Ukrainian alphabet for kids українська абетка

Ukrainian alphabet chart with pictures

33 letters · tap 🔊 to hear each one.

Picture	Letter	Word	Meaning	Listen
	А	ананас	pineapple	🔊
	Б	банан	banana	🔊
	В	виноград	grapes	🔊
	Г	гарбуз	pumpkin	🔊
	Ґ	ґудзик	button	🔊
	Д	дельфін	dolphin	🔊
	Е	ескімо	ice cream on a stick	🔊
	Є	єнот	raccoon	🔊
	Ж	жираф	giraffe	🔊
	З	зебра	zebra	🔊
	И	индик	turkey	🔊
	І	іграшка	toy	🔊
	Ї	їжак	hedgehog	🔊
	Й	йогурт	yoghurt	🔊
	К	кіт	cat	🔊
	Л	лев	lion	🔊
	М	мавпа	monkey	🔊
	Н	носоріг	rhino	🔊
	О	олень	deer	🔊
	П	півень	rooster	🔊
	Р	риба	fish	🔊
	С	сонце	sun	🔊
	Т	тигр	tiger	🔊
	У	удав	boa snake	🔊
	Ф	фламінго	flamingo	🔊
	Х	хліб	bread	🔊
	Ц	цибуля	onion	🔊
	Ч	черепаха	turtle	🔊
	Ш	шарф	scarf	🔊
	Щ	щітка	toothbrush	🔊
	Ь	кінь	horse (Ь is inside the word)	🔊
	Ю	юла	spinning top	🔊
	Я	яблуко	apple	🔊

The Ukrainian alphabet for kids on this page shows all 33 letters of the абетка the way a child sees them on a classroom chart: one letter, one picture word. А is for ананас (pineapple), Б for банан, Ґ for ґудзик (button), Ї for їжак (hedgehog) and Я for яблуко (apple). Tap any card to hear the letter and its word in clear audio, then play Find it or Memory.

How many letters are in the Ukrainian alphabet?

There are 33 letters: А Б В Г Ґ Д Е Є Ж З И І Ї Й К Л М Н О П Р С Т У Ф Х Ц Ч Ш Щ Ь Ю Я. Ten are vowels (А, Е, Є, И, І, Ї, О, У, Ю, Я), and one, the soft sign Ь, has no sound of its own. It softens the letter before it, as in кінь (horse), which is why the Ь card uses a word where the sign sits at the end. Ukrainian also uses an apostrophe inside words like п'ять (five) and м'яч (ball). It is not a letter; it tells you to say the next vowel with a clear "y" sound.

The letters that make Ukrainian special: Ґ, Є, І, Ї

These four letters are part of what makes written Ukrainian look and sound like itself. Notice too that the plain Г is a soft, breathy "h" sound, as in гарбуз (pumpkin), while Ґ gives the hard "g". And И is a short sound like the "i" in "sit", different from І. Children hear these differences easily when they listen to the cards a few times.

Letters that look like English

If your child already reads English, some letters will look familiar. А, К, М, О, Т, Е, І sound much as expected. Others are "trick letters": В says "v", Н says "n", Р says "r", С says "s", У says "oo" and Х says a throaty "kh". Make a game of it: write НОС (nose) and ask your child to read it the Ukrainian way.

How Ukrainian children learn to read

In kindergarten and first grade, children first listen for sounds in words: "What sound do you hear at the start of мавпа?" Then, with the буквар, they join letters into syllables: М + А = МА, and МА-МА is usually the first word read. This is called читання по складах, reading by syllables. Because Ukrainian vowels keep a clear sound even when they are not stressed, a word is read almost exactly as it is written, which makes early reading very rewarding.

Try it at home. When your child knows М, А, Т, О, make syllable cards МА, ТА, МО, ТО and build ТА-ТО (dad). Children are thrilled to read a family word.

Practising the Ukrainian alphabet at home

1. Three letters a week. Start with А, М, О, Т, then add К, І, Л. Soon you can read кіт and ліс.
2. Name letters. Children love finding the first letter of their own name, О for Олена, Т for Тарас.
3. Letter hunt. Look for letters on packets and books. Spot Ї and Ґ as "treasure letters".
4. Print this page. The letter chart prints cleanly from your browser as a poster at your child's eye level. There is no PDF to download.
5. Sing and move. Say the picture words in a rhythm while clapping: "А – ананас, Б – банан..."

What to expect by age

At 3-4, children usually know the letters of their own name and a few from мама and тато. At 4-5, most name many letters and hear first sounds. At 5-6, many read syllables and short words like дім, кіт, ніс, сир. Mixing up letters is normal at this age. Handwriting in Ukrainian schools is joined cursive, which starts in first grade; before that, big printed letters in sand or with a finger are plenty. For English letters, try our ABCD game and phonics sounds. You can also compare with the Russian alphabet, which uses Ё, Ы, Э and Ъ instead of Ґ, Є, І and Ї. Go back to learn Ukrainian for kids for more games.

Українська абетка для дітей

В українській абетці 33 літери. Серед них є особливі літери Ґ, Є, І та Ї, а ще м'який знак, який не має власного звуку. Натисніть на літеру, і дитина почує літеру та слово з малюнком: А – ананас, Ґ – ґудзик, Ї – їжак.

Спочатку вивчайте звуки, а потім складайте склади: МА, ТА, МО. Перші слова, які читає дитина, найчастіше МАМА і ТАТО. Шукайте літери в книжках, на коробках і на вулиці.

Не поспішайте з письмом. У п'ять-шість років досить малювати великі друковані літери пальчиком на піску або олівцем на папері.

How to use this page at home

Say it, then find it

Play for a few minutes, then look for the same thing away from the screen: ukrainian words on the shelf, in the kitchen, on the way to school. A child learns a word properly when they meet it twice, once on the screen and once in their hand.

Ten minutes is enough

Short and happy beats long and tired. Stop while your child still wants more, and come back tomorrow: the same page on five short days teaches far more than one long sitting. Nothing here is scored, so there is no reason to push.

Use both languages

Tap the language button at the top to hear the words in your home language first and the second language after. Hearing the same picture named in two languages is one of the few things research agrees builds attention as well as vocabulary.