у / ў after a Vowel

У Becomes Ў After a Vowel

Level 1Sounds Like u í ŭ paslâ galosnaj

Look at the word before. If it ends in a vowel, write ў: яна ў школе. If it ends in a consonant, keep у: ён у школе.

How It Works

Belarusian spelling follows pronunciation. After a vowel, у at the start of the next word is said as a short [w], so it is written ў.

  • The preposition у: Мама ў краме (Mom is at the shop), but Брат у краме (My brother is at the shop).
  • Words that begin with у: моцны ўдар (a strong blow), хацела ўзяць (she wanted to take), but хацеў узяць (he wanted to take).

Keep у in these cases:

  • at the start of a sentence: У мяне ёсць кот. (I have a cat.);
  • after a punctuation mark such as a comma, dash or colon: Была зіма, у лесе ляжаў снег. Quotation marks do not count: крыкі «ўра» (shouts of "hurrah");
  • when the у itself is stressed: да у́рны (to the bin);
  • at the start of a name with a capital letter: за Уладзіміра (for Uladzimir).

One more change: before a word that begins with у, the preposition у becomes ва. Because ва ends in a vowel, the next word then starts with ў: ва ўніверсітэце (at the university).

Examples (6)

  1. Мой брат у школе.

    My brother is at school.

    Word by Word: My brother in school.

    Брат ends in a consonant, so у stays.

  2. Мая сястра ў школе.

    My sister is at school.

    Word by Word: My sister in school.

    Сястра ends in a vowel, so the preposition is written ў.

  3. Я ўмею плаваць.

    I can swim.

    Word by Word: I know-how to-swim.

    Умею starts with у, and after я it is written ўмею.

  4. Дзеці былі на ўроку.

    The children were in class.

    Word by Word: Children were at lesson.

    After на, урок (lesson) is written with ў.

  5. Была зіма, у лесе ляжаў снег.

    It was winter, and snow lay in the forest.

    Word by Word: Was winter, in forest lay snow.

    The comma marks a pause, so у stays.

  6. Мы вучымся ва ўніверсітэце.

    We study at the university.

    Word by Word: We study at university.

    Before a word starting with у, the preposition becomes ва, and the next word then takes ў.

Common Mistakes

  • Keeping у after a word that ends in a vowel.

    Мама у краме.
    Мама ў краме.

    Мама ends in a vowel, so the preposition is written ў.

  • Writing ў after a consonant.

    Брат ў краме.
    Брат у краме.

    After a consonant, у is a full vowel and stays у.

  • Writing ў right after a comma.

    Была зіма, ў лесе ляжаў снег.
    Была зіма, у лесе ляжаў снег.

    A punctuation mark shows a pause, so the next word keeps у.

How It Connects

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

у / ў after a VowelLevel 1У Becomes Ў After a Vowel

Learn This First

The у/ў rule applies the letter ў.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern