Reading Practice
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Homework Exercises for A0 Ukrainian
Syllables · Words · Sentences
Lesson-by-Lesson Reading Practice
Aligned with First Steps in Ukrainian — A0 Preparatory Course
Practice reading aloud every day — even 5 minutes makes a difference!
Reading Practice Homework A0 Ukrainian
Contents
1 Lesson 1 — “True Friends”: А, К, М, О, Т, Е 3
2 Lesson 2 — “False Friends”: В, Н, Р, С, У, Х 5
3 Lesson 3 — “New Faces”: Б, Г, Д, Ж, З, Л, П, Ф, Ц, Ч, Ш, Щ 7
4 Lesson 4 — Uniquely Ukrainian: Є, І, Ї, and the hard Ґ 9
5 Lesson 5 — The Soft Sign: Ь 11
6 Lesson 6 — The Apostrophe: ’ (a tiny stop sign) 13
7 Cumulative Review — Read Everything! 15
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Reading Practice Homework A0 Ukrainian
Lesson 1 — “True Friends”: А, К, М, О, Т, Е
Lesson 1: Letters that look and sound like English
Letters introduced: А, К, М, О, Т, Е
These Cyrillic letters both look and sound similar to their English counterparts. If
you can read English, you can already read these!
А (a) К (k) М (m) О (o) Т (t) Е (e)
Part 1: Read the syllables aloud
Read each syllable slowly and clearly. Repeat each row 2–3 times.
Vowel + Consonant
Ак Ам Ат
Ек Ем Ет
Ок Ом От
Consonant + Vowel
Ка Ма Та
Ке Ме Те
Ко Мо То
Part 2: Read the words
These words use only the “True Friends” letters. Read them aloud.
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Reading Practice Homework A0 Ukrainian
Word Meaning
тема (theme, topic)
комéта (comet)
мéта (goal, aim)
мéтод (method)
мак (poppy)
кот (tomcat)
там (there)
так (yes)
мама (mom)
тато (dad)
Well done!
You just read Ukrainian! Every letter here works exactly like English. In the next
lesson, we add letters that look English but sound different — the “False Friends.”
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Reading Practice Homework A0 Ukrainian
Lesson 2 — “False Friends”: В, Н, Р, С, У, Х
Lesson 2: Letters that LOOK English but SOUND differ-
ent!
New letters: В, Н, Р, С, У, Х
Warning! These letters look familiar but make completely different sounds:
Cyrillic Looks like Actually sounds like
В English B “v” as in van
Н English H “n” as in no
Р English P “r” (rolled!)
С English C “s” as in sun
У English Y “oo” as in moon
Х English X “kh” — breathy “h”
Plus all “True Friends” from Lesson 1: А, К, М, О, Т, Е
Part 1: Read the syllables aloud
Now you combine True Friends + False Friends. Watch out — В is “v”, not “b”!
Vowel + Consonant
Ак Ам Ат Ав Ан Ар Ас Ах
Ек Ем Ет Ев Ен Ер Ес Ех
Ок Ом От Ов Он Ор Ос Ох
Ук Ум Ут Ув Ун Ур Ус Ух
Consonant + Vowel
Ка Ма Та Ва На Ра Са Ха
Ке Ме Те Ве Не Ре Се Хе
Ко Мо То Во Но Ро Со Хо
Ку Му Ту Ву Ну Ру Су Ху
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Reading Practice Homework A0 Ukrainian
Part 2: Read the words — using True Friends + False Friends
Word Meaning
нос (nose)
рот (mouth)
сон (dream)
вус (whisker)
сок (juice)
ніс (nose)
кут (corner)
тут (here)
нам (to us)
вам (to you)
ра́ нок (morning)
вéчір (evening)
хмáра (cloud)
вóда (water)
Common Mistake!
The most common mistake: reading Р as English “P” and Н as English “H.” Practice
slowly! Р = “R” and Н = “N”.
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Reading Practice Homework A0 Ukrainian
Lesson 3 — “New Faces”: Б, Г, Д, Ж, З, Л, П, Ф,
Ц, Ч, Ш, Щ
Lesson 3: Brand new letters — no English look-alike!
New letters: Б, Г, Д, Ж, З, Л, П, Ф, Ц, Ч, Ш, Щ
These letters have no English counterpart in appearance. Learn each sound:
Б Г Д Ж З Л П Ф Ц Ч Ш Щ
b h d zh z l p f ts ch sh shch
Plus all letters from Lessons 1 & 2: А, Е, О, У, К, М, Т, В, Н, Р, С, Х
Part 1: Read the syllables aloud
Vowel + New Consonant
Аб Аг Ад Аж Аз Ал Ап Аф Ац Ач Аш Ащ
Еб Ег Ед Еж Ез Ел Еп Еф Ец Еч Еш Ещ
Об Ог Од Ож Оз Ол Оп Оф Оц Оч Ош Ощ
Уб Уг Уд Уж Уз Ул Уп Уф Уц Уч Уш Ущ
New Consonant + Vowel
Ба Га Да Жа За Ла Па Фа Ца Ча Ша Ща
Бе Ге Де Же Зе Ле Пе Фе Це Че Ше Ще
Бо Го До Жо Зо Ло По Фо Цо Чо Шо Що
Бу Гу Ду Жу Зу Лу Пу Фу Цу Чу Шу Щу
Part 2: Read the words — International words you already know!
Many Ukrainian words sound like English words. Read them and see!
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Reading Practice Homework A0 Ukrainian
Ukrainian English Ukrainian English
метр (meter) зéбра (zebra)
банк (bank) суп (soup)
парк (park) салáт (salad)
таксı́ (taxi) лимóн (lemon)
теáтр (theater) банáн (banana)
пı́ца (pizza) бар (bar)
меню́ (menu) метрó (metro, subway)
шоколáд (chocolate) центр (center)
кафé (cafe) пáспорт (passport)
вı́за (visa) аеропóрт (airport)
інтернéт (internet) рáдı́о (radio)
монı́тор (monitor) текст (text)
телефóн (telephone) блог (blog)
студéнт (student) професор (professor)
дóктор (doctor) спорт (sport)
факт (fact) проблéма (problem)
му́ зика (music) тигр (tiger)
пінгвı́н (penguin) жирáф (giraffe)
алігáтор (alligator)
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Reading Practice Homework A0 Ukrainian
Lesson 4 — Uniquely Ukrainian: Є, І, Ї, and the
hard Ґ
Lesson 4: Letters that exist ONLY in Ukrainian
New letters: Є, І, Ї, Ґ
These special letters make Ukrainian unique among all Slavic languages:
Letter Sound
Іі “ee” as in see
Єє “ye” as in yes
Її “yi” as in yeast
Ґґ “g” as in go (hard G, unlike Г which = “h”)
Plus all letters from Lessons 1–3.
Part 1: Read the syllables aloud
Ukrainian vowel (І, Є, Ї) + Consonant
Іґ Ім Ін Ір Іс Іт
Єґ Єм Єн Єр Єс Єт
Їґ Їм Їн Їр Їс Їт
Consonant + Ukrainian vowel (і, є)
Ґі Мі Ні Рі Сі Ті
Ґє Мє Нє Рє Сє Тє
Note: Ї always carries its own “y” sound — it is never preceded by a consonant in
the same syllable.
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Reading Practice Homework A0 Ukrainian
Part 2: Read the words — review all letters so far
Word Meaning
кіт (cat)
ніс (nose)
кіно́ (cinema)
мı́сто (city)
рı́чка (river)
вı́тер (wind)
їсти (to eat)
її ́ (her / hers)
Україна (Ukraine)
Євро́ па (Europe)
ґа́ нок (porch)
ґу́ дзик (button)
Г vs. Ґ
Don’t confuse Г and Ґ! They are different letters:
• Г = soft “h” (as in hello) — very common
• Ґ = hard “g” (as in go) — rare, but uniquely Ukrainian!
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Reading Practice Homework A0 Ukrainian
Lesson 5 — The Soft Sign: Ь
Lesson 5: The invisible letter that changes everything
New symbol: Ь (soft sign / м’я́ кий знак)
The soft sign has no sound of its own. It “softens” (palatalizes) the consonant
before it, making it lighter, as if adding a tiny “y” before the next vowel.
Think of it as whispering the consonant through a smile!
Compare: Hard vs. Soft consonants
Read each pair aloud. Notice how Ь changes the consonant:
Without Ь (hard) With Ь (soft)
Л — Ль
Ал ←→ Аль
Ол ←→ Оль
Ул ←→ Уль
Н — Нь
Ан ←→ Ань
Он ←→ Онь
Ун ←→ Унь
С — Сь
Ас ←→ Ась
Ос ←→ Ось
Ус ←→ Усь
Т — Ть
Ат ←→ Ать
От ←→ Оть
Ут ←→ Уть
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Reading Practice Homework A0 Ukrainian
Part 2: Read the words with Ь
Word Meaning
сіль (salt)
день (day)
нуль (zero)
кінь (horse)
тінь (shadow)
лось (moose)
Where does Ь appear?
The soft sign Ь appears most often after Л, Н, С, Т, Д, З, Ц. It never starts a word
and never follows a vowel — it only softens consonants.
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Reading Practice Homework A0 Ukrainian
Lesson 6 — The Apostrophe: ’ (a tiny stop sign)
Lesson 6: The apostrophe forces a hard pause
New symbol: ’ (apostrophe / áпостроф)
The apostrophe is like a tiny stop sign between a consonant and a “soft” vowel
(я, ю, є, ї). It forces a hard pause so the sounds don’t blend together.
Without ’ → the consonant and vowel blend into one smooth sound.
With ’ → you clearly hear the consonant, then a separate “y + vowel.”
Compare: Without vs. With apostrophe
Read each pair aloud. Notice the difference!
Without ’ (blended) With ’ (separated)
Мя ←→ М’я
Рю ←→ Р’ю
Пє ←→ П’є
Вя ←→ В’я
Бю ←→ Б’ю
With Ї (always after apostrophe when following a consonant):
Ґ’ї М’ї Н’ї Р’ї С’ї Т’ї
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Reading Practice Homework A0 Ukrainian
Part 2: Read the words with the apostrophe
Word Meaning
м’я́ со (meat)
сім’я́ (family)
ім’я́ (name)
п’ять (five)
комп’ю́тер (computer)
п’є (he/she drinks)
б’є (he/she hits)
When to expect the apostrophe
The apostrophe appears after consonants б, п, в, м, ф, р (and sometimes others)
when followed by я, ю, є, ї. You will see it most commonly in everyday words like
м’я́ со, п’ять, сім’я́ , комп’ю́тер.
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Reading Practice Homework A0 Ukrainian
Cumulative Review — Read Everything!
Great job! Now let’s put it ALL together.
You now know all 33 Ukrainian letters plus the soft sign (ь) and the apostrophe
(’). This review section tests your ability to read everything you’ve learned.
Review: Read these mixed syllables quickly
Ба Ве Гі Ді Єн Жу Зо Кі Ла Мо Не Пе
Ро Сі Ту Фа Хо Ці Чу Ше Що Ґа Ль М’я
Ть Нь Сь Ку Рі Ві Бу Що Зі Ль Нь Сь
Review: Read these words — all lessons combined
Word Meaning Word Meaning
мáма (mom) тáто (dad)
кіт (cat) ніс (nose)
сіль (salt) день (day)
кінь (horse) м’я́ со (meat)
сім’я́ (family) ім’я́ (name)
п’ять (five) комп’ю́тер (computer)
телефóн (telephone) пáспорт (passport)
мı́сто (city) ́
Україна (Ukraine)
шоколáд (chocolate) пı́ца (pizza)
студéнт (student) дóктор (doctor)
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Reading Practice Homework A0 Ukrainian
Review: Read the sentences — everything together!
1. Дóбрий день! Мене́ звáти Мáрко.
(Good day! My name is Marko.)
2. Моя́ сім’я́ — мáма, тáто і кіт.
(My family is mom, dad, and a cat.)
3. Мı́сто тут. Теáтр там.
(The city is here. The theater is there.)
4. Студéнт чита́ є текст.
(The student reads a text.)
5. Дóктор п’є кáву.
(The doctor drinks coffee.)
6. Це мій комп’ю́тер і мій телефóн.
(This is my computer and my phone.)
7. Кінь там, а лось тут.
(The horse is there, and the moose is here.)
8. П’ять — це нóмер п’ять.
(Five — that’s number five.)
9. Я люблю́ пı́цу і шоколáд!
(I love pizza and chocolate!)
10. ́
Україна — це Євро́ па!
(Ukraine is Europe!)
Congratulations! You can read Ukrainian!
Вітаю! Ви вмієте читати українською!
Tip: Read each lesson aloud 3 times before moving to the next one.
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