Kupit

Kupit is a verb meaning “to buy” in several Slavic languages, most commonly encountered in Russian as the infinitive купить (transliterated here as kupit). It denotes the completion of a purchase and is formed as a perfective verb. Its imperfective pair is покупать (pokat͡s͡a͡tʹ), which emphasizes the process of buying or repeated purchases. Kupit exists in closely related forms across Slavic languages, such as Ukrainian купити (kupyty), Polish kupić, Czech koupit, and Serbo-Croatian kupiti, all sharing a common root kup-.

Usage and grammar: kupit is used for a single, completed purchase. In Russian, the future tense is expressed with a single-word form: я куплю, ты купишь, он купит, мы купим, вы купите, они купят. Past tense forms include я купил/я купила, ты купил/ты купила, он купил; мы купили, вы купили, они купили. The imperative is купи (informal) or купите (formal). The related imperfective verb купить does not exist; instead, the pair is купить (perfective) versus покупать (imperfective).

Examples: Я куплю хлеб в магазине. Где можно купить билеты? Она купила новую книгу. Они хотят купить машину. Differences with станье могут be subtle: купить emphasizes the act’s completion, while покупать focuses on the ongoing process or multiple purchases.

Etymology and cognates: kupit derives from a common Proto-Slavic root kup- found in many Slavic languages, with cognates such as kupić (Polish), koupit (Czech), kupiti (Serbo-Croatian), and kupiti (Ukrainian). The exact historical development varies by language, but the meaning remains aligned: to acquire through a purchase.