Кіготь маленький.

In Ukrainian, the present-tense verb to be is usually omitted in simple sentences like this.

So:

• Кіготь маленький = The claw is small

Literally, it is just claw small, but Ukrainian speakers naturally understand it as is small.

Using є here would usually sound unnatural in everyday speech. In this kind of sentence, leaving out is is the normal pattern.

Because here маленький is not just part of a noun phrase; it is the predicate adjective.

Compare:

• маленький кіготь = a small claw
• Кіготь маленький = The claw is small

So the sentence is not simply naming an object; it is saying something about the object.

English uses is to show that relationship. Ukrainian often shows it with word order and context, without a present-tense verb.

Кіготь is:

• singular
• nominative case
• masculine

It is the subject of the sentence.

A useful thing for English speakers to notice: even though the word ends in ь (the soft sign), it is still masculine, not feminine.

The ending -ий shows that the adjective agrees with кіготь.

Since кіготь is:

• masculine
• singular
• nominative

the adjective must also be:

• masculine
• singular
• nominative

So you get:

• маленький

For comparison:

• masculine: маленький
• feminine: маленька
• neuter: маленьке
• plural: маленькі

A rough pronunciation guide is:

• кіготь ≈ KEE-hohtʹ
• маленький ≈ MA-len-kyy

A few helpful notes:

• і sounds like ee in see
• г in Ukrainian is usually like a soft voiced h, not a hard English g
• ь is the soft sign; it does not make its own sound, but it softens the consonant before it
• the -кий ending is pronounced with a clear k plus a Ukrainian y-like vowel sound

The ь is called the soft sign.

It does not represent a separate vowel or consonant. Instead, it makes the previous consonant sound softer.

So in кіготь, the final т is softened.

This is important in Ukrainian pronunciation, because soft vs. hard consonants can matter.

Usually кіготь means a claw or talon, especially for animals or birds.

For a human nail, Ukrainian more commonly uses ніготь.

So a learner should usually think:

• кіготь = claw, talon
• ніготь = fingernail, toenail

They are related-looking words, so they are easy to confuse.

Ukrainian has no articles, so there is no direct equivalent of English a/an/the.

That means кіготь can mean:

• a claw
• the claw

The exact meaning depends on context.

In an isolated example like Кіготь маленький, English often uses the claw is small or a claw is small, depending on the situation.