# Ukrainian: I miss you.



## whitecloud8

Hi,

I want to send my girlfriend a message saying 'I Miss you' in Ukrainian because that is her background. I have been trying to translate each word from English to Ukrainian on-line but, it seems there are many variations or I don't know what I'm doing.  Would anyone possibly know?


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## User1001

whitecloud8 said:


> Hi,
> 
> I want to send my girlfriend a message saying 'I Miss you' in Ukrainian because that is her background. I have been trying to translate each word from English to Ukrainian on-line but, it seems there are many variations or I don't know what I'm doing. Would anyone possibly know?



I study a little Ukrainian every now and then, but seeing as I don't have enough time to study it seriously, I cannot answer your question, because that would involve something I haven't done yet - verb conjugation. However, until a native speaker of Ukrainian sees the thread, you might want to check out the two following links so you can speak with your girlfriend or even simply greet her:

Basic Phrases and Greetings
Basics with Audio


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## whitecloud8

Is it: я сум_у_ю за тоб_о_ю, ya sum_u_yu za tob_o_yu


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## User1001

whitecloud8 said:


> Is it: я сум_у_ю за тоб_о_ю, ya sum_u_yu za tob_o_yu



 I think "я сум_у_ю за тоб_о_ю" is actually correct.


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## Crescent

tspier2 said:


> I think "я сум_у_ю за тоб_о_ю" is actually correct.


I believe you're right, too!  I think there's another way to say it: *я по тобі нудьгую 
*However, I must stress that I'm not entirely sure so please don't take my word for it!  (at least until a..'proper' member has affirmed it )*
*


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## morrilla

"я сум_у_ю за тоб_о_ю" is absolutely correct. But you can't say "я по тобі нудьгую". "Нудьгувати" means "to be bored".


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## mateo19

Hello all!

I have a question about this expression.  I understand that "я сумую за тобою" means "I miss you", but may we please look at it literally?

Here are the translations that an online dictionary gives for сумувати:
>to despond, to lose heart; to grieve (about, over); to be sad (melancholy); to be cast down, to be disheartened; to mope, to be in the dumps (blues); to be out of heart; to mourn for (за кимсь).

So, "я сумую за тобою" literally means, "I am sad for you"?


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## Ptak

mateo19 said:


> So, "я сумую за тобою" literally means, "I am sad for you"?


"_Without_ you", I'd say.


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## Natabka

mateo19 said:


> So, "я сумую за тобою" literally means, "I am sad for you"?



Ага, Mateo. _Literally _"Я сумую за тобою" means "I am sad for/after you". Ptak's suggestion "_without_ you" is better in terms of sense but it wouldn't be a literal translation.

*"Я сумую за тобою"* is an equivalent of "I miss you" but I would like to comment also on Crescent's variant "*Я по тобі нудьгую". *It doesn't correspond to "I miss you" and is not used in this case but "*нудьгувати*" not only means "to be bored"*. *Have a look:*
*
1) Відчувати нудьгу. (To feel boredom)  
2) _за ким/чим , по кому/чому , без кого/чого; без додатка _. Перебувати в тривожно-очікувальному стані; непокоїтися, журитися. (To be anxious waiting for something, somebody; to feel worried, to grieve).

Though, I repeat once again - the second meaning is not frequently used, maybe even old-fashioned now.


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## mateo19

I have already seen it as "without you", though.
Look at this song lyric from"Без бою" by Океан Ельзи:

"Без тебе сумую, cумую без тебе."

So, this is just, "I'm depressed without you" or "I sadden without you"?

Sorry, Natalka, but I think you slightly dodged my original question.  How is it that such a sad expression means, "to miss someone"?  I mean, I readily recognize that it is sad when you miss someone, but this simply sounds depressing to me.  A lot of languages use some sort of formula that means, "You are lacking to me"...  So, even though the literal meaning of "я сумую за тобою" seems pretty strong (to me), in normal everyday language it has acquired a less melodramatic tone and it acceptable to say without the other person thinking that you're going to kill yourself for the person you miss?


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## Ptak

I think rather *мені тебе не хватає *(You are lacking to me) is melodramatic.


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## rahdonit

another possibility to express this idea could be: мені тебе не вистачає


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## rahdonit

Ptak said:


> I think rather *мені тебе не хватає *(You are lacking to me) is melodramatic.


 
ptak, this is not correct in ukrainian. Russian verb хватать (to have enough, not to lack) will be "вистачати" in Ukrainian.

for example:
мені не вистачило часу
їй не вистачає терпіння
політикам не вистачає здорового глузду


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## Ptak

rahdonit said:


> ptak, this is not correct in ukrainian. Russian verb хватать (to have enough, not to lack) will be "вистачати" in Ukrainian.


Thanks for correcting me.
Actually _*не* хватать_ in Russian means exactly "to lack".


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## Natabka

mateo19 said:


> How is it that such a sad expression means, "to miss someone"?  I mean, I readily recognize that it is sad when you miss someone, but this simply sounds depressing to me.  A lot of languages use some sort of formula that means, "You are lacking to me"...  So, even though the literal meaning of "я сумую за тобою" seems pretty strong (to me), in normal everyday language it has acquired a less melodramatic tone and it acceptable to say without the other person thinking that you're going to kill yourself for the person you miss?




Haha, yes, I guess, I misunderstood you, Mateo - I thought you were interested in the exact pronoun. Either "без" or "за" may be used depending on what you want to say. 
Well, I wouldn't say "Я сумую за тобою/без тебе" means "Я" is on the verge of suicide! But now that you brought this question up... I'm not so sure this phrase is the best way possible to say "I miss you". Maybe it is stronger than the English phrase (though not melodramatic!). 
On the other hand, "Мені тебе не вистачає" sounds a bit pretentious (to me). In Russian the usual way to say "I miss you" is "Я по тебе скучаю" (am I right, Ptak?). 'Скучать' has the meaning of 'нудьгувати'. 
I'm going to investigate this matter again


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## Ptak

Natabka said:


> On the other hand, "Мені тебе не вистачає" sounds a bit pretentious (to me). In Russian the usual way to say "I miss you" is "Я по тебе скучаю" (am I right, Ptak?).


Exactly!
And Russian equivalent "Мне тебя не хватает" (Мені тебе не вистачає) sounds a bit pretentious, indeed, in Russian too. I think they have the same nuance in both languages. "Я сумую за тобою" (Ukr) and "Я по тебе скучаю" (Rus) are more idiomatic, I believe.


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## mateo19

Sorry for an ignorant comment, but what exactly do you mean that these expressions are pretentious?  Do you mean that it is like saying, "I miss you" insincerely?  Or that the missing is the fault of the person being missed?  Thanks for the clarification!


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## Natabka

mateo19 said:


> What exactly do you mean that these expressions are pretentious?  Do you mean that it is like saying, "I miss you" insincerely?  Or that the missing is the fault of the person being missed?



It's like... Ah, it's difficult to explain . The key word is _a bit. _I feel that it would be a bit pretentious in the context of Whitecloud8. "*Мені тебе не вистачає*" means that you are in a situation that would be much more pleasant/easier/better if _she _were there too. If you say so, it's very probable that you experience some kind of trouble, maybe even despair. In the contexts where you really mean it this phrase would be okay. Otherwise it's a bit melodramatic (I'm speaking only of "Мені тебе не вистачає") - to me! I may as well be subjective


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## Leshek

I think the most natural way to put it would be as this: Я скучив за тобою. I really wonder why hasn't anyone thought of this very word. That was the first one I thought of, and my Grandad and Grandma (native Ukrainians) used to say it like this.


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## Aquatarkus

Leshek said:


> I think the most natural way to put it would be as this: Я скучив за тобою.



I've heard such phrase once, and always thought it's not correct. It grates upon my ears somehow


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## Leshek

May I ask you, dear Aquatarkus, a personal question? Where do you happen to live for a phrase like this to grate upon your ears? You put Russian as your native language, you state Russian to be the language number one for the Eastern part of Ukraine, so I guess you don't hear Ukrainian very often. I feel it like the most natural way to express your feelings and not to speak like a TV show character.


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## Aquatarkus

Replied in private.


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## murasz

For me as a native speaker from Western Ukraine the perfect rendering of the English "I miss you" would be "Я скучаю/скучив за тобою" (that's what I say myself and what I hear from my wife so often). Some speakers with a limited command of the language tend to avoid the verb "скучати" and many other words similar to their Russian equivalents, believing them to be russianisms. That they are wrong is demonstrated, apart from the current usage, by all the authoritative dictionaries beginning from the Hrinchenko (1907).

Other possible translations have a little bit different colouring: "Мені тебе бракує", "Мені сумно без тебе," "Я сумую за тобою" (this last phrase sounds a bit too drastic in the given context: usually people "сумують" about those who are dead or who have left forever).


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## Natabka

murasz said:


> Other possible translations have a little bit different colouring: "Мені тебе бракує", "Мені сумно без тебе," "Я сумую за тобою" (this last phrase sounds a bit too drastic in the given context: usually people "сумують" about those who are dead or who have left forever).



Really?? I wouldn't say that! In fact I - a native speaker too - use "Я сумую за тобою" in our meaning that we discuss in this thread. Though when the phrase "Я скучаю/скучила за тобою" (скучаю/скучив for male) was mentioned I thought I used it more frequently than "Я сумую". Can't be sure, though - in fact, I don't use any "missing" phrases often 
As for "drastic" verbs I'd say words "*горювати*, *побиватися*" (to grieve) would sound so and should be better used in the contexts of dead or left forever.


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