Welcome to the Ukrainian alphabet, or українська абетка (ukrayins'ka abetka). It's your first major step toward reading, writing, and speaking Ukrainian. The alphabet uses a version of the Cyrillic script and has 33 letters. Some will look familiar, while others will be completely new.

Don't let the new characters intimidate you. The key is to connect each letter to its unique sound. Once you do, you'll find that Ukrainian pronunciation is often more consistent than English. What you see is usually what you get.

Many Slavic languages use the Cyrillic script, but each has its own unique set of letters and pronunciation rules. Let's dive into the 33 letters that make up the modern Ukrainian alphabet. We'll break them down into manageable groups to make learning them easier.

The best way to learn the alphabet is to see it all at once. Here is a complete table of all 33 letters. We’ll look at the printed letter, its name, and the sound it makes. For now, just look them over. We'll tackle them in smaller pieces next.

That's a lot to take in at once. Let's categorize the letters to make them easier to remember.

The Friends

These letters look and sound almost exactly like their English counterparts. You already know these!

• А а (like 'a' in car)
• Е е (like 'e' in met)
• К к (like 'k' in kite)
• М м (like 'm' in mom)
• О о (like 'o' in more)
• Т т (like 't' in top)

The False Friends

These letters look like English letters, but they make a completely different sound. Be careful with these!

• В в looks like 'B' but sounds like 'v' (as in vase).
• Н н looks like 'H' but sounds like 'n' (as in no).
• Р р looks like 'P' but is a rolled 'r'.
• С с looks like 'C' but sounds like 's' (as in sun).
• У у looks like 'Y' but sounds like 'oo' (as in moon).
• Х х looks like 'X' but sounds like the 'ch' in the Scottish word loch.

The Newcomers

This is the biggest group. These letters look different from most letters in the Latin alphabet, but their sounds are straightforward. The key here is simple memorization.

• Б б (b), Г г (h), Ґ ґ (g), Д д (d), Ж ж (s in treasure), З з (z), Л л (l), П п (p), Ф ф (f), Ц ц (ts), Ч ч (ch), Ш ш (sh).

Notice that Г sounds like 'h' and Ґ sounds like 'g'. The letter Ґ is less common, but the distinction is important.

Ukrainian has ten vowels. We've already seen А, Е, О, and У. There are also И, І, and Ї.

• И и sounds like the 'i' in kit.
• І і sounds like the 'ee' in see. This one is easy to remember because it looks like the English 'i'.
• Ї ї makes a 'yee' sound, like in yield. Those two dots on top are important!

The remaining three vowels are Я, Ю, Є. These are called "iotated" vowels because they combine a 'y' sound with another vowel sound:

• Я я = y + a (sounds like ya in yard)
• Ю ю = y + u (sounds like you)
• Є є = y + e (sounds like ye in yes)

Finally, there's the soft sign: Ь ь. This letter has no sound of its own. Instead, it tells you that the consonant before it is "softened." This means you pronounce it with the middle of your tongue raised toward the roof of your mouth, almost like you're about to say a 'y' sound right after the consonant. For now, just recognize it as a modifier.

Ready to test your knowledge? This quiz will help you check your understanding of the letters and their sounds.

Learning a new alphabet is a big step. Practice writing the letters out and saying their sounds aloud. It's the best way to make them stick in your memory. Soon, reading Cyrillic will feel as natural as reading the alphabet you grew up with.