Family of Sites 
Learn Ukrainian with this free phrasebook and its recordings made by native Ukrainian language speakers. For a deeper learning experience, see these online and study abroad experiences from SRAS!
Ukrainian is a Slavic language that is primarily spoken in Ukraine, with approximately 45 million speakers worldwide. Its roots lie in Old East Slavic language, which was spoken in the medieval Kyivan Rus’ state. While Russian and Ukrainian share a common root, they developed separately, with Ukrainian being influenced by Ukraine’s time under Polish and Austro-Hungarian while Russian absorbed more influence from Mongol rule and later from the popularity of French at the Tsarist court. Since Ukraine became independent in 1991, Ukrainian has become the state language of Ukraine and an important part of the country’s development of a national identity.
The Talking Phrasebook Series, of which the following entry is a part, presents useful phrases and words in side-by-side translation and with audio files specifically geared to help students work on listening skills and pronunciation. Each entry below, divided by category, features an English word or phrase in the left column and its Ukrainian translation in the right. The Ukrainian is presented in in English transliteration on top and in the original Cyrillic below that.
In the center column for each row is a play button. The recorded file will feature first English, then the Ukrainian in three versions: one slow, one with each syllable broken out, and a last version that will be spoken as it might be overheard in a conversation between native speakers.
Survival Basics for Ukrainian
| Hello! | Привіт! (pryvit!) |
|
| Yes | Так (tak) |
|
| No | Ні (Ni) |
|
| Good morning! | Доброго ранку! (dobroho ranku!) |
|
| Good evening! | Добрий вечір! (Dobroho vechora!) |
|
| What’s up? | В чому справа? (v chomu sprava?) |
|
| What’s up? | Що трапилося? (Shcho trapylosya?) |
|
| How are you? | Як справи? (Yak spravy?) |
|
| Good, thanks, and you? | Добре, дякую, а ти як? (Dobre, dyakuyu, a ty yak?) |
|
| Good bye! | До побачення! (Do pobachennya!) |
|
| See you later! | Побачимось! (Pobachymos`!) |
|
| Sorry! | Вибачте! (Vybachte!) |
|
| Open/closed | Відчинено/Зачинено (vidchyneno/zachyneno) |
|
| Pull/push | До себе/ від себе (do sebe/ vid sebe) |
|
| Small/big | Маленький/ великий (malen`kyi/velykyi) |
|
| Do you speak English? | Ви говорите англійською? (Vy hovoryte anhliys`koyu?) |
|
| I don’t speak English. | Я не говорю англійською. (Ya ne hovoryu anhliys`koyu) |
|
| I only speak a little Ukrainian | Я лише трохи розмовляю українською (Ya lyshe trokhy rozmovlyayu ukrayins`koyu) |
|
| I understand. | Я розумію. (Ya rozumiyu) |
|
| I don’t understand. | Я не розумію. (Ya ne rozumiyu) |
|
| Thank you! | Дякую! (Dyakuyu!) |
|
| Thank you very much! | Дуже дякую! (Duzhe dyakuyu!) |
|
| Very well, thanks! | Дуже добре, дякую! (Duzhe dobre, dyakuyu!) |
|
| Good | Добре (Dobre) |
|
| Please | Будь ласка (Bud`laska) |
|
| Please | Прошу (Proshu) |
|
| You’re welcome! | Немає за що! (Nema za shcho!) |
|
| Excuse me! | Перепрошую! (Pereproshuyu!) |
|
| A little | Трішки (Trishky) |
|
| Could you speak more slowly? | Ви можете говорити повільніше? (Vy mozhete hovoryty povil`nishe?) |
|
| Could you repeat that, please? | Можете повторти, будь ласка? (Mozhete povtoryty , budʹ laska?) |
|
| Could you write that down? | Ви можеш це записати? (Vy mozhete tse zapysaty?) |
|
| My bag/wallet/passport was stolen | Мою сумку/ мій гаманець/ паспорт вкрали (Moyu sumku/ miy hamanets`/ pasport vkraly) |
|
| I need a doctor! | Мені потрібен лікар! (Meni potriben likar!) |
|
| Call the police! | Викличте поліцію! (Vyklychte politsiyu!) |
Introductions in Ukrainian
| What is your name? | Як тебе звати? (Yak tebe zvaty?) |
|
| Pleased to meet you | Приємно познайомитися. (Pryyemno poznayomytysya). |
|
| I am 25 years old. | Мені двадцять п’ять років. (Meni dvadtsyat` p`yat` rokiv.) |
|
| How old are you? | Cкільки тобі років? (Skil`ky tobi rokiv?) |
|
| Where are you from? | Звідки ти? (Zvidky ty?) |
|
| I am American. | Я американець/ американка. (Ya amerykanets`/ amerykanka.) |
|
| No, I am from Canada. | Ні, я з Канади. (Ni, ya z Kanady.) |
|
| She is Austrian. | Вона австрійка. (Vona avstriyka.) |
|
| He is Irish. | Він ірландець. (Vin irlandets`.) |
|
| We are from New Zealand. | Ми з Нової Зеландії. (My z Novoyi Zelandiyi.) |
|
| They are from Wales. | Вониз Уельсу. (Vony z Uel`su.) |
|
| How do you like Kyiv? | Як тобі Київ? (Yak tobi Kyyiv?) |
|
| I like Kyiv very much. | Мені дуже подобається Київ . (Meni duzhe podobayet`sya Kyyiv ) |
|
| Have you ever been to Odessa? | Ти вже відвідував Одесу? (Ty vzhe vidviduvav Odesu?) |
|
| I have never been to Odessa before. | Я ніколи не був в Одесі. (Ya nikoly ne buv v Odesi.) |
|
| This is my second time in Ukraine. | Я вдруге в Україні. (Ya vdruhe v Ukrayini .) |
|
| What do you do? | Що ти робиш? (Shcho ty robysh?) |
|
| I am a student/businessman/teacher/doctor. | Я студент/бізнесмен/вчитель/лікар. (Ya student/biznesmen/vchytel`/likar.) |
|
| I am on vacation. | Я у відпустці. (Ya u vidpusttsi.) |
|
| I am here on business. | Я тут по справах. (Ya tut po spravakh.) |
Asking Directions
| Where are the toilets? | Де туалет? (De tualet?) |
|
| Men | Чоловічий (cholovichyy (tualet) |
|
| Women | Жіночий (Zinochyy) |
|
| Where is the bank? | Де банк? (De bank?) |
|
| Where is the post office? | Де поштове відділення? (De poshtove viddilennya ?) |
|
| Where is the train station? | Де залізничний вокзал? (De zaliznychnyy vokzal ?) |
|
| Where can I find Wi-Fi? | Де я можу знайти Wi-fi? (De ya mozhu znayty Wi-Fi?) |
|
| How do I log onto the Wi-Fi | Як підключитися до Wi-Fi? (Yak pidklyuchytysya do Wi-Fi?) |
|
| Excuse me, could you help me order a taxi? | Вибачте, можете допомогти мені замовити таксі? (Vybachte, mozhete dopomohty meni zamovyty taksi?) |
|
| Straight ahead! | Прямо/ попереду! (Pryamo/ poperedu!) |
|
| Take a right! | Праворуч! (Pravoruch!) |
|
| Take a left! | Ліворуч! (Livoruch!) |
|
| After the stoplight | За світлофором. (Za svitloforom) |
|
| Next | Наступний/ далі/ після (Nastupnyy/ dali/ pislya) |
|
| First | Перша (ий) (persha (yy)) |
|
| Last | Останній (ostanniy) |
Shopping
| How much does that cost? | Скільки коштує? (Skil`ky koshtuye?) |
|
| The menu, please! | Меню, будь ласка! (Menyu, bud` laska!) |
|
| I’d like a beer, please! | Пиво, будь ласка! (Pyvo, bud` laska!) |
|
| I would like to pay. | Хочу заплатит! (Khochu zaplatyty!) |
|
| Do you accept credit cards? | Ви приймаєте кредитки? (Vy pryymayete kredytky?) |
Counting
| 0 | нуль ( nul`) |
|
| 1 | один (odyn) |
|
| 2 | два (dva) |
|
| 3 | три (try) |
|
| 4 | чотири (chotyry) |
|
| 5 | п’ять (p`yat`) |
|
| 6 | шість ( shist`) |
|
| 7 | сім (sim) |
|
| 8 | вісім (visim) |
|
| 9 | дев’ять (dev`yat`) |
|
| 10 | десять (desyat`) |
|
| 11 | одинадцять (odynatsyat`) |
|
| 12 | дванадцять (dvanadtsyat`) |
|
| 13 | тринадцять (trynadtsyat`) |
|
| 14 | чотирнадцять (chotyrnadtsyat`) |
|
| 15 | п’ятнадцять (p`yatnadtsyat`) |
|
| 16 | шістнадцять (shistnadtsyat`) |
|
| 17 | сімнадцять (simnadtsyat`) |
|
| 18 | вісімнадцять (visimnadtsyat`) |
|
| 19 | дев’ятнадцять (dev`yatnadtsyat`) |
|
| 20 | двадцять (dvadtsyat`) |
|
| 21 | двадцять один (dvadtsyat` odyn) |
|
| 22 | двадцять два (dvadtsyat` dva) |
|
| 30 | тридцять (trydtsyat`) |
|
| 40 | сорок (sorok) |
|
| 50 | п’ятдесят (p`yatdesyat) |
|
| 60 | шістдесят (shistdesyat) |
|
| 70 | сімдесят (simdesyat) |
|
| 80 | вісімдесят (visimdesyat) |
|
| 90 | дев’яносто (dev`yanosto) |
|
| 100 | сто (sto) |
|
| 111 | сто одинадцять (sto odynatsyat` ) |
|
| 125 | Сто двадцять п’ять (sto dvadtsyat`p`yat` ) |
|
| 200 | двісті (dvisti) |
Additional Resources for Understanding Ukrainian
For a deeper learning experience, see these online and study abroad experiences from SRAS!
The Habits of Nuns in Catholic and Orthodox Traditions
Despite their cloistered livelihood, nuns have found their way into many veins of popular theater and movies. However, their usual depiction, wearing black habits with a veil and carrying a rosary, is not accurate for all nuns. It is true that the symbolic meaning of the habit is consistent across both Catholic and Eastern Orthodox […]
St. Sophia’s Cathedral – The Historic Protectress of Kyiv, Ukraine
Near the center of the city, St. Sophia’s Cathedral is maintained by the Ukrainian government as a grand and beautiful reminder of the past. Originally founded in 1011 A.D., when Kyiv was still the capital of Kyivan Rus’, it was an early and grand celebration of the state’s official adoption of Christianity in 988. The […]
Maslenitsa, Masliana, Marzanna: Spring Holidays of the Slavs
Rites of welcoming spring and saying goodbye to winter are some of the oldest holidays preserved across Slavic cultures. While Russia’s Maslenitsa is by the far the best-known, multiple versions exist across the diverse Slavic landscape. Amazingly, despite the fact that these societies are now deeply Christian, all of these holidays are still celebrated in […]
Blini, Mlintsi, Palačinke! Making Slavic “Pancakes”
Blini (блины) are a breakfast favorite in many Eurasian countries. The most basic recipe involves just flour, milk, and eggs. The resulting very thin pancake can be enjoyed in a variety of ways from sweet to savory. Although the recipe is quite simple, they are somewhat labor intensive to make and thus are often associated […]
Ukrainian Holidays 2024: A Complete Guide
Ukrainian holidays are a reflection of Ukrainian’s recent political history and shifting identity. They feature a range of secular and religious holidays. Some holidays have been celebrated for thousands of years and some, particularly patriotic and Western-influenced holidays, have been recently added to the line up. See below for descriptions of these Ukrainian holidays, their […]
