LingoflyTransliteration of Ukrainian
A correspondence table between the Ukrainian script and Latin letters: 33 letters, with names and sounds. The Latin column is the official Ukrainian transliteration of 2010, the one used in passports.
Ukrainian character → Latin
| Character | Name | In Latin | How it sounds |
|---|---|---|---|
| А (a) а (a) | a | a | A pure open a as in "father" |
| Б (b) б (b) | be | b | An ordinary b |
| В (v) в (v) | ve | v | Before a vowel, a light v as in "van". Between a vowel and a consonant, or after a vowel at the end of a word, it turns into a short oo, like the end of "now" |
| Г г | he | h | An h said with the voice on: keep humming while the air flows out of the throat. Never the g of "go" |
| Ґ ґ | ge | g | An ordinary hard g as in "go" |
| Д д | de | d | A d with the tongue against the upper teeth |
| Е е | e | e | Always the e of "bet", never the ee of "see" |
| Є (ye) є (ye) | ye | ye / ie | A y and an e in one letter, as in "yet". After a consonant it softens that consonant instead, and you hear only the e |
| Ж (zh) ж (zh) | zhe | zh | The s of "measure" or the z of "azure" |
| З (z) з (z) | ze | z | An ordinary z as in "zoo" |
| И и | y | y | The short i of "sit": shorter than the ee of "see", with the tongue a little lower |
| І (i) і (i) | i | i | The pure ee of "see": ni (no) reads "nee" |
| Ї (yi) ї (yi) | yi | yi / i | A y and the ee of "see" in one letter, as in "yield" |
| Й (y) й (y) | yot | y / i | The y of "yes" or "boy": a short glide next to a vowel |
| К к | ka | k | An ordinary k |
| Л л | el | l | A plain l as in "lamp" |
| М м | em | m | An ordinary m |
| Н н | en | n | An ordinary n |
| О (o) о (o) | o | o | A round o in every position: unstressed, it never fades to "uh" |
| П п | pe | p | An ordinary p |
| Р р | er | r | A rolled r: the tip of the tongue flutters against the ridge behind the upper teeth. Never the English r |
| С с | es | s | Always the s of "sun", never z |
| Т т | te | t | A t with the tongue against the upper teeth |
| У (U) у (U) | u | u | A pure oo as in "food" |
| Ф ф | ef | f | An ordinary f; native words with it are few, most are loans like film |
| Х х | kha | kh | The ch of Scottish "loch": the air rasps at the back of the mouth |
| Ц ц | tse | ts | The ts of "cats", said as one sound |
| Ч ч | che | ch | An ordinary ch as in "church" |
| Ш ш | sha | sh | An ordinary sh as in "ship" |
| Щ щ | shcha | shch | Two sounds in a row, sh and then ch, and you hear both: borshch ends with them |
| Ь ь | soft sign | — | No sound of its own. It softens the consonant before it: the middle of the tongue rises toward the roof of the mouth, as if about to say y |
| Ю ю | yu | yu / iu | A y and oo in one letter, like the word "you". After a consonant it softens that consonant instead, and you hear only the oo |
| Я (ya) я (ya) | ya | ya / ia | A y and a in one letter, as in "yard". After a consonant it softens that consonant instead, and you hear only the a |
Where this Latin alphabet comes from
The table was approved by Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers in Resolution No. 55 of 27 January 2010. Names in passports and place names on road signs are written by it.
Five letters depend on their place in the word: є (ye), ї (yi), й (y), ю, я (ya) are ye, yi, y, yu, ya at the start and ie, i, i, iu, ia inside. з (z) followed by г is written zgh, so it is not taken for ж (zh). The soft sign and the apostrophe are not written at all.
What to watch out for
Five letters to watch. і (i) is the ee of "see". и looks like a mirrored N and sounds shorter, close to the i of "sit": дим (dym) is smoke, дім (dim) is a house. ї (yi) is always yee, and є (ye) is ye. ґ is a plain g, found in only a handful of words.
Two letters that surprise. г looks like the Greek gamma, but it is an h with the voice on, never a g. щ is two sounds in a row: sh and then ch.
The other twenty-six. Six read the way they look: а (a), е, к, м, о (o), т. Six only look Latin: в (v) is v, н is n, р is r, с is s, у (U) is oo, and х is the ch of Scottish "loch". The other fourteen are new shapes. Thirteen of them stand for sounds you already know, and ь has no sound: it softens the letter before it.
Frequently asked
How to write Ukrainian text in Latin letters?
Using the table above, letter by letter. Where the spelling depends on the position in the word, the section “Where this Latin alphabet comes from” says so.
Why do transliterations differ across sources?
Because they solve different problems: the scholarly one is reversible and precise, the practical one is readable, the passport one is fixed by the country's rules. They are not required to agree.