Is there a difference between meaning of word позаяк vs. так як?

Question

Is the meaning of the word "позаяк" equivalent to "так як"? That's what I could guess from the context.

Answer 1

"Позаяк" is a bit rare word and some Ukrainian-speaking people might not understand it, but it means "because".

Most people will understand "так як" as "because", but it is just wrong literal translation from Russian "так как" (as you can see, for example, in this list of common mistakes).

More common words for "because" are: "бо", "оскільки", "адже", "тому що".

But feel free to use "позаяк": it currently gains popularity back :)

Example:

Позаяк цікавого не маю що писати, тягтиму далі свою подорож, хоч, може, вона тобі теж не цікава (Михайло Коцюбинський, III, 1956, 140) (first example from СУМ)

Quick translation: "As I don't have anything interesting to write I'll just continue our journey though it isn't interesting to you too".

Update: of course both "так" and "як" are valid Ukrainian words and they can be near each other in a sentence e. g. "Якщо все написано так, як і хотілося, то можна сміливо писати твір у зошит", but I can't imagine a sentence where there is no coma between them, and in any case they will be totally separate words.

Answer 2

Trying to be as laconic as possible:

• “так як” is most often a colloquial (probably, mistaken) calque of the Russian conjunction “так как”, which means “because”;
• “позаяк” is not-so-often used conjunction, which means “because”.

Other equivalents of “because” are:

• “бо”;
• “адже” (also rarely is interjection);
• “тому що” (and “тому, що”);
• “оскільки” (also rarely means "as far as");
• “через те, що”;
• “у зв'язку з тим, що”.

Sometimes “так як” or “так, як” is ok:

• “так, як” can mean “in a way, that”;
• “так як” or “так, як” can be a coincidence of “так” (“yes” or interjection) and “як” (“how”).