Губа суха.

In Ukrainian, the verb to be is usually left out in the present tense in simple statements like this.

So:

• Губа суха = The lip is dry

This is completely normal Ukrainian.
You usually do not say є here.

Compare:

• Губа суха = The lip is dry
• Губа була суха = The lip was dry
• Губа буде суха = The lip will be dry

So the missing is is not really missing from a Ukrainian point of view; it is just normally omitted.

Because суха has to agree with губа in gender, number, and case.

Губа is:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative

So the adjective must also be feminine singular nominative:

• masculine: сухий
• feminine: суха
• neuter: сухе
• plural: сухі

That is why Губа суха is correct.

It is nominative singular.

In a sentence like Губа суха, губа is the subject, so nominative is what you expect.

A learner can often recognize this form because many feminine nouns in the dictionary form end in -а or -я.

So here:

• dictionary form: губа
• case in the sentence: nominative
• number: singular

Great question. Ukrainian adjectives do often come before nouns when they are part of a noun phrase:

• суха губа = a dry lip

But in Губа суха, the adjective comes after the noun because it is not just describing the noun inside a phrase; it is acting as the predicate of the sentence.

So there is an important difference:

• суха губа = dry lip
• губа суха = the lip is dry

English shows this difference partly with word order and partly with the verb is.
Ukrainian often shows it with word order and by omitting the present-tense to be.

Yes, but it usually means something different.

• Суха губа is most naturally a noun phrase: a dry lip or dry lip
• Губа суха is a complete sentence: The lip is dry

In real speech, intonation and context can sometimes blur the line, but for a learner it is best to keep this distinction in mind:

• adjective + noun → usually a phrase
• noun + adjective → can function as a statement like X is Y

The stress is:

• губа́
• суха́

So roughly:

• hu-BA su-KHA

A few pronunciation notes:

• Ukrainian г is usually pronounced like a voiced h sound, not like English hard g
• у sounds like oo in food, but shorter
• х is like the ch in Scottish loch or German Bach
• both words are stressed on the last syllable

So a rough English-friendly approximation is:

hu-BA su-KHA

Губа is singular, so it means lip.

If you mean lips, you would normally use the plural:

• Губи сухі = The lips are dry

This matters because English often talks about lips in the plural, while your Ukrainian sentence is specifically singular.

So:

• губа = lip
• губи = lips

Ukrainian has no articles like English a/an and the.

So Губа суха could mean:

• The lip is dry
• A lip is dry

In practice, the context tells you which meaning is intended.

This is very normal in Ukrainian. Learners coming from English often want a direct equivalent of the or a, but Ukrainian simply does not require one.

Then you do use a form of бути (to be).

For example:

• Губа була суха = The lip was dry
• Губа буде суха = The lip will be dry

Notice that in the past tense, була is feminine singular, agreeing with губа.

So the pattern is:

• present: Губа суха
• past: Губа була суха
• future: Губа буде суха

Grammatically, it is perfectly normal.
But in everyday English, people are often more likely to talk about lips in the plural, and Ukrainian can do that too:

• Губи сухі = The lips are dry

Still, Губа суха is absolutely valid if you are talking about one lip specifically, for example in a medical or descriptive context.