The Cyrillic Alphabet
A0Foundations 7 min
The Ukrainian alphabet has 33 Cyrillic letters, printed and handwritten, capital and small, and each letter has a name. At the start of a word, я, ю, є and ї stand for two sounds, a /j/ first: Я́блуко, Ї́жа
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CheatsheetA0
| Point | Rule | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 33 letters | 10 vowel letters: а, е, є, и, і, ї, о, у, ю, я | о́зеро / мо́ре | lake / sea |
| Я, ю, є, ї | two sounds at the start of a word: /ja/ · /ju/ · /jɛ/ · /ji/ | я́блуко / ї́жа | apple / food |
| Щ | one letter, two sounds: /ʃt͡ʃ/ | ща́стя | happiness |
| Ь | has no sound: it softens the consonant before it | сіль / день | salt / day |
| Г and ґ | г is /ɦ/, ґ is /ɡ/ | гора́ / ґу́дзик | mountain / button |
| И and і | и is /ɪ/, і is /i/: two different sounds | ри́ба / лі́то | fish / summer |
| Capital letter | names, cities, countries and the start of a sentence | Оле́на живе́ в Ки́єві. | Olena lives in Kyiv. |
| Small letter | languages and nationalities | Я украї́нець, я говорю́ украї́нською. | I'm Ukrainian, I speak Ukrainian. |
| Handwriting | handwritten т looks like Latin m; д has a loop below | — | |
| Trap | the Ukrainian alphabet has no ы, э, ъ or ё | ми / йо́гурт | we / yogurt |
The lettersA0
33 letters: 10 vowels, 22 consonants and ь, which has no sound. Each letter has a name, used to spell a word aloud.
| Letter | Name | Sound | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| А а | а | /a/ a | авто́бус — bus |
| Б б | бе | /b/ b | банк — bank |
| В в | ве | /ʋ/ v | вода́ — water |
| Г г | ге | /ɦ/ h | гора́ — mountain |
| Ґ ґ | ґе | /ɡ/ g | ґу́дзик — button |
| Д д | де | /d/ d | дім — home |
| Е е | е | /ɛ/ e | не́бо — sky |
| Є є | є | /jɛ/ ye / ie | Євро́па — Europe |
| Ж ж | же | /ʒ/ zh | жі́нка — woman |
| З з | зе | /z/ z | зима́ — winter |
| И и | и | /ɪ/ y | ри́ба — fish |
| І і | і | /i/ i | ім’я́ — name |
| Ї ї | ї | /ji/ yi / i | ї́жа — food |
| Й й | йот | /j/ y / i | йо́гурт — yogurt |
| К к | ка | /k/ k | кіт — cat |
| Л л | ел | /l/ l | ла́мпа — lamp |
| М м | ем | /m/ m | мо́ре — sea |
| Н н | ен | /n/ n | ніч — night |
| О о | о | /ɔ/ o | о́зеро — lake |
| П п | пе | /p/ p | парк — park |
| Р р | ер | /r/ r | рука́ — hand |
| С с | ес | /s/ s | сир — cheese |
| Т т | те | /t/ t | телефо́н — phone |
| У у | у | /u/ u | у́хо — ear |
| Ф ф | еф | /f/ f | фо́то — photo |
| Х х | ха | /x/ kh | хліб — bread |
| Ц ц | це | /t͡s/ ts | цу́кор — sugar |
| Ч ч | че | /t͡ʃ/ ch | чай — tea |
| Ш ш | ша | /ʃ/ sh | шко́ла — school |
| Щ щ | ща | /ʃt͡ʃ/ shch | ща́стя — happiness |
| Ь ь | м’яки́й знак | /ʲ/ | сіль — salt |
| Ю ю | ю | /ju/ yu / iu | люди́на — person |
| Я я | я | /ja/ ya / ia | я́блуко — apple |
- After a consonant, я, ю and є soften it and give one vowel sound: люди́на / ди́ня — person / melon
- ї always stands for two sounds, /ji/: Украї́на — Ukraine
- The Latin forms follow the national transliteration of 2010: the first form starts a word, the second goes elsewhere.
- The apostrophe ’ is a sign, not a letter: Soft Sign and Apostrophe.
Printed and handwritten lettersA0
- Handwriting uses joined-up letters, and a few of them look unlike their printed forms.
- Handwritten т looks like Latin m, and handwritten п like n.
- Handwritten и looks like Latin u, and д has a loop below, like g.
- Capital letters, printed or handwritten, mostly look like the small ones, only bigger.
Capital and small lettersA0
| Rule | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| capital: first names and surnames | Це Ната́лка Петре́нко. | This is Natalka Petrenko. |
| capital: cities and countries | Ми з Украї́ни, з Ки́єва. | We're from Ukraine, from Kyiv. |
| capital: the first word of a sentence | Сього́дні те́пло. | It's warm today. |
| small: languages and nationalities | Вона́ украї́нка, вона́ вивча́є англі́йську. | She's Ukrainian, she's learning English. |
| small: adjectives from city names | Це ки́ївський авто́бус. | This is a Kyiv bus. |
- Days and months take a small letter: Days, Months and Dates.
Typical errorsA0
| ✗ | ✓ | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Мы студе́нти. | Ми студе́нти. | Ukrainian has no ы: write и |
| ёгурт | йо́гурт | there is no ё: write йо |
| Я Украї́нець. | Я украї́нець. | nationalities take a small letter |
| Я вивча́ю Украї́нську мо́ву. | Я вивча́ю украї́нську мо́ву. | languages take a small letter |
| Я живу́ в ки́єві. | Я живу́ в Ки́єві. | city names take a capital letter |