що

Question Word Що

Level 1Sounds Like ŝo

Що is the Ukrainian word for 'what'. It is used to ask about things, ideas, or actions. It changes its form (declines) depending on its role in the sentence.

How It Works

1. Basic Usage
In its simplest form, що is used in the nominative case to identify objects: Що це? (What is this?).

2. Declension (Case Changes)
Because Ukrainian uses cases, що changes based on the verb or preposition it follows:

  • Nominative: що (Subject)
  • Genitive: чого (Used with negation or specific verbs like 'want')
  • Dative: чому (Recipient or target)
  • Accusative: що (Direct object, also used after про)
  • Instrumental: чим (Means or tool)
  • Locative: чому/чім (Topic or location, always with a preposition like на)

3. The 'Why' Confusion
The Dative form чому is identical to the adverb meaning 'why'. You must use context to distinguish them: Чому ти плачеш? (Why are you crying?) vs. Чому ти дивуєшся? (What are you surprised at?).

4. Conjunction Function
Beyond questions, що acts as a conjunction meaning 'that' to connect clauses (e.g., 'I know that...'). In Ukrainian, a comma is typically required before this що.

Examples (5)

  1. Що це таке?

    What is this?

    Word by Word: What this such?

    A very common way to ask 'What is this?' using the nominative case.

  2. Що ти робиш?

    What are you doing?

    Word by Word: What you doing?

    Here, 'що' is the direct object in the accusative case.

  3. Про що ви думаєте?

    What are you thinking about?

    Word by Word: About what you think?

    The preposition про (about) governs the accusative case.

  4. Чого ти хочеш?

    What do you want?

    Word by Word: Of-what you want?

    The verb 'хотіти' (to want) often takes the genitive case 'чого' in Ukrainian.

  5. Чим ти пишеш?

    What are you writing with?

    Word by Word: With-what you write?

    The instrumental case 'чим' expresses the tool or means used for an action.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'що' instead of 'який' for descriptions.

    Що твій улюблений колір?
    Який твій улюблений колір?

    If you are asking for a choice or a description (like 'which' or 'what kind of'), you must use який, not 'що'.

  • Omitting the comma before 'що' as a conjunction.

    Я знаю що ти тут.
    Я знаю, що ти тут.

    In Ukrainian, a comma is typically required to separate the main clause from a subordinate clause starting with що.

How It Connects

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щоLevel 1Question Word Що

Learn This First

To use the question word 'що' (what), you first need to be able to read the Cyrillic alphabet. It is also helpful to understand how to identify objects using 'це' and the concept of the zero copula, as 'що' is most frequently introduced in the context of asking 'What is this?'.

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