Язик у роті.

Because Ukrainian usually omits the present-tense verb to be.

So Язик у роті is understood as The tongue is in the mouth, even though there is no separate word for is.

This is very normal in Ukrainian:

• Книга на столі = The book is on the table
• Мама вдома = Mom is at home

So this sentence is not incomplete; it is a perfectly normal Ukrainian structure.

Because у here means in in the sense of location, so the noun рот takes the locative case.

• dictionary form: рот = mouth
• locative singular: у роті = in the mouth

Compare:

• у роті = in the mouth; location
• в рот = into the mouth; motion/direction

So:

• Язик у роті = the tongue is located in the mouth
• класти в рот = to put into the mouth

Роті is the locative singular form of рот.

The prepositions у and в often require:

• locative for being somewhere
• accusative for movement into somewhere

Here it is locative because the sentence describes where the tongue is.

A learner-friendly way to think of it:

• де? = where? → у роті
• куди? = where to? → в рот

In many cases, у and в both mean in or into. The choice is often made for ease of pronunciation and smooth sound.

After язик, using у sounds natural:

• язик у роті

Ukrainian often alternates у / в to avoid awkward sound combinations.

So the main idea is:

• у and в are often interchangeable in meaning
• the choice is frequently about euphony, not grammar alone

In this sentence, у is the more natural sounding option.

Here, язик means tongue, the body part.

Yes, historically and in some contexts язик can also mean language, but in modern standard Ukrainian:

• язик usually means tongue
• мова is the normal word for language

So in a sentence with у роті, the meaning is clearly tongue, because a tongue is in the mouth, not a language.

It can function as a full sentence, because Ukrainian allows sentences without an expressed present-tense to be.

Structurally, it is a simple statement:

• Язик = subject
• у роті = location

So it works as a complete sentence meaning The tongue is in the mouth.

That said, in a textbook or vocabulary list it might also appear almost like a label-style example, because it is short and very simple.

Yes. Ukrainian word order is fairly flexible, though different orders can change the focus or emphasis.

Neutral order:

• Язик у роті

Possible alternative:

• У роті язик

That second version is less neutral and would usually sound like you are emphasizing where the tongue is.

For most basic learning situations, Язик у роті is the safest and most neutral order.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

ya-ZYK u RO-ti

More precisely:

• язик = stress on the second syllable
• роті = stress on the first syllable

A few details:

• я sounds roughly like ya
• и in язик is not the English ee sound; it is a more central Ukrainian vowel
• ті in роті is softer than English tee

So:

• язик ≈ ya-ZYK
• у роті ≈ u RO-ti

Because Ukrainian nouns change their endings depending on their case.

The basic form is:

• рот = mouth

After у meaning in, the noun goes into the locative:

• у роті = in the mouth

So the ending changes to show its role in the sentence.

This kind of change is very common in Ukrainian:

• стіл → на столі
• сад → у саду
• рот → у роті

Yes, it is grammatically possible, but it is less neutral.

• Язик у роті is shorter and more natural as a simple statement
• У роті є язик explicitly includes є, which can sound more like There is a tongue in the mouth

So the version with є may feel more existential or emphatic, while the original sentence is the simpler, more typical pattern.