About This Keyboard
Ukrainian is an East Slavic language spoken by approximately 40 million people, primarily in Ukraine — one of the largest countries in Europe. Ukrainian is the sole official language of Ukraine and is also spoken by diaspora communities across the United States, Canada, Brazil, Germany, Poland, and Australia. The language uses the Cyrillic script, which was adapted from Greek in the 9th century and evolved over centuries into the distinct Ukrainian variant used today.
Ukrainian has a rich literary tradition stretching back to the medieval Kyivan Rus' period. The poet Taras Shevchenko (1814–1861) is considered the father of modern Ukrainian literature, and his works helped codify the written standard. Ukrainian phonology features a melodic intonation pattern that many linguists describe as 'musical', with distinctive sounds like the soft 'г' (voiced glottal fricative) that set it apart from Russian.
What makes the phonetic keyboard special: The standard Ukrainian keyboard (QWERTY-based Cyrillic) requires memorizing a completely different key layout. The phonetic layout maps Cyrillic letters to visually or phonetically similar Latin keys — 'a' types 'а', 'b' types 'б', 'v' types 'в', and so on. This is ideal for diaspora Ukrainians who grew up typing in Latin script, for language learners, and for anyone who needs to type Ukrainian occasionally without switching system keyboard settings.
How to use this keyboard — 5 tips:
1. Phonetic mapping: Each Latin key maps to its nearest Ukrainian Cyrillic equivalent. Press 'a' → а, 's' → с, 'd' → д, 'f' → ф, 'g' → ґ/г.
2. Unique Ukrainian letters: The letters 'і' (и-короткий style), 'ї', 'є', and 'ґ' have dedicated mappings — look for them on keys like 'i', 'yi', 'ye', and 'g'.
3. Soft sign: The soft sign 'ь' (which palatalises consonants) is typically mapped to a specific key — check the on-screen keyboard for the exact position.
4. Switch modes: Use the layout dropdown at the top to switch between phonetic and standard Ukrainian keyboard layouts at any time.
5. Copy your text: Once you've typed your text, click the Copy button to copy it to your clipboard, or Save to download it as a .txt file.
Common Ukrainian phrases:
• Привіт (Pryvit) — Hello
• Дякую (Dyakuyu) — Thank you
• Будь ласка (Bud' laska) — Please / You're welcome
• Як справи? (Yak spravy?) — How are you?
• Де знаходиться...? (De znakhodytsya...?) — Where is...?
• Я не розумію (Ya ne rozumiyu) — I don't understand
• Скільки коштує? (Skil'ky koshtuye?) — How much does it cost?
• Слава Україні (Slava Ukrayini) — Glory to Ukraine (national salute)
• Доброго ранку (Dobroho ranku) — Good morning
• На добраніч (Na dobranich) — Good night