Essential Ukrainian phrases

'Good day.' Kharkiv's everyday language was overwhelmingly Russian before 2022 and the shift to Ukrainian since has been one of the sharpest in the country — driven, as people here will tell you plainly, by who is doing the bombing.

'Thank you' and the reply. 'Прошу' also means 'here you are' and 'go ahead' — you will use all three at a counter in the same minute.

Air-raid alert. In Kharkiv it is the background rhythm of the day rather than an event, and the city keeps functioning through most of them. 'Відбій тривоги' is the all-clear.

Guided aerial bomb — the word that defines Kharkiv and barely registers in Lviv or Kyiv. Released from aircraft inside Russian airspace and gliding the last stretch, it arrives with effectively no warning. When the channels say КАБ, there is no time to move; the planning happens beforehand, in where you choose to sit.

Literally 'an arrival' — the word Ukrainians use for an impact. 'Був приліт у Салтівці' is how the news of a strike reaches you, on a channel, before any official statement.

Shelter, and metro station — in Kharkiv very nearly the same word. The metro is the city's primary shelter network, it is free, and it is where thousands of people lived through 2022. Know which station is closest to wherever you are.

Outage schedule. Kharkiv oblast runs both scheduled cuts by queue ('черга') and emergency cuts with no notice, because its generation and distribution have been struck repeatedly. Knowing your queue is a normal part of renting here.

Curfew — 00:00 to 05:00 in Kharkiv and much of the oblast since 17 August 2025, set by the oblast Defence Council. Several frontline communities elsewhere in the oblast run longer ones, so check before you drive out of the city.

A coat hanger. Nowhere else in Ukraine calls it that — the word is essentially Kharkiv's alone, and using it correctly in a shop is the local equivalent of a password. Everywhere else says 'вішак'.

'The bill, please.' Contactless works everywhere until the power does not — keep two or three thousand hryvnia in notes at home, because a blackout takes the terminals and the ATMs down together.

An eastern-Ukrainian interjection with no clean translation — somewhere between 'come off it', 'oh please' and a shrug. You will hear it constantly and it is the most audible marker of the Slobozhanshchyna accent.

'Enjoy your meal', said by waiters, colleagues and strangers. Answer 'дякую'. Kharkiv's restaurant scene shut in 2022 and rebuilt itself; saying it is a small act of ordinary life.