Imperative Mood in Ukrainian

In Brief

Ukrainian uses the imperative mood (a verb form for commands and requests) mainly in three forms: informal singular пиши “write,” first-person plural пишімо “let’s write,” and plural or polite пишіть “write.” Put не before the same form for a negative command, and soften requests with будь ласка or прошу.

Overview

The Ukrainian imperative, наказовий спосіб, lets you tell someone what to do, ask them to do something, give instructions, offer encouragement, or suggest an action together. It covers much more than sharp orders. Заходьте! can be a warm “Come in!”, while Вибачте is the everyday word for “Excuse me” or “Sorry.” Tone, context, and polite expressions determine how forceful a form sounds.

This is introduced around B1 because you need to choose both the person and the appropriate verb form. Ukrainian distinguishes an informal command to one person, a command to several people or one politely addressed person, and a “let’s” form. English usually leaves these distinctions unmarked: “write” can address one or many people, and English needs “let’s” for a joint suggestion.

You will also meet aspect (the way a verb presents an action as an ongoing process, repeated activity, or completed result). Compare пиши “write / be writing” with напиши “write it / get it written.” The basic endings are manageable; choosing an aspect and the right degree of politeness is what makes an imperative sound natural.

How It Works

The three core forms

Ukrainian imperatives do not normally state ти “you, singular” or ви “you, plural/polite.” The verb ending already identifies the addressee.

Person addressed	Main function	Typical endings	Example
2nd-person singular	one person addressed informally	-и, -й, or no vowel ending	пиши, читай, стань
1st-person plural	speaker and others: “let’s …”	-імо or -мо	пишімо, читаймо, станьмо
2nd-person plural/polite	several people, or one person addressed as Ви	-іть, -йте, or -те	пишіть, читайте, станьте

The three rows form families. Once you know the singular imperative, the two other forms are often predictable:

Informal singular	“Let’s …”	Plural or polite	Meaning
пиши	пишімо	пишіть	write
говори	говорімо	говоріть	speak
читай	читаймо	читайте	read
працюй	працюймо	працюйте	work
стань	станьмо	станьте	stand / become
сядь	сядьмо	сядьте	sit down

Pattern 1: forms in -и

Many verbs have -и in the informal singular. Their corresponding endings are -імо and -іть:

• писати → пиши — пишімо — пишіть
• говорити → говори — говорімо — говоріть
• робити → роби — робімо — робіть
• нести → неси — несімо — несіть

This pattern is especially common when -и is stressed, as in роби́, and in stems whose sound structure calls for a pronounced ending. Present-tense forms can help reveal stem changes: пишу, пишеш points toward пиши, not a form made by simply cutting -ти from писати.

Pattern 2: forms in -й

When the imperative stem ends in a vowel, -й is common. Add -мо and -те to make the other forms:

• читати → читай — читаймо — читайте
• слухати → слухай — слухаймо — слухайте
• працювати → працюй — працюймо — працюйте
• мріяти → мрій — мріймо — мрійте

Do not treat -ай as the universal Ukrainian imperative ending. It belongs to verbs whose stem and conjugation produce that pattern; писати gives пиши, not писай.

Pattern 3: no final vowel

Some singular imperatives end directly in a consonant, often written with ь. Add -мо or -те:

• стати → стань — станьмо — станьте
• сісти → сядь — сядьмо — сядьте
• кинути → кинь — киньмо — киньте
• різати → ріж — ріжмо — ріжте

The consonant may differ from the infinitive because Ukrainian verbs can change sounds within their paradigm (their set of related forms). For that reason, learn a new verb with its informal and polite imperative rather than relying only on the infinitive.

Important irregular and high-frequency forms

Infinitive	Informal singular	“Let’s …”	Plural or polite	Meaning
бути	будь	будьмо	будьте	be
дати	дай	даймо	дайте	give
їсти	їж	їжмо	їжте	eat
пити	пий	пиймо	пийте	drink
іти	іди	ідімо / ходімо	ідіть	go
взяти	візьми	візьмімо	візьміть	take

Ходімо! is the very common invitation “Let’s go!” Learn it as a whole expression. Ідімо is also possible, while ідіть is the normal plural or polite command “go.”

Reflexive verbs

A reflexive verb has -ся or -сь, a short element that shows that the action relates back to the subject or belongs to a reflexive construction. Keep it attached to the imperative:

• одягатися → одягайся / одягайтеся “get dressed”
• сідати → сідай / сідайте “sit down”
• зупинитися → зупинися / зупиніться “stop”
• не хвилюватися → не хвилюйся / не хвилюйтеся “don’t worry”

Notice зупиніться, where the polite/plural ending comes before -ся. Do not separate ся as though it were an English object pronoun.

Negative commands

Put не immediately before the imperative. The verb itself remains imperative:

• Не говори так швидко. — “Don’t speak so quickly.”
• Не забудьте документи. — “Don’t forget the documents.”
• Не хвилюймося. — “Let’s not worry.”

Unlike English, Ukrainian does not need a separate equivalent of “do” in “don’t.” The pattern is simply не + imperative.

Making a request polite

The plural form also addresses one person politely because Ukrainian Ви serves as both plural “you” and respectful singular “you.” Add будь ласка “please” or прошу “please / I ask you” when appropriate:

• Повторіть, будь ласка. — “Please repeat that.”
• Сідайте, прошу. — “Please sit down.”
• Будь ласка, зачекайте тут. — “Please wait here.”

Будь ласка can come before or after the request and is normally set off with a comma. Прошу often sounds welcoming or courteously invitational in phrases such as Прошу, заходьте.

Examples in Context

Ukrainian	English	Note
Пиши!	Write!	Informal singular; -и pattern
Говоріть повільніше, будь ласка.	Please speak more slowly.	Polite or plural request
Ходімо!	Let’s go!	Common joint invitation
Сідайте, прошу.	Please sit down.	Courteous invitation
Прочитай повідомлення й відповідай.	Read the message and reply.	Informal sequence of instructions
Відкрийте підручники на десятій сторінці.	Open your textbooks to page ten.	Teacher addressing a class
Не забудь подзвонити мамі.	Don’t forget to call Mom.	Informal negative command
Не переходьте дорогу тут.	Do not cross the road here.	Public instruction; plural/polite form
Будь обережний!	Be careful!	Addressing one man or boy informally
Будьте обережні!	Be careful!	Several people or polite address
Давайте почнемо з першого питання.	Let’s start with the first question.	Common conversational proposal
Зачекай на мене біля входу.	Wait for me by the entrance.	Informal singular
Візьміть чек із собою.	Take the receipt with you.	Polite practical instruction
Не хвилюймося завчасно.	Let’s not worry in advance.	Negative first-person plural
Нехай Олена вирішить сама.	Let Olena decide for herself.	Third-person wish or instruction

Common Mistakes

Using the informal singular with a stranger

• Wrong: Покажи мені паспорт. (to an official or unfamiliar adult)
• Right: Покажіть мені паспорт, будь ласка.
• Why: Покажи addresses one person as ти. For respectful singular Ви, use the same -іть/-йте/-те form used for several people.

Building every imperative with -ай

• Wrong: Писай мені завтра.
• Right: Пиши мені завтра.
• Why: English gives no clue about Ukrainian stem classes. Читай follows the -й pattern, but писати has пиши. Learn the imperative with each verb.

Copying an English “don’t” structure

• Wrong: Не робиш цього! when giving a command
• Right: Не роби цього!
• Why: Не робиш is an ordinary present-tense statement or question, roughly “you are not doing.” A command needs не + imperative.

Forgetting agreement after будь

• Wrong: Будь обережні! to one friend
• Right: Будь обережний! to a man, Будь обережна! to a woman
• Why: An adjective after будь agrees with the person addressed. With plural or polite будьте, use plural обережні.

Losing -ся in a reflexive verb

• Wrong: Не хвилюй! for “Don’t worry!”
• Right: Не хвилюйся!
• Why: Хвилюватися means “to worry,” but хвилювати without -ся means “to disturb, excite, or agitate” something or someone.

Choosing aspect without considering the intended result

• Awkward in many one-time contexts: Пиши адресу тут.
• Natural for a completed result: Напиши адресу тут.
• Why: Писати focuses on the activity or repeated writing; perfective написати presents the requested writing as one completed task.

Usage Notes

Commands are not always commanding

A bare imperative can sound abrupt if the context does not make the relationship clear, but it is also normal in friendly encouragement and routine hospitality. Заходь!, Сідай!, and Бери ще! may be warm invitations among friends. In customer service, professional communication, or conversation with an unfamiliar adult, prefer the Ви form and often add будь ласка.

Intonation matters. The same Послухай can mean a firm “Listen!” or a gentle “Look, hear me out.” Written exclamation marks increase the apparent force, so a period may suit a neutral written instruction: Натисніть кнопку «Далі».

ти versus Ви

English has only one modern pronoun “you,” so English-speaking learners must make a social choice that their own verb system usually avoids. Use singular ти forms with friends, family, children, and people with whom informal address has been established. Use Ви forms for several people and commonly for respectful address to one adult. Norms vary by setting and generation, but matching the other speaker’s established form is usually safest.

The pronoun itself is normally omitted. Add it for contrast or emphasis: Ти читай, а я приготую вечерю “You read, and I’ll make dinner.” In respectful correspondence, singular Ви is often capitalized; the imperative ending does not change.

Aspect changes the kind of request

An imperfective verb presents an activity as ongoing, repeated, general, or already expected. A perfective verb presents it as a bounded action with a result.

Imperfective	Perfective	Typical contrast
читай	прочитай	read / keep reading vs read through or finish reading
пиши	напиши	write as an activity vs produce a completed text
відчиняй	відчини	be opening / open regularly vs open now
розповідай	розкажи	go on, tell me vs tell the story as a whole

The imperfective can invite continuation: Розповідай! means “Go on, tell me.” The perfective Розкажи, що сталося asks for a complete account of what happened. This is a meaning contrast, not a rigid equation of imperfective with polite and perfective with rude.

With negative commands, aspect can also shape the message. Не роби так warns against an activity or habit (“Don’t do that”), while не забудь uses a perfective verb because the speaker wants one result: remembering. Real usage depends on the verb and context, so learn frequent negative phrases as units rather than applying an absolute rule.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

Referring to a third person

Ukrainian has no ordinary third-person imperative ending parallel to пиши or пишіть. To express “let him/her/them …,” use хай or нехай plus a third-person present or perfective-future form:

• Нехай він зачекає. — “Let him wait.”
• Хай діти граються. — “Let the children play.”
• Нехай вони не запізнюються. — “They should not be late / Let them not be late.”

Depending on tone, these constructions can express permission, a wish, acceptance, or an indirect instruction. Хай буде так means “Let it be so.”

Conversational “let’s” with давайте

Alongside a true first-person-plural imperative such as почнімо, modern Ukrainian commonly uses давайте followed by a first-person-plural verb or, in some contexts, an infinitive:

• Давайте почнемо. — “Let’s begin.”
• Давайте обговоримо це завтра. — “Let’s discuss it tomorrow.”

The compact почнімо is fully standard and useful in speeches, instructions, and deliberate proposals. Давайте почнемо is extremely common in conversation. In careful usage, avoid piling up two equivalent imperative markers in forms such as давайте почнімо; choose почнімо or давайте почнемо.

Imperatives used as fixed expressions

Some forms have developed routine conversational roles:

• Вибач / вибачте — “sorry,” “excuse me”
• Скажи / скажіть, будь ласка… — “Tell me, please…” or a polite way to introduce a question
• Дивись / дивіться — literally “look,” also used to direct attention
• Уяви / уявіть собі — “imagine”
• Майте на увазі — “bear in mind”

These still have imperative grammar, but speakers may process them as discourse formulas rather than literal orders.

Formal instructions and the infinitive

Signs, regulations, recipes, and official instructions may use an infinitive instead of addressing the reader directly: Не входити “Do not enter,” Зберігати в сухому місці “Store in a dry place.” This style is impersonal and authoritative. A direct imperative—Не входьте, Зберігайте—addresses the reader more explicitly and often feels more conversational.

Practice Tips

1. Learn verbs in sets of three. For each useful infinitive, say the informal, “let’s,” and polite/plural forms aloud: читай — читаймо — читайте. Include one -и, one -й, and one consonant-ending verb in each practice round.
2. Rewrite one instruction for different relationships. Change Зачекай тут into Зачекайте тут, будь ласка and Зачекаймо тут. This trains person and register together instead of treating endings as an isolated chart.
3. Pair aspects in realistic mini-scenes. Contrast Читай далі “Keep reading” with Прочитай цей лист “Read this letter through.” Listening for such pairs in Ukrainian videos will teach when native speakers care about process and when they care about a result.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Present Tense (Conjugation I) — helps you recognize verb stems and the sound changes that also appear in imperative forms.