A buzz, a hum, and flowing air

Meet zhe, ze, el, ef and practise telling them apart.

One letter, two cases

Ukrainian uses 33 Cyrillic letters, read from left to right. Capitals start sentences and names. These lessons use upright print: handwriting and italics can look different. A letter name is a label; the sound cue tells you how to read it. The soft sign is a letter but has no sound of its own.

zhe

Ж ж is the sound in measure. Look for the central upright with diagonal strokes on both sides.

zhe

ze

З з makes z. It resembles the digit 3, but it is a letter; С с makes s.

el

Л л makes l. Compare its two main legs with the broader base and feet of Д д.

ef

Ф ф makes f. Look for a loop crossed by a vertical stroke.