What is Ukrainian Cyrillic, and how does the drill work?
The Ukrainian alphabet has 33 Cyrillic letters. Most are shared with other Cyrillic alphabets, but Ukrainian has a distinctive set of its own: і, ї and є look almost Latin, ґ is the rare plosive g — and the letter г sounds like h, not g, which is the signature Ukrainian sound value. If you know some Russian, note that ы, э, ъ and ё do not exist in Ukrainian, and е is a plain e.
Start on the Chart tab and tick the letter groups you want to practice — including a dedicated "Differs from Russian" group covering exactly the letters that trip up learners coming from either language. Switch to Practice: a letter appears, you type its romanized sound — h, yi, shch — and the drill advances the moment you get it right. Miss one and you see the answer immediately; it comes back a few cards later until it sticks.
Tick the groups you want to practice, then switch to Practice.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to learn the Ukrainian alphabet?
A few days of short sessions. Many letters are freebies for a Latin reader (А, К, М, О, Т, і), so the real work is the false friends (В is v, Н is n, Р is r, С is s) and the Ukrainian-specific set ї, є, ґ and г-as-h. Daily five-minute drills beat one long cram — let the miss-repetition do the work.
Which romanization does the drill accept?
Standard transliteration with the Ukrainian sound values: г = h, ґ = g, и = y, і = i, ї = yi, є = ye, е = e, й = j, plus ж = zh, х = kh, ц = ts, ч = ch, ш = sh and щ = shch (sch works too). The soft sign ь is typed as the word soft.
How is Ukrainian Cyrillic different from Russian?
Seven letters differ: Ukrainian has і, ї, є and ґ (Russian has none of them), Russian has ы, э, ъ and ё (Ukrainian has none). Two shared letters change sound: Ukrainian г is h (not g) and е is plain e (not ye). The chart has a dedicated group for exactly these, so learners of either language can drill just the differences.
Does the drill save my progress?
Your letter-group selection is saved in your browser (no account needed), so the drill opens where you left off. The session stats — seen, correct, accuracy, streak — deliberately reset each visit: the drill is about instant recall today, not long-term statistics.