Learn Ukrainian

Start at the alphabet

The Ukrainian on-ramp is written by hand, not generated, and it is 198 cards long. Every card is spoken in a recorded Ukrainian voice, and what you get right is scheduled for review rather than shown again at random. This is the shorter, starter size of on-ramp; most languages here have about 480 cards.

• 33letters
• 10digits
• 15pronunciation rules
• 100core words
• 20everyday phrases
• 20sentences

Three of the pronunciation cards, exactly as the on-ramp teaches them:

• г — г is a breathy “h” from the throat, never a hard “g”гроші — money
• ґ — the rare ґ is the only letter that makes the hard “g” of “go”ґанок — porch
• и — и is a hard vowel made further back than “ee” — Ukrainian has no ысин — son

Your first Ukrainian phrases

The first phrase and sentence cards of the on-ramp, each spoken in a recorded voice:

• Як справи? yak SPRA-vy — how are you?
• Як вас звати? yak vas ZVA-ty — what's your name?
• Дуже приємно. DU-zhe pry-YEM-no — nice to meet you.
• Я студент. ya stu-DENT — I am a student.
• Мене звати Оксана. me-NE ZVA-ty ok-SA-na — My name is Oksana.

What Ukrainian actually costs a beginner

The first surprise is г, which is a breathy h from the throat and never the hard g of go — the hard g has its own separate and rare letter, ґ. Then и, a hard vowel made further back than an ee, and і and ї, which Russian does not have at all. Ukrainian spelling is also more faithful to the sound than Russian's: an unstressed vowel keeps its value rather than blurring, so what you read is much closer to what you say. Every letter is a card, and every word and sentence on the on-ramp is spoken in a Ukrainian voice.