Keep up. "And then the second syllable YIV, if you think of the English word yeast or yield that's as close of an approximation as you can get to say that. Featured Image Credit: YouTube/KU News Service/Alamy, New research shows the happiest places to work in the UK, Woman who was left with no forehead after car crash warns against putting your feet on the dashboard, The Museum of Death has a tally to keep track of visitors who vomit or pass out, Man who spent 12,480 to become a dog has now bought a giant cage for himself to sleep in, Jeremy Clarkson has been voted the UK's sexiest man alive, Monster has brought out alcoholic beverages which taste just like the energy drinks, Russia Installs New Mayor In Ukrainian City After Allegedly Kidnapping Predecessor, Captured Russian Commander Calls Ukrainian Invasion 'Genocide' And Reveals How The Kremlin Lied To Them, 40-Mile Long Convoy Of Russian Military Vehicles Has Dispersed Around Kyiv, Elderly Ukrainian Couple Angrily Confront Armed Russian Soldiers. Kyiv is pronounced KEE-ev, not Key-EV, which is "the Russianized version" of the name, USA Today reported. ", Oblast (OH-blust), means "region," an administrative unit. How to say luna coin in Turkish? Crowdsourced audio pronunciation dictionary for 89 languages, with meanings, synonyms, sentence usages, translations and much more. St. Julian-Varnon said: "Thus, pronunciation of the English transliteration is important because one is the Russian name for the city and the other is the Ukrainian name.". Manage Settings opposite sides of the debate over crime and policing, prohibiting the use of the gender-neutral term in government documents, an array of forces has bolstered this groups presence in Congress and state legislatures. The correct pronunciation of Kiev in Russian can be phonetically transcribed as Kee-ef. With Ukraines capital under siege from Russian forces its only fair that we outsiders get our language right. The Russian version is Kiev (kee-yev). The short answer is simple: Ukrainians call their capital Kyiv (kee-yiv), the spelling, a transliteration of the Ukrainian . Defining the key words from Biden's remarks on Russia, Ukraine, Where is Ukraine? "And it helps if you smile a little bit to say it. It'd be the most proper to write it as L'viv (but it wouldn't make much sense in English anyway). Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem. Lviv [liu] Ukrainian language. If you would like to donate to the Red Cross Emergency Appeal, which will help provide food, medicines and basic medical supplies, shelter and water to those in Ukraine, clickherefor more information. This topic is extremely mixed up in the West, and to know the right way to write the names of those cities I wanted to ask, how do you pronounce and spell their names in Ukrainian. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. The Russian spelling is Lugansk and the pronunciation is "Loo-GAN-sk" with a hard G, Fedyashin said. Easy. English Wikipedia gives correct Ukrainian pronunciation for all cities you've mentioned: (Kyiv): [kjiu] They all come from an original root, but diverged in the ways that languages do, says Monica White, associate professor in Russian and Slavonic studies at Nottingham University. Congrats! In the northeastern city of Kharkiv a chaotic scene unfolded as crowds of people desperate to leave flooded into a train station. Log in or We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. Show more How to Pronounce Kharkiv. Kiev is "the Russianized version" of the city's name, said Fedyashin. How to use Slater Type Orbitals as a basis functions in matrix method correctly? There is even a popular Twitter hashtag, #KyivNotKiev. DRich. As a former Soviet republicthe Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991 it was usually referred to as "the Ukraine" in the English language. Register The short answer is. CBC has been using a transliteration based on the Ukrainian spelling of the name: "Kyiv" (pronounced "KEE-ef"). Here's what we know, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. When did Kiev become Kyiv? Unfortunately, this device does not support voice recording, Click the record button again to finish recording. (The official language in Ukraine is Ukrainian.). Mr. Kent testified that efforts to gin up politically motivated investigations were infecting United States policy toward Ukraine. What Is the Difference Between 'Man' And 'Son of Man' in Num 23:19? Hear how to pronounce "Donetsk. The 'k' sounds the same as in English. The Associated Press and. Once I arrived in KEEV. Key-EV. KEEV. The embassy in KEEV. In KEEV. KEEV. The U.S. Embassy in Key-EV. 00:00:05.395 > 00:00:07.850 In central KEEV.. Vitaly Chernetsky, a Ukrainian-born professor in the Department of Slavic and Eurasian Languages and Literatures at the University of Kansas, says most Ukrainians don't mind that Polish has its own names for cities in neighboring countries including Kyiv, which Poland ruled in the 16th century and which Poles still spell Kijw. To encourage thoughtful and respectful conversations, first and last names will appear with each submission to CBC/Radio-Canada's online communities (except in children and youth-oriented communities). We recommend you to try Safari. "So when you say 'Donbas,' everyone understands in Russia and Ukrainethat you're talking about the southeast part of Ukraine, where the coal mines are plentiful." Since 2014, pro-Russian separatist forces have fought in the region to gain control. Photo of Joe Bagliere enjoying a bagel in Kiev/Kyiv. An expert in languages has revealed the best way to pronounce 'Kyiv', the capital city of Ukraine. Places. Many Ukrainians see the name Kiev as a relic of the country's Soviet past, as it is closer to the pronunciation in Russian, whereas Kyiv matches the pronunciation in Ukrainian. Nina Jankowicz,. It must be noted that the "e" in -ef is pronounced as a very closed "e", as heard in the audio. All Things Considered co-host Mary Louise Kelly on her way Monday to Kyiv to report on the threat of a Russian invasion tweeted about both decisions. This week, NPR decided to officially adapt on-the-air pronunciation of Kyiv, the capital formerly spelled Kiev, to sound closer to the way it's said in Ukrainian. Seems like your pronunciation of Kiev is not correct. "Ukrainian diaspora havebeen very vocal in this transition, and we've seen important changes," said Khanenko-Friesen. Does the letter "" in Russian tend to be "" in its Ukrainian parallel? One common pronunciation, "key-ev," is the Russian form of saying it, and it is one Americans may tend to hear more often. Seems like your pronunciation of Kiev Ukraine is not correct. ", Luhansk (pronounced Lu-HAN-sk). Transcriptions are given in IPA, as they're given on Wikipedia/Wiktionary (however there're some variations). A sidebar on the terminology of nationalism noted that the White House had also stopped using the article, and that Ukrainian-Americans preferred that rendering. That was the version used widely in the English language when Ukraine was held by Russia. The -iv is pronounced like eve. Kyiv gets its name from one of its legendary founders, Kyi. to the pronunciation. The name of the region and its capital city located to the north of Donetsk. Key-EV or KEEV? "Now that everyone's saying 'Keev,' is 'Paree' far behind?" Record the pronunciation of this word in your own voice and play it to listen to how you have pronounced it. The transliteration "Kyiv" was legally mandated by the Ukrainian government in 1995, but the new name only started gaining traction a few years ago when theUkrainian government mounted a campaignto secure international approval for the name of its capital city. : What is a tranche of sanctions? By phonetic alphabet I mean the one Google uses. Lvov [lvof] Russian language. It is the capital city of Ukraine and from the survey, it is noted as the 7th highest populated city in Europe. Rate the pronunciation difficulty of Kiev Ukraine. There is another letter between 'l' and 'v' which does not have any kind of direct representation in English. "The first syllable the kree the vowel is very similar to the first vowel in the word living or livid its a eh sound kree. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. But, according to Natalia Khanenko-Friesen, director of the Canadian Institute for Ukrainian Studies at the University of Alberta,the name "Kiev"is now associated with the Russificationof Ukraine. "The absence of that article ('the') implies anindependent and sovereign Ukraine, in other words, a post-Soviet Ukraine," Fedyashin said. CBChas been using a transliterationbased on the Ukrainian spelling of the name:"Kyiv" (pronounced "KEE-ef"). You can try again. Could it be the start of WWIII, What is a tranche of sanctions? WATCH | On the ground in Ukraine on Day 8: Khanenko-Friesennoted that the regionformally became part of the Russian Empire in the 17th century andonlydeclared itself an independent countryin August 1991, shortly before the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Very difficult. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. Kiev was. "So to say Kyiv you need to think of maybe the first syllable and the second syllable as slightly separate. Like Donetsk, Luhansk is abreakaway region that Ukraine has been trying to regain from pro-Russian separatists. Listen how to say this word/name. Kyiv or Kiev? Heres how to pronounce it. CBC has been using a transliteration based on the Ukrainian spelling of the name of the capital, Kyiv, instead of the Russian one, Kiev. Kyiv Ukrainian language. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. There's no 'e' in any way in the name, it came from Russian which is NOT native to Ukrainians. All Rights Reserved, {{app['fromLang']['value']}} -> {{app['toLang']['value']}}, Pronunciation of Kiev Ukraine with 1 audio pronunciations. Back to Kiev: There is also debate over how to spell it. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? Russia and Ukraine historian Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon has previously described the difference between the two terms as a 'touchy subject becausePutinhas used Russian speakers in Ukraine to deny Ukraines sovereignty'. Ukraine or THE Ukraine? KEE-eve not KEE-yev. Register Hear MORE UKRAINIAN NAMES/WORDS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5wqz. : Why is Russia invading Ukraine? How to match a specific column position till the end of line? It only takes a minute to sign up. Fire near Ukraine nuclear plant set ablaze in Russian attack is out, says emergency service, Your questions answered: Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The latter, based on transliteration from the Russian cyrillic , became the internationally accepted name through the Soviet period and into the first years of this century, its recognisability enhanced perhaps by the eponymous chicken dish that became popular in the west in the 1970s. Or Kyiv!? You can still use the old spelling because that's an English name, a fixed name for a dish.". Now that everyone's saying 'Keev,' is 'Paree' far behind? Ukrainians pronounce this as "kee-yiv" - a direct transliteration of the Ukrainian spelling "". (CORRECTLY) Ukraine's Capital, Pronunciation Julien Miquel 687K subscribers Join Subscribe 1.2K Save 325K views 2 years ago Hear more capital city names. "And part of that perception," she says, "is about you describing Ukraine as its own distinct entity, not as a part of this alleged sphere of influence that Vladimir Putin wants to resurrect, in which all Slavic countries are part of a giant brotherhood and he is the king of them.". Warning: audio includes profanities. CBCreporters may often use an anglicized pronunciation of "Kyiv," but this is already common practice when, for example, using English pronunciation for "Paris" or "Mexico.". Four years ago, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched the 'KyivNotKiev' campaign to spread the message of how Ukraine wants its capital to be known. The only difficult part in 'Kharkiv' is the 'kh' which doesn't have the direct representation in the English alphabet, but the closest would be 'h' like in 'hall'. While it's easy to make light of a debate about nomenclature, for the people involved it's often a serious matter that is entwined with identity, geopolitics and national security. Word of the day - in your inbox every day, 2023 HowToPronounce. The pronunciations heard during Wednesdays testimony before the House Intelligence Committee left some spectators scratching their heads. Threads: 84; Posts: 9912; February 27th, 2023 at 7:08:07 AM permalink. It is a priority for CBC to create products that are accessible to all in Canada including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges. On Jan. 24, NPR Managing Editor Terry Samuel sent an email to the newsroom with the directive to say "KEE- eev," the Ukrainian pronunciation of Kyiv, instead of the Russian pronunciation,. Kiev is "the Russianized version" of the city's name, said Fedyashin. #SHORTS : To pronounce /kji/ \"Kyiv,\" take the phrase \"kiss ye,\" remove the /s/ sound and add a loosely formed /v/ sound to the end. The Congressional Ukraine Caucus and the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America had also pushed for the change, according to the embassy. There are mobile apps, online tools, dictionary websites to help you as well, but this dedicated channel is you go-to directory to improve your diction, voicing elocution, enunciation, and intonation.Juliens instructional and educational videos make pronunciation easier as I detail the correct pronunciation as fluent speaker many languages such as French, English, Spanish, or Italian, and curious student of world idioms such as Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Polish, or Russian.-If you found this video helpful please like the video to support my work.-If you would like help with any future pronunciations, be sure to subscribe!-Thanks for Watching How To Pronounce with Julien and happy pronouncing.#EnglishWithJulien What does this word/name mean? Wrong wrong and wrong! Browse other questions tagged, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site. NPR already changed the spelling to Kyiv in 2019. The Associated Press and. Kyiv (pronounced KEE-ev). Kiev is "the Russianized version" of the city's name, said Fedyashin. This video shows you How to Pronounce Ukraine, pronunciation guide. The short answer is simple . An explanation of how to pronounce the Ukrainian capital, for all those who are confused today pic.twitter.com/f9Geu0h5gN. President Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of those separatist-held areas on Monday. Can you pronounce this word better Replacing broken pins/legs on a DIP IC package. Both Kiev and Kyiv have simple pronunciations, but are subtly different. What am I doing wrong here in the PlotLegends specification? Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. And 'v' is just like 'v' in 'victory'. or post as a guest. TheRussian version is"Kiev" (pronounced "kee-EV"). The L is a soft consonant though. Ukraine wants its independence to be acknowledged, so no article, said Irina Reyfman, the chair of the Slavic languages department at Columbia University. Pronunciation of Kiev Ukraine with 1 audio pronunciation and more for Kiev Ukraine. \"Ki ye v.\"SMART American Accent Training with Speech Modification.Start your free trial of our courses: https://courses.speechmodification.com/Join this channel to get access to perks:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS34RHSAiQC59aN31JT_bYg/joinLearn about 1:1 and other training options and get free resources: http://www.speechmodification.com/Subscribe to our channel: https://www.youtube.com/speechmodificationseattle?sub_confirmation=1 Want to sound like a Native Speaker? You can contribute this audio pronunciation of Kiev Ukraine to HowToPronounce dictionary. Is there a proper earth ground point in this switch box? rev2023.3.3.43278. Wordle 618 3/6 The first question, they said, is by far the trickier of the two. Vladimir Putin has continued to push the Russian spelling and pronunciation of the Ukrainian capital, despite Ukraine's . But at points, it sounded more like "keev," with the long "ee" pronounced as a single syllable. In terms of pronunciation (Source for Kyiv pronunciation): Kyiv: is a combination of a few sounds that are already familiar to English native speakers: Kharkiv: is pronounced the same way it's written. For decades, the country was part of the Soviet Union, and the Ukraine was used in English. The term "Donbas" is an acronym, which means "Donets coal basin," Fedyashin said. He noted that legend has it that the city was founded by a set of siblings around the sixth century and named for the eldest brother, Kyi. "We've seen media changing the spelling, transliteration and now pronunciation. A graduate student from China has been studying Nightingale for the sixth year, he still sometimes confuses words, and it is still extremely difficult to pronounce some Ukrainian letters. However, the reason the city should be referred to as 'Kyiv' is because it is derived from the Ukrainian language name. 4 votes (9.52%) 42 members have voted. Hear how to pronounce "oblast.". Since you have exceeded your time limit, your recording has been stopped. But at points, it sounded more like keev, with the long ee pronounced as a single syllable. You have earned {{app.voicePoint}} points. How to notate a grace note at the start of a bar with lilypond? The capital of Ukraine, formerly known as Kiev (pronounced Key-EV). or post as a guest. The reason for the difference between the two is bound up in centuries of linguistic evolution in a region that has fallen under Mongol, Lithuanian, Polish and Russian empires over the past 1,000 years. According to a legend in an Old East Slavic chronicle, three brothers by the names of Kyi, Shchek and Khoryv . Many people still speak both Russian and Ukrainian, and in 2001, the last time a censuswas taken,about 17 per cent of the population was Russian although some have pointed out that that 20-year-olddata doesn't capture the changes of recent years. It is a sound that is not contained in words of the English language. Many Ukrainians see this as a sign of respect for their language and identity.. Pronunciation of Kiev Ukraine with 3 audio pronunciations. Yuri Shevchuk, a lecturer in Ukrainian at Columbia University, demonstrates how to pronounce the name of Ukraines capital. Russias military presence at the Ukraine border has led to fears of an invasion. : Could it be the start of WWIII? Kyiv is a shortened form of the correct one - Kyyiv. Kiev [kijf] Russian language. Rate the pronunciation difficulty of Kiev. 'Kyiv' was officially adopted by Ukraine in 1995, though many people across the globe still refer to the capital as 'Kiev'. A guide to post-Soviet eastern Europe and where NATO members are, Kyiv (pronounced KEE-ev). The 'y' isn't the correct one, but the closest one, the sound is a bit similar to 'y' in 'weekly' but leans a bit less towards 'i/ee' than in English. Congrats! "It coincides with Ukrainian transliteration into English which would be KYIV rather than the more common one but now obsolete KIEV. Pronunciation of luna coin with 1 audio pronunciation, 7 sentences and more for luna coin. Surly Straggler vs. other types of steel frames, Theoretically Correct vs Practical Notation. Hear more UNCLEAR COUNTRY NAMES pronounced: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPJCf. "Just like we can still say Peking duck, it's okay to say chicken Kiev. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. In the world of words and the diversity of accents and local dialects, some words can be extremely hard to pronounce. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. Click and listen. According to Dr. Shevchuk, State Department employees and others who work in foreign policy in. Congrats! The capital of Ukraine, formerly known as Kiev (pronounced Key-EV). Subscribe to learn and pronounce a new word each day! Pseudonyms will no longer be permitted. Yuri Shevchuk, a lecturer in Ukrainian at Columbia University, said that native Ukrainians stress the first vowel, and pronounce it like the i in the word kid or lid. The second vowel is pronounced as a separate syllable, and sounds like the ee sound in keel. The v is also pronounced a bit differently, like the end of the word low. Its a bit hard to describe. The closest sound (yes, not a letter, but only sound) you might get is the sound that you get after 'n' but before you transfer to the 'ew' part in the word 'new'. Even before this week's decision on pronunciation, some NPR hosts and reporters were already saying Kyiv of their own accord, generating a debate online about whether all cities should be pronounced in the vernacular, and recalling a 2019 congressional hearing where some lawmakers used yet another pronunciation of the city's name, which turned it into one syllable. Kyiv is pronounced in Ukrainian as /kiv/ First Ky- is like ki- in kit. And yet, Chernetsky noted, The New York Times only adopted the "Kyiv" spelling for the capital Nov. 18 - halfway through the first round of impeachment hearings. As Russian forces continue to attackUkraine's cities,forcing more than a million people to flee the countryso far, onlookers around the world may be noticingdifferentspellings and pronunciations of the name of the country's capital. The 'o' part is the same as in Kharkiv. "Especially on the first syllable kree you've because you have to spread your lips a little bit to say it properly okay you've and the first syllable is stressed.". Even how the country is referred to can be problematic. Does Counterspell prevent from any further spells being cast on a given turn? First Ky- is like ki- in kit. Has 90% of ice around Antarctica disappeared in less than a decade? Getting only more mixed up after visiting Wikipedia, where Lviv and Kharkiv are written with iv at the end, and Kyiv has both Kiev and Kyiv, with Kiev being the first option. Hear how to pronounce "Donbas. Here's who it's really hard for: a Chinese man in Lviv defended his thesis on applied mechanics in Ukrainian. She said "Kyiv" falls into all three categories. When search suggestions are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. Kharkov [xarkf] Russian language. SpeechModification.com Machine-Readable Pronunciation/Stress Dictionary for Ukrainian? Americans have used both. What is the proper Ukrainian pronunciation of '', '', ''? Donetsk is the name of the capital city of the Donetsk Region in eastern Ukraine. This video shows you how to pronounce Dnipro (pronunciation guide).Hear how to say KIEV CORRECTLY: https://youtu.be/-5wqzS0mDK0Listen how to say this word/na. Since Putin sent his troops to war in Ukraine, the way in which the city is referred to has become more important to distinguish. Kyiv (pronounced KEE-ev). In recent years, more and more publications, governments, airports and geographical dictionaries have switched the spelling to the Ukrainian variant, she said. Kyiv not Kiev. The Russian spelling of "Kiev" should be read with emphasis on the "e . We asked two experts. Here's why. Donetsk and Luhansk are capitals of regions with the same name. What are the types of "Ge"-sounds in the East Slavic languages? Unfortunately, this device does not support voice recording, Click the record button again to finish recording. How to Pronounce Kiev? You can do it! many Western news outlets started complying. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. Kharkiv [xrkiu] Ukrainian language. But it is now associated with the Russification of Ukraine, and in recent years more and more publications, governments, airports and geographical dictionaries have switched the spelling to the Ukrainian variant. "In the West, there has been a lot of resistance," Chernetsky said, "which . 'Kiev', on the other hand, comes from theRussianlanguage. Mr. Smytsniuk said he would argue for people pronouncing it the. We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup. Please, elaborate on this issue, and tell me how to pronounce and spell their names in Ukrainian. 3 /5. KEE-eve not KEE-yev.Hat tip: @michelekelemen @wexler_m #Kyiv #Ukraine. Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. Can airtags be tracked from an iMac desktop, with no iPhone? Some English-language media outlets and commentators still use the older Soviet-era version "the Ukraine" in their coverage. This word refers to the region of southeastern Ukraine that includes Donetsk and Luhansk. Here's what we know, What's everyone talking about? "The fact that we have been using the word 'Kiev' for so long has something to do with the history of the region the history of the relationship between the Russian Federation and Ukraine," saidKhanenko-Friesen. Log in or Rate the pronunciation difficulty of Kiev Ukraine. Khanenko-Friesen says the spelling and pronunciation of "Kyiv" is significant duringthis "time of aggravated assault on the sovereignty and integrity of the Ukrainian state. "How we describe Ukraine and Ukrainians and their cities is paramount to how the world perceives Ukraine," says Jankowicz, who wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post in 2019 about the pronunciation debate and made a video too. I have no idea. A monument to the siblings is a popular destination for tourists and newlyweds. Even before this week's decision on pronunciation, some NPR hosts and . Congrats! Kiev was pronounced by English speakers as KEY-EV, while Kyiv should now be pronounced as KEE-EVE. Continue with Recommended Cookies, Please Unfortunately, this browser does not support voice recording. He says old spellings and pronunciations are still okay when talking about food. Kharkiv is a really tough one to spell out with English phonetic alphabet. She explains: "So the proper pronunciation would be kreeve and that's the Ukrainian pronunciation. 45K views 11 months ago #SHORTS : To pronounce /kji/ "Kyiv," take the phrase "kiss ye," remove the /s/ sound and add a loosely formed /v/ sound to the end. Snow covers Kyiv's city center in December. Wiki just gives common English pronunciation first, and inside of brackets after "Ukrainian:" you can see Ukrainian pronunciation and spelling: Kiev (/kif, -v/)[7] or Kyiv (Ukrainian: , Kyjiv [kjiu] IPA for Ukrainian may be useful for basic understanding of how Ukrainian words are pronounced. Viewers of the impeachment inquiry of President Trump heard different versions of how to say Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. How do you pronounce Kiev? If you want to hear it, you can try forvo.com: '', '', and '' are written as 'Kyiv', 'Kharkiv', and 'Lviv' in English. For centuries, English-speaking countries referred to Kyiv as Kiev, a spelling that . Russian and Ukrainian are both east Slavonic languages (as opposed to west Slavonic languages such as Polish, and south Slavonic ones like Bulgarian). As Russian forces menace the Ukrainian capital and thousands flee, the very least onlookers around the world can do is learn how to say the name of the city under siege. How do you say kiev ochoa, learn the pronunciation of kiev ochoa in PronounceHippo.com kiev ochoa pronunciation with translations, sentences, synonyms, meanings, antonyms, and more. While it may seem difficult for people who are not familiar with Slavic languages to get the exact pronunciation of Kyiv, Chernetsky says they can come pretty close because in Ukrainian the "K" and the "V" are pronounced similarly as in English. The i is a bit harder because there are 2 similar letters in Ukrainian - 'i' that is an actual 'i' and sounds like like 'i' in 'is' and '' that is a bit more tricky and consists of 2 letters and is pronounced like 'yi' in 'yin', but due to there already being one 'y' before that, it's been shortened to only 'i' (which still shouldn't affect the pronunciation). Kiev, Kyiv, How Do You Pronounce (and Spell) It? ", Donetsk (Don-YET-sk). Here's what we know. The debate about mimicking the vernacular is more intense in English than in other tongues, because of its current status as a global language.