Lesson 3 - Ukrainian Made Easy

🎧 Full Episode Audio

🎧 Listening Practice Audio

Welcome to Lesson 3 of Ukrainian Made Easy. Let's start by reviewing what we learned in lesson 2.

Imagine you're at a cafe with your Ukrainian friend. She comes back from the bathroom and sees that the food you both ordered has been served. Say each of the following phrases in Ukrainian... out loud.

Is this my pizza?

Це моя піца?

Yes, this is your pizza.

Так, це твоя піца.

Is this my soup?

Це мій суп?

Yes, this is your soup.

Так, це твій суп.

Is this your borscht?

Це твій борщ?

This is my cola.

Це моя кола.

So, how did you do? Did you remember to use the feminine version of "my" and "your" -- that is, моя and твоя -- to match the feminine nouns like піца and кола? If so, you've already mastered a fundamental aspect of Ukrainian grammar.

Alright, on to today's main topic. Whenever I meet new people in Ukraine, they inevitably ask where I'm from. Here's one way that I often respond...

Я -- американець.

Listen again and repeat.

Я -- американець.

Literally: I'm an American male. Even if it doesn't apply to your situation, it's a good idea to say it anyway just to get a feel for the pronunciation. Say the line one more time? "I'm an American."

Я -- американець

Given that there are over 200 nationalities in the world, if we don't cover yours here, please don't take offense. Just leave a comment on the Ukrainian Made Easy website and one of us will teach you your nationality there. For now, we're going to cover the U.S., England, Canada and Australia.

Quick review. How do you say...

I'm an American.

Я -- американець.

Now here's the thing. Do you remember from the first lesson, the two versions for "student"? We had: студент. That was the masculine form. And студентка, the feminine form. Similarly, Ukrainian has a male and female version for each nationality. So, this phrase:

Я -- американець

...is only the way a man would say it.

An American woman should say:

Я -- американка.

Listen again, and repeat:

Я -- американка.

Say: This is Tony. He is an American.

Це Тоні. Він -- американець.

This is Jane. She is an American.

Це Джейн. Вона -- американка.

Let's try two more. Imagine you're at the Kyiv Movie Festival, and the MC is introducing the stars as they come in. As Chris Hemsworth enters, the MC says:

Це Кріс Хемсворт. Він -- австралієць.

Then Margot Robbie enters and the MC announces:

Це Марго Роббі. Вона -- австралійка.

So we heard: австралієць -- that's an Australian man. And австралійка -- that's an Australian woman. Try saying: He is an Australian.

Він -- австралієць.

How about: She is an Australian.

Вона -- австралійка.

Good job! Alright, a quick review. Say...

This is Leyton. He is an Australian.

Це Лейтон. Він -- австралієць.

This is Sally. She is an American.

Це Селлі. Вона -- американка.

This is Clara. She is an Australian.

Це Клара. Вона -- австралійка.

This is Steve. He is an American.

Це Стів. Він -- американець.

Alright. Let's add two more nationalities. Repeat this first pair after the speaker:

англієць -- англійка

So what nationality is it? Well, Benedict Cumberbatch, the award winning actor, is a well-known англієць. And Emma Watson, due to her role in the Harry Potter films, is a well-known англійка.

Бенедикт Камбербетч... Він англієць?

Так.

Емма Вотсон... Вона англійка?

Так.

And now our second pair. Again, repeat after the speaker:

канадець -- канадка

We'll cut right to the chase on this one. A man born and raised in Toronto, is a канадець. A woman born and raised there is a канадка. So the word for a Canadian male is... канадець. And for a Canadian female? канадка.

For fun, let's do a celebrity quiz. I'll name a famous person, and you say his or her nationality. Ready?

Ed Sheeran.

англієць

Taylor Swift

американка

Alanis Morissette.

канадка

Crocodile Dundee.

австралієць

Queen Elizabeth.

англійка

Nicole Kidman.

австралійка

Michael Jordan.

американець

TIP OF THE DAY

I get emails from our members all the time, "My teacher says my Ukrainian accent isn't perfect yet. She keeps having me practice the same few words over and over. Help!" With all due respect to your teacher, she's wrong. Because the fact is, your pronunciation needs to be just good enough so that native speakers understand you. That's it. End of story. In time, your accent will reduce naturally. For now, you just need to know: Do you understand me?

And really, what does it even mean to speak without an accent? Think about English. What is the correct pronunciation? American? British? Irish? Australian? If American, then which American accent? New York? Boston? The Southern drawl? If British is the correct accent, then which British version? North London? Cockney? As long as we understand each other, that's what counts.

And it kills me when native speakers give students a hard time, and criticize their pronunciation. I have never met a single Ukrainian who speaks English without an accent. I've met Ukrainians who've been living in the U.S. for thirty years and yes, they speak very English well, but the instant they open their mouth---with just a single word---it's immediately obvious they're Slavic. Хелло Марк. Хау ар ю? But so what? We understand them. They can communicate. End of story.

So please do not obsess about your pronunciation. But do check with a native speaker from time to time to be certain they understand what you're saying. That's why we include access to our native speaking Success Coaches starting in Volume II of UME. You'll get valuable feedback from them as to what fixes you should make to make sure everything you're saying is understandable.

Alright, so... let's learn two more words and then put it all together.

друг -- подруга

Can you figure out what they mean? Well, imagine you're in Kyiv with your two friends, Randy and Christina. You're in a club and you're introducing them to a new Ukrainian acquaintance. You gesture to Randy and say,

Це мій друг Ренді.

Then you gesture to Christina,

Це моя подруга Крістина.

So, Randy is your друг, and Christina is your подруга. Both words translate as "friend," but друг is used for guys and подруга is used for girls. Think of it this way. If I tell you that my friend Pat is coming over, well... in English you have no idea whether Pat is a man or a woman. But if I tell you in Ukrainian, it's clear. Listen...

Це мій друг Пет.

We know Pat is your друг... your male friend. Or...

Це моя подруга Пет.

In this case, we know Pat is a female friend.

Back in Kyiv, your friend Natasha is showing you some photos. One is of a woman you don't quite recognize, so ask her: Is this your friend?

Це твоя подруга?

Yes. This is my female friend Monica.

Так. Це моя подруга Моніка.

She is an American.

Вона -- американка.

Now your buddy Vadym is showing you some pics. Ask: Is this your friend?

Це твій друг?

This is my friend Leyton. He is an Australian.

Це мій друг Лейтон. Він -- австралієць.

My mom is a Canadian.

Моя мама -- канадка.

My father is an Englishman.

Мій тато -- англієць.

This is my friend Charlie. He is a Canadian.

Це мій друг Чарлі. Він -- канадець.

This is my female friend Louisa. She is English.

Це моя подруга Льюіза. Вона -- англійка.

This is my friend John. He is an American.

Це мій друг Джон. Він -- американець.

Excellent!

For today's last topic, I'd like to talk about... you. So imagine being in a park, and nearby someone is talking on the phone. At some point he says to whoever he's talking with: "You are correct." Now, this will seem like a dumb question, but: Do you have any sense of who he's speaking with? Can you tell, from just that one sentence, whether he's speaking to his son, or his boss? Or with his wife or a police officer? And of course the answer is No. In English, we have no idea.

But in Ukrainian--as in many European languages--you would know. You'd have some clue as to whether they were on friendly terms with the person or whether it was a formal situation. Just by his choice of the word "you."

In Ukrainian, the formal versions of you start with a "v" sound. Listen: ви вам вас

The informal ones -- the forms you'd use when speaking with a friend, or family member--start with a T sound: ти тебе тобі

We're not trying to learn all these right now. We'll be picking them up as needed, along the way. For now, we want just two of them. First, the basic, formal you: Ви

Let's ask an adult that we've just been introduced to:

Are you a businessman?

Ви бізнесмен?

Are you an American?

Ви американець?

Are you an Englishman?

Ви англієць?

Good. And the basic, informal you... the way you'd address your buddy or a family member is: ти

As your friend opens his laptop and starts cranking out code for a new website, ask him:

You are a programmer?

Ти програміст?

Or, a cousin you haven't seen in a few years, shows you pictures of his offices in Kiev. Ask...

You're a businessman?

Ти бізнесмен?

A woman you've just met has a Canadian flag on her jacket, and patches from RUSH and TRIUMPH. Ask her... Are you Canadian?

Ви канадка?

Alright. That was a lot of material today. Take your time with it. Make sure you have it down and I'll see you next lesson where we'll work with greetings and introductions.

In the next episode, I'll be teaching you some essential greetings and how to introduce yourself in various situations. Don't forget to download the practice version of this podcast at UkrainianMadeEasy.com, and I'll see you in Lesson 4.

Download Lesson 3 PDF Transcript