The names of the months in the Ukrainian language are very unique and not at all similar to the English or Russian ones. Names of months in Ukrainian are connected to nature or agriculture.
Мі́сяць (pl. місяці́) – month (months)
- Сі́чень – January
- Лю́тий – February
- Бе́резень – March
- Кві́тень – April
- Тра́вень – May
- Че́рвень – June
- Ли́пень – July
- Се́рпень – August
- Ве́ресень – September
- Жо́втень – October
- Листопа́д – November
- Гру́день – December
Пора́ ро́ку (pl. по́ри ро́ку) – Season of the year
Зима́ – Winter
Весна́ – Spring
Лі́то – Summer
О́сінь – Autumn
- Яки́й за́раз мі́сяць? – За́раз ли́пень. – What month is it now? – Now it’s July.
- Яка́ за́раз пора́ ро́ку? – За́раз лі́то. – What time of year is it now? – It’s summer now.
- Яка́ твоя́ улю́блена пора́ ро́ку? – Моя́ улю́блена пора́ ро́ку – це ве́сна. – What’s your favorite season? – My favorite season is spring.
- У яко́му мі́сяці ти народи́вся? – Я народи́вся у жо́втні*. – In what month were you born? – I was born in October.
- Коли́ у те́бе відпу́стка? – Цьо́го ро́ку у ме́не відпу́стка влі́тку**. – When do you have a vacation? – This year I have vacation in the summer.
* To say that something happens in some month (answering the question "when?"), we need to use the preposition "у / в" and the month in the Locative case: Коли? - у сі́чні, у лю́тому, у бе́резні, у кві́тні, у тра́вні, у че́рвні, у ли́пні, у се́рпні, у ве́ресні, у жо́втні, у листопа́ді, у гру́дні. ** If the answer to the question "when?" is the season, it takes the next form: Коли? - взи́мку - in the winter, навесні́ - in the spring, влі́тку - in the summer, восени́ - in the autumn
The origin of Ukrainian months
- Сі́чень comes from the word “сікти”- “to cut to pieces, to slash”. Snow in this month falls by small, but fast snowflakes.
- Лю́тий. Ukrainian adjective “лютий” means “very angry, furious”. Usually the weather in this month is the most cold and furious.
- Бе́резень. A birch tree (“береза”) starts to become green, it’s time to pick birch trees sap.
- Кві́тень comes from “квіти” – “flowers”
- Тра́вень comes from “трава” – “grass”
- Че́рвень. Ukrainian adjective “червоний” means “red”. It is the period of ripening and reddening of fruits and berries. According to another version, the name of the month comes from the word “worm” – “черв’як”, due to the fact that harmful caterpillars are picked at that time.
- Ли́пень. Linden tree “липа” blossoms in .July.
- Се́рпень is a period of harvest. In old times farmers gathered the harvest of wheat with sickle “серп”.
- Ве́ресень comes from “верес” – “erica” (tiny violet flowers)
- Жо́втень is the time when the leaves on the trees turn yellow. Ukrainian color “жовтий” means “yellow”.
- Листопа́д. In November the leaves start falling – “листя падає”.
- Гру́день. The ground is frozen and creates humps – “грудки”.
Exercises:
1. Write the missing letters:
Model: в__е_ень -> вересень
- _ _ _ _ оп _ д
- с _ р _ _ нь
- т _ а _ _ _ ь
- _ овт _ _ ь
- б_ _ _ зе _ ь
- _ ру _ _ нь
- л _ _ _ нь
- _ _ тий
- _ віт _ _ _
- _ _чен_
This course course will help you to start learning Ukrainian in easy and convenient way. You will learn how to read in Ukrainian and understand spoken language, learn basic grammar, vocabulary and useful phrases.
All materials (vocabulary lists, grammar explanation, texts, dialogues, audios, tests and practice exercises with answers) are on our website, so you can access them whenever you want.