The Ukrainian pronouns ВЕСЬ (УВЕСЬ), ВСЯКИЙ (УСЯКИЙ), КОЖЕН, КОЖНИЙ are called означальні займенники ― defining pronouns. They indicate a generalized characteristic — i.e. something relates to the whole or every item.

  • весь (увесь) = all, whole, entire

Я вже зʼїла весь шматок торта.
I already ate the whole piece of cake.

  • всякий (усякий) = any, every, different

У цьому кафе є всякі торти.
There are different cakes in this café.

  • кожен, кожний = every

Я вже спробував кожен (кожний) торт у цьому кафе.
I have already tried every cake in this café.

What is the difference between ВЕСЬ and УВЕСЬ, ВСЯКИЙ and УСЯКИЙ?

Ukrainian pronouns ВЕСЬ and ВСЯКИЙ have their euphony (or melodic) variants УВЕСЬ and УСЯКИЙ. As a rule, use the word starting with У- in three cases:

  1. After a consonant: 
  • Я зʼїв увесь торт.
  • I ate the whole cake.
  1. At the beginning of a sentence:
  • Усякі книги стоять на столі.
  • There are different books on the table.
  1. After a pause (a punctuation mark):
  • У кафе багато людей — усі місця зайняті.
  • There are many people in the café — all the places are occupied.

Natives, especially in informal situations, often don’t strictly follow euphony rules. These rules are not rigid, particularly in speech, so you don’t need to overthink them — just use either ВЕСЬ or УВЕСЬ, ВСЯКИЙ or УСЯКИЙ, depending on what feels right at the moment. However, mastering these nuances will demonstrate your proficiency in Ukrainian writing and style.

Curious to learn more about euphony (милозву́чність)? Check out our article on euphony in Ukrainian!

Ukrainian Defining Pronouns: Declension Table

As you might have already noticed, the Ukrainian pronouns ВЕСЬ, ВСЯКИЙ, КОЖЕН, КОЖНИЙ adapt to nouns, changing their number, gender and case. To help you master all their forms (or at least to have a reference), we have prepared a complete declension chart of Ukrainian defining pronouns.

Eager to explore more Ukrainian pronouns? Learn how to decline possessive pronouns (мій, твій, ваш etc.) and demonstrative pronouns (цей, той).

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While studying Ukrainian pronouns, try to practice them right away — make up sentences, using different cases right now! Let our handy chart be your guide and inspiration!

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