Книга лежить на полиці.

A good approximate pronunciation is:

KNY-ha le-ZHYT na po-LY-tsi

A few helpful sound notes:

• книга = KNY-ha
  • г in Ukrainian sounds like a soft h, not a hard g.
  • и is not exactly English ee or ih; it is somewhere in between.
• лежить = le-ZHYT
  • ж sounds like the s in measure.
• полиці = po-LY-tsi
  • ці sounds like tsi.

If you want to mark the stress, it is:

Кни́га лежи́ть на поли́ці.

Because Ukrainian does not have articles like English a/an and the.

So:

• книга can mean a book or the book
• the exact meaning depends on context

In this sentence, English would often translate it as The book is lying on the shelf or A book is lying on the shelf, depending on the situation.

Лежить is the 3rd person singular present form of лежати, which means to lie or to be lying.

So Книга лежить literally means:

• The book lies
• or more naturally in English: The book is lying

In Ukrainian, verbs like лежати (to lie), стояти (to stand), and сидіти (to sit) are often used where English might just say is.

So instead of a very general The book is on the shelf, Ukrainian often prefers the more physical idea:

• Книга лежить на полиці = The book is lying on the shelf

Because after на when you are talking about a location (where something is), Ukrainian uses the locative case.

Here:

• dictionary form: полиця = shelf
• locative singular: на полиці = on the shelf

So:

• на полиці = location, no movement
• на полиця is not correct

This is a very common pattern:

• у школі = in school
• на столі = on the table
• на полиці = on the shelf

This is an important case difference:

• на полиці = on the shelf as a location
• на полицю = onto the shelf as a destination

So:

• Книга лежить на полиці. = The book is lying on the shelf.
• Я кладу книгу на полицю. = I am putting the book onto the shelf.

A simple way to remember it:

• Where? → usually locative: на полиці
• Where to? → often accusative: на полицю

Because the subject книга is singular.

• книга = book (singular)
• лежить = lies / is lying (3rd person singular)

If the subject were plural, the verb would change:

• Книги лежать на полиці. = The books are lying on the shelf.

So the verb agrees with the subject in number.

Not in the present tense form лежить.

In the present tense, Ukrainian verbs show person and number, but not gender. So:

• книга лежить
• стіл лежить would also use лежить if it made sense semantically
• вікно лежить would still use лежить

But in the past tense, gender does matter:

• книга лежала = the book was lying
• стіл лежав = the table was lying
• вікно лежало = the window was lying

So in this sentence, the feminine noun книга does not change the present-tense verb form.

Yes. Ukrainian word order is fairly flexible.

The neutral, straightforward order is:

• Книга лежить на полиці.

But you can change it for emphasis:

• На полиці лежить книга. = emphasis on where it is
• Лежить книга на полиці. = possible, but more marked or stylistic

So the original sentence is the most neutral and beginner-friendly version, but other orders are possible depending on focus.

Ukrainian often chooses verbs based on the physical position of the object.

• лежить = is lying, resting flat/horizontally
• стоїть = is standing, upright/vertical

A book usually лежить if it is flat on a shelf.

But if a book is upright, like books lined up in a bookcase, speakers may say it стоїть.

So both can be possible depending on the actual position:

• Книга лежить на полиці. = the book is lying flat on the shelf
• Книга стоїть на полиці. = the book is standing upright on the shelf

Yes, often you can.

• книга = the standard neutral word for book
• книжка = also book, but often feels a bit more everyday, familiar, or slightly diminutive

So:

• Книга лежить на полиці.
• Книжка лежить на полиці.

Both are natural. The first is more neutral and dictionary-like; the second can sound a little warmer or more conversational.