15 Words That Will Make You Fall in Love With the Ukrainian Language

Pronunciation: Ukrayina

Meaning: there are two versions of the origin of the name Ukraine. The first one means the ‘bordering land’, while the latter – ‘homeland’.

Pronunciation: kohannya

Meaning: a feeling of deep heartfelt affection for a person – love. Its roots can be found in most Slavic languages with the interpretation ‘to take care’.

Pronunciation: mystetstvo

Meaning: a Ukrainian word mystetstvo comes from German word Meister and means ‘art’.

Pronunciation: nezhaleznist’

Meaning: ‘independence’ in international relations and ‘sovereignty’ in internal affairs.

Pronunciation: kraplynka

Meaning: a droplet or a tiny bit of something.

Pronunciation: polunytsya

Meaning: strawberry.

Pronunciation: serden’ko

Meaning: a beloved one. It derives from the word ‘heart’, seartse in Ukrainian, and is typically used in a diminutive form when appealing to somebody.

Pronunciation: kralya

Meaning: a beautiful girl or woman, a lady. It is considered to be the derivative of the verb ‘palenity’ – to burn brightly.

Pronunciation: parasolya

Meaning: an umbrella for a rainy day, this word comes from the French parasol, formed by the words parare (to protect) and sole (sun).

Pronunciation: blakytnyi

Meaning: a heavenly blue colour. Initially, it was called the colour of pigeons, which later was replaced by dove-coloured.

Pronunciation: bozhevilnyi

Meaning: insane or psychologically ill. The Ukrainian etymology of the word is extremely interesting. The first part of the word sounds like Bozhe which means ‘God’, and the second part vilnyi is translated as ‘free’. So, all together bozhevilnyi indicates a free man by the will of God, whose freedom of expression is perceived mostly negatively.

Pronunciation: zatyshok

Meaning: a quiet and cosy place, protected from the wind. In a figurative sense this means means an imperceptible place.

Pronunciation: nadykhaty

Meaning: to inspire, cause spiritual uplift.

Pronunciation: beregynya

Meaning: in pre-Christian beliefs, beregynya was a mermaid (from the word bereg meaning ‘shore’). Nowadays, the word is more often used in the figurative sense as a housewife or native home that has preserved the material and spiritual wealth of ancestors, the memory of generations (in this sense, the name combines the words oberigaty – to protect).

Pronunciation: snidanok

Meaning: breakfast or a meal intended to be eaten in the morning.