The Ukrainians use a variation of the Cyrillic alphabet that consists of 33 letters, comprising 10 vowel letters, 22 consonants, and the soft sign “ь”. Though the alphabet has 10 vowel letters, the language utilizes only 6 distinct vowel sounds, or phonemes. Stress in Ukrainian can fall on any syllable in a word; for learning purposes, the stressed part of the word is typically marked with an acute accent (´).
Ukrainian is easy to read, as one letter generally corresponds to one phoneme. Click on any letter to listen to its pronunciation. Below each letter, you will find: the transcription used on this website, the IPA transcription, the sound's equivalent in English words, and the letter’s name.
The Ukrainian language has two digraphs, a pair of letters that create a single phoneme:
ДЖ (IPA: / d͡ʒ /) – like in English word “junior”. “ДЖ” is the voiced version of “Ч” [ch].
ДЗ (IPA: / d͡z /) – similar to the final sound in English word kids [kɪd͡z]. In Ukrainian, however, “ДЗ” represents a single sound, the voiced counterpart of “Ц” [ts].
Examples:
джи́нси – jeans
джерело́ – source, spring
бджола́ – bee
дзе́ркало – mirror
дзвони́ти – to call/ring
кукуру́дза – corn
The soft sign “ь”
The soft sign “ь” has no sound of its own and is used to soften (palatalize) the preceding consonant. This sign can come after “д, т, з, с, дз, ц, л, н” and create 8 additional sounds (IPA: /dʲ, tʲ, zʲ, sʲ, dzʲ, tsʲ, lʲ, nʲ/). You don’t have to remember them.
Examples:
день - day (like the “n” in "new" [/nʲu/])
о́сінь – fall (season)
фільм – movie
ба́тько – father
вчи́тель - teacher
що́сь - something
Simple and iotated vowels
The 10 vowel letters in the Ukrainian alphabet are categorized into two functional groups: 6 simple Vowels (А, Е, У, О, І, И) and 4 Iotated Vowels (Я, Ю, Є, Ї).
| simple vowels | А /a/ | Е /ɛ/ | У /u/ | О /ɔ/ | І /i/ | И /ɪ/ |
| iotated vowels | Я /ja/ | Є /je/ | Ю /ju/ | Ї /ji/ |
These letters represent only six simple vowel phonemes (/a, ɛ, u, ɔ, i, ɪ/). The iotated vowel letters serve as a graphic convention with two primary purposes, depending on their position in a word:
1. Indicates Iotation (the "Й" /j/ sound):
When an iotated letter appears at the beginning of a word, after a vowel, or after an apostrophe (') or soft sign (ь), it represents a sequence starting with the consonant phoneme /j/ (the sound of the 'y' in "yes"):
яблуко – apple
я знаю – I know
2. Indicates Consonant Palatalization (Softening):
When the iotated letters "Я, Ю, Є" immediately follow a consonant (and are not separated by an apostrophe or soft sign), they signal the palatalization (or softening) of that preceding consonant. The /j/ sound is not pronounced in this case.
дя́кую – thank you ("дя" is pronounced /dʲa/ (soft t followed by a), not /dja/.)
дя́дько – uncle
лю́ди – people ("лю" is pronounced /lʲu/ (soft l followed by u), not /lju/.)
лю́бити – to love
працюва́ти – to work
пита́ння – question
The simple vowel “І" also causes softening of preceding consonants:
ді́м /dʲim/ – house / home
ті́льки /tʲilʲkɪ/ – only
Note: The letter "Ї" always retains its full /ji/ sound and cannot be used to signal the palatalization of a preceding consonant.
The apostrophe ’
There is also the apostrophe ( ’ ). This special sign acts as a boundary. It prevents the preceding consonant from being softened and ensures the following iotated vowel is pronounced with its full "Й" sound:
сім’я́ – family
я п’ю – I drink
п’ять – five
м’я́со – meat
