Learn Hardcore Ukrainian: Коли я повторюю нові слова, мені не так страшно говорити. - When I repeat new words, it is not so scary for me to speak.

Коли я повторюю нові слова = When / Whenever I review new words
It describes a repeated, typical situation, so in English “when I…” or “whenever I…” both work.
If you wanted a clear conditional “if”, Ukrainian would usually use якщо:
- Якщо я повторюю нові слова, мені не так страшно говорити. = If I review new words, it’s not so scary for me to speak.

Why is it повторюю and not a form like повторю? What’s going on with aspect here?

Повторюю is the present tense of the imperfective verb повторювати (to repeat, to review again and again).

Повторюю (imperfective) = I repeat / I review (an ongoing or habitual action).
The perfective partner is повторити:
- Я повторю слова. = I will repeat the words (once, completely).

In this sentence we’re talking about a habitual action (“when I (usually) review new words”), so Ukrainian uses the imperfective present: повторюю. Using повторю (future perfective) would sound more like “when I (have) repeated them (that time)…”, focusing on a single completed action.

How do нові and слова agree grammatically? Why that form of the adjective?

Нові слова shows normal adjective–noun agreement:

слово = word (neuter, singular)
слова = words (neuter, plural, accusative here because it’s the direct object)
новий = new (masc./neut. singular base form)
нові = plural form used for both masculine and neuter in nominative and accusative (for inanimate nouns)

So we get:

нові – plural
слова – plural

Both are plural accusative, and the adjective agrees with the noun in number and case.

Why is there a comma after слова?

The sentence has two clauses:

Коли я повторюю нові слова – subordinate clause introduced by коли
мені не так страшно говорити – main clause

In Ukrainian, a clause introduced by коли is always separated by a comma from the main clause:

Коли я повторюю нові слова, мені не так страшно говорити.
Or reversed: Мені не так страшно говорити, коли я повторюю нові слова.

The comma marks the boundary between the time clause and the main statement.

Why is it мені and not я? What is this dative construction?

Мені is the dative case of я (I → to me).

Ukrainian often expresses feelings or states with an “impersonal + dative” structure:

Мені страшно. = I’m scared. (literally: To me, it is scary.)
Мені холодно. = I’m cold.
Мені сумно. = I feel sad.

So in the sentence:

Мені не так страшно говорити.
- Literally: To me, it is not so scary to speak.
- Natural English: I don’t feel so scared to speak / It’s not so scary for me to speak.

The dative marks the experiencer of the feeling. You would not say *Я страшно говорити; you either say Мені страшно говорити or use another verb like Я боюся говорити (I’m afraid to speak).

What kind of word is страшно here? Why not страшний?

Страшно here is a predicative adverb (or “impersonal predicate form”), formed from the adjective страшний (scary).

страшний – adjective: a scary film = страшний фільм
страшно – predicative form: it is scary = страшно

When you say “It is scary” in Ukrainian, you typically use страшно, not the adjective:

Мені страшно. = I’m scared / It’s scary for me.
Тут страшно. = It’s scary here.

In the sentence, страшно is the core of the predicate:
мені (датив) + не так страшно (predicate) + говорити (infinitive).

What nuance does не так страшно add compared with just не страшно or не дуже страшно?

All three are slightly different:

не так страшно
- Literally: not so scary / not that scary.
- Implies a comparison (with before, with another situation, etc.):
  - It’s not as scary (as it used to be / as I thought).
- Roughly: “less scary” or “not that scary.”
не страшно
- Not scary (at all).
- Suggests no fear, or very little.
не дуже страшно
- Not very scary.
- A bit more neutral and quantitative: there is some fear, but not much.

In context, не так страшно suggests that repeating new words reduces the fear; speaking is still scary, but less than before / less than without preparation.

Could you say так не страшно instead of не так страшно? Does the word order matter?

The default and most natural phrase in this meaning is не так страшно.

не так страшно = not so scary / not that scary (fixed comparative pattern: не так + adverb/adjective).

Так не страшно can exist, but it usually has different emphasis and needs context, often with a demonstrative like там / тут / отак:

Там так не страшно. – It’s really not scary there like that. (focus on “in that way / there”.)

Alone, так не страшно without context sounds odd or incomplete. For the meaning in your sentence, you really want не так страшно.

Why is говорити in the infinitive form? Could it be a finite verb instead?

After мені страшно / мені не так страшно, Ukrainian normally uses an infinitive to show what action is scary:

Мені страшно говорити. – I’m scared to speak.
Мені страшно їхати туди. – I’m scared to go there.

So in мені не так страшно говорити, the infinitive говорити is governed by the predicate страшно, expressing “to speak is (not so) scary for me.”

You could make a different sentence with a finite verb:

Коли я говорю, мені страшно. – When I speak, I’m scared.

But that shifts the structure: now говорю is its own verb, and страшно just describes your state while speaking, rather than “speaking” being the thing that is scary.

Why is говорити used here and not something like сказати or розмовляти?

These verbs are related but not identical:

говорити – to speak, to talk (in general, to produce speech or speak a language)
- говорити українською – to speak Ukrainian
розмовляти – to converse, to have a conversation (more about interactive talk)
- розмовляти з людьми – to talk with people
сказати (perfective) – to say (something once), to tell
- сказати слово / фразу – to say a word / phrase

In your sentence, the idea is about speaking in general, e.g. speaking a foreign language out loud, so говорити is the most natural verb.

Can the subject я be omitted in Коли я повторюю нові слова?

Yes. Ukrainian is pro‑drop (subject pronouns can often be omitted because the verb ending shows the person):

Коли повторюю нові слова, мені не так страшно говорити.

This is grammatically correct and natural.

Including я:

adds clarity in some contexts, and
can add a bit of emphasis: when *I review new words…* (possibly contrasting with others).

In everyday speech, both with and without я are common.

Why is the plural of слово “слова” and not something like “словИ”?

Слово is a neuter noun with a slightly irregular-looking plural:

Singular: слово – word
Plural: слова – words

This follows a common neuter pattern in Ukrainian where -о often becomes -а in the plural:

вікно → вікна – window → windows
місто → міста – city → cities
слово → слова – word → words

So слова is the normal, correct plural form; there is no *словИ.

Can the word order be changed, for example: Мені не так страшно говорити, коли я повторюю нові слова?

Yes. Ukrainian word order is quite flexible, and this alternative is very natural:

Коли я повторюю нові слова, мені не так страшно говорити.
Мені не так страшно говорити, коли я повторюю нові слова.

Both mean the same thing. The second version:

starts with the main idea “It’s not so scary for me to speak”,
and then adds the condition “when I review new words.”

The comma is still required, because the коли‑clause is subordinate in either position.