Ukrainian Alphabet Pronunciation Guide
January 24, 2026
Learning the Ukrainian Cyrillic alphabet might seem intimidating at first, but most learners can read basic Ukrainian within a few hours of practice. The great news? Ukrainian is highly phonetic - once you know the letters, you can pronounce any word.
Let's start with some essential words:
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1. Your First Ukrainian Words
| Ukrainian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| привіт | pry-VEET | hello |
| так | tahk | yes |
| ні | nee | no |
| добре | DOH-breh | good / okay |
| будь ласка | bood' LAHS-kah | please |
2. Letters That Look Familiar But Sound Different
The trickiest part of Cyrillic is that some letters look like English letters but make completely different sounds:
| Cyrillic | Looks Like | Actually Sounds Like |
|---|---|---|
| Н н | H | N (as in "no") |
| Р р | P | R (rolled) |
| С с | C | S (as in "sun") |
| В в | B | V (as in "very") |
| У у | Y | OO (as in "food") |
3. Essential Vocabulary
| Ukrainian | English |
|---|---|
| вода | water |
| хліб | bread |
| місто | city |
| Україна | Ukraine |
4. The Ukrainian Х Sound
The letter Х makes a sound that doesn't exist in English - it's like the "ch" in Scottish "loch" or German "Bach." It's a soft, breathy sound from the back of the throat.
| Ukrainian | English |
|---|---|
| хліб | bread |
5. Letters Unique to Ukrainian
Ukrainian has several letters you won't find in Russian or other Slavic languages:
| Letter | Sound | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ї ї | "YEE" | їжа | food |
| І і | "EE" | місто | city |
6. Tips for Learning Cyrillic
- Start with familiar letters: А, О, Т, К, М look and sound similar to English.
- Learn the "false friends" next: Focus on letters that look like English but sound different (Н, Р, С, В).
- Practice with real words: Don't just memorize the alphabet - learn words right away.
- Write by hand: Writing helps cement the letter shapes in your memory.
- Be patient: Most learners can read slowly within a week of practice.