In short

Ukrainian builds questions in three easy ways, and none of them rearranges the sentence the way English does. Start with a question word (хто, що, де, коли…) for an open question; add the little particle чи at the very front for a yes/no question; or just keep the plain statement and raise your voice at the end — intonation alone turns it into a question. There is no auxiliary “do”, and the word order barely changes.

The rule

• Open (information) questions begin with a question word: хто (who), що (what), де (where), коли́ (when), чому́ (why), як (how), скі́льки (how much/many), куди́ (where to), зві́дки (where from). The rest of the sentence follows, usually in normal order: Де ти живе́ш? (Where do you live?)
• Yes/no questions with чи: put чи first, then the statement unchanged. Чи ти студе́нт? (Are you a student?) The answer is так (yes) or ні (no). чи is optional but always correct and slightly more formal. Mid-sentence, after a verb of asking or knowing, чи instead means “whether” and embeds a yes/no question: Я не зна́ю, чи він удо́ма. (I don’t know whether he is at home) — що there would state a fact rather than ask about one. The final mark follows the main clause: that sentence is a statement and ends in a full stop, while Ти зна́єш, чи він удо́ма? is itself a question. Reporting a question in full is covered in Direct & indirect speech.
• Yes/no questions by intonation only: keep the exact word order of a statement and raise the pitch on the key (stressed) word. Ти студе́нт. (statement) -> Ти студе́нт? (question). In speech the tone rises; in writing only the question mark differs.
• Crucially, there is no “do”-support and no subject-verb inversion like in English. Ukrainian never adds an auxiliary verb and does not swap subject and verb to ask a question.

Forms & patterns

Core question words (all are stressed on the syllable marked; monosyllables carry no mark):

The three question types side by side:

Examples

Common mistakes

• Ти робиш що? -> Що ти робиш? — the question word normally comes first, not at the end.
• Чи ти є студент? -> Чи ти студе́нт? — the present-tense copula “є” is usually dropped; add “чи” but not “є”.
• Do ти любиш чай? -> Ти лю́биш чай? — Ukrainian has no auxiliary “do”; use intonation or “чи”.
• Живеш ти де? -> Де ти живе́ш? — do not invert subject and verb English-style; lead with the question word.
• Чи де ти? -> Де ти? — never combine “чи” with a question word; “чи” is only for yes/no questions.
• Як багато це коштує? -> Скі́льки це ко́штує? — for “how much/many” use “скі́льки”, not “як багато”.

Tips

• One rule beats three: leave the statement alone and just raise your voice at the end — that alone makes a valid spoken question.
• Reach for чи when you want to sound a touch more formal or written; in everyday speech pure intonation is the norm.
• Question words carry the meaning, so they naturally take the strongest stress in the sentence — lean on them.
• Distinguish де (where, at rest) from куди́ (where to, motion) and зві́дки (where from, origin) — English “where” covers all three.
• Remember there is no “do”: if you catch yourself translating “do/does/did”, drop it entirely.
• In writing, the only visible marker of an intonation question is the question mark, so never forget it.
• Inside a sentence чи is “or” (чай чи ка́ва? — tea or coffee?) or “whether” after a verb of asking; at the very start it flags a yes/no question.