Soft sign

The м'який знак (soft sign) is the 31st letter of the Ukrainian alphabet. It represents no sound of its own but indicates that the preceding consonant is soft.

1. Where it appears:
It primarily follows dental consonants: д, т, з, с, ц, л, н and the affricate дз. Generally, you will see the soft sign at the end of words, before another 'hard' consonant, or before the vowel о (e.g., льон, сьогодні). It can also follow р, but only in specific environments.

2. Key Rules:

• Reflexive Verbs: It is always used in the 3rd person ending -ться (e.g., він сміється). However, it is never used in the 2nd person ending -шся (e.g., ти смієшся).
• Labials and Hushers: The soft sign is never used after labials (б, п, в, м, ф) or hushing consonants (ж, ч, ш, щ) in any position in native Ukrainian words.
• Before Suffixes and Hushers: The soft sign is generally not written after dental consonants (д, т, з, с, ц, н) before the suffixes -ськ- and -ств- (e.g., братський, людський, кінський). The exception is л, which keeps the soft sign (e.g., сільський). Also, it is not written after н before hushing consonants (ж, ч, ш, щ) (e.g., менший), though there are exceptions like native verbs (няньчити, бриньчати), base-form retentions (доньчин), and foreign words (женьшень).
• Suffixes: It appears in adjective suffixes like -ськ- (e.g., український) and diminutive suffixes like -еньк-, -оньк-, -есеньк- (e.g., маленький).

3. The 'R' Rule:
The soft sign is never used after р at the end of words (e.g., лікар, тепер). It only appears after р before о in specific cases like трьох (three) and чотирьох (four), with a rare exception for proper names like Горький.

4. Foreign Words:
In words borrowed from other languages, the soft sign is used after the consonants д, т, з, с, л, н before the vowels я, ю, є, ї to indicate a soft consonant followed by a [й] sound (e.g., мільярд, ательє). This explicitly distinguishes it from the apostrophe, which indicates a hard consonant followed by a [й] sound. If the consonant and vowel fuse into a single soft syllable, it is omitted (e.g., нюанс, ілюзія). It is also used before the combination йо (e.g., каньйон).

5. Between Two Soft Consonants:
The soft sign is usually omitted between two soft or softened consonants (e.g., пісня, сніг). However, it IS written if the first consonant is л (e.g., пальці, їдальня). Additionally, if a soft sign exists in the base form of a word, it is kept when the word changes form, even if it ends up between two soft consonants (e.g., донька ➔ доньці). Conversely, if there is no soft sign in the nominative base form, it is not added in oblique cases or derived forms (e.g., матінка ➔ матінці, казка ➔ у казці). There are also classic standalone native exceptions where the soft sign is written between two soft consonants, such as тьмяний, різьбяр, and няньчити.

6. Lengthened Consonants:
The soft sign is never written between lengthened (double) soft consonants (e.g., життя, знання, суддя, волосся).

7. Complex Numerals:
The soft sign is never written at the end of the first root in complex numerals like п'ятдесят, п'ятсот, шістдесят, and дев'ятсот, despite being present in the base numbers (п'ять, шість, дев'ять).

8. Soft Sign vs. Apostrophe:
While the soft sign softens the consonant, the апостроф keeps the consonant and vowel separate and sharp.