| Vowel sounds | six: /a/ · /ɔ/ · /u/ · /ɛ/ · /ɪ/ · /i/ | о́зеро / лі́то | lake / summer |
| И and і | и is /ɪ/, і is /i/ | ми / мі́сто | we / city |
| A1Unstressed е and и | sound alike; spell them as in the stressed form | сестра́ → се́стри | sister → sisters |
| A1Unstressed о | usually /ɔ/ | молоко́ | milk |
| A1Hard and soft | tell words apart | пала́ц ≠ па́лець | palace ≠ finger |
| A1Before і and е | a consonant is soft before і and hard before е | ліс / те́ма | forest / topic |
| A1Voiced and voiceless | tell words apart | ді́ло ≠ ті́ло | deed, matter ≠ body |
| A1Дж and дз | one consonant each: /d͡ʒ/, /d͡z/ | джи́нси / дзе́ркало | jeans / mirror |
| A1Trap | at the end of a syllable after a vowel, в sounds /u̯/ | Львів / за́втра | Lviv / tomorrow |