ходімо/пишімо

First-Person Plural Imperative

Level 2Sounds Like nakazovij hodímo/pišímo

The first-person plural imperative is the Ukrainian equivalent of the English "let's." It is formed by adding -імо or -мо to the verb stem.

How It Works

To form this imperative, you typically start with the present-tense stem (found by looking at the third-person plural and removing the ending). Note that athematic verbs like їсти and дати are exceptions to this stem rule.

1. Choosing the Ending:

-імо: Used if the second-person singular imperative ends in a stressed -и or follows a cluster of consonants. Example: пиши → пишімо (let's write).
-мо: Used if the singular imperative ends in -й, a soft sign -ь, or has a zero ending after labials (б, п, в, м, ф) and sibilants (ж, ч, ш, щ). Example: читай → читаймо (let's read), стань → станьмо (let's stand), вір → вірмо (let's believe), ріж → ріжмо (let's cut).

2. Phonological Changes:

Dental consonants (д, т, з, с, ц, л, н) soften before -мо if they were soft in the singular imperative (e.g., сядь → сядьмо).
Labials (б, п, в, м, ф) and 'р' remain hard (e.g., вірмо, готуймо).
Stems ending in г or к change to ж or ч (e.g., бігти → біжімо, пекти → печімо).

3. Short Forms and Register:
In speech and literature, the final -о is sometimes dropped, creating short forms like ходім or пишім. While colloquial speech often uses the present first-person plural to imply a suggestion, synthetic forms like ходімо are the preferred literary standard for a clear call to action.

Examples (4)

Ходімо додому, вже пізно.
Let's go home, it's already late.
Word by Word: Let's-go to-home, already late.
'Ходімо' is the most common way to say 'let's go' in Ukrainian.
Будьмо уважні до деталей!
Let's be attentive to details!
Word by Word: Let's-be attentive to details!
'Будьмо' is the imperative of 'бути' (to be). It is also famously used as a toast meaning 'Cheers!' (literally 'Let's be!').
Заспіваймо разом українську пісню.
Let's sing a Ukrainian song together.
Word by Word: Let's-sing together Ukrainian song.
The ending -мо is used here because the singular imperative 'заспівай' ends in -й.
Почнімо нашу зустріч зараз.
Let's start our meeting now.
Word by Word: Let's-start our meeting now.
Formed from the perfective verb 'почати'.

Common Mistakes

Using 'Давайте' to mean 'let's'.
Давайте підемо в парк.
Ходімо в парк.
Using 'давайте' as a 'let's' particle is colloquial and is criticised in careful Ukrainian as a Russian influence. As a plain command, 'давайте' means 'give'. For 'let's', use the synthetic form (ходімо, підімо).
Adding the Russian suffix -те to the first-person plural.
Ходімте швидше.
Ходімо швидше.
Forms like 'ходімте' are morphological hybrids influenced by Russian and are not valid in standard Ukrainian.
Using the past tense 'пішли' to mean 'let's go'.
Different MeaningПішли в кіно!
Ходімо в кіно!
'Пішли' as a suggestion is common in casual speech. In careful or written Ukrainian, use 'ходімо'.

How It Connects

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

ходімо/пишімоLevel 2First-Person Plural Imperative

Learn This First

To form the first-person plural imperative (let's do something), you need to understand how to conjugate verbs for 'we' (ми) in the present tense, as the endings -мо are added to the imperative stem. Familiarity with the basic imperative stem (found in the second-person singular) is also necessary.