Verbs of motion in Ukrainian can be very confusing. Іти, ходити чи їхати?

At Ukrainian Lessons, we want to make learning the Ukrainian process easy and fun. That is why we have prepared these comprehensive simple pictures that will help you to understand the verbs of motion in Ukrainian.

You can also check the Ukrainian Lessons Podcast episode #59, where I put the verbs of motion in Ukrainian in context and offer you some practice!

Why the verbs of motion in Ukrainian are special

Ukrainian verbs generally are represented in a couple of aspects – imperfective (continuous action) and perfective (the finished action). For example:

  • Я йшла додому і побачила собаку (іти – imperfective)  / I was walking home, and I saw a dog.
  • Я прийшла додому опівночі (прийти – perfective) / I came home at midnight.

However, the verbs of motion in Ukrainian (like to go, to fly, to swim) have even more kinds – the unidirectional and the multidirectional. These verbs indicate whether the movement is made in one direction or whether there is a return trip.

The difference between “іти” і “їхати” in Ukrainian

There are two Ukrainian basic equivalents of the English verb “to go”:

  • іти
  • їхати

Have a look at the picture to catch the difference between “іти” і “їхати”:

So, we use іти to talk about the motion we’ve done without using any transportation, whereas їхати is used for any action done by the transportation (in many cases, we don’t specify the means of transport).

Examples of the verbs of motion in Ukrainian

Let’s see and compare it with the pictures!

As you can see, the unidirectional verbs (іти, їхати) are used with the following time expressions:

  • Туди – there (to there)
  • Сьогодні – today
  • Зараз – now

Whereas the multidirectional verbs (ходити, їздити) are used with the expressions of regularity:

  • Туди і назад – back-and-forth
  • Кожного дня – every day
  • Регулярно – regularly

Here are some more examples of the verbs of motion in Ukrainian with pictures:

More common verbs of motion in Ukrainian with examples

Туди́ і наза́д
Ко́жного дня
Регуля́рно
Туди́
Сього́дні
За́раз
 
ї́здити
Зазвича́й я ї́жджу на да́чу влі́тку.
ї́хати
Але́ цьо́го ро́ку ми ї́демо в Євро́пу.
to go by transportation
ходи́ти
Я регуля́рно ходжу́ в спортза́л.
іти́
Сього́дні я не іду́ в спортза́л, я хворий.
to go by walking
бі́гати
Я хо́чу часті́ше бі́гати в па́рку.
бі́гти
За́втра я бу́ду бі́гти марафо́н.
to run
літа́ти
Макси́м ча́сто літа́є в Нью-Йорк.
леті́ти
За́втра він лети́ть у Нью-Йорк.
to fly
пла́вати
Ти вмі́єш пла́вати?
пливти́
Попливе́ш зі мно́ю на той бе́рег рі́чки?
to swim, to sail
стриба́ти
Ді́ти лю́блять стриба́ти і танцюва́ти.
стрибну́ти
Вчо́ра вона́ стрибну́ла з парашу́том.
to jump

How did you find it? Make sure to practice the verbs of motion in Ukrainian when you speak or write; that is the only way to become fluent in using them.

Try it right now –  write a couple of sentences using those verbs. I will check your comment and let you know if you got it right 🙂

Also, you can check the Ukrainian Lessons Podcast episode #59, where I put the verbs of motion in Ukrainian in context and offer you some practice!


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