Lesson 1 - Ukrainian Made Easy

🎧 Full Episode Audio

🎧 Listening Practice Audio

Hello, this is Mark and I'll be your host throughout this series. If you have any doubts about your ability to learn Ukrainian, you can set them aside right now. The fact is, your success in the language has nothing to do with whether you're good at languages or not. It all comes down to the method you use. In these podcasts we'll be using modern language learning techniques like contextual learning and pattern recognition to help you learn Ukrainian in no time. All you need to do is just follow along...and be sure to speak out loud when prompted, okay?

Alright, let's jump right in. I'd like you to listen to the following three Ukrainian words and try to guess what they could possibly mean. Even if you have no experience at all, I bet you'll get them. Ready?

програміст, інженер, Бізнесмен

I've chosen not to sound out the Ukrainian words in this transcript using English letters. So be sure to read along with the audio of the podcast. For those who'd like to be able to read Ukrainian — and I assure you, it can be learned very easily, in a few days — I'll include a link at the bottom of this transcript to my course on reading Ukrainian.

I'm going to have our native speaker say them again, and I'd like you to repeat, out loud, after he says each one. The thing is, learning a language requires participation. If you just passively listen to these podcasts, you won't benefit much. So, throughout all these podcasts, I'll be asking you to say things — out loud — in Ukrainian all the time. So, please repeat after the native speaker:

програміст, інженер, Бізнесмен

You probably found it easy to understand the meaning of those Ukrainian words. That's because they're cognates—that is, words that sound very similar between two languages and have the same meaning. Repeat them one more time after our native speaker. That rolled "r" will be tricky for you at first, but we'll perfect it a bit later. Just try your best for now.

програміст, інженер, Бізнесмен

So, in English we say programmer, and in Ukrainian it's: програміст

We say "engineer" but in Ukrainian they pronounce it: інженер

Those first two — програміст, інженер — can be used to refer to any person who has one of those occupations, but if you're a businessperson in Ukraine, you have a masculine version of the word: Бізнесмен

...and at least two feminine versions. Listen and repeat:

бізнес-леді / бізнесвумен

Anyway, now it's your turn. I want you to fill in the Ukrainian occupation at the end of each sentence. And please say it out loud.

Someone who writes code for software is a... програміст

Someone who provides solutions to technical problems is an... інженер

A man who operates a business is a... Бізнесмен

A woman who operates a business is either a... or a... бізнес-леді or a бізнесвумен

Again, those are cognates. And the good news is that there are hundreds of cognates between Ukrainian and English. In essence, it means you come into the language already knowing hundreds of useful words. We just need to adjust our pronunciation a bit.

Alright, now let's look at a purely Ukrainian word. Repeat after the speaker:

One more time:

What does it mean? Well, the best way to learn the meaning is to let your brain figure it out on its own by how it's used in a sentence. This is what we call "learning from context." Let's give it a try.

My mom happens to be a programmer. So, if a Ukrainian person asked my mom what she does, she'd answer with two words:

Я — програміст.

My brother, meanwhile, is an engineer. So, if a Ukrainian person asked my brother what he does, he'd answer with these two words:

Я — інженер.

So Я translates as... I

Try saying, all in Ukrainian: I am a programmer.

Я — програміст.

Now say: I am an engineer.

Я — інженер.

Notice how Ukrainian doesn't add any verb here. They literally say just:

Я — інженер.

This brings up an important point. Students write to me all the time asking, "So... In Ukrainian they just say 'Я інженер'? Aren't they missing the word 'am'?"

Here's the thing: Languages are NOT translations of each other. They are each a unique way of using sound to convey information about the world. So, if you're trying to tell a Ukrainian speaker, "I ... am ... a ... programmer," you don't want to grab a dictionary and say "OK, now what's the Ukrainian word for 'I' and the Ukrainian word for 'am'?" What you want to know is how they convey the idea that "I'm a programmer."

So, do not expect Ukrainian to have a word for everything that English has a word for. But you can expect it to have some way of expressing the same things that we need to express in English.

With that in mind, please say the following in Ukrainian: I'm a businessman.

Я — Бізнесмен.

I'm a businesswoman...

Я — бізнесвумен

or...

Я — бізнес-леді

So far so good? Great! Then let's try two more purely Ukrainian words. Repeat after the native speaker:

він, вона

One more time:

він, вона

Instead of me just telling you what він and вона mean, it's much more effective to let you figure out the meanings on your own by how they're used. Again, this is what's known as learning from context. So...

Let's imagine that my father is a programmer. So, if someone asks me what my dad does, I'd say:

Він — програміст.

And if someone asks me what my brother does, I'd say:

Він — інженер.

Do you have a feel for what it means? "Він" is one of the Ukrainian words for "he."

Try saying: He is a businessman.

Він — Бізнесмен.

Now, any guess what Вона means?

Well, imagine my sister is a programmer, and a Ukrainian person asks me what she does. I'd tell them:

Вона — програміст.

So, ВОНА is one of the Ukrainian words meaning "she." So how would you say:

She is an engineer.

Вона — інженер.

And one more: She is a businesswoman. Two choices here...

Вона — бізнес-леді

Вона — бізнесвумен

TIP OF THE DAY

This is roughly the halfway point of this podcast and I'd like to share some thoughts about memory. When learning a new language, here's the trick to developing your long-term memory: You start by learning anywhere from three to seven new words. You need to learn them from context, and then use them in a sentence or two. So you learn it, then use it. And then, here's the key: You think about something else.

Look out the window, for example, and describe what you see. Or go to ESPN's website and read about last night's game. Do something requiring all your attention. That, of course, is what I'm making you do at this very moment. The big variable is how long you're able to concentrate on this other task and still retain the new information you learned. But even a minute or two will suffice. Down the road, once you've developed your Ukrainian vocabulary, you can do this kind of diversional thinking in Ukrainian instead of English.

Then the final step — after that brief time out — is to try to recall as much as you can of what you just learned. If you're able to, try writing everything out. Otherwise, just say things out loud.

Ready for more? Let's learn three more easy cognates dealing with professions. As always, repeat after the native speaker:

музикант, студент, студентка

Try to say them again, this time before our speaker. Go!

музикант, студент, студентка

Good job! Now here they are in context:

Anyone who plays a musical instrument can be considered a музикант.

My favorite музикант is Eddie Van Halen. So, tell me. What's the Ukrainian word for musician?

музикант

What about the meaning of студент and студентка? Well...

If you go to school, and you're a male, you're a студент,

If you go to school, and you're a female, you're a студентка

So we see that Ukrainian has a male and female version of the word "student":

студент is the masculine version

студентка is the feminine version

We've actually covered a lot of material in this podcast, and I'm tempted to stop here to let it sink in. But there are two more words I'd like to toss in. Can you guess which family members these are. Ready?

Мама / Тато

I'm sure that really stumped you guys. So, tell someone:

Mom is a businesswoman... or...

Мама — бізнес-леді.

Мама — бізнесвумен.

Dad is a programmer.

Тато — програміст.

Mom is a musician.

Мама — музикант.

I'm a student. (if you're a guy)

Я — студент.

How would a girl say that?

Я — студентка.

How'd you do with these? If you got most or all of these, then you're off to a great start already in Ukrainian. Next time we'll talk about the biggest mistake that virtually all language students make.

By the way, I've made a much shorter, practice version of this podcast. It has just the exercises, without the explanations. So head over to UkrainianMadeEasy.com to grab a copy of those plus a full transcript of this podcast. I'll see you in the next episode.

Here's the link for the read Ukrainian video series I mentioned.

Download Lesson 1 PDF Transcript