Welcome to the Ukrainian alphabet, known as the абе́тка (abétka). It uses the Cyrillic script, which might look a little different from the Latin alphabet you're used to, but you'll find it's quite logical. The alphabet has 33 letters, and it's almost completely phonetic. That means words are pronounced just as they are spelled. Once you know the letters, you can sound out almost anything.

Let's start with the easy ones. Several Ukrainian letters look and sound almost exactly like their English counterparts. You already know these!

Now for the tricky part. Some Cyrillic letters look like English letters but make completely different sounds. These are the ones to watch out for. Memorizing them early will save you a lot of confusion later.

The letter 'Р р' is probably the most common stumbling block for English speakers. It's a rolled 'r,' made by tapping the tip of your tongue against the roof of your mouth, right behind your teeth. It's the sound you hear in Spanish words like perro.

Finally, we have the letters that will be completely new. Don't be intimidated by their shapes. Each has a consistent sound that's easy to learn.

Here is the rest of the alphabet.

Let’s look at a few of these more closely.

Г vs. Ґ: The letter Г г is a soft, breathy 'h' sound. The letter Ґ ґ, which looks like Г with an upturn, is the hard 'g' sound we have in English. While Ґ is less common, it's important to know the difference.

И vs. І vs. Ї: These three vowels can be tricky. И и is a short, relaxed sound, similar to the 'i' in 'kit'. І і is a tense 'ee' sound, like in 'meet'. And Ї ї is always pronounced 'yee'.

The Soft Sign (Ь): This letter, called the m'yakyy znak or "soft sign," has no sound of its own. Instead, it tells you that the consonant before it is "softened" or palatalized. This means you pronounce it with the middle of your tongue raised towards your hard palate, almost like you're about to say a 'y' sound right after the consonant. For now, just know that it modifies the sound of the letter before it.

Ready to check your knowledge? Let's see how many of the new letters you remember.

Congratulations on taking the first and most important step. With the alphabet under your belt, you're now ready to start reading and speaking Ukrainian.