#learningukrainian — Public Fediverse posts

Went through a unit on animals a while back. For some reason, павук /pavuk/ "spider" was no problem. But the word for "dog", собака /sobaka/ gave me grief.

Nothing like #English
Nothing like #French

Until I realized that it sounds remarkably close to "Chewbacca". Now I'm good. 🐕

#LearningUkrainian
#mnemonic

The word "небо" /nebo/ means "sky".

I'm going with "nebula", one of the more magical-looking types of celestial phenomenon, as my reminder.

#LearningUkrainian
#mnemonic

@Neverfadingwood Wow - I just looked it up and the Ukrainian word for "sickle" is серп /serp/. Not that I'll use it much, but always happy to get an extra word out of anything I've memorized!

Thanks for the tip. My experience is that I only need the mnemonic (or whatever memory trick) until I've learned the word; then it can be used to bootstrap other words. I've done this in English all my life; I do it in French. Now I get to do it in Ukrainian!

#LearningUkrainian

Month 8: серпень /serpenʲ/.

The English word that leaps to mind is "serpent". If you dread the return to school in September, then August might feel like a vacation with a hidden serpent, waiting to take the fun away.

Our maybe we could find some zoological fact about the mating cycle of snakes that links to August. (Or make one up.)

Lots of options.

#LearningUkrainian
#mnemonic

Next up, липень /lɪpenʲ/ "July".

I'm actually giving the English word for this one, because this is the one month where I use it a bit. The "ly" at the end of the English name for this month is just how the "ли" is often rendered when the Cyrillic is converted to Roman letters.

When I want help with the ending too, I think of this as the lupine month, when all the werewolves come out.

#LearningUkrainian
#CyrillicToRoman
#mnemonic

6th month: червень /t͡ʃervenʲ/.

I did this one before. All about cherries and the word for "red". Thanks again to @celrydoor for pointing out the connection to черв'яки "worms 🪱" and to черва "hearts (suit in cards ❤️)".

#LearningUkrainian
#mnemonic

Okay, I'm up to травень /travenʲ/, the fifth month.

I'm practicing it a lot, because this is the month we're in now, so I think I've got it. But I haven't thought of a clever mnemonic trick for it.

Any suggestions?

#LearningUkrainian
#NoMnemonicThisTime

Month 4: квітень /kvitenʲ/.

April is the last month of the winter semester at the university I work at. I was working thru the month names in Ukrainian just as I was struggling thru a mountain of marking.

And, though I love my job, marking is the one part that brings me closest to feeling like *quitting*.

I suppose this is another very individual mnemonic. 🤷‍♂️ Whatever works.

#LearningUkrainian
#mnemonic

The 3rd month is березень /berezenʲ/.

My mnemonic here is very personal: this is the birth month of the zany momma bear of my children - this *bear is zany*. 🐼

(I am starting to use the asterisks to mark out the words that sit at the core of my mnemonic for these posts. Hope that works. Feedback is already welcome!)

#LearningUkrainian
#mnemonic

Second month, лютий /ljutij/.

This is the month when the commercial holiday of romantic attachment falls.

Historically, a *lute* might be used to woo a partner.

And, with the modern commercialism around valentine's day, one might advise the sellers of cards, chocolates, and flowers of *looting* the concept of romantic love for their own gain.

Two homophones in English, approaching this mnemonic from different directions.

#LearningUkrainian
#mnemonic

The first month is січень /sit͡ʃenʲ/.

There's very little point in connecting to the English name.

This is the first month of the year. It sounds like "sea-change". The term has more metaphorical use these days, but it originally referred to when a boat moved from the waters of one sea to the waters of another. Like the naval version, entering a new year is a matter of arbitrary boundaries, and noticing gradual changes.

#LearningUkrainian
#mnemonic

I think I'm getting the hang of the months now. I have mnemonics for almost all of them. Thought I'd share them as a set - the rest will be replies to this post.

First, the word місяць /misjat͡s/ "month". Here I lean on the French "mois". If that "s" want silent, it would be approaching the Ukrainian word.

It's not much, I know, but it seems to be working for me so far.

#LearningUkrainian
#mnemonic

Here's another mnemonic that struck me immediately: готувати /hotuvati/, "to cook".

The вати part is common in verbal infinitive forms.

The готу part reminds me of "hot", which is usually part of cooking.

#LearningUkrainian
#Mnemonic

(I checked with a dictionary just now, and this word has non-cooking meanings - "to prepare", "to train", "to learn". But so far Duolingo is focusing on cooking, so I'll stick to that for the moment.)