Dictionaries are an indispensable part of language learning. To help you expand your Ukrainian vocabulary, we’ve put together a selection of our favorite Ukrainian dictionaries.
We have included both online and physical Ukrainian dictionaries so that everyone can choose the best fit. Check out our recommendations and tips on using them!
1. Online dictionaries
Online dictionaries are the fastest and most accessible resource to look up words and learn new vocabulary. Here you will find one-language dictionaries as well as tools for translation. All online Ukrainian dictionaries on our list are available for free.
Let’s start from the most fundamental resource — СУМ — the Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language. It is the most reputable dictionary of modern Ukrainian, developed by the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Most other resources are based on it.
The dictionary is planned to include 20 volumes, but only 16 have been published for now — almost 160,000 words from A to Р.
💡 Our tips for using it
Type in any word to see its Ukrainian definition and plenty of examples of how it is used. You can also check the correct stress, gender, and other useful details — for example, whether the word is dialectal, technical, colloquial, or outdated.
We recommend Goroh as one of the most practical dictionaries for learners of Ukrainian. It is based on the previous resource but offers more detailed information about words and how they are used, all in a very convenient, easy-to-use interface.
It combines multiple dictionaries: explanatory, orthographic, phonetic, rhyming, and synonym databases.
💡 Our tips for using it
Goroh is widely used for creative writing, editing, and exploring nuanced word meanings.
For learners of Ukrainian, there are several functional sections.
- The first one is ТЛУМАЧЕННЯ — explanation, where you can check the meaning and examples of usage.
- Then, СЛОВОЗМІНА shows all declensions and conjugations and, what is especially handy, includes stress in all word forms.
- Moving down the bar on the left, you can also check the synonyms, very basic translations to several languages, and typical collocations and phrases that contain the word you are looking up (ФРАЗЕОЛОГІЯ).
CЛОВНИК.ua is an alternative to Goroh — a popular Ukrainian language portal with an explanatory dictionary along with word declension and conjugation (however, without stress in all forms).
💡 Our tips for using it
Here you can also find
- tools for transliteration, checking the 2019 Ukrainian spelling rules, and
- finding the correct vocative forms of names.
This resource brings together several English-Ukrainian dictionaries, making it useful for translating in both directions.
💡 Our tips for using it
Along with individual words, you can look up common collocations and phrases. Since the results come from multiple dictionaries, the interface may feel a little overwhelming at first, but it becomes much easier to use once you get familiar with it.
We recommend finding the dictionaries that work best for you and then using the filters to focus your searches on them. This makes the resource much easier to adapt to your needs. For a quick check of a general translation, two useful options are
- Великий англо-український словник 2011 and
- Новий українсько-англійський словник 2016.
The well-known Cambridge Dictionary also includes Ukrainian translations. You can use it to translate words as well as short texts with decent quality.
💡 Our tips for using it
A great function is that when you type in text and scroll down, you can see a list with links to detailed dictionary entries for each word.
Finally, while this is not an online dictionary, the Ukrainian language corpus is a very useful resource for both learners and linguists. In particular, GRAC, version 19, lets you explore thousands of real-life examples taken from texts in a wide range of styles and genres.
💡 Our tips for using it
Pay attention that it provides a basic search (good for learning Ukrainian) and an advanced one (for linguistic research). You can learn how to use a concordance effectively with all functions in the instructions on the website.
Just type in the word to see thousands of examples of a word in different grammatical forms, contexts, and types of texts. Check the author and year on the left and open the whole passage by clicking on the word.
2. Physical dictionaries
In the age of the Internet, many people still prefer paper books, especially when it comes to language learning. If that is you, find our list of physical Ukrainian dictionaries here!
This is a substantial and practical Ukrainian dictionary for anyone who prefers working with a physical book. This dictionary is a high-quality collection of the most common Ukrainian collocations presented in context with relevant modern sentences.
It is useful for learners of different levels, as well as for Ukrainian speakers with an interest in enriching and understanding their language more deeply.
If you need a basic and portable option, this pocket dictionary can be a good choice for you. It includes both English-Ukrainian and Ukrainian-English dictionaries with the most basic words.
💡 Our tips for using it
A great advantage of this book compared to other similar dictionaries is that it presents aspectual pairs of Ukrainian verbs — quite a challenging aspect for learners. However, it does not include word stresses, which is its main drawback.
This dictionary is a perfect option for those who have a good visual memory and like learning new vocabulary with pictures. It is incredible what such a tiny and light book can fit!
All the words are presented in thematic groups, which makes it very convenient to expand your vocabulary in a structured way. However, there are no stress marks, so you might need some additional verification. Also, the letters are rather small.
This is a very popular dictionary for Ukrainians who learn English; however, it can be handy for learners of Ukrainian too. It is a large reference book with around 100,000 common words and collocations from a wide range of fields, making it helpful for both everyday vocabulary and more specialized terminology.
However, as it is not tailored specifically for learners of Ukrainian, it does not include stress marks and detailed grammar information.
If you want to master Ukrainian verbs, our 500+ Ukrainian Verbs book is a perfect resource for you. We selected over 500 aspectual pairs and presented them in comprehensive tables with full conjugations in all tenses and moods, along with stress marks.
You can also check example sentences to see the verbs in their common contexts and grammatical structures with typical prepositions — all with translations for your convenience.
This is another resource from Ukrainian Lessons that allows you to expand and practice your vocabulary. It is perfect for beginners, as it introduces you to the most basic 1000 words in Ukrainian with their translations, forms, stresses, and example sentences.
The book also comes with digital flashcards featuring audio pronunciation, pictures, translations, and example sentences, so you can review the vocabulary regularly and practice both listening and speaking.
On top of that, 8 crossword exercises help you remember the words from the book in an interactive way.
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We hope that this article was useful for you and that you found some dictionaries that you would like to try out. Share this compilation with a friend who might also find it helpful!
Would you like to read more from Ukrainian Lessons? Here are our 10 most popular articles — we hope you’ll enjoy them!
Learning Ukrainian and looking for great resources? Check out our list of 1000 most common words in Ukrainian with interactive flashcards. You can also learn Ukrainian step by step wherever you are with our free Ukrainian Lessons Podcast.
