Learn Hardcore Ukrainian: Мені вже не так страшно, коли я бачу знайоме обличчя. - I am not so scared anymore when I see a familiar face.

So мені (dative of я) shows who is experiencing the feeling, but the sentence has no explicit grammatical subject like “I” or “it”. The main “predicate” is the word страшно (scary), which behaves like a special predicative adverb.

Your sentence follows this pattern:

Мені вже не так страшно… – It’s not so scary for me anymore… / I’m not so scared anymore…

Using я instead would change the structure:

Я боюся. – I am afraid.
Я вже не так боюся. – I’m not so afraid anymore.

Both are correct, but мені страшно sounds more neutral and is very common for feelings (cold, hot, sad, scary, etc.).

What exactly does вже add to the sentence? How is it different from not using it?

Вже roughly corresponds to English “already / anymore / now”, depending on context.

In this sentence:

Мені вже не так страшно…
implies a change over time: I used to be more scared, but now I’m not so scared anymore.

Without вже:

Мені не так страшно, коли я бачу знайоме обличчя.
Simply states a fact, without clearly highlighting the contrast with the past.

So вже emphasizes that the speaker’s emotional state has improved compared to before.

Note: вже and уже are variants of the same word; вже is more common in modern Ukrainian.

What does не так страшно literally mean, and why use так here?

Literally, не так страшно means “not so scary” or “not that scary”.

так = “so, that (degree)”
страшно = “scary / frightening” (in this predicative sense)

So:

так страшно – so scary / that scary
не так страшно – not so scary / not that scary

It expresses a reduced degree of fear. In English, we often say:

I’m not so scared anymore.
It’s not that scary now.

You could also say in Ukrainian:

Мені не дуже страшно. – I’m not very scared.
Мені вже не настільки страшно. – I’m not that scared anymore.

All are similar, but не так страшно feels quite natural and conversational.

What part of speech is страшно here? Is it an adverb or an adjective?

In Мені страшно, страшно is a predicative adverb (also sometimes called a category-of-state word).

Key points:

It looks like an adverb (ends in -о).
It doesn’t describe how someone does something, but rather the state they are in.
It functions as the central part of the predicate (like “cold” in I am cold).

Compare:

Мені страшно. – I am scared / It’s scary for me.
Мені сумно. – I am sad.
Мені жарко. – I’m hot (overheated).
Мені холодно. – I’m cold.

So, although formally similar to an adverb, it behaves more like a “short predicate adjective” tied to a person’s state.

How is Мені страшно different in feel from Я боюся?

Both express fear, but with slightly different nuances and style:

Мені страшно.
- Neutral, very common for emotional/physical states.
- Focuses on the state/feeling itself.
- Often sounds a bit more immediate and emotional: I feel scared.
Я боюся. – I’m afraid / I fear (something).
- Grammatically more like English “I fear / I’m afraid”.
- Often used when you fear something specific (with an object or clause):
  - Я боюся темряви. – I’m afraid of the dark.
  - Я боюся, що спізнюся. – I’m afraid I’ll be late.

In your sentence, using the impersonal pattern:

Мені вже не так страшно, коли я бачу знайоме обличчя.

feels very natural and conversational.

Why is there a comma before коли in …страшно, коли я бачу…?

In Ukrainian, subordinate clauses introduced by conjunctions like коли (when), що (that), як (how), etc., are usually separated by a comma.

Here:

Main (matrix) part: Мені вже не так страшно
Subordinate clause of time/condition: коли я бачу знайоме обличчя

So you must write:

Мені вже не так страшно, коли я бачу знайоме обличчя.

This is similar to English in a sentence like:

I’m not so scared anymore, when I see a familiar face.

If you flip the order, you still keep the comma:

Коли я бачу знайоме обличчя, мені вже не так страшно.

Can I drop я and just say коли бачу знайоме обличчя?

Yes, that is perfectly natural Ukrainian.

Коли я бачу знайоме обличчя…
– more explicit, slightly more formal.
Коли бачу знайоме обличчя…
– more concise, very natural in speech and writing.

Ukrainian often omits subject pronouns when the meaning is clear from the verb ending:

бачу clearly indicates 1st person singular, so я is optional.

So both:

Мені вже не так страшно, коли я бачу знайоме обличчя.
Мені вже не так страшно, коли бачу знайоме обличчя.

are correct, with almost no difference in meaning.

Why is it коли я бачу, not коли я побачу? What’s the difference?

The difference is mainly aspect and time reference.

бачу – imperfective present: describes a repeated, ongoing, or general situation.
побачу – perfective future: one-time, completed action in the future.

In your sentence:

коли я бачу знайоме обличчя
= whenever I see a familiar face, generally / habitually; it describes a typical situation.

If you said:

Мені буде не так страшно, коли я побачу знайоме обличчя.
= I won’t be so scared when I (finally) see a familiar face.
This refers to one particular future moment.

So, бачу is correct here because the sentence talks about what typically happens any time the speaker sees a familiar face.

What case is знайоме обличчя, and how can I tell?

Обличчя is a neuter noun, and in the singular its nominative and accusative forms are identical: обличчя.

In this sentence, обличчя is the direct object of бачу (“I see”), so grammatically it is in the accusative case.

The adjective знайоме agrees with it:

знайоме – neuter, singular, nominative/accusative form of знайомий.

So the phrase is:

(Я) бачу (що?) знайоме обличчя.
Verb + direct object in the accusative.

You know it’s object (accusative), not subject (nominative), from the sentence structure and the presence of the verb бачу with an implied subject я.

Why is it знайоме, not знайомий or знайома?

Because adjectives in Ukrainian must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

обличчя is neuter singular.
The matching form of знайомий for neuter singular (nom/acc) is знайоме.

So:

знайомий чоловік – familiar man (masculine)
знайома жінка – familiar woman (feminine)
знайоме обличчя – familiar face (neuter)

All three are in the nominative/accusative singular, but the endings change to show gender agreement.

Can I put the adjective after the noun, like обличчя знайоме, in this sentence?

In this specific sentence, no; you should not split it like that.

Я бачу знайоме обличчя. – normal order (adjective before noun) for a simple noun phrase.

If you say:

Я бачу обличчя знайоме.

this sounds unusual or poetic, and even then, it tends to be interpreted as:

Я бачу обличчя, (яке) знайоме. – I see a face that is familiar. (with more emphasis, almost like a relative clause)

In everyday speech and neutral prose, descriptive adjectives usually go before the noun:

знайоме обличчя, нову машину, цікаву книгу, etc.

Is it okay to switch the two parts: Коли я бачу знайоме обличчя, мені вже не так страшно?

Yes, that’s completely correct, and actually quite common:

Мені вже не так страшно, коли я бачу знайоме обличчя.
Коли я бачу знайоме обличчя, мені вже не так страшно.

Both word orders are natural. The difference is just which part you emphasize or foreground:

Starting with Мені вже не так страшно… puts focus on the change in your feeling.
Starting with Коли я бачу… puts focus on the condition/situation that reduces your fear.

Grammatically, both are fine; it’s mostly stylistic.

Is обличчя always neuter and does it have any tricky forms?

Yes, обличчя is a neuter noun.

Singular:

Nominative/Accusative: обличчя
Genitive: обличчя
Dative: обличчю
Instrumental: обличчям
Locative: на обличчі

Plural:

Nominative/Accusative: обличчя
Genitive: облич (or обличь in some styles, but облич is standard)
Dative: обличчям
Instrumental: обличчями
Locative: на обличчях

The main “trick” is that some forms are the same in singular and plural, especially обличчя (can be both sg. and pl. in nominative/accusative); context usually tells you which it is.

In your sentence, it’s clearly singular, because the adjective знайоме is singular.