Vowels and Consonants
A0–A1Foundations 6 min
The six vowel sounds, hard and soft, voiced and voiceless consonants, and the sounds дж and дз. Voiced consonants stay voiced at the end of a word: дуб, ніж
No information at the current level. This view starts at A0: choose A0 or a higher level.
No information at the current level. This view starts at A0: choose A0 or a higher level.
CheatsheetA0–A1
| Point | Rule | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Vowel soundsA0
There are six vowel sounds. The letters я, ю, є and ї have no sounds of their own: they write /j/ and a vowel, or a soft consonant before a vowel.
| Sound | Letter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| /a/ a | а | ма́ма — mum |
| /ɔ/ o | о | мо́ре — sea |
| /u/ u | у | дуб — oak |
| /ɛ/ e | е | не́бо — sky |
| /ɪ/ y | и | ри́ба — fish |
| /i/ i | і | лі́то — summer |
- A stressed vowel sounds a little longer and clearer. молоко́ — milk
- The Latin forms follow the national transliteration of 2010: The Cyrillic Alphabet.
Unstressed vowelsA1
| Rule | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| unstressed е sounds close to и | сестра́ / вече́ря | sister / dinner |
| unstressed и sounds close to е | зима́ / виде́лка | winter / fork |
| unstressed о and а sound almost the same as stressed ones | голова́ / молоко́ | head / milk |
| unstressed о before a syllable with a stressed у sounds close to у | кожу́х | sheepskin coat |
- To spell an unstressed е or и, find a form where that vowel is stressed: сестра́ → се́стри / зима́ → зи́ми — sister → sisters / winter → winters
Hard and soft consonantsA1
| Rule | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| a consonant before і is soft | ліс / Рі́вне | forest / Rivne |
| a consonant before и is hard | лист / Рим | letter / Rome |
| a consonant before е is hard | те́ма / неді́ля / коле́га | topic / Sunday / colleague |
| a consonant before ь, я, ю or є is soft | па́лець / ди́ня | finger / melon |
- A hard or a soft consonant can tell words apart: пала́ц ≠ па́лець — palace ≠ finger
- Final ь and soft consonants: Soft Sign and Apostrophe.
Voiced and voiceless consonantsA1
| Voiced | Voiceless |
|---|---|
| б / д / з / ж | п / т / с / ш |
| г / ґ / дз / дж | х / к / ц / ч |
- A voiced or a voiceless consonant can tell words apart: голо́дний ≠ холо́дний — hungry ≠ cold
- At the end of a word, voiced consonants stay voiced, as they are written: хліб / ніж / сад — bread / knife / garden
- г before a voiceless consonant sounds /x/: ле́гко / ні́гті — easily / nails
Дж, дз and вA1
- дж and дз are two letters each, but one sound: /d͡ʒ/, /d͡z/. джи́нси / дзе́ркало — jeans / mirror
- After a vowel at the end of a syllable, в sounds like a short /u̯/: Львів / за́втра — Lviv / tomorrow
Typical errorsA0–A1
| ✗ | ✓ | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| A1сістра́ | сестра́ | unstressed, write the vowel of се́стри |
| A1малако́ | молоко́ | unstressed о is said and written as о; а here comes from Russian |
| Мі студе́нти. | Ми студе́нти. | ми (we) is written with и, which is not і |