Alphabet, sounds and stress
Ukrainian uses the Cyrillic alphabet with 33 letters. Most letters are read the same way every time, so once you know the alphabet you can read any word. Stress is free and must be learned with each word.
| letter | sound |
|---|---|
| и | like i in “bit” |
| і | like ee in “see” |
| ї | “yi” as in “yield” |
| є | “ye” as in “yes” |
| г / ґ | г = soft h, ґ = hard g |
| щ | “shch” as in “fresh cheese” |
| ь | no sound, softens the consonant before |
| ʼ | apostrophe: separates, e.g. мʼясо [m-yaso] |
Stress
Stress can fall on any syllable and can change the meaning: за́мок (castle) – замо́к (lock). Learner dictionaries mark it with an accent.
Examples
- Київ, Харків, їжакKyiv, Kharkiv, hedgehog
- мʼята, сімʼя, пʼятьmint, family, five
- ґанок, ґудзикporch, button
- день, сіль, кіньday, salt, horse
- Ґанок, щока, їжакporch, cheek, hedgehog
Common mistakes
- ✗ Це місто Киів.✓ Це місто Київ.The name is written with ї, a letter English does not have, which reads as yi.
- ✗ Моя сімя велика.✓ Моя сімʼя велика.An apostrophe separates the consonant from я, which English family does not need.
- ✗ Передайте сіл, будь ласка.✓ Передайте сіль, будь ласка.The soft sign is part of the word, though it has no sound of its own.
- ✗ Ми їдемо в Харьків.✓ Ми їдемо в Харків.Ukrainian has no ь in this name, unlike the Russian spelling.
- ✗ Це моя дочька.✓ Це моя дочка.The suffix -ка is written without a soft sign, as the sound is not softened.