Lingoflyдомофон
- домофонdomofonintercom
“домофон” (domofon) — intercom in Ukrainian. Noun, level B1, topic — home and things. The buzzer on it is the same "dzvinok" as a doorbell or phone ring. "Poddzvonyty v domofon" — to ring the intercom — takes the same preposition as expected. In a live sentence: “Домофон не працює другий тиждень” (Domofon ne pratsiuie druhyi tyzhden) — The intercom has not worked for three weeks. Written with the characters д, о (o), м, о (o), ф, о (o), н.
In short
| Written in Ukrainian | домофон (domofon) |
| Read in Latin letters | domofon |
| Translation | intercom |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | B1 |
Why it looks that way
The buzzer on it is the same "dzvinok" as a doorbell or phone ring. "Poddzvonyty v domofon" — to ring the intercom — takes the same preposition as expected.
A word with a story stays in memory longer than one learned as a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
In a live sentence
A single word almost never appears alone in conversation. A sentence shows where it fits and what stands next to it.
Nearby words: home and things
Room, key, water, electricity. You will need them on your first day in a rented flat.
- дімdimhouseSaid "deem", with a long i. Doma, "at home", becomes vdoma — one small word, and the preposition v grows onto the front of it.
- квартираkvartyraapartmentThe same word as flat or apartment. A floor is poverkh and the floor you walk on is pidloha — one English word splits in two here.
- житлоzhytlolodgingThe word of rental ads: zdaetsia zhytlo — "lodging for rent". In live conversation people just say kvartyra.
- кімнатаkimnataroomApartments are counted by rooms: dvokimnatna kvartyra — a two-room apartment, said in one breath.
- кухняkukhniakitchenThe cook, who rules over it, is a kukhar — same nest, one letter more.
- ванна кімнатаvanna kimnatabathroomThe room, not the tub — though the same word does both jobs. The toilet lives separately and is called tualet: no surprises there.
- балконbalkonbalconyRental ads write z balkonom — "with a balcony" — and that with-phrase adds to the price. A balcony counts here.
- поверхpoverkhfloor (storey)Floors count from one: pershyi poverkh. Nothing like "floor" inside — just memorize its shape.
- ліфтliftelevatorSaid "lyft". When it fails, the phrase is lift ne pratsiuie — "the elevator is not working".
- сходиskhodystairsAlways plural — many steps, one word. Skhody vverity lead up; the elevator being broken makes them personal.
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “home and things”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “intercom” in Ukrainian?
The buzzer on it is the same "dzvinok" as a doorbell or phone ring. "Poddzvonyty v domofon" — to ring the intercom — takes the same preposition as expected.
- How do you say “balcony” in Ukrainian?
Rental ads write z balkonom — "with a balcony" — and that with-phrase adds to the price. A balcony counts here.
- How do you say “lodging” in Ukrainian?
The word of rental ads: zdaetsia zhytlo — "lodging for rent". In live conversation people just say kvartyra.
- How do you say “stairs” in Ukrainian?
Always plural — many steps, one word. Skhody vverity lead up; the elevator being broken makes them personal.
- How do you say “bathroom” in Ukrainian?
The room, not the tub — though the same word does both jobs. The toilet lives separately and is called tualet: no surprises there.
How not to forget this word
Reading a word and remembering it are different jobs. A day later, little survives of a single reading — and that is not bad memory, that is how memory works.
- This has been tested on foreign words too. The difference shows up most when you test yourself a few days later rather than straight away.checked many timesKim & Webb, 2022, Language Learning 72(2) · 48 experiments, 3,411 participants, 98 comparisons.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- An answer you worked out yourself sticks better than one handed to you.checked many timesBertsch et al., 2007, Memory & Cognition 35(2) · 86 studies, 445 comparisons, d = 0.40.
Frequently asked
How do you say “intercom” in Ukrainian?
«домофон» (domofon), read “domofon”. In a live sentence: “Домофон не працює другий тиждень” (Domofon ne pratsiuie druhyi tyzhden) — The intercom has not worked for three weeks. Noun, level B1, from the set “home and things”; written with the characters д, о (o), м, о (o), ф, о (o), н.
How is “домофон” (domofon) written in Latin letters?
domofon. This is a practical spelling — you need it to read aloud and be understood, not to meet an academic standard.
Why does this word look the way it does?
The buzzer on it is the same "dzvinok" as a doorbell or phone ring. "Poddzvonyty v domofon" — to ring the intercom — takes the same preposition as expected. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.