Everything You Need To Learn Ukrainian
Ukrainian is a South Slavic language that is the official state language of Ukraine. There are over 35 million native speakers, most of whom live in Ukraine. You’ll also find small populations of speakers in the other former Soviet republics, like Russia, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary.
Ukrainian is somewhat mutually intelligible with Russian; and in writing, the two are almost identical, as they both use the Cyrillic alphabet. The vocabulary and grammar are pretty much the same, though there are differences in pronunciation. This means that if you learn Ukrainian, you’ll essential be getting Russian for free!
Unlike Russian, however, there aren’t nearly as many materials for learning Ukrainian. We’ve put together a small list of some resources that we think will be useful to you.
Ukrainian Language Learning Books
While there isn’t any single Ukrainian course book that will get you from zero knowledge of the language to fluency, you can certainly build a solid foundation in the language with one of these. They’ll teach you the basics of Ukrainian grammar, how to use and pronounce the Cyrillic alphabet, and more.
Ukrainian Children’s Books
For easing yourself into native material, you can’t get any better than children’s books in Ukrainian. These are written in easy-to-read language and are filled with colorful, memorable illustrations.
By reading Ukrainian kids’ books, not only will you improve your reading comprehension, you’ll also come away with a lot of new vocabulary.
And with bilingual English-Ukrainian books, you’ll be able use the parallel English text to aid and guide you as you read the Ukrainian versions of the stories.
Ukrainian Digital Courses
A Ukrainian e-course is a great alternative to course books, if you’re more audiovisually inclined. Lessons come in the form of audio or videos, and place more emphasis on strengthening your speaking and listening skills.
Udemy’s Ukrainian course is affordable and offers video lessons designed to introduce beginners to the basics of the language. You also get lifetime access and can access the course on any smart device, including TVs.
UKRAINIAN UDEMY COURSES
UKRAINIAN AUDIO COURSES
Pimsleur’s Conversational Ukrainian, on the other hand, is an audio-only digital course that comes with 8 hours of audio lessons. This course is perfect for those with busy schedules, and those who want to start speaking and using the language quickly.
Pimsleur Conversational Ukrainian: 8 CD Audio Course
Ukrainian Products
Learning Ukrainian isn’t just limited to studying. There are products on the market that will also aid you in your language learning, but do so in a fun way.
For example, you could get a Ukrainian alphabet wooden puzzle to solidify your knowledge of the Cyrillic alphabet. Or maybe you want to teach your young children Ukrainian, in which case a set of Ukainian alphabet blocks could come in very handy.
Ukrainian Alphabet Wooden Puzzle Toy for Kids
