The first 6 letters introduced in this course are the letters in Ukrainian that resemble English letters and are pronounced roughly the same. Basically you already know these six Ukrainian letters!
The letter а in Ukrainian is pronounced like the “a” sound in the English words “spa” or “father” (IPA: /ɑ/). Remember to pronounce this word like a long “a” and not a short “a” sound like in the English words “cat” or “apple”. The uppercase form is А.
The letter е is pronounced like the “e” sound in the English words “met” or “peg” (IPA: /ɛ/). The uppercase form is Е.
The letter о is pronounced like the “o” sound in the English word “not” or “octopus” (IPA: /ɔ/). The uppercase form is О.
The letter к is pronounced like the “k” sound in the English words “kick” or “kite” (IPA: /k/). The uppercase form is К.
The letter м is pronounced like the “m” sound in the English words “mother” or “Michael” (IPA: /m/). The uppercase form is М.
The letter т is pronounced like the “t” sound in the English words “tan” or “Tom” (IPA: /t/). The uppercase form is Т.
As you can see these 6 letters are virtually the same as in English!
PRACTICE
Try to recognize these English words in their Ukrainian disguises. The answers are below.
1. ат
2. мет
3. кат
4. так
5. кот
6. мат
7. мама
ANSWERS
1. at
2. met
3. cat
4. tack
5. cot
6. mat
7. mama