Будь ласка, говори спокійніше.

Говори is the informal singular imperative: you use it when speaking to one person in a casual or familiar way.

• говори = speak / talk (to one person, informal)
• говоріть = speak / talk (to more than one person, or to one person formally/politely)

So if you were addressing a stranger, an older person, or someone in a formal situation, you would usually say:

Будь ласка, говоріть спокійніше.

It comes from the verb говорити = to speak / to talk.

The form говори is the imperative, used to tell or ask someone to do something.

Very roughly:

• говорити = infinitive
• говори = informal singular command
• говоріть = formal/plural command

In this sentence, the imperative sounds like a request because it is softened by будь ласка.

Literally, будь means be, and ласка is related to kindness / favor. So historically it is something like be so kind.

In modern Ukrainian, though, you should usually just learn будь ласка as a fixed expression meaning:

• please
• sometimes also you’re welcome, depending on context

In this sentence, it works exactly like please.

Ukrainian often omits subject pronouns when they are clear from the verb form.

Here, говори already shows that the speaker is talking to you (informal singular), so there is no need to add ти.

If you did include ти, it would usually sound more emphatic:

Будь ласка, ти говори спокійніше.

That is not the neutral default version.

Спокійніше is a comparative form, meaning more calmly / more quietly / in a calmer way, depending on context.

It comes from спокійний = calm. In this sentence it functions adverbially, describing how someone should speak.

So the structure is basically:

• говори = speak
• спокійніше = more calmly

A natural English equivalent is often speak more calmly or speak more quietly/gently, depending on the situation.

The ending -іше is a common way to form the comparative in Ukrainian.

Compare:

• спокійно = calmly
• спокійніше = more calmly

This is similar to English calmly → more calmly, though Ukrainian often uses a single comparative form rather than a separate word like more.

You will see similar patterns in other words too.

Not exactly. Спокійніше is closer to:

• more calmly
• more gently
• less agitatedly

Depending on context, it can imply slower or less emotionally intense speech, but it does not directly mean more slowly.

If you specifically want to say more slowly, use:

Будь ласка, говори повільніше.

If you mean more quietly / less loudly, you might say:

Будь ласка, говори тихіше.

Because будь ласка is often treated as a parenthetical politeness expression, similar to English please when set off in speech.

So punctuation like this is common:

Будь ласка, говори спокійніше.

The comma helps show that будь ласка is not the main grammatical part of the sentence, but a polite addition.

It is polite enough in many everyday situations because of будь ласка, but the level of politeness also depends on the form говори, which is informal.

So:

• to a friend, family member, child, or someone you know well: this is normal
• to a stranger or in a formal setting: it may sound too direct or too familiar

A more polite/formal version would be:

Будь ласка, говоріть спокійніше.

An even softer version could be:

Будь ласка, можете говорити спокійніше?

The verb говорити is imperfective, and that fits well here because the speaker is asking about the manner of an ongoing action: speak more calmly.

The focus is not on completing one single act, but on how the person speaks. Imperfective imperatives are very common in this kind of request.

So the sentence is about adjusting the way the action happens, not about finishing a specific action.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

budʹ LA-ska, hovo-RY spo-KIY-ni-she

A few useful notes:

• г in Ukrainian is usually pronounced like a soft h, not a hard English g
• говори sounds roughly like hovo-RY
• спокійніше has the stressed -кій- part: spo-KIY-ni-she

If you want to sound natural, say it smoothly with polite intonation, not like a sharp command.