What Languages are Actually Spoken in Ukraine and How to Communicate

Table of Contents:

Ukraine has a long and complex history, and this history has shaped its language use. Ukrainian is the official state language and the main language in public life, education, and culture. For visitors, understanding how people communicate in Ukraine will make travel easier and more rewarding.

Languages Spoken in Ukraine

Ukrainian is the main language in Ukraine. It belongs to the East Slavic group and has roots that go back to the 9th century. Since independence in 1991, the government has promoted Ukrainian as the official state language. Today, it is used in schools, media, and public life across the country.

Legislation

On April 25th, 2019, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (the Parliament) passed a law called “On Ensuring the functioning of the Ukrainian language as a state language”. The Constitution guarantees the state status of the Ukrainian language, but specific rules for its use in various spheres of life must be established by law.

Before this, Ukraine followed the old Soviet law “On Languages in the Ukrainian SSR” from 1989. The new 2019 law replaced it and confirmed Ukrainian as the single state language. At the same time, the Law “On National Minorities” protects the rights of minority groups to use their own languages in private life and cultural activities.

“Foreign languages and languages of national minorities can be used freely in private conversations, religious ceremonies, foreign language education, scientific publications, trademarks registered in Ukraine, and in the cultural activities of national minorities.”

Certain professions can use foreign or minority languages when needed. For example, border guards, police officers, and doctors may switch languages if they work with people who do not speak Ukrainian.

Ukrainian Language: History and Development

Interest in the history of the Ukrainian language grew after the fall of the communist regime. Today, most people think of Ukrainian in its modern literary form — the language heard on radio and television, taught in schools, and used in books and newspapers.

Before modern Ukrainian appeared, two main literary languages were used in Ukraine. One was Church Slavonic, introduced from Bulgaria with the adoption of Christianity. The other was Old Ukrainian, a written and literary language used from the 13th to the 18th century.

The modern Ukrainian literary language began to form in the late 18th century. Writer and poet Ivan Kotlyarevsky laid the foundation with his work Eneida in 1798. In this book, he turned the heroes of Virgil’s Aeneid into Ukrainian Cossacks, creating a new style of national literature.

Building on this, Taras Shevchenko further shaped the language with his famous book Kobzar. Both Kotlyarevsky and Shevchenko wrote in the folk speech of the Middle Dnieper region, which became the base of modern Ukrainian.

Local speech strongly shaped the old Ukrainian written language. People used it for secular purposes, including state administration, princely offices, and chronicles. One of the most important works is The Tale of Bygone Years, written in Kyiv between the 11th and early 12th centuries.

This chronicle includes many words from everyday Ukrainian speech of the time. It was written by Nestor the Chronicler (1056-1114), a monk of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. Today, historians use it as a key source for studying the early history of Ukraine-Rus.

When we study the origins of the Ukrainian language, we look not at literary forms but at folk speech and regional dialects. These dialects shaped the phonetic, grammatical, and lexical features that define Ukrainian today.

Historically, the Ukrainian language developed in the ancestral home of the Slavs. Most of the territory of modern Ukraine was settled by Slavic tribes, while nearby regions of Eastern Europe were home to non-Slavic groups such as the Balts and Finno-Ugric peoples.

What Language Ukrainians Speak at Home

58% of Ukrainians speak only Ukrainian at home. These are survey data of the Sociological Group Rating commissioned by the Center for Analysis and Sociological Research (CSGR) of the International Republican Institute.

According to survey of February 2023, 58% of Ukrainians speak only Ukrainian at home, while 30% speak both Ukrainian and Russian, and 11% speak only Russian. Of those who speak only Ukrainian at home, 7% recently switched to it, while only 1% of those who speak only Russian at home have switched to it recently.

The survey was conducted from February 1 to 5, 2023, using the computer-aided telephone interview (CATI) method, based on a random sample of mobile phone numbers. It was conducted throughout Ukraine, excluding the occupied territories of Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions. A total of 2,000 residents aged 18 and older were surveyed.

Another survey from the Ilko Kucheriv Foundation for Democratic Initiatives reported that the percentage of Ukrainians speaking Ukrainian daily rose from 64% in 2021 to 71% in 2022. 

In the western region, 95.6% of people speak Ukrainian daily, while in the central region, the figure is 78.3%. In contrast, in the south and east, only 34.6% and 40.3% speak Ukrainian daily. The survey also observed that the use of the Russian language has decreased by almost 10%.

Ukraine also has many regional dialects. Ukrainian dialects differ from one region to another, and some include Russian influences. Each has its own unique features, and in some areas the local speech can be challenging for non-native speakers to understand.

How Similar is Ukrainian to Russian?

Ukrainian and Russian are related East Slavic languages but remain distinct. They share about 60% of their vocabulary and some grammar, yet differ in sound, spelling, and structure. This makes them only partly understandable to each other’s speakers.

Both use the Cyrillic alphabet. Ukrainian includes the letters Ґ, Є, І, Ї, while Russian has Ё, Ы, Э, and the hard sign (ъ), which Ukrainian does not use. The sound systems also differ. Ukrainian has about 38 phonemes, while Russian has around 55. For example, the Ukrainian letter “г” is pronounced [h] (a voiced [ghh] sound), while in Russian it is [g]. Ukrainian also keeps vowels clear, whereas Russian often reduces them in unstressed positions.

Grammatically, Ukrainian and Russian are similar. Both have three genders, cases, and verb conjugations. However, Ukrainian keeps the vocative case and has a more complex system for forming the future tense, which Russian does not. It can form the future in two ways:

• With an auxiliary verb + infinitive: “буду читати” (I will read)
• With a synthetic verb form: “читатиму” (I will read)

In Russian, the future tense is simpler:

• “буду читать” (I will read) → only the auxiliary + infinitive form exists.

Mutual understanding between the two languages is uneven. Many Ukrainians grow up bilingual and can usually follow Russian, especially in writing. Most Russians, however, struggle to understand Ukrainian without study or regular exposure.

Minority Languages and Their Significance in Ukraine

Ukraine is home to people from more than 100 ethnic groups. Each group makes up less than 1% of the total population. The largest minorities include Russians, Jews, Belarusians, Moldovans, Bulgarians, Poles, Hungarians, Romanians, Greeks, Tatars, Armenians, and Roma. The Russian community is the largest single minority in the country.

Ukraine recently adopted a new law on national minorities. The European Commission listed this law as one of the seven key steps for starting EU membership talks. The update was necessary because the previous law, “On National Minorities of Ukraine,” dated back 30 years.

On April 20, 2023, the Ombudsman met with experts from the Venice Commission to discuss the new law. The Commission is preparing its official opinion and is expected to present it in early June.

Communicating in Ukraine

Language Barrier: Speaking English in Ukraine

Ukraine still trails behind many European countries in English proficiency. Geography and other factors have slowed the spread of English in daily life.

According to the 2022 EF EPI edition, Ukraine ranks 40th out of 116 countries, indicating a moderate level of proficiency in the English language.

Most English speakers in Ukraine are young people, especially those aged 18–25, working in the IT sector. While overall fluency is not high, visitors can usually communicate in English with professionals in business, tourism, and international services. businesses.

Do Locals Speak English in Ukraine?

English is not widely spoken by locals in Ukraine, especially outside of major tourist areas and cities. Those who work in the tourism industry or other international businesses in Ukraine often have a good command of English. 

If you are planning to visit Ukraine, you might wonder how easy it is to communicate with the locals using English. But how easy is it to get around and talk to the locals using English? Is English widely understood and spoken in Ukraine? How good are the English skills of the Ukrainian people? 

Do People in Ukraine Speak English in General?

English proficiency in Ukraine depends on region, age, and occupation. In large cities and tourist areas, English is more common, especially in the tourism sector and international businesses. Many global companies in Ukraine also require employees to speak English.

During the Soviet era, foreign language education was discouraged and had “low practical value” as it focused mainly on reading and translation. The USSR sought to limit Western influence and promoted Russian as the lingua franca.

In rural areas, far fewer people know English compared to urban centers. By contrast, younger Ukrainians often have better English skills because the language is now part of the standard school curriculum.

Studying English in Modern Times in Ukraine

In recent years, Ukraine has taken steps to strengthen English education and use. In 2017, a new education law regulated how minority languages are taught in schools. Amendments in 2020 expanded the role of English and other EU languages in the classroom.

In June 2023, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy introduced draft law 9432 to establish English. The proposal would make English an official language of international communication in Ukraine. It sets requirements for English use in certain jobs and sectors, aiming to raise proficiency, support globalization, and speed up European integration.

Tips for Communicating in Ukraine for Non-native Speakers

For many foreigners, communication in Ukraine can be difficult. Ukrainian is a Slavic language, and its grammar and vocabulary are unfamiliar to those who do not know Indo-European language family. The Cyrillic alphabet also adds a challenge, since it uses letters and sounds that differ from the Latin script.

Here are some valuable tips for non-native speakers on how to improve their communication when in Ukraine:

• Learn some basic Ukrainian or Russian phrases before you go. Even a few words can go a long way in building rapport and showing that you are trying to communicate.
  
• Download a translator app on your phone to assist with more complex conversations.
  
• Be patient and willing to repeat yourself if necessary when you speak English. It can take time for locals to understand your accent and grasp what you are trying to say.
  
• Consider hiring a local interpreter or guide in Kyiv to help you navigate language barriers. This will also give you a deeper understanding of the country’s culture and history.
  
• Be respectful of the local language and culture, and avoid being dismissive or rude if you encounter difficulties communicating.

About the author:

Hello and welcome! My name is Victoria, and I’m a private tour guide in Kyiv. Since 2016, I have been offering private tours on various topics for visitors to the capital of Ukraine. I speak fluent English and love sharing stories. When not guiding, I write about Ukraine on my blog and my travel experiences and insights in Sweden and the Baltics.