Learn Ukrainian

May your days be filled with warmth, comfort, and light

Carol of the bells (Shchedryk) (Щедрик) - available on Netflix (https://www.netflix.com/ua-en/title/81712873); WWII, so you might want to have some tissues ready for this one

Miracle Only (Тільки диво) - available in Ukrainian only; fairy-tale vibes + beautiful sceneries; you can access the movie here (free access for new susbcribers within the first 7 days) https://sweet.tv/movie/20878-tilki-divo

Adventures of S Nicholas (Пригоди S Миколая) - availble in Ukrainian only; "Home alone" vibes; feel-good movie. You can access it here https://sweet.tv/movie/20880-prigodi-s-mikolaya (first 7 days are free for new subscribers)

Infernal Guidon, or Cossack Christmas (Infernal Khorugv, or Cossack Christmas) - available in Ukrainian only but Netflix seems to have English subtitles as well!; this one is for those of you who love action and would like to see some Ukrainian folklore. You can access the movie here - https://www.netflix.com/ua/title/81687926?source=35

Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates it! I hope that these songs will fill your heart with joy and hope <3

Щедрик or Carol of the bells (did you know that it was originally written by a Ukrainian composer Leontovych? :))

2. Хай Ісус, мале дитя (May Jesus, little baby..)

3. Коляда-колядка (Carol)

4. Добрий вечір тобі, пане господарю (Good evening to you, good sir)

5. BONUS :) Ukrainian cover of the 'Silent Night' (Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht)

Disclaimer: 1) sadly, I was not able to find textbooks in all of the languages I searched for and 2) for obvious reasons, I was not able to go through all of the textbooks posted below either. Yet I still hope that this collection will be helpful :)

"Yabluko" series (divided into 3 levels - elementary, intermediate, adn advanced; can be ordered here https://studyukrainian.org.ua/books/)

"Ukrainian for foreigners" series (CEFR levels - A1, A2, and so on; can be purchased here, for example)

"Ukrainian for foreigners" by Danuta Mazuryk (requires some prior knowledge of Ukrainian, since the book is in Ukrainian). Can be purchased here, for example

Keep reading to find textbook options for some other languages :)

Бердичівський замок

Дубенський замок

Золочівський замок

Замок Любарта

A beautiful natural reserve in Ukraine

A couple of facts about the reserve (sourced from various websites, i.e. tourist guides, interviews with researchers, news articles etc and rewritten by me; if you notice false information, please, let me know)

Less than a week is left until the spookiest day of the season wil come around. Let's uncover the mystery: do Ukrainians celebrate Halloween?

Present Simple (I read) or Present Continuous (I'm reading)? The good (or bad) news is: there's no distinction between the two in Ukrainian (just like in German, Polish or Korean, for example). So, the form of the verb always stays the same, however.. 1) there's more than one verb to depict the same (or a very similar) action (don't worry, there's to go, to walk, to come, to leave, to saunter, to stroll in English too), 2) things can change (slightly) because of the context.

For example, йти/іти (y (as in yo-yo) ty) - to go (it's one of the 'to go' verbs that describes an unfinished action and expresses either the ongoing action or the intention to do something very soon, i.e. like saying "Yeah, mom, I'm coming!!!' (even though you're not actually going anywhere yet))

Я йду - I am going somehwere/I'm walking (can also mean "I'm leaving" or "I'm coming" depending on the context) Ти йдеш - You are going somehwere/You're walking... Він/вона йде - He/she is going somehwere/is walking Ми йдемо - We are going ../we're walking/leaving Ви йдете - You (plural or polite) are going somewhere./you're walking/leaving Вони йдуть - They go .../they're walking/leaving

Вони йдуть в кіно. - They're going to the cinema (either now or a bit later, depending on the context) Я йду додому. - I'm on my way home /I'm walking home. їсти (yeesty) - to eat (both Continuous and Simple)

Я їм - I am eating/I eat Ти їси - You are eating/eat Він/вона їсть - He/she is eating/eat Ми їмо - We are eating/eat Ви їсте - You (plural or polite) are eating/eat Вони їдять - They are eating/eat

Я їм печиво. - I'm eating cookies. Ти їси м'ясо? - Do you eat meat?

______

For those who'd like to practice: feel free to come up with two sentences of your own using the previously acquired vocabulary and the verbs 'to go' and 'to eat' (or any other verbs of your choice) in the Present Tense :)

Stationery

Stationery - канцелярія - kantseliareeia

Notebook - блокнот - bloknot

Paper - папір - papeer

Paper clip - (канцелярська) скріпка - (kantselliarska) skreepka

File - файл - file / file-yk

Folder - папка - papka

Sticky Notes - папір для нотаток - papeer dlia notatok

Pen - ручка - roochka

Ink - чорнило, чорнила - chornylo (s), chornyla (pl)

Highlighter - маркер - marker

Pencil - олівець - oleevets

Coloured pencils - кольорові олівці - kol'orovee oleevtsee

Eraser - гумка - hoomka

Glue - клей - clay (yup, that's how it's pronounced!)

Tape - скотч - scotch

Scissors - ножиці - nozhytsee

Ruler - лінійка - leeneeyka

Stapler - степлер - stapler

Drawing

Paintrbush - пензлик - penzlyk

Paints - фарби - farby

Watercolours - акварель - aquarel

Gouache - гуаш - gouache

Oil paints - олійні фарби - oleeynee farby

Drawing - малювання - maliuvannia

Easel - мольберт - mol'bert

Basics of the Ukrainian Language and Culture - https://www.open.edu/openlearn/languages/introduction-ukrainian-language-and-culture/

Ukraine: History, Culture, and Identities; this course is available in English, French, Italian, and Norwegian on Coursera: https://ui.org.ua/en/sectors-en/the-first-online-course-about-ukraine-in-english/

The Making of Modern Ukraine with Timothy Snyder: https://www.coursera.org/learn/the-making-of-modern-ukraine

Crimea: History and People on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/crimea-history-and-people/

Major - спеціальність - spetsialneest

School Subjects - шкільні предмети - shkeelnee predmety Subject - предмет - predmet

Школа - shkola - school

Університет - ooneeversytet - university

Семестр - semestr - semester

Навчальний рік - navchalnyi reek - academic year

Урок - oorok - lesson (at school)

Пара - para - lesson (at university or college)

Перерва - pererva - break

Іспит, екзамен - eespyt, examen - exam

Есе - esse - essay

Підручник - peedroochnyk - textbook

Викладач - vykladach - university or college 'teacher', professor

Вчитель - vchytel - school teacher

Професор - professor - professor

Спеціальність - spetsialneest - major

Олімпіада - olimpiada - olympiad

24 серпня - День незалежності України

Незалежність - Nezalezhneest - Independence

Океан Ельзи – "Незалежність". Концерт до Дня Незалежності - YouTube - here's a Ukrainian song called 'Independence', which was performed on the Day of Independence of Ukraine a couple of years ago. Feel free to give it a try and let me know what you think :) What do you think the song is about? Do you have any (studio version - Незалежність - YouTube)

Sadly, this year the concert, as well as all other sorts of celebrations, were cancelled due to the war. Yet, thankfully, we can still enjoy the music and old recordings regarless of where we are :)

Feel free to google - perhaps there's going to be an extra demonstration (many took place today) this weekend. Or an event. Maybe even with some Ukrainian music!

___________________________

I also brought you a Google Doodle, which, sadly, was only available in Ukraine today. If you'd like to see it and learn some more about Ukrainian history at the same time, please, click on the link below (it's a very short video, I promise!) :)

Ukraine Independence Day | Ukraine Independence Day 2023 - YouTube

Day of the National/State Flag of Ukraine - День державного прапора України

What is the meaning behind the National Flag?

It is comprised of two colours - blue and yellow, which represent the clear blue sky and the golden wheat field underneath. Why so? Well, generally speaking, it is a very typical scenery for Ukraine, as Ukrainians have had a strong connection with nature and agriculture for centuries. Moreover, even nowadays (at least, prior to the full-scale russian invasion in 2022) the majority of produced goods are grains, in particular wheat, corn, and sunflower seeds/oil (for this reason some people even referred to Ukraine as 'the bread basket of Europe').

Just to give you some infographics

In 2021, Ukraine was

• one of the top 5 world wheat exporters (5th place) (The World’s Top Wheat Exporters In 2021 (rferl.org)

• one of the top 3 world corn exporters (3rd place) Corn | OEC - The Observatory of Economic Complexity

• and the biggest sunflower oil exporter in the world (1st place) quote: "Since 2012, Ukraine has been the world's leading exporter of sunflower oil with a 47% share of global sunflower oil exports in 2021." (Ukraine: Sunflower oil production (October 2022) - Ukraine | ReliefWeb)

Vocabulary:

День - den - day

Прапор - prapor - flag

Національний - natseeonalny - national (masculine form of the adjective)

Державний - derzhavny - state (masculine form of the adjective)

Україна - Oo-kra-yee-na - Ukraine

алкоголь - alcohol - alcohol

алкогольний напій - alkoholny napeey - non-alcoholic drink

безалкогольний напій - bezalkoholnyi napeey - non-alcoholic drink

вино - vyno - wine

пиво - pyvo - beer

безалкогольне пиво - bezalkoholne pyvo - non-alcoholic beer

шампанське - shampanske - champaigne

віскі - veeskee - whisky

горілка - horeelka - horilka

коктейль - cocktail (soft l) - cocktail ____________________________________

Examples:

Одне безалкогольне пиво, будь ласка. - One non-alcoholic beer, please

Пляшку вина, будь ласка. - One bottle of wine, please

Мені, будь ласка, цей коктейль. - I would like [to take] this cocktail, please.

Я не п'ю. - I don't drink.