекає біля входу is natural. Keeping вона adds clarity or emphasis on “she.”

Could вона mean “it,” not “she”?

Yes, if the antecedent is a grammatically feminine noun (e.g., машина “car”). In Ukrainian, pronouns match grammatical gender, so вона can refer to a female person or any feminine-gender noun.

What does біля mean and which case does it require?

Біля means “by/near” and takes the genitive case. Hence біля входу (genitive of вхід “entrance”).

Why is it входу, not входа?

Because the standard genitive singular of вхід is входу. The form входа is a Russian form and is not standard in Ukrainian.

Why does a vowel appear in the oblique cases: вхід → входу?

Ukrainian often inserts a vowel in oblique cases to break difficult consonant clusters: вхід (nom.) → входу (gen.), вході (loc.), входом (instr.). This is a regular pattern (compare: лід → льоду).

Could I say “at the entrance” with something like при вході? Is that different from біля входу?

Біля входу = “near/by the entrance” (close to, in the vicinity).
При вході = “at the entrance” (right at the point of entry; common in signs/instructions). Both are correct; pick the one that matches the intended nuance. Don’t combine them (no “біля при вході”).

Does чекати need the preposition на?

It can work three ways in standard Ukrainian:

чекати
- genitive: чекати автобуса, чекати її (a bit more formal/traditional).
чекати
- accusative: чекати автобус, чекати її (colloquial/neutral in speech).
чекати на
- accusative: чекати на автобус, чекати на неї (very common and fully standard). All three are used; style and region affect preference.

What’s the difference between чекати, почекати, and зачекати?

чекати (imperfective): to be in the process of waiting.
почекати (perfective): to wait for a while/for some time (bounded).
зачекати (perfective): similar to почекати; often “to wait a bit”/“to hold on a moment,” sometimes with an “start/wait a short time” nuance. In the jussive: Нехай вона чекає… (let her wait [generally]); Нехай вона почекає/зачекає… (let her wait a bit).

How do I say “Let her not wait”?

Use не after хай/нехай: Нехай вона не чекає (or Хай вона не чекає).

How do I say “Let him/them wait by the entrance”?

“Let him wait…”: Нехай він чекає біля входу.
“Let them wait…”: Нехай вони чекають біля входу. For yourself: “Let me wait” is possible (Нехай я почекаю), but people more often say Я почекаю or a polite request like Дозвольте мені почекати.

Can I change the word order?

Yes, Ukrainian allows flexible word order for emphasis:

Нехай вона чекає біля входу (neutral).
Нехай чекає вона біля входу (emphasizes “she”).
Біля входу нехай вона чекає (fronts the location). Meaning stays the same; rhythm/emphasis changes.

Any pronunciation tips?

Нехай: [ne-hai], with harsh х like German “Bach.”
чекає: [che-KA-ye]; the final є is “ye.”
вхід/входу: the вх cluster is [vh]; don’t insert a vowel between them.
біля: і is a clear “ee.”

Is there a more explicitly polite way to convey the same idea?

Yes, for example:

Будь ласка, попросіть її почекати біля входу. (Please ask her to wait by the entrance.)
Будь ласка, скажіть їй чекати біля входу. (Please tell her to wait by the entrance.) These sound less curt than a bare “Let her wait.”

Could I say “by the door” instead of “by the entrance”?

Yes, that’s біля дверей (genitive plural). So: Нехай вона чекає біля дверей. This is used if you mean the physical door rather than the broader entrance area.