How words are built

After this page you will be able to recognise the most common building blocks of Ukrainian words: the suffixes that make a word “small” or affectionate, the prefixes that change the meaning and aspect of a verb, the suffixes that make nouns for people, actions and qualities, and the suffixes that make feminine job titles. Knowing these parts lets you guess many new words from ones you already know.

Diminutives: small and dear

Ukrainian uses diminutive suffixes a lot. They can mean that something is small, and they often show affection: the dictionary calls many of these words зменшувально-пестливі (diminutive and affectionate) [src: goroh-dictionary]. The word keeps its gender.

The orthography sets the spelling of several of these suffixes [src: pravopys-2026, §32]:

• -ик is written with и: бра́тик, ву́злик.
• -ечок, -ечк- are written with е (є after a vowel): міше́чок, рі́чечка, слове́чко, яє́чко.
• -ок loses its о in the other cases, and after a soft consonant it is written -ьок: деньо́к.
• -еньк- makes affectionate words: ба́тенько, ні́женька.

Adjectives with -еньк-

The same affectionate suffix appears in adjectives: мале́нький (little, tiny) from мали́й (small). The dictionary defines it simply as “small in size” [src: goroh-dictionary]: мале́нька дити́на (a little child).

A diminutive can become a new word

Some diminutives have their own meanings. Ру́чка is the diminutive of рука́ (hand, arm), but it also means a handle and a pen [src: goroh-dictionary]. Check the dictionary when a word looks like a diminutive.

Verb prefixes

A prefix added to a verb usually does two things: it makes the verb perfective, and it often adds a meaning. Aspect shows plain pairs such as писа́ти / написа́ти. Other prefixes change the meaning more.

A verb with a new meaning needs its own imperfective partner, usually made with a suffix: перепи́сувати (to be rewriting, to rewrite regularly), підпи́сувати, перечи́тувати [src: goroh-dictionary]. The prefixes on verbs of motion work in the same way, with mostly physical meanings: при- (arrive), ви- (go out), за- (drop in). See Verbs of motion.

Spelling: з- or с-

The prefix з- becomes с- before к, п, т, ф, х: сказа́ти, сфотографува́ти. Before everything else it stays з-: зроби́ти. Before two consonants it is often зі-: зігра́ти [src: pravopys-2026, §31]. Other prefixes keep their final letter: розкажи́, відпочи́ти, not роскажи [src: pravopys-2026, §31].

Noun suffixes

Many nouns for people, actions and qualities are made with a few suffixes. The orthography gives the spelling of each of them [src: pravopys-2026, §32].

Two spelling points from the orthography: the suffixes -ість, -тель, -ець are written with a soft sign, and the action nouns are written with -нн- [src: pravopys-2026, §32].

Feminine job titles

The orthography describes how nouns for women are made from masculine nouns, with the suffixes -к-(а), -иц-(я), -ин-(я) and -ес-(а) [src: pravopys-2026, §32]:

• -к-(а) is the most widely used, because it combines with many kinds of stems: а́вторка, диза́йнерка, дире́кторка, реда́кторка, студе́нтка.
• -иц-(я) goes on stems in -ник and -ень: пора́дниця (adviser), учени́ця (pupil).
• -ин-(я) goes on stems in -ець and on some other stems: продавчи́ня (shop assistant), кравчи́ня (dressmaker), майстри́ня.
• -ес-(а) is rare: поете́са.

Вчи́тель and вчи́телька also have the forms учи́тель and учи́телька, which follow the у / в rule: Наш учи́тель after a consonant, Моя́ вчи́телька after a vowel [src: pravopys-2026, §23].

Common mistakes and limits