This article is devoted to the study of the complex semantic structure of English phraseological units (PU) and elucidates the specific peculiarities of the connotative component in the process of reproducing it by means of the Ukrainian language. Actually, various views on what a UP is are taken into account as well as the typology of PU is studied carefully. In this respect, the authors provide the PU semantic field description (with its structure comprising all the integral components: the denotative, significative and connotative elements) presenting a comment on the specific features of the connotative component functioning within it. Also, several assumptions were made concerning possible ways of preserving the value of the connotative component studied in the process the PU decoding by means of Ukrainian language. The issue of English PU decoding by the potencies the target language appears to be a highly disputable question in modern linguistics which justifies the topicality of this article. The question of adequate PU translation is rather controversial and needs to be addressed carefully. Thus, the specific approach to the PU translation with the respect to the connotative meaning role as a determinative element of the idiom nature obviously requires complex and thorough investigation.