Welcome to the Ukrainian Language Guidelines at Unbabel.
If you’re here for the first time, thanks for joining us and taking the first step on your journey to be a superstar editor.
If you’ve been here before, welcome back—you can use the Table of Contents below to find what you need.
Our best editors come from all over the world and from different backgrounds, but one thing they all have in common is they develop, learn, and grow with us. A big part of this is learning what we expect and subsequently checking these guidelines whenever they’re not sure about something.
Read these guidelines carefully, and if you have any queries please contact us and we’ll do our best to sort everything out for you.
Table of contents
2.1.1. Tense, mood, aspect, person (for verbs)
2.1.2. Gender and number (nouns and adjectives)
2.1.3. Case (nouns and prepositions)
4.4. Punctuation in greetings and closings
5.1. Grammatical and Lexical Registers
6.1.6. Acronyms and abbreviations
Grammatical reference for Ukrainian orthography and punctuation
Ukrainian explanatory dictionaries
1. Post-edition at Unbabel
At Unbabel we have a unique approach to translation: each text submitted by a customer is translated by our Machine Translation system, and then corrected by our community of editors in an online platform. By editing the output of the software, the editors ensure the quality of the translations and confirm that the message is accurate (i.e., has the same meaning as the original), fluent (i.e., can be easily understood and sounds natural) and is in line with the style requested by the clients (i.e. respects their register and terminology). In order to help editors do the best job possible, we provide various types of information:
- Customer instructions, which include the identification of the client and his requests to personalize the translation, such as the register that must be used to address the recipient of the message. Following these instructions is vital to deliver translations that match the client’s expectations.
- Glossaries, which correspond to specific vocabulary and expressions used by the client, and that must be respected by the editors.
- Translation Memories, which correspond to stored segments (expressions, sentences or paragraphs) that have previously been translated and accepted for customer usage. They are useful for ensuring consistency across translations.
We also have Smartcheck, which is an application that checks the grammar, morphology, orthography and style of the translations while being edited. By using a large set of rules, Smartcheck flags words or groups of words that may present some kind of issue.
Finally, in order to deliver the best possible translation, we also provide these guidelines about your language specifications. Please read them carefully and always follow these instructions in your editions.
2. Grammar
2.1. Agreement
2.1.1. Tense, mood, aspect, person (for verbs)
In Ukrainian, the verb agrees with its subject in person, gender and number. Please pay special attention to coordinated and subordinated constructions when there is no overt subject in the clause, and the verb must agree with the subject from another clause: these are problematic cases for machine translation (MT). Make sure to review and correct such errors.
Example
Source text: I have collected all the information and reported this to the development team.
✘ Я зібрав усю інформацію і повідомили про це команду розробників.
✓ Я зібрав усю інформацію і повідомив про це команду розробників.
2.1.2. Gender and number (nouns and adjectives)
Adjectives modifying nouns must agree with them in gender, number and case. Sometimes (especially for proper names and glossary terms), MT makes agreement errors. Make sure to correct them.
Example
Source text: I cannot find your personal details.
✘ Я не можу знайти Ваш персональні дані.
✓ Я не можу знайти ваші персональні дані.
2.1.3. Case (nouns and prepositions)
Verb arguments must be marked with either a certain case or preposition. Usually, a subject is in nominative; a direct object in accusative; a recipient in dative, and so on. But each verb has its own government model (the rules setting out the relationship between a word and its dependents) that describes which arguments are marked with which case/preposition. This model might not correspond to that of the original English verb. Please make sure to check that the case/preposition selection for the verb arguments is correct. Sometimes, you have to reorder the elements of the phrase because the Ukrainian verb does not have a slot for a particular argument.
Example
Source text: Please reply to me with your order number.
✘ Будь ласка, дайте мені відповідь із вашим номером замовлення.
✓ Будь ласка, надішліть мені у відповідь ваш номер замовлення.
Keep in mind that, in greetings, proper names are used in the vocative case in Ukrainian.
Example
Source text: Dear Oksana,
✘ Шановний Оксана!
✘ Шановна Оксана!
✓ Шановна Оксано!
Prepositions also require assignment of a particular case to a dependent noun phrase. The most common problem of MT (especially for glossary terms) is that the noun phrase is kept in nominative instead of getting the right case assignment from the verb or preposition. Please make sure to correct such errors.
Example
Source text: I appreciate your patience and cooperation.
✘ Я ціную ваше терпіння та співпраця.
✘ Я ціную ваше терпіння та співпрацю.
✓ Дякую за ваше терпіння та співпрацю.
2.2. Determiners
Ukrainian does not have articles to mark the definiteness status of a noun phrase. Usually, articles do not have to be present in the target text. In rare cases, when this can lead to ambiguities, you can use demonstrative pronouns (цей, той) to mark definiteness.
English texts may require possessive determiners (‘your’, ‘his’, ‘their’, etc.) to be present; however, they may not be necessary in Ukrainian. In such cases, it is better to remove them to make the sentence sound more natural (if it does not lead to ambiguities).
Example
Source text: We will refund the amount you paid for your order.
✘ Ми повернемо вам суму, яку ви заплатили за ваше/своє замовлення.
✓ Ми повернемо вам суму, яку ви заплатили за замовлення.
2.3. Prepositions
Pay attention to the preposition government. Each preposition requires a particular case to be assigned to the dependent noun phrase. Some prepositions (в, у, з) allow different case assignments but with different meanings. Make sure that the case assignment corresponds to the intended meaning.
Example
Source text: It’s great to hear you enjoy playing our game
✘ Приємно чути, що вам подобається грати в нашу грi.
✓ Приємно чути, що вам подобається грати в нашу гру.
2.4. Pronouns
Pronouns usually need to be present in the target text. However, personal pronouns (я, ми, вони) serving as subjects for verbs in the present or future tense can be omitted, as the subject will be made clear by the verb. Please note that the usage of personal pronouns should be decided on a case-by-case basis. Sometimes, they should be present in the target text, but sometimes (especially in idiomatic constructions), it is better to remove them.
Examples
Source text: I will tell the development team about your problem.
✘ Повідомлю команду розробників про вашу проблему.
✓ Я повідомлю команду розробників про вашу проблему.
Source text: They discuss this on the course.
✘ Вони розповідають про це на курсі.
✓ Про це розповідають на курсі.
Please, also take into account that subject pronouns must not be dropped for verbs in the past tense. Also, third-person pronouns must not be dropped, unless they are redundant pronouns: in such cases, they should not be present in the target text.
Example
Source text: It's possible that the notifications have been sent to the spam folder.
✘ Це можливо, що сповіщення потрапили у папку зі спамом.
✓ Можливо, сповіщення потрапили у папку зі спамом.
2.5. Verbs
Please pay attention to the tense and aspect of verbs when they are translated by MT. Normally the verb tense in the target Ukrainian text should correspond to the one in the original English sentence. Translate past tenses into past tenses, the present into the present, and so on. When MT does not follow this correspondence, please make sure to correct it. For example, MT often translates the future perfect tense into a past form, but it must be future instead.
Example
Source text: I will let you know once the parcel has been dispatched from the warehouse.
✘ Коли посилку відправили зі складу, я надішлю вам сповіщення.
✓ Коли посилку відправлять зі складу, я надішлю вам сповіщення.
Present tense in conditional clauses (after ‘if’ or ‘when’) corresponds in Ukrainian to either present or future. Selecting the right tense depends on the context.
Examples
Source text: Prepare the item for return when UPS delivers a new parcel to you.
✘ Підготуйте товар для повернення до моменту, коли UPS доставляє вам нову посилку.
✓ Підготуйте товар для повернення до моменту, коли UPS доставить вам нову посилку.
Source text: Let me know if you need help or more details.
✘ Повідомте мені, якщо вам буде потрібна допомога або більш детальна інформація.
✓ Повідомте мені, якщо вам потрібна допомога або більш детальна інформація.
2.5.1. Aspect
Also, the aspect of the verb should be selected carefully. As a rule, perfect tenses should be translated with the perfect aspect, and continuous tenses with the imperfect aspect. Please correct MT when it selects the wrong aspect of the verb.
Example
Source text: I refunded 10% of your order as compensation.
✘ Я повертав 10% від суми вашого замовлення в якості компенсації.
✓ Я повернув 10% від суми вашого замовлення в якості компенсації.
3. Orthography
3.1. Abbreviations
There are three general methods of abbreviating words in Ukrainian.
1. Keep the beginning of the word (in some cases it’s up to a vowel) and replace the rest with a dot. For well-known measure names the dot is not used.
Examples
Source text: 20 m long
✘ 20 м. завдовжки
✓ 20 м завдовжки
Source text: etc.
✘ і т.д.
✓ і т. д.
2. Some abbreviations should be written in full because there is no standard abbreviation for the corresponding Ukrainian word.
Example
Source text: 9 in. [inches]
✘ 9 ін.
✓ 9 дюймів
3. Keep the beginning and the ending of the word and replace the middle with a hyphen.
Example
Source text: assoc. [association]
✘ тво
✘ тов-во
✓ т-во
4. For acronyms, keep the first letter of each word and capitalize them. Some acronyms are translated (i.e. abbreviated from the Ukrainian translation of the full name), others are transliterated letter by letter.
Examples
Source text: UN [United Nations]
✘ ЮН
✓ ООН
Source text: NATO [North Atlantic Treaty Organization]
✘ ОПАД
✓ НАТО
Always try to find the official translation of the acronym. If there is none, or you are in doubt, keep the acronym untranslated and add the full translation of the expanded acronym in parentheses. You can find further information here.
Some information about graphic abbreviations in Ukrainian can be found here (pp. 91-93).
3.2. Capitalization
Capitalization in Ukrainian should apply to proper names only (i.e. names of people, organizations, geographical entities, etc.). Common names normally should not be capitalized. Note that in English certain common names (such as weekdays, months, nationalities, languages, cardinal points, etc.) are written with a capital letter. These must not be capitalized in Ukrainian.
Example
Source text: I’ll come back on Sunday.
✘ Я повернуся в Неділю.
✓ Я повернуся в неділю.
Capitalization could, on occasion, be used to highlight certain words in the text. When you encounter non-standard capitalization in the original text, make sure to preserve it in the translation.
Example
Source text: Specify YOUR address on the envelope.
✘ Вкажіть свою адресу на конверті.
✓ Вкажіть СВОЮ адресу на конверті.
3.3. Compounds
Ukrainian compounds are usually written together or with a hyphen. For exact rules please check this resource (pp. 46-66).
Examples
Source text: half an hour
✘ пів-години
✘ півгодини
✓ пів години
Source text: dark green color
✘ темнозелений колір
✘ темно зелений колір
✓ темно-зелений колір
3.4. Foreign words
Provided there are no client instructions saying otherwise, names of brands and products can be kept in English even if there is a well-known Ukrainian translation. For the use of quotation marks, please follow the customer guidelines and the glossary when there is specific information about this, or the general orthographical rules for Ukrainian (set for here). Sometimes MT puts quotation marks around foreign words or terms from the glossary: make sure to remove them where necessary, but keep quotation marks if they are present in the original text and it’s not a typo (see section 4.3. on use of quotation marks).
Examples
Source text: Please check Wikipedia
✘ Будь ласка, перевірте вікіпедію
✓ Будь ласка, перевірте «Вікіпедія»
Source text: I work at Microsoft
✘ Я працюю в Майкрософт
✘ Я працюю в Microsoft
✓ Я працюю в «Майкрософт»
✓ Я працюю в «Microsoft»
3.5. Numerals
When translating numbers, you must always respect the source text: if they are written as digits in the source text, this should be maintained in the translation, however, if they are written as words, they should be translated into the target language.
The official norm in Ukrainian is to use a comma as a decimal separator. Even though it is common to use a dot or full stop, when working on translations you should always use a comma in order to prevent any possible confusion or inconsistency.
Example
Source text: The value of pi is 3.14.
✘ Значення pi дорівнює 3.14.
✓ Значення pi дорівнює 3,14.
Also to avoid confusion, please use whitespaces to indicate groups of thousands.
Example
Source text: The total cost will be about 25,500 hryvnias both ways.
✘ Загальна вартість складе приблизно 25,500 грн. в обидва кінці.
✓ Загальна вартість складе приблизно 25 500 грн в обидва кінці.
Also note that the Ukrainian term for “billion” is “мільярд”, not “більйон”. “Dozens” (plural) should usually be translated as “десятки”, not “дюжини”.
3.6. Special symbols
Although names of measure units such as м, га, кВт, год (m, ha, kW, h) require a whitespace between the number and the unit, certain special symbols such as percent (%), degree (°), minutes (') or seconds (‘') are written without a whitespace.
Example
Source text: Please submit documents till April 30 and get a 10% discount.
✘ Подайте документи до 30 квітня та отримайте знижку 10 %.
✓ Подайте документи до 30 квітня та отримайте знижку 10%.
Separators such as slash (/) also do not require a whitespace on either side, while symbols that are written before the number (e.g. #, §) do require a whitespace after them: moreover, it should be a non-breaking space, where possible, in order to avoid the number jumping to the next line. # and @ do not require a whitespace after them.
4. Punctuation
Almost any punctuation mark (except a hyphen) should be followed by a whitespace. A dash must also be preceded by a whitespace.
4.1. Use of commas
Please pay attention to the following rules:
-
Subordinate clauses must always be enclosed in commas. Clauses starting with subordinating conjunctions (що, який, etc.) must have a comma in the beginning as well as at the end. Do not forget to put a comma at the end of the clause. This also applies for participial modifiers (дієприкметникові й дієприслівникові звороти), with a few exceptions: there is no need to enclose a participial modifier in commas if there is a phraseological unit (or multiword expression) in the sentence and it stands right after the predicate.
Examples
Source text: While listening to his stories, Kate couldn’t help laughing.
✘ Слухаючи його розповіді Кейт не могла стримати сміх.
✓ Слухаючи його розповіді, Кейт не могла стримати сміх.
Source text: The book written by Hugh Grant became a bestseller.
✘ Книга, яку написав Х'ю Грант стала бестселером.
✓ Книга, яку написав Х'ю Грант, стала бестселером.
- Coordinated clauses with different subjects must be separated by a comma even if they are connected by a coordinating conjunction. On the other hand, coordination within the clause (однорідні члени речення) with a single coordinating conjunction is written without a comma.
Examples
Source text: The problem was solved and we sent you a confirmation email.
✘ Проблему було вирішено і ми надіслали вам лист із підтвердженням.
✓ Проблему було вирішено, і ми надіслали вам лист із підтвердженням.
-
Parenthetic constructions (вставні слова) such as “наприклад” must be enclosed in commas. This is also a rule for “будь ласка”, which (unlike its English counterpart “please”) always requires commas on both sides.
Example
Source text: Please let me know if there is anything else I can help you with.
✘ Будь ласка повідомте мені, якщо я можу ще чимось вам допомогти.
✓ Будь ласка, повідомте мені, якщо я можу ще чимось вам допомогти.
4.2. Use of dashes
An em dash can be used to separate a nominal predicate from its subject (in addition or instead of це).
Example
Source text: The girl you have just seen is our new colleague.
✘ Дівчина, яку ви щойно бачили, наша нова колега.
✓ Дівчина, яку ви щойно бачили — наша нова колега.
4.3. Use of quotation marks
The most commonly used quotation marks in Ukrainian are chevrons («…»). They are used to highlight:
- direct speech
- quotes
- proper names: airports, stations, organizations, companies, hotels, restaurants, websites, etc.
Examples
Source text: Boryspil, Kyiv airports
✘ аеропорти Бориспіль, Київ
✓ аеропорти «Бориспіль», «Київ»
Source text: Pivdenny Bank
✘ Південний банк
✘ Банк Південний
✓ банк «Південний»
Source text: Please check Wikipedia
✘ Будь ласка, перевірте вікіпедію
✓ Будь ласка, перевірте «Вікіпедія»
Source text: I work at Microsoft
✘ Я працюю в Майкрософт
✘ Я працюю в Microsoft
✓ Я працюю в «Майкрософт»
✓ Я працюю в «Microsoft»
- titles of scientific or artistic works, newspapers, documents, etc.
- UI buttons
Example
Source text: Save button
✘ кнопка Зберегти
✓ кнопка «Зберегти»
When using quotation marks inside quotes, secondary quotation marks (“...“) should be used.
If it is not possible to use different types of quotation marks, use only chevrons («…»), but do not repeat quotation marks that are next to each other and not separated by any punctuation marks.
Example
Source text: Novel “Mission of Gravity”
✘ Роман “Експедиція Тяжіння”
✘ Роман «Експедиція «Тяжіння»»
✓ Роман «Експедиція “Тяжіння“»
✓ Роман «Експедиція «Тяжіння»
Please keep in mind that any other punctuation mark on the right side should be after the closing quotation mark, or it can be omitted if it’s the same as inside quotes (more information about the usage of quotation marks can be found here, pp. 246-248).
4.4. Punctuation in greetings and closings
In Ukrainian, after a greeting, you should use an exclamation mark. Although commas are appearing more and more frequently, translated texts should still adhere to standard Ukrainian grammar, meaning that the exclamation mark is required. After the greeting, you should start the new sentence with a capital letter.
Example
Source text: Dear Dmytro,
Thank you for your reply.
✘ Шановний Дмитре,
дякую за вашу відповідь.
✓ Шановний Дмитре!
Дякую за вашу відповідь.
The rules for other punctuation marks are fairly similar to English so they can be transferred as they are. Please make sure not to put a period instead of an exclamation mark and vice versa.
5. Register
5.1. Grammatical and Lexical Registers
Register refers to the level of formality used in the text. It shows how our clients address their customers and contributes to the voice of the brand itself. Register may vary depending on the company, the brand, the service they offer, the customers, and the target language.
We make a distinction between grammatical and lexical register.
- "Lexical register" is about the words or expressions we use in a given context, since some words and expressions do have a degree of formality or colloquialism. For example greetings differ in many languages according to the formality of a situation.
- "Grammatical register" refers to the pronouns and verb conjugation we use. Many languages – other than English – have 2 or more different grammatical registers. In Ukrainian, this distinction also exists, but it is not relevant in customer service communication, unless it is a client's requirement. So, even for "business informal" communication, we will use the pronoun and the corresponding verb conjugation proper to the formal register, as explained below.
Register is divided into formal and informal, as shown below.
5.1.1. Formal register
|
Category |
Examples |
Type of Register |
|
Personal pronouns |
ви (lowercase) |
Grammatical |
|
Verbs (person used to conjugate the verb) |
Second person plural |
Grammatical |
|
Possessive pronouns |
ваш (lowercase) |
Grammatical |
|
Greetings |
Здрастуйте |
Lexical |
|
Closings |
Всього найкращого |
Lexical |
Although Ви is used in some very formal contexts, at Unbabel we will only use the uncapitalized version.
5.1.2 Informal register
|
Category |
Examples |
Type of Register |
|
Personal pronouns |
ви (lowercase) |
Grammatical |
|
Verbs (person used to conjugate the verb) |
Second person plural |
Grammatical |
|
Possessive pronouns |
ваш (lowercase) |
Grammatical |
|
Greetings |
Здрастуйте |
Lexical |
|
Closings |
Всього найкращого |
Lexical |
A genuinely informal pronoun does exist in Ukrainian (ти), but as it is restricted only to communication among friends, peers or with children, it will be perceived as offensive in customer service communication; therefore we do not use it at Unbabel. Unless it’s a client’s requirement, we should not use ти and such greetings and closings as Привіт/Вітаю/Здрастуй/Добрий день/Добридень and Всього найкращого/На все добре/До побачення/Бувай.
In greetings, remember to use the Vocative case of people’s names.
6. Localization challenges
Most of these challenges refer to proper nouns or the specific format of dates, addresses, measures and so on. Languages may adopt different rules regarding whether those units should be translated, reformatted or kept as in the original language. When editing a text, you should follow your language rules for all different types of units listed below. However, please note that if there is a glossary provided by the client that includes some of them, you should always apply the glossary items. Remember to use the one way of translation along the whole text — it can be translation, transliteration, transcription or original.
6.1. Proper nouns
Proper nouns refer to unique entities, such as persons, places, organizations, brands, products, events, etc.
6.1.1. Persons
Persons’ names and surnames of Ukrainian origin should be transliterated, and foreign names and surnames should be transliterated or left in their original script. Do not forget to use the Vocative case of names in greetings, for Ukrainian and transliterated names.
Examples
Source text: Dear Ivan
✘ Шановний Ivan
✘ Шановний Іван
✓ Шановний Іване
Source text: Hello Julie
✘ Здрастуйте, Джулі
✘ Здрастуйте, Жулі
✓ Здрастуйте, Julie
Source text: Good day Mark
✘ Добрий день, Mark
✓ Добрий день, Марку
6.1.2. Organizations
Names of foreign organizations (e.g. University of Birmingham) should normally be transliterated. Try to find an official transliteration of the organization name into Ukrainian. If it does not exist, provide your own transliteration (Бірмінгемський університет), and don’t forget to write the original name in brackets at the first mention. Please be consistent with your transliteration choices throughout the text.
Examples
Source text: University of Birmingham
✘ University of Birmingham
✓ Бірмінгемський університет
Source text: The United Fruit company finally signed the agreement with us.
✘ Компанія United Fruit нарешті підписала з нами угоду.
✘ Компанія «Об’єднаний фрукт» нарешті підписала з нами угоду.
✓ Компанія «Юнайтед Фрут» (United Fruit) нарешті підписала з нами угоду.
Source text: Shine Bright company
✘ Компанія «Схіне Брігхт»
✓ Компанія «Шайн Брайт» (Shine Bright)
6.1.3. Brands and products
If there is a well-known Ukrainian equivalent and you can find it on the official website of a company or organization, you should use it, otherwise keep the original.
Example
Source text: More information on Rovio
✘ Детальніше про Ровіо
✓ Детальніше про Rovio
6.1.4. Places
Place names that have an equivalent in Ukrainian must be translated. Otherwise they can be transliterated or kept in English.
Some places that start with “H” in the source language are mostly transliterated with “Г”, and when the first letter is “W”, it’s mostly transliterated as “В”.
Examples
Source text: Helsinki
✘ Хельсінкі
✓ Гельсінкі
Source text: Hollywood
✘ Холлівуд
✓ Голлівуд
Source text: Washington
✘ Уашингтон
✓ Вашингтон
Source text: Wales
✘ Вельс
✓ Уельс
Regarding addresses:
- Country names should be translated, as this could help the postal services in the origin country.
-
The rest of the address should be left untranslated, but if the address is located in Ukraine, it should be translated into Ukrainian.
Examples
✘ Prospekt Svobody 13, Halytskyi r-n, Lviv
✘ Prospekt Svobody 13, Halytskyi r-n, Львів
✓ Проспект Свободи, 13, Галицький р-н, Львів
✓ Просп. Свободи, 13, Галицький р-н, Львів
✘ Руа Батько Амеріко 4 1600-548 Лісабон Португалія
✘ вулиця Padre Americo 4 1600-548 Лісабон Португалія
✘ Rua Padre Americo 4 1600-548 Lisboa Portugal
✓ Rua Padre Americo 4 1600-548 Lisboa Португалія (Portugal)
6.1.5. Other entities
Names of other entities such as art (paintings, books, music), events (festivals, theater plays, etc.), names of boats (e.g. Titanic) should be translated, if possible. When this is not possible, they should be transliterated.
Examples
Source text: Márquez’s finest work “One Hundred Years of Solitude”
✘ Найкращий твір Маркеса «One Hundred Years of Solitude»
✓ Найкращий твір Маркеса «Сто років самотності»
Source text: Oktoberfest
✘ Oktoberfest
✘ Жовтневе свято
✓ Октоберфест
6.1.6. Acronyms and abbreviations
When the target acronyms exist in Ukrainian, you should use the form currently in use. On the other hand, when the acronym doesn’t exist in Ukrainian, you should keep the source abbreviation.
Examples
✘ AIDS
✓ СНІД
✘ UNESCO
✓ ЮНЕСКО
6.2. Time format
Time format in English is usually 12-hour with am/pm modifiers. It should be changed to Ukrainian 24-hour format without modifiers. Use a colon to separate the hours from the minutes.
Example
Source text: We work from 8 am to 5 pm.
✘ Ми працюємо з 8 ранку до 5 вечора.
✘ Ми працюємо з 8.00 до 17.00.
✓ Ми працюємо з 8:00 до 17:00.
6.3. Date format
The date format used in the source text depends on the customer's preference. The most usual date format among our customers is "dd/mm/yyyy" or "dd/mm/yy" (first the day, then the month, then the year). When translating into Ukrainian, it should be changed to “dd.mm.yyyy” (dd for day, mm for month number, yyyy or yy for year).
Example
Source text: 04/10/2017 (October 4, 2017)
✘ 04/10/2017
✓ 04.10.2017
The most used long date format at Unbabel is “d Month yyyy”, but this depends on the customer's preference, too. When translating into Ukrainian, it should be changed to “d month yyyy р.”. Note that the month name in Ukrainian must not be capitalized, and the year should be followed by “р.” or “року”.
Example
Source text: We sent you a letter on 4 October 2017.
✘ Ми надіслали вам листа Жовтня 4, 2017.
✓ Ми надіслали вам листа 4 жовтня 2017 р.
6.4. Phone numbers
Numbers in phone numbers should be separated with a whitespace or a hyphen, but not a dot.
Example
✘ 516.84.77
✓ 516-84-77
✓ 516 84 77
6.5. Currency
Currency values should be left as they are in the source text, only translating the currency name: for example, 100 euros → 100 євро.
Example
Source text: The price for two tickets will be 200 euros.
✘ Ціна за два квитки складе 200 euro.
✘ Ціна за два квитки складе 7 400 гривень.
✓ Ціна за два квитки становитиме 200 євро.
Currency symbols (₴,€, $, £, etc.) are written after the number and should be preceded by a whitespace.
Example
Source text: $100
✘ $100
✓ 100 $
Do not translate currency codes (USD, GBP, UAH, INR, DKK, NOK, RUB, etc.) as they are a convention accepted worldwide. They are also written after the number and should be preceded by a whitespace.
Example
Source text: 100 GBP
✘ 100GBP
✓ 100 GBP
6.6. Measures
Measures should never be converted into any other measure unit, unless expressly requested by the client.
Measure unit names and symbols should be translated if there is an equivalent term in Ukrainian. There should be a whitespace between the number and the measure unit.
Example
Source text: Her feet are 24.5 cm long.
✘ Довжина її стоп — 24.5cm.
✓ Довжина її стоп — 24,5 см.
7. Tricky cases
English “any”
The English word “any” in negative sentences corresponds to Ukrainian “жодний” or “ніякий”, not “який-небудь” or “будь-який”. Sometimes this word can be omitted at all in the translation, it all depends on the context.
Examples
Source text: I do not have any more questions.
✘ У мене більше немає яких-небудь питань.
- У мене більше немає жодних питань. [non-preferred]
✓ У мене більше немає питань.
Source text: This company does not make any warranties.
✘ Ця компанія не надає будь-яких гарантій.
✓ Ця компанія не надає жодних гарантій.
8. Most frequent errors
False friends
Please pay attention to some words that may sound like Ukrainian ones, but they have completely different meanings.
Examples
Source text: data
✘ дата (a date)
✓ дані
Source text: accurate
✘ акуратний (neat/tidy/careful)
✓ точний/правильний
Source text: a magazine
✘ магазин (a shop/a store)
✓ журнал
Source text: an insult
✘ інсульт (a stroke)
✓ образа
Other mistranslation issues
Examples
Source text: I take part in the competitions.
✘ Я приймаю участь у змаганнях.
✓ Я беру участь у змаганнях.
Source text: during the week
✘ на протязі тижня
✓ протягом тижня
Source text: What time is it?
✘ Яка година?
✓ Котра година?
Source text: February 7th
✘ сьоме люте
✓ сьоме лютого
Source text: I think
✘ Я рахую
✓ Я думаю/вважаю/гадаю
Source text: agenda
✘ повістка дня
✓ порядок денний
Overly literal translations
Examples
Source text: the most expensive
✘ самий дорогий
✓ найдорожчий
✓ найбільш дорогий
Source text: Our family doesn't believe in cleaning up.
✘ Наша сім'я не вірить у прибирання.
✓ У нашій сім'ї не надто люблять прибирати.
Agreement issues
Examples
Source text: Thank you.
✘ Дякую вас.
✓ Дякую вам.
✓ Дякую.
Source text: Let us know.
✘ Повідомте нас.
✓ Повідомте нам.
Source text: We informed them about your issue.
✘ Ми повідомили їм про вашу проблему.
✓ Ми повідомили їх про вашу проблему.
Commonly misspelled words
Sometimes, some words should be written together or with a hyphen, but have a whitespace instead. Please pay attention to these cases.
Examples
Source text: He has no money.
✘ У нього не має грошей.
✓ У нього немає грошей.
Source text: He doesn’t have any experience.
✘ Він немає досвіду.
✓ Він не має досвіду.
✓ У нього немає досвіду.
Source text: It is their decision.
✘ Це їх рішення.
✓ Це їхнє рішення.
Source text: sometime
✘ коли небудь
✓ коли-небудь
Source text: any
✘ будь який
✓ будь-який
9. Useful online resources
Grammatical reference for Ukrainian orthography and punctuation
Ukrainian explanatory dictionaries
Ukrainian Language and Information Fund
sum.in.ua (from П till the end)
Ukrainian word conjugator
Synonyms and idioms
You can look for place name declension here, but keep in mind to double check the orthography.
Other useful links
«Як ми говоримо» Бориса Антоненка-Давидовича
Bilingual dictionaries
English verb conjugator
English grammar guide
English dictionaries