1.6 - The hard vowels

The hard (normal) vowels all sound roughly like English vowels. Click on a letter to hear how it sounds.

Most of the above vowels also function as words in their own right (these are very useful and easy to learn):

І	means and
У	is one of the words for in
А	is a contrastive and/but
О	is used (when telling the time) for at

In spoken Ukrainian, as in many other languages, the vowel sounds play an important part in expressing emotion:

А-а-а...	astonishment, annoyance, disappointment
Е-е-е...	confusion, suspicion, doubt, indignation, disagreement, regret, reproach
І-і-і...	surprise, disappointment, doubt, reluctance
О-о-о...	despair, enthusiasm, surprise, incredulity
У-у-у...	annoyance, reproach, threat (as well as surprise, delight); also used for booing, howling and wailing!!