In short

Ukrainian has two ways to say “you” to a single person: ти and ви. Use ти with one person you are close to — a friend, a family member, a child, someone your own age you already know well. Use ви to be polite with one person you do not know, someone older, or someone in a formal role (a teacher, a shop clerk, an official). Ви is also the ordinary plural: whenever you address two or more people, it is always ви, no matter how close they are.

This is the same T/V split you may know from French (tu/vous) or German (du/Sie). It is not an honorific system — it is one simple choice about a single word, but the choice shapes every verb and pronoun you use with that person.

The rule

There are really only two questions to ask.

1. How many people am I talking to? More than one -> always ви.
2. If it is one person, do I address them informally or politely? Informal (close, familiar, a child) -> ти. Polite (a stranger, someone older, a formal setting) -> ви.

When you speak to one person with ви, the verb still takes the plural form, exactly as if you were speaking to several people. So Ви ма́єте (“you have”) looks and sounds plural even though you mean one polite “you”.

In careful, respectful writing — a letter, an email, a formal note — the polite singular ви is often capitalised as Ви to show extra respect. In ordinary speech and casual texting this capital is not required.

When you are unsure which to use with an adult you have just met, choose ви. It is never rude to be polite. Switching to ти too early can feel over-familiar; staying on ви is always safe. Ukrainians often mark the moment they become close by explicitly agreeing to switch: Дава́й на «ти» (“let’s use ти”).

Forms & patterns

The pronoun ти and the pronoun ви each carry their own verb form and their own possessive. Compare the same short sentences side by side.

Notice that the verb ending after ви is always a plural ending (-ете / -єте for the present-tense verbs above; Conjugation II verbs take -ите / -їте — ви гово́рите, see lesson 12), and the possessive shifts from твій / твоя́ / твоє́ to ваш / ва́ша / ва́ше.

Requests split the same way: the bare form goes with ти, the longer -те / -іть form with ви (допоможи́ -> допоможі́ть); the request forms themselves are built in lesson 31.

A quick look at the “you” forms of one verb — the present of ма́ти (“to have”) as the model — shows the pattern that repeats across all verbs:

Examples

Common mistakes

• Ви маєш -> Ви ма́єте — with ви the verb must take the plural ending, even for one polite person.
• Ти маєте -> Ти ма́єш — with ти the verb is always singular; do not borrow the ви-form.
• (to a new adult) Ти не знаєш, де вокзал? -> Ви не зна́єте, де вокза́л? — a stranger you have just met gets ви, not ти.
• (to two friends) Ти готові? -> Ви гото́ві? — more than one person is always ви, however close they are.
• ваше ім’я, друже (to one close friend) -> твоє́ ім’я́, дру́же — with ти the possessive is твій / твоя́ / твоє́, not ваш.
• Як тебе звати? said to your new boss -> Як вас зва́ти? — match the pronoun object to the polite level too (тебе́ is informal, вас is polite).

Tips

• Default to ви with any adult you do not already know. Politeness is never a mistake; over-familiarity can be.
• Remember the one-way rule: ви covers both “polite you (one person)” and “you all (plural)”. ти is only ever one familiar person.
• Let the verb ending confirm your choice: -еш/-єш-type singular endings go with ти; -єте/-ете plural endings go with ви.
• Use ти freely with children, close friends, family, pets, and God in prayer — these are traditionally informal.
• Watch for the switch signal Дава́й на «ти» (“let’s switch to ти”). Until you hear or offer it with a new acquaintance, stay on ви.
• In letters and emails, capitalising Ви shows respect to one addressee; lowercase ви is fine for the plural “you all” and for casual messages.
• The object and possessive forms follow the same split: informal тебе́ / тобі́ / твій go with ти; polite вас / вам / ваш go with ви.