In short

Cardinal numerals (кількісні числівники) answer the question скі́льки? “how many?” — оди́н, два, три, чоти́ри, п’ять… They are the words you count with. Two of them change for gender: only оди́н (одна́, одне́) and два/дві look at whether their noun is masculine, feminine or neuter; from три onward the number itself stays put.

The one thing worth learning now, before the full mechanics in later lessons, is that a numeral governs its noun: it decides what case and number the counted noun appears in. Roughly, 1 keeps the noun singular, 2–4 pull it into the plural, and 5 and up push it into the genitive plural.

The rule

Ukrainian numerals put the following noun into one of three shapes:

• 1 — оди́н / одна́ / одне́ behaves like an adjective. It agrees with its noun in gender (and, later, in case), and the noun stays in the nominative singular: оди́н стіл, одна́ ла́мпа, одне́ вікно́.
• 2, 3, 4 — два/дві, три, чоти́ри take the noun in the nominative plural: два столи́, три кни́ги, чоти́ри дні. Only два distinguishes gender here (два / дві); три and чоти́ри have a single form for all genders.
• 5 and above — п’ять, шість, … два́дцять, сто… take the noun in the genitive plural: п’ять столі́в, де́сять книг, сто днів.

A useful early warning: the teens 11–14 (одина́дцять … чотирна́дцять) count as “5 and up”, not as “2–4” — одина́дцять днів, not одина́дцять дні.

At A1 you use these numerals mostly in the nominative (counting, prices, ages, “I have…”). Their own declension across the cases, and the finer agreement details, come in Numeral–noun agreement (case government) and Numeral declension (5–100, compound; collective).

Forms & patterns

The numerals

«Оди́н» agrees in gender

The plural одні́ is used only with nouns that have no singular (одні́ две́рі “one door”, одні́ окуля́ри “one pair of glasses”).

«Два» vs «дві»

Which case does the numeral impose?

Examples

Common mistakes

• два кни́ги -> дві кни́ги — feminine nouns take дві; два is only masculine/neuter.
• п’ять кни́ги -> п’ять книг — from 5 up the noun goes into the genitive plural, not the nominative.
• три днів -> три дні — 2, 3, 4 take the nominative plural, never the genitive.
• оди́н сестра́ -> одна́ сестра́ — оди́н agrees in gender with its noun.
• два́дцять два ро́ків -> два́дцять два ро́ки — in a compound the LAST word rules; …два → nominative plural.
• пять, девять -> п’ять, де́в’ять — the apostrophe is required here, not decoration.

Tips

• Drill the three-way counting reflex: 1 → noun stays singular (nom.), 2/3/4 → nominative plural, 5+ → genitive plural. The full rule is Numeral–noun agreement (case government).
• Only оди́н and два change for gender (оди́н/одна́/одне́, два/дві). From три onward the numeral looks identical before masculine, feminine and neuter nouns.
• In a compound number only the FINAL word decides the case: два́дцять оди́н рік (nom. sg.), два́дцять два ро́ки (nom. pl.), два́дцять п’ять ро́ків (gen. pl.).
• The teens 11–14 pattern with “5 and up”, not with 2–4: одина́дцять днів, not одина́дцять дні.
• Build the teens transparently — unit + -на́дцять (“on ten”): три + на́дцять → трина́дцять, п’ять + на́дцять → п’ятна́дцять.
• Mind the apostrophe in п’ять, де́в’ять, п’ятна́дцять: it is spelled and you can hear the tiny break before я.