-кольвек

Whatsoever with -кольвек

Level 6Sounds Like kolʹvek

Ці бачыў ты калі-кольвек такое? Have you ever seen anything like it? -кольвек means any at all.

How It Works

Join -кольвек to a question word with a hyphen, and it means any … at all or -ever:

  • хто-кольвек anyone at all, што-кольвек anything at all
  • які-кольвек any kind at all, дзе-кольвек anywhere at all
  • калі-кольвек ever, at any time, як-кольвек in any way at all

Compared with -небудзь. -небудзь is the everyday way to say any, some: Хто-небудзь званіў? -кольвек is more emphatic, close to English whatsoever. The main dictionary marks хто-кольвек as regional, and in the standard language you meet it mostly in writing: fiction, journalism and formal prose. You will also see the variants -колечы and -кольвечы.

Where it fits best. -кольвек is common in comparisons and in phrases that exclude every exception:

  • больш, чым калі-кольвек more than ever
  • лепш за каго-кольвек better than anyone
  • без якіх-кольвек праблем without any problems whatsoever

Declension. Only the first part changes: каго-кольвек, чаму-кольвек, з кім-кольвек, якіх-кольвек. The suffix itself never changes.

With negation. In a plain negative sentence Belarusian uses ні- words: Я нікога не бачыў (I did not see anyone).

Examples (5)

  1. Ці бачыў ты калі-кольвек такое?

    Have you ever seen anything like it?

    Word by Word: Whether saw you ever such?

  2. Цяпер ён патрэбны нам больш, чым калі-кольвек.

    We need him now more than ever.

    Word by Word: Now he needed to-us more than ever.

  3. Спытай у каго-кольвек на вуліцы.

    Ask anyone at all on the street.

    Word by Word: Ask at anyone on street.

  4. Ён перасёк мяжу без якіх-кольвек праблем.

    He crossed the border without any problems whatsoever.

    Word by Word: He crossed border without any-at-all problems.

  5. Калі што-кольвек здарыцца, тэлефануй.

    If anything at all happens, call.

    Word by Word: If anything-at-all happens, call.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving the question word undeclined.

    Спытай у хто-кольвек.
    Спытай у каго-кольвек.

    The first part declines like the question word: у каго-кольвек (genitive after у). Only -кольвек stays the same.

  • Writing it as one word or with a space.

    Ці бачыў ты калікольвек такое?
    Ці бачыў ты калі-кольвек такое?

    The 2008 rules require a hyphen with -кольвек, as with -небудзь.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

-кольвекLevel 6Whatsoever with -кольвек

Learn This First

-кольвек follows -небудзь.

Words in This Pattern

-небудзьнебудзь