У нас вісім яблук.

Ukrainian very often expresses possession with у/в + someone in the genitive case.

So У нас вісім яблук literally means something like At our place / With us, [there are] eight apples, and in natural English that becomes We have eight apples.

This is one of the most common ways to say have in Ukrainian, even though Ukrainian also has the verb мати.

Because ми is the subject form, meaning we, but after the preposition у you need a different form.

Here, нас is the form used after у in this possession structure:

• ми = we
• у нас = at us / with us = we have

So you should learn у нас as a very common chunk meaning we have.

In a sense, yes: Ukrainian often leaves out the present-tense is/are idea that English requires.

So У нас вісім яблук is a complete sentence even without a verb written out.

You can also say У нас є вісім яблук, with є meaning there is/are, and that is also correct. But in everyday Ukrainian, leaving є out is very normal.

Because after вісім and most numbers from 5 upward, Ukrainian normally uses the genitive plural form of the noun.

The forms are:

• яблуко = apple
• яблука = apples / also the form used after 2, 3, 4
• яблук = genitive plural, used after 5+

So:

• два яблука = two apples
• три яблука = three apples
• чотири яблука = four apples
• вісім яблук = eight apples

That is why яблук is correct here.

A useful beginner rule is:

• 1 → singular: одне яблуко
• 2, 3, 4 → яблука
• 5 and higher → genitive plural: яблук

So:

• одне яблуко
• два яблука
• чотири яблука
• п’ять яблук
• вісім яблук

Later you will learn some extra details and exceptions, but this rule will serve you well for basic counting.

Yes, that is grammatical and understandable.

But У нас вісім яблук sounds more natural and idiomatic in many everyday situations.

A rough comparison:

• У нас вісім яблук = the common possession pattern
• Ми маємо вісім яблук = more direct, more like explicitly saying we possess eight apples

Both are correct, but learners should get very comfortable with у нас because it is extremely common.

У and в are two forms of the same preposition. Ukrainian switches between them mostly for ease of pronunciation and smooth sound.

So:

• У нас
• В нас

both can mean the same thing.

In this sentence, У нас is perfectly natural. You may also hear В нас in real speech. The choice often depends on the surrounding sounds and the speaker’s rhythm.

Yes. Ukrainian word order is more flexible than English word order.

У нас вісім яблук is a neutral, natural order.

But you could also hear:

• Вісім яблук у нас — puts more emphasis on eight apples
• У нас яблук вісім — more marked, often contrastive or conversational

So the basic meaning stays similar, but the emphasis changes.

A simple approximation is:

u nas VEE-sim YA-blook

A few helpful points:

• вісім is stressed on the first syllable: ВІсім
• яблук is stressed on the first syllable: Яблук
• я at the start of яблук sounds like ya

So the full sentence is roughly:

У нас ВІсім Яблук.

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

So яблуко, яблука, and яблук do not automatically tell you an apple, the apple, apples, or the apples. Context tells you that.

In У нас вісім яблук, the natural meaning is simply We have eight apples, without any article word being needed.