Здравствуйте! This Ukrainian course was developed by the U.S. Peace Corps for its volunteers going to Ukrainian. It can be useful as a primer for learning the basics of the Ukrainian language. You can listen and follow along to each lesson or download the whole course directly.
Download Full Course (PDF and Audio Files)
Contents
Lesson 1 – Introduction
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Welcome to the Peace Corps Ukraine language lessons! Ukrainian is the national language of Ukraine, and these “Survival Ukrainian” files will help you get a head start in learning the language and using colloquial phrases that will help you get by your first weeks in Ukraine. We recommend that you listen to the audio files and repeat while reading the language script. It will be useful if you use these files for 10-15 minute a day. In the language script we use the transliteration system which will help you to pronounce Ukrainian, even without any background in Slavic languages. The letters are transliterated from the Ukrainian alphabet in accordance to its sound in English. The letter ь (soft sign) has no sound and will be represented in the transliteration as an apostrophe [’]. Unlike English the Ukrainian alphabet is absolutely phonetic: each letter has a single pronunciation in every usage. The lessons do not have to be in any particular order. After you complete the first lesson, you may choose any topic of interest or importance to you. We won’t discuss grammatical topics in these lessons. You will learn grammar during the language classes in Pre-Service Training in Ukraine.
Ukrainian in a Nutshell
It belongs to the Slavic group of the Indo-European language family. The Ukrainians use the Cyrillic alphabet. There are differences between the Cyrillic and Latin sounds and letters, but they are small and you will learn to recognize them quickly. The Ukrainian alphabet is comprised of 33 letters. Stress in Ukrainian can fall on any syllable in a word. The stressed part of the word will be marked in bold in transliteration and the word itself. One word has only one stressed syllable which is no longer that others. Usually the stress is indicated in dictionaries. We hope you will enjoy the Ukrainian language lessons and wish you good luck with your learning
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Lesson 2 – Ukrainian Alphabet and Pronunciation
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Ukrainian letter | Approximate English Sound Equivalent | As In |
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А а | a | in bar |
Б б | b | in book |
В в | v | in voice |
Г г | h | in how |
Ґ ґ | g | in get |
Д д | d | in dot |
Е е | e | in ten |
Є є | ye | in yes |
Ж ж | zh | in pleasure |
З з | z | in zone |
И и | y | in byte |
І і | ee | in meet |
Ї ї | yee | in yeast |
Й й | y | in boy |
К к | k | in key |
Л л | l | in lamp |
М м | m | in man |
Н н | n | in nose |
О о | o | in port |
П п | p | in spoon |
Р р | r | in roof |
С с | s | in small |
Т т | t | in tart |
У у | oo | in moon |
Ф ф | f | in fine |
Х х | kh | in Loch Ness |
Ц ц | ts | in cats |
Ч ч | ch | in chair |
Ш ш | sh | in shine |
Щ щ | shch | in rash choice |
Ь | no sound apostrophe ’ in transliteration | it softens the previous consonant |
Ю ю | yoo | in youth |
Я я | ya | in yard |
As you can see and hear, some Ukrainian letters have equivalent sound in English but look quite different:
Ukrainian letter | Corresponding Sound | English Letter |
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Б | [b] | В |
Г | [h] | H |
П | [p] | P |
Ф | [f] | F |
Д | [d] | D |
З | [z] | Z |
Л | [l] | L |
Perhaps the most confusing are the letters that look like Latin but in Cyrillic represent different sounds.
Ukrainian “False Friend” Letter | Corresponding Sound | English Letter/Sound |
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В | [v] | V |
P | [r] | R |
C | [s] | S |
H | [n] | N |
Х | [kh] | – [kh] as in Loch Ness |
У | [oo] | – [oo] as in moon |
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Lesson 3 – Greetings and Farewells
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Greetings
English | Transliteration | Ukrainian |
---|---|---|
Good morning. | dobryy ranok | Добрий ранок. |
Good afternoon. | dobryy den’ | Добрий день. |
Good evening. | dobryy vecheer | Добрий вечір. |
Hi. | pryveet | Привіт. |
How are you? | yak spravy | Як справи? |
I am good, thank you. | dobre dyakooyoo | Добре, дякую. |
And you? | a oo vas | А у вас? |
Fine. | normal’no | Нормально. |
Farewells
English | Transliteration | Ukrainian |
---|---|---|
Good bye. | do pobachennya | До побачення. |
Bye. | poka | Пока. |
See you tomorrow. | do zavtra | До завтра. |
Good luck. | shchaslyvo | Щасливо. |
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Lesson 4 – Useful Phrases
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English | Transliteration | Ukrainian |
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Yes. | tak | Так. |
No. | nee | Ні. |
Thank you. | dyakooyoo | Дякую. |
Please. | bood’ laska | Будь ласка. |
You are welcome. | proshoo | Прошу. |
Excuse me/I’m sorry. | vybachte | Вибачте. |
Never mind. | neechoho | Нічого. |
What a shame! | shkoda | Шкода! |
Just a minute. | khvylynkoo | Хвилинку! |
May I? | mozhna | Можна? |
It’s important. | tse vazhlyvo | Це важливо. |
I’m sorry, I don’t understand. | vybachte ya ne rozoomeeyoo | Вибачте, я не розумію. |
I study Ukrainian | ya oochoo ookrayeens’koo | Я учу українську. |
Repeat, please. | povtoreet’ bood’ laska | Повторіть, будь ласка. |
Translate, please. | perekladeet’ bood’ laska | Перекладіть, будь ласка. |
What is the Ukrainian for bread? | yak ookrayeens’koyoo … | Як українською bread? |
What? | shcho | Що? |
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Lesson 5 – Getting Acquainted
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English | Transliteration | Ukrainian |
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Who is it? | Khto tse | Хто це? |
It is Oksana. | tse oksana | Це Оксана. |
It is John. | tse dzhon | Це Джон. |
What is your name? | yak vas zvaty | Як вас звати? |
My name is Sasha. | mene zvaty sasha | Мене звати Саша. |
Nice to meet you. | duzhe pryyemno | Дуже приємно. |
Nice to meet you too. | menee tezh | Мені теж. |
How old are you? | skeel’ky vam rokeev | Скільки вам років? |
I am 25. | menee dvadtsyat’ pyat’ | Мені 25. |
Who are you? | khto vy | Хто ви? |
I am an American (male). | ya amerykanets’ | Я американець. |
I am an American (female). | ya amerykanka | Я американка. |
I am a Peace Corps Volunteer. | ya dobrovolets’ korpoosoo myroo | Я доброволець Корпусу Миру. |
Where are you from? | zveedky vy | Звідки ви? |
I am from America, the state of California. | ya z ameryky shtat kaleeforneeya | Я з Америки, штат Каліфорнія. |
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Lesson 6 – Family
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English | Transliteration | Ukrainian |
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father | tato | тато |
mother | mama | мама |
son | syn | син |
daughter | dochka | дочка |
brother | brat | брат |
sister | sestra | сестра |
grandfather | deedoos’ | дідусь |
grandmother | baboosya | бабуся |
grandson | onook | онук |
granddaughter | onooka | онука |
children | deety | діти |
husbаnd | choloveek | чоловік |
wife | droozhyna | дружина |
friend | drooh | друг |
girlfriend | podrooha | подруга |
and | ee | і |
I have …. | oo mene ye | У мене є … |
I have a brother and a sister. | u mene ye brat ee sestra | У мене є брат і сестра. |
This is my family. | tse moya seem’ya | Це моя сім’я. |
This is my mother. | tse mama | Це мама. |
This is my brother. | tse brat | Це брат. |
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Lesson 7 – Talking About Yourself
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English | Transliteration | Ukrainian |
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My name is Kelsey. | mene zvaty kelsee | Мене звати Келсі. |
I am 27 years old. | menee dvadtsyat’ seem. | Мені 27 років. |
I am from America, the state of Minnesota. | ya z ameryky shtat meenesota | Я з Америки, штат Мінесота. |
I am a teacher. | ya oochytel’ | Я учитель. |
I am a Peace Corps Volunteer. | ya dobrovolets’ korpoosoo myroo | Я доброволець Корпусу Миру. |
I have a family. | u mene ye seemya | У мене є сім’я. |
I have a brother and a sister. | u mene ye brat ee sestra | У мене є брат і сестра. |
I like to read. | ya lyooblyoo chytaty | Я люблю читати. |
I study Ukrainian. | ya oochoo ookrayeens’koo | Я учу українську. |
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Lesson 8 – Food
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English | Transliteration | Ukrainian |
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borshch | borshch | борщ |
soup | soop | суп |
salad | salat | салат |
potato | kartoplya | картопля |
meat | myaso | м’ясо |
fish | ryba | риба |
dumplings/varenyky | varenyky | вареники |
macaroni | makarony | макарони |
rice | rys | рис |
vegetables | ovochee | овочі |
fruit | frookty | фрукти |
water | voda | вода |
non-carbonated water | voda bez hazoo | вода без газу |
tea | chay | чай |
coffee | kava | кава |
juice | seek | сік |
milk | moloko | молоко |
It is delicious! | smachno | Смачно! |
I am a vegetarian (female). | ya vehetareeanka | Я вегетаріанка. |
I am a vegetarian (male). | ya vehetareeanets’ | Я вегетаріанець. |
I am not allowed. | menee ne mozhna | Мені не можна. |
I like fruits. | ya lyooblyoo frookty | Я люблю фрукти. |
I don’t like meat. | ya ne lyooblyoo myaso | Я не люблю м’ясо. |
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Lesson 9 – Apartment
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English | Transliteration | Ukrainian |
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my room | moya keemnata | моя кімната |
kitchen | kookhnya | кухня |
bathroom | vana | ванна |
toilet | tooalet | туалет |
corridor | korydor | коридор |
balcony | balkon | балкон |
door | dveree | двері |
key | klyooch | ключ |
window | veekno | вікно |
table | steel | стіл |
chair | steelets’ | стілець |
wardrobe | shafa | шафа |
sofa | dyvan | диван |
lamp | lampa | лампа |
telephone | telefon | телефон |
to smoke | palyty | палити |
Where is my room? | de moya keemnata | Де моя кімната? |
Here it is. | os’ | Ось. |
Where can I smoke? | de mozhna palyty | Де можна палити? |
Here. | toot | Тут. |
There. | tam | Там. |
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Lesson 10 – Numbers
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English | Transliteration | Ukrainian |
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one | odyn | 1 – один |
two | dva | 2 – два |
three | try | 3 – три |
four | chotyry | 4 – чотири |
five | pyat’ | 5 – п’ять |
six | sheest’ | 6 – шість |
seven | seem | 7 – сім |
eight | veeseem | 8 – вісім |
nine | devyat’ | 9 – дев’ять |
ten | desyat’ | 10 – десять |
eleven | odynadtsyat’ | 11 – одинадцять |
twelve | dvanadtsyat’ | 12 – дванадцять |
thirteen | trynadtsyat’ | 13 – тринадцять |
fourteen | chotyrnadtsyat’ | 14 – чотирнадцять |
fifteen | pyatnadtsyat’ | 15 – п’ятнадцять |
sixteen | sheestnadtsyat’ | 16 – шістнадцять |
seventeen | seemnadtsyat’ | 17 – сімнадцять |
eighteen | veeseemnadtsyat’ | 18 – вісімнадцять |
nineteen | devyatnadtsyat’ | 19 – дев’ятнадцять |
twenty | dvadtsyat’ | 20 – двадцять |
twenty-one | dvadtsyat’ odyn | 21 – двадцять один |
twenty-two | dvadtsyat’ dva | 22 – двадцять два |
twenty-three | dvadtsyat’ try | 23 – двадцять три |
twenty-four | dvadtsyat’ chotyry | 24 – двадцять чотири |
twenty-five | dvadtsyat’ pyat’ | 25 – двадцять п’ять |
twenty-six | dvadtsyat’ sheest’ | 26 – двадцять шість |
twenty-seven | dvadtsyat’ seem | 27 – двадцять сім |
twenty-eight | dvadtsyat’ veeseem | 28 – двадцять вісім |
twenty-nine | dvadtsyat’ devyat’ | 29 – двадцять дев’ять |
thirty | trydtsyat’ | 30 – тридцять |
forty | sorok | 40 – сорок |
fifty | pyatdesyat | 50 – п’ятдесят |
sixty | sheestdesyat | 60 – шістдесят |
seventy | seemdesyat | 70 – сімдесят |
eighty | veeseemdesyat | 80 – вісімдесят |
ninety | devyanosto | 90 – дев’яносто |
one hundred | sto | 100 – сто |
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Lesson 11 – At the Store
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English | Transliteration | Ukrainian |
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costume | kostyoom | костюм |
sweater | svetr | светр |
coat | pal’to | пальто |
jeans | dzhynsy | джинси |
shampoo | shampoon’ | шампунь |
cream (lotion) | krem | крем |
soap | mylo | мило |
tooth paste | zoobna pasta | зубна паста |
tooth brush | zoobna shcheetka | зубна щітка |
hryvnia/hryvnias | hryvnya/hryvnee | гривня/гривні |
kopeck/kopecks | kopeeyka/kopeeyky | копійка/копійки |
dollar/dollars | dolar/dolary | долар/долари |
How much does it cost? | skeel’ky tse koshtooye | Скільки це коштує? |
3 hryvnias. | try hryvnee | Три гривні. |
It is expensive. | tse doroho | Це дорого. |
It is not expensive. | tse nedoroho | Це недорого. |
Can you give me … | dayte bood’ laska | Дайте, будь ласка. |
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Lesson 12 – Transport
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English | Transliteration | Ukrainian |
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bus | avtoboos | автобус |
trolley-bus | troleyboos | тролейбус |
tram | tramvay | трамвай |
taxi | taksee | таксі |
car | masheena | машина |
metro | metro | метро |
bus stop | zoopynka | зупинка |
passenger | pasazhyr | пасажир |
ticket | kvytok | квиток |
How much does the ticket cost? | skeel’ky koshtooye kvytok | Скільки коштує квиток? |
50 kopecks. | p’yatdesyat kopeeyok | 50 копійок. |
Can you stop here, please. | zoopyneet’ toot bood’ | Зупиніть тут, будь |
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Lesson 13 – In the City
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English | Transliteration | Ukrainian |
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center | tsentr | центр |
street | voolytsya | вулиця |
building | boodynok | будинок |
post office | poshta | пошта |
bank | bank | банк |
hotel | hotel’ | готель |
store | mahazyn | магазин |
pharmacy | apteka | аптека |
hospital | leekarnya | лікарня |
school | shkola | школа |
institute | eenstytoot | інститут |
university | ooneeversytet | університет |
theater | teatr | театр |
movie theater | keenoteatr | кінотеатр |
museum | moozey | музей |
stadium | stadeeon | стадіон |
park | park | парк |
straight | pryamo | прямо |
to the right | napravo | направо |
to the left | naleevo | наліво |
backwards | nazad | назад |
far away | daleko | далеко |
not far away. | nedaleko | недалеко |
Where is the park? | de park | Де парк? |
The park is over there. | park tam | Парк там. |
I got lost (male) | ya zablookav | Я заблукав. |
I got lost (female) | ya zablookala | Я заблукала. |
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Lesson 14 – Post Office
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English | Transliteration | Ukrainian |
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envelope | konvert | конверт |
letter | lyst | лист |
post card | lysteevka | листівка |
postage stamp | marka | марка |
address | adresa | адреса |
envelope to America | konvert v amerykoo | конверт в Америку |
Where is the post office? | de poshta | Де пошта? |
The post office is in the center. | poshta oo tsentree | Пошта у центрі. |
How much does the envelope to America cost? | skeel’ky koshtooye konvert v amerykoo | Скільки коштує конверт в Америку? |
How much does the post card cost? | skeel’ky koshtooye lysteevka | Скільки коштує листівка? |
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Lesson 15 – Signs
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English | Transliteration | Ukrainian |
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Closed | zachyneno | Зачинено |
Open | veedchyneno | Відчинено |
Entrance | vheed | Вхід |
Exit | vyheed | Вихід |
No smoking! | ne kooryty/ne palyty | Не курити!/Не палити! |
Lunch | obeed | Обід |
Crosswalk | perekheed | Перехід |
Pull Push | do sebe veed sebe | До себе Від себе |
Break | pererva | Перерва |
Toilet for men | choloveechyy tooalet | М (чоловічий туалет) |
Toilet for women | zheenochyy tooalet | Ж (жіночий туалет) |
Be careful! | oberezhno | Обережно! |
Attention! | oovaha | Увага! |
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Lesson 16 – Emergencies
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English | Transliteration | Ukrainian |
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Fire! | pozhezha | Пожежа! |
Help! | dopomozheet’ | Допоможіть! |
I am not feeling well! | menee pohano | Мені погано! |
Stop it! | perestan’te | Перестаньте! |
Militia! (Police!) | meeleetseeya | Міліція! |
Hold your dog! | zabereet’ sobakoo | Заберіть собаку! |
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Lesson 17 – Personal Pronouns
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English | Transliteration | Ukrainian |
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I | ya | я |
you (informal singular form) | ty | ти |
he | veen | він |
she | vona | вона |
it | vono | воно |
we | my | ми |
you (formal singular and plural form) | vy | ви |
they | vony | вони |
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Lesson 18 – Professions
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English | Transliteration | Ukrainian |
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teacher | oochytel’ | учитель |
businessman | beeznesmen | бізнесмен |
businesswoman | beeznes ledee | бізнес-леді |
doctor | leekar | лікар |
engineer | eenzhener | інженер |
journalist | zhoornaleest | журналіст |
director | dyrektor | директор |
secretary | sekretar | секретар |
student (male) | stoodent | студент |
student (female) | stoodentka | студентка |
athlete (male) | sportsmen | спортсмен |
athlete (female) | sportsmenka | спортсменка |
manager | menedzher | менеджер |
banker | bankeer | банкір |
police officer | meeleetseeoner | міліціонер |
pensioner (male) | penseeoner | пенсіонер |
pensioner (female) | penseeonerka | пенсіонерка |
farmer | fermer | фермер |
economist | ekonomeest | економіст |
lawyer | yooryst | юрист |
Who is she? (her profession) | khto vona | Хто вона? |
She is an economist. | vona ekonomeest | Вона – економіст. |
What is your profession? | yaka vasha profeseeya | Яка ваша професія? |
I am a teacher. | ya oochytel’ | Я – учитель. |
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Lesson 19 – Days of the Week and Months
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English | Transliteration | Ukrainian |
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Monday | ponedeelok | понеділок |
Tuesday | veevtorok | вівторок |
Wednesday | sereda | середа |
Thursday | chetver | четвер |
Friday | pyatnytsya | п’ятниця |
Saturday | soobota | субота |
Sunday | nedeelya | неділя |
today | s’ohodnee | сьогодні |
yesterday | oochora | учора |
tomorrow | zavtra | завтра |
English | Transliteration | Ukrainian |
December | hrooden’ | грудень |
January | seechen’ | cічень |
February | lyootyy | лютий |
March | berezen’ | березень |
April | kveeten’ | квітень |
May | traven’ | травень |
June | cherven’ | червень |
July | lypen’ | липень |
August | serpen’ | серпень |
September | veresen’ | вересень |
October | zhovten’ | жовтень |
November | lystopad | листопад |
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Lesson 20 – Question Words
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English | Transliteration | Ukrainian |
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Who? | khto | Хто? |
What? | shcho | Що? |
Where? | de | Де? |
Where to? (with directions) | koody | Куди? |
When? | koly | Коли? |
How? | yak | Як? |
Why? | chomoo | Чому? |
How much? | skeel’ky | Cкільки? |
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