Lesson 7 - Ukrainian Made Easy

Alright, you're listening to Lesson 7 of UME. Here's today's first new word: Є

I know. Pretty short word: Є In fact, it's just a single letter in Ukrainian. Є

If I were to sound that out using English letters, I'd spell it: y-e-h. Є

And one more new word: добре

One more time: добре

Let's talk for a moment about the rolled R in Ukrainian. If you're having trouble with it, try saying udder....udder. See how your tongue bounces off the roof of your mouth? That's how a rolled R feels. So this new word добре...we have a "B" sound leading into the rolled "R." B-udder..БР

Let's both our new words again:

є....добре

Alright. As those seep into your sub-conscious, let's review the material from Lesson 6.

You've just been seated in a cafe and the waiter is ready for your order. Greet him, and say:

I'll have coffee, please.

Добрий день. Я буду каву, будь ласка.

How should you thank him when he brings it?

Дякую.

To which he will reply: Будь ласка

How about: I'll have the soup and salad, please.

Я буду суп і салат, будь ласка.

Now, looking at the menu, you notice a photo of some food item that looks like spaghetti. And, like so many foreign foods, the word is a cognate in Ukrainian. Listen: спагеті

Mmmm! Спагеті!

So point to the picture and ask the waiter with just two words: Is this spaghetti?

Це спагеті?

How will he say: Yes, this is spaghetti.

Так, це спагеті.

So tell him: I'll have the spaghetti, please.

Я буду спагеті, будь ласка.

Then your friend looks up from his menu and orders:

А я буду лазанью, будь ласка.

What do you think he just ordered? Right. Lasagna. Another food cognate. But hold on...What was the ending of the word? Listen again: лазанью

What's with that "uu" sound at the end? After all, in the menu the food is labelled: Лазанья.

It ends in an "ah" sound. Well, remember: By ordering lasagna, he's doing something to the word. And so its "ah" ending changes to "uu." If you're still shaky on that, it might be worth reviewing lesson 6.

So, do you recall those two words we started the lesson with?

Є ...and... добре

Good. Now let's see if you can figure out what they mean. Pretend I'm at my Ukrainian friend's apartment. As he heads into the kitchen, he asks me if I want a beer. I know he usually has a big selection of beers in his fridge, so listen to our conversation:

Є Хайнекен?

Так, є.

Добре. Я буду Хайнекен, будь ласка.

Let's try a similar example, but with soft-drinks. My cousin is standing by her refrigerator and asks if I want a soda. I know she has all sorts of soft drinks, so I ask her...

Є Спрайт?

Так, є.

Добре. Я буду Спрайт, будь ласка.

Do you kind of have a feel for how those two words might translate?

Here's that first conversation in English:

"Is there Heineken?"

"Yes, there is."

"Okay, I'll have a Heineken, please."

So, є translates as "is there" or "there is" depending on if you're using it to ask a question or make a statement. But super-literally, it translates as "there exists". So you're asking:

"There exists Heineken?"

"Yes, there exists."

In English, that obviously sounds awkward. But still, this Super-Literal approach is vital. You always want to know what you're actually saying.

And what about that other word, добре? You might be thinking: Don't we already know that word?

Isn't it part of that greeting you taught us? добрий день

Not quite. In the greeting, добрий is an adjective. It's describing the day as "good."

But today we're learning the adverb form: добре

Listen again, side by side: добрий...добре

добрий That's the adjective

добре That's the adverb...which can translate a number of ways. In these examples it's a way of agreeing. It's like using the English word "okay."

"Okay, I'll have a Heineken."

Добре. Я буду Хайнекен.

Another example: Imagine your roommate says, "I think I'll make soup tonight. Sound good to you?" You'd reply..."Okay."

Добре.

You wanna go to the movies?

Добре

Pondering what activity to do this afternoon, your buddy suggests: Боулінг?

As you nod your head in agreement, say...Добре

The word has other uses and meanings that we'll pick up as we go along...добре?

Anyway, let's step back into the cafe and put these words to work for us. So, you're sitting at the table. You've already exchanged greetings with the waitress. So ask her:

Is there soup?

Є суп?

Listen to her response:

Так. Є борщ і є солянка.

So, she said: Yes, there is borscht and there is solyanka. Since you're not familiar with that solyanka soup, let's play it safe and order the borscht. Tell her:

I'll have the borscht, please.

Я буду борщ, будь ласка.

But if you were feeling adventurous and wanted to try a new soup, how would you say:

I'll have the solyanka.

Я буду солянку.

Did you remember to change the "a" at the end of solyanka to an "uu" sound? solyanku.

Я буду солянку.

If you got that right, then that means a major aspect of Ukrainian grammar has already taken root, which is great. And if not, hang in there. You'll get a better feel as we progress.

Meantime, you're having trouble finding coffee on the menu, so ask the waitress:

Is there coffee?

Є кава?

Again, listen to her answer:

Так, є. І є капучино.

Tell her: Okay, I'll have the cappuccino, please.

Добре. Я буду капучино, будь ласка.

Now, here are two more easy cognates in Ukrainian. Again, they're foods. Listen and repeat...

йогурт

маффин

In English we say yogurt, and in Ukrainian it's йогурт with that deep "uu" sound.

We say muffin. In Ukrainian: маффин

Envision a blueberry muffin, or some other sweet muffin. Think cakey, not bready.

Imagine your friend has come over for breakfast, but sadly you don't have much to offer. Tell her:

There's coffee, there's yogurt, and there's a muffin.

Є кава, є йогурт, і є маффин.

Alright, let's put it all together now: So, you're in a cafe and the waitress comes over. Start by greeting her:

Добрий день.

And she says: Добрий день. Що Ви хочете?

...and pulls out her pad and pen.

So, we haven't learned all those words, but we have encountered Що, remember? In Lesson 5 we learned to point at something and ask: What is this?

Що це?

So when the waitress pulls out her pad and pen and asks Що Ви хочете?

She's asking, What....something something. It's a safe bet she's asking What do you want? or What would you like? Right? I mean, she obviously wants to know your order. So let's ask her:

Is there soup?

Є суп?

How will she say: Yes. There is borscht and solyanka.

Так. Є борщ і солянка.

Tell her: Okay, I'll have the borscht, please. And coffee.

Добре. Я буду борщ, будь ласка. і каву.

Change your mind. Tell her: No, I'll have the solyanka.

Ні, я буду солянку.

She says: Solyanka? Ok.

Солянку? Добре.

Thank her...

Дякую.

What does she say in response?

Будь ласка.

That was fun. Let's try another round. The waiter comes over, so greet him:

Добрий день.

Добрий день.

And then he asks you: Що Ви хочете?

We'll cover that phrase in an upcoming lesson. For now we're just going to assume he's asking: What do you want?

Now, imagine that --- although it's 11am --- you haven't had breakfast yet. Let's ask him:

Is there yogurt?

Є йогурт?

And here's his reply:

А...сніданок хочете. Ну...є йогурт, є маффин, є млинці...і є кава і капучино.

You'll notice this happens a lot with any foreign language you learn. Native speakers never seem to use the exact phrases you've studied. That's because the assumption by native speakers is essentially: He knows those words, so he must know these words, too.

But don't worry. We can deal with this. Let's first listen one more time to his response:

А...сніданок хочете. Ну...є йогурт, є маффин, є млинці...і є кава і капучино.

It's not totally clear what those first few words were, but then he gets to stuff we have learned:

є йогурт, є маффин, є млинці...і є кава і капучино.

He's saying: There is yogurt, there is a muffin, there are млинці --- those are thin Ukrainian pancakes, basically like crepes --- and there is coffee and cappuccino.

So tell him: Okay, I'll have the yogurt, please. And cappuccino.

Добре. Я буду йогурт, будь ласка. І капучино.

He reads back your order: Ok...Yogurt and cappuccino.

Добре. Йогурт і капучино

Thanks.

Дякую.

You're welcome.

Будь ласка.

If you're comfortable with this kind of exchange, you'll do great when you visit Ukraine. Sure, there are tons of foods that we haven't covered, but there are also so many cognates when you're dealing with food, it's easy to get by. Here are five food cognates off the tip of my head. Can you recognize each one? Listen..

Омлет, грейпфрут, банан, гамбургер, хот-дог, броколі

We could go on forever with food cognates. So don't worry. When it comes to ordering in a restaurant, you'll do great. Alright, how're you coming along in the course? Please drop us a note at:

support@Ukrainianmadeeasy.com

And pick up today's downloads --- the exercises and today's transcript --- at UkrainianMadeEasy.com

See you next time!