Openingsbeeld Vervolg
  
Openingslogo klein

Yet Ukraine's glory has not perished

Душуй тіло ми положим

Soul and body we give for our freedom

— Ukrainian National Hymn: Variations and Theme —



Guide to correct pronunciation
of the Ukrainian text for singers

This is the entire original poem of the national anthem. If you click on all the syllables from top to bottom, you will hear the entire national anthem spoken by Viktoria Terekhova (Вікторія Терехова - an Ukrainian refugee in the Netherlands) - a real native speaker. She gives accents of different pitches to the syllables, but you can ignore them, because those pitches are determined by my music.
With few exceptions, I followed the official transcription of the Cyrillic-Ukrainian alphabet.

Go through the complete list and explanations several times and your pronunciation will be perfect.
If there is nothing in the exemplification, I took it for granted.

This all gets a bit tight on your mobile, allthough the page adapts itself at the size of the screen. So I advise you to check this page on your computer/laptop.

 Ukrainian   English   Prononciation  Exemplification
Ще shtchè Image Quickly say a "sh" of 'shower' then a "t" and again "sh" of ' shower' in succession with è of 'ever'
не Image A n followed by a 'è' from ver'
вмер-ла vmèr-la Image A "v" of variable followed by "mèrla" (together these are 2 syllables: vmèr-la)
У- ou Image The "U" of "Ubiquity"
кра-ї- kra-yi- Image "kra" followed by "yi"
so 2 syllables: "kra" and "yi"
ни ny Image a "n" then a "y" far back in the mouth - a bit like "n+y+j" in yearj
i i Image
сла- sla- Image
ва va Image
i i Image
во- vo- Image
ля lia Image sound not too clear, but it's really "l-i-a"
Ще shtchè Image Quickly say a "sh" of 'shower' then a "t" and again "sh" of ' shower' in succession with è of 'ever'
нам nam Image
бра- bra- Image the "a" is short as in absent
ття tia Image at the end of the "a" we already hear that the sound tends towards the "t"
мо- mo- Image with a slightly stretched "m" and a nice round "o" as in overly
ло- lo- Image
ді-ї di-yi Image these are 2 syllables: see the music - "di" and "yi"
у- ou- Image
сміх- smikh- Image "smi" with "kh" like in Geiger at the end
неть- njetj- Image "njetj" where the j at the end indicates a soft t. Also often rendered with an apostrophe
sia Image don't pay attention to the tone
до- do- Image
ля lia Image
Зги- zgi- Image A "z" of zap, a "g" of garage and a ea of each, one after the other in succession
нуть nutj Image A "n", a "u" as in umber and a soft t in succession
нa- na- Image
ші shi Image A "sh" as in shower and an "i"
во- vo- Image A "v" and an "o" as in other
рі- ri- Image Note the melodic character of the "i" - not useful for the music
жень- zhenj- Image a "z" (not s!) followed by "je" then a "n" with a "j" (hence a soft n)
ки ky Image the "k" is easy, but not this "y": say a "i" articulating back in the mouth - sounds a bit like Yiddish
як yak Image
ро- ro- Image make it a nice round 'o'
са sa Image with a sharp 's'
на na Image
сон- son- Image
ці tsi Image
За- za- Image
па- pa- Image
ну- nu- Image
єм yem Image
і i Image
ми my Image the "m" followed by a "i" articulated at the very back of the mouth - looks a bit like Yiddish (see also 'ky' above)
бра- bra- Image at the end of the "a" we already hear that it tends towards the "t"
ття tya Image the "a" is short as in abbey
у u Image
свої- svoyi- Image
й y Image
сто- sto- Image
рон- ron- Image
ці- tsi- Image
Дy-

шу(-)

й
Du-

shu(-)

y
Image

Image

Image
Something special is going on with this word ('Du+shu+y'): normally the word is pronounced directly with the last syllable "i" attached(i.e. "taped" together). I used it in two forms: attached and detached. That way you get Dushuy or Dushu and afterwards.
ті- ti- Image
ло- lo- Image
ми my Image the "m" with the famous "y" at the back of the mouth (see above)
по- po- Image with a round "o"
ло- lo- Image with a round "o"
жим zhym Image "zh" followed by the famous "y" at the back of the mouth - and then a 'm'
за za Image
на- na- Image
шу sju Image
сво- svo- Image
бо- bo- Image
ду du Image
І i Image A slightly elongated "i"
по- po- Image
ка- ka- Image
жем zhem Image A "zh" with a 'è' - and a 'm'
що shtcho Image Quickly say a "sh" of 'shower' then a "t" and again "sh" of ' shower' in succession with o of 'offer'
ми my Image See above for this special "y" sound
бра- bra- Image At the end of the "a" you can already hear that it tends to the "t".
ття tia Image
ко- ko- Image A short "o" of offer
заць- zatsj- Image Remember: a 'z' at the beginning and not a 's'
ко- ko- Image le "o" est allongé
го vo Image The "o" is extended
ро- ro- Image The "o" is extended
ду du Image


We did our utmost to make this site as simple and fast as possible. We recommend that you use a computer or tablet, even though the site adaps itself as much as possible to the dimensions of your screen and can therefore also be viewed on a mobile. To listen to the compositions on this site, a computer and a good audio system are essential.
Site created by: © Galaxa Design - copying the site, or any part of the content, music or images is prohibited without prior written permission of the publisher. To contact the publisher, please use Galaxa Media Publishing House.
To contact the composer use Aristos Bouïus.