When you first decide to start learning Ukrainian, the very first thing you’ll see is the alphabet.

And if you’re an English speaker, it probably looks weird.

You see letters that look backwards, letters that look like numbers, and letters that look like geometric shapes.

But I have good news for you.

The Ukrainian alphabet (which is a variation of the Cyrillic script) is actually much easier than English.

Why?

Because Ukrainian is a mostly phonetic language.

This means that, unlike English, you read words exactly how they are written.

In English, the letter “A” sounds different in “Apple,” “Car,” and “Made.”

In Ukrainian, the letter A usually makes the same sound every single time.

Once you learn these 33 letters, you can read almost anything.

Here’s my simple guide to mastering the Ukrainian alphabet and pronunciation.

The “true friends” (letters you already know)

To make this easy, we are not going to learn from A to Z. We are going to group the letters by how difficult they are.

The first group is what I call the “True Friends.”

These letters look like English letters, and they sound exactly the same (or very close). You get these for free!

• А а - Sounds like “a” in father.
• Е е - Sounds like “e” in pet.
• І і - Sounds like “ee” in meet.
• К к - Sounds like “k” in skate.
• М м - Sounds like “m” in moon.
• О о - Sounds like “o” in more (but shorter).
• Т т - Sounds like “t” in tent.

See? You can already read a Ukrainian word:

The “false friends” (letters that trick you)

This is the group that confuses beginners the most. These letters look like English letters, but they make completely different sounds.

You have to retrain your brain to see them differently.

В is not B

In Ukrainian, В makes a V sound (and sometimes a W sound).

• В = V as in Voice.

Н is not H

This letter makes the N sound.

• Н = N as in No.

Р is not P

This is the rolling R sound. It looks like a P, but it’s definitely an R.

• Р = R as in Rabbit (but rolled!).

С is not C

This letter always makes an S sound. It never sounds like a K.

• С = S as in Sun.

Х is not X

This is a throat sound that doesn’t really exist in English. It’s like the “ch” in the Scottish word “Loch” or the sound you make when clearing your throat. It’s often written as “Kh”.

• Х = Kh (Loch).

У is not Y

This letter makes the “oo” sound.

• У = Oo as in Moon.

The new shapes (letters you need to learn)

These letters look completely different from the Latin alphabet. However, their sounds are very familiar to English speakers. You just need to memorize the symbol.

• Б б - Sounds like “b” in book.
• Г г - Sounds like “h” in house. (Note: In some regions, this is a deep, guttural H).
• Ґ ґ - Sounds like “g” in go. (This letter is rare!).
• Д д - Sounds like “d” in door.
• З з - Sounds like “z” in zoo. (It looks like the number 3).
• Л л - Sounds like “l” in look.
• П п - Sounds like “p” in pot.
• Ф ф - Sounds like “f” in face.

The unique sounds

These are the distinctly Slavic sounds. Some of them combine two English sounds into one letter.

Ж (Zh)

This looks like a beetle or a snowflake. It sounds like the “s” in “measure” or “pleasure.”

• Example: Жук (Beetle).

Й (Yot)

This is a “short i.” It sounds like the “y” in “boy” or “toy.” It usually comes at the end of a syllable.

• Example: Йогурт (Yogurt).

Ц (Ts)

This sounds like the “ts” at the end of “cats.” It’s a sharp, short sound.

• Example: Цукор (Sugar).

Ч (Ch)

This looks like the number 4 upside down. It sounds like “ch” in “chair.”

• Example: Чай (Tea).

Ш (Sh)

This looks like a trident. It sounds like “sh” in “shoe.”

• Example: Шоколад (Chocolate).

Щ (Shch)

This is the hardest letter for many people! It looks like Ш with a little tail. It combines two sounds: Sh + Ch. It sounds like saying “Fresh cheese” very quickly.

• Example: Борщ (Borsch).

The “Y” vowels (Iotified vowels)

These vowels have a “Y” sound built into them.

• Є є - Sounds like “ye” in Yes.
• Ї ї - Sounds like “yi” in Yield. (Unique to Ukrainian!).
• Ю ю - Sounds like “yu” in You.
• Я я - Sounds like “ya” in Yard.

И (The tricky vowel)

Do not confuse І and И.

• І = “ee” (meet).
• И = “ih” (sit). It’s a deeper sound from the throat.

The complete Ukrainian alphabet table

Here is a reference table for all 33 letters.

What is the soft sign (Ь)?

You probably noticed a letter in the table that has no sound.

That is the Soft Sign (Ь).

It looks like a lower case “b” with a short top. This letter is a modifier. It changes the way the letter before it sounds.

In Ukrainian, consonants can be “hard” or “soft.”

• Hard: Your tongue is flat.
• Soft: You raise the middle of your tongue to the roof of your mouth (palatalization).

Think of the letter “L” in English.

1. Hard L: “Ball” (Deep, dark sound).
2. Soft L: “Leaf” (Higher, lighter sound).

The soft sign (Ь) makes the letter before it sound like the “L” in “Leaf” or the “N” in “Onion.”

Without the soft sign, it would sound hard and flat. With the soft sign, the “N” at the end is soft and gentle.

A note on stress and emphasis

Pronunciation isn’t just about letters; it’s about stress.

In Spanish or Polish, the stress usually falls on the same syllable (like the second to last one).

In Ukrainian, stress is dynamic. This means it can be anywhere in the word, and you just have to learn it when you learn the vocabulary.

If you stress the wrong syllable, people will usually still understand you, but sometimes it can change the meaning of a word.

For example:

• Замок (ZAmok) = Castle.
• Замок (zaMOK) = Lock.

My advice?

Don’t worry too much about memorizing stress rules right now. Just listen to native speakers and try to copy the “rhythm” of how they speak.

The Ukrainian alphabet takes a few days to get used to, but once you know the sounds, you’ve unlocked the ability to read an entirely new language.