до побачення

Goodbye Formula

Level 1Sounds Like do pobačennâ

До побачення is the universal Ukrainian farewell. It is polite, respectful, and appropriate for almost any situation, from shops to business meetings.

How It Works

In Ukrainian, до побачення is a fixed expression used as a standard farewell.

1. Grammatical Structure:
It consists of the preposition до (until/to) and the verbal noun побачення (seeing/meeting). The preposition до always requires the Genitive case. While the word побачення looks the same in the Nominative and Genitive singular, it is grammatically in the Genitive here.

2. Usage and Register:

Neutral/Formal: Use this with strangers, teachers, colleagues, or anyone you address with the polite Ви.
Universal: Even among friends, it is never 'wrong,' though it sounds more formal than casual alternatives.

3. Pronunciation:
The stress is on the second syllable: по-БА-чен-ня. The double 'нн' is pronounced as a long, soft [n] sound.

Examples (4)

До побачення, пані Оксано!
Goodbye, Ms. Oksana!
Word by Word: Until seeing, Ms. Oksana!
A standard polite farewell using the vocative case for the name.
Дуже дякую за допомогу, до побачення.
Thank you very much for the help, goodbye.
Word by Word: Very thank for help, until seeing.
A common way to end a polite interaction after thanking someone.
Гарного вечора! — Дякую, до побачення.
Have a good evening! — Thank you, goodbye.
Word by Word: Good evening! — Thank, until seeing.
A typical exchange when leaving a shop or office in the evening.
Вибачте, мені час іти. До побачення!
Excuse me, it's time for me to go. Goodbye!
Word by Word: Excuse, to me time to go. Until seeing!
Using an apology formula before saying goodbye to be extra polite.

Common Mistakes

Writing the phrase as a single word.
Допобачення!
До побачення!
Even though it is spoken as one unit, it must be written as two separate words: the preposition 'до' and the noun 'побачення'.
Using the Russian 'пока' (poka) in Ukrainian.
Пока, друже!
Бувай, друже!
While understood, 'пока' is a Russian word. In Ukrainian, use 'до побачення' for formal settings or 'бувай' for informal ones.

How It Connects

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

до побаченняLevel 1Goodbye Formula

Learn This First

To understand 'до побачення', it is helpful to recognize the preposition 'до', which means 'until' or 'to', as the phrase literally translates to 'until meeting'.

доPreposition До
The phrase 'до побачення' is built using the preposition 'до' (until), which indicates the time or event until which the speaker is parting.
Level 1

Words in This Pattern