Today, I want to share with you some great Ukrainian YouTube channels that you could watch to surround yourself with the real Ukrainian language, wherever you are.

As a language learner and teacher, I strongly believe that it is important to listen a lot to your target language. And what better way to do so than to listen to people talking about the topics you enjoy? You get used to the real (not textbook) intonation, expand your vocabulary, learn to catch the whole phrase, understand in context and observe how natives speak in their daily life.

That is why we have created the Ukrainian Lessons Podcast5 Minute Ukrainian, and posted on the blog about the best Ukrainian movies and best Ukrainian radio stations online. And so, here are some YouTube channel recommendations!

The Challenge to Be a Ukrainian YouTuber

If you have ever searched for Youtube videos in Ukrainian, you might have found them difficult to find. The truth is that most Ukrainians prefer to record their videos in Russian, and they have obvious reasons for that.

People in Ukraine might be Ukrainian speakers in life, but we all speak Russian very well, which allows us to get much more audience on the Internet. I am talking about numbers like 1-4k subscribers of Ukrainian-speaking channels vs. 50-200k Russian-speaking ones on the same topic. Quite a difference.

So, those few Ukrainian-speaking Youtubers are basically highly enthusiastic people, who just like to do what they do, not expecting huge popularity or income from their channels. Let’s look at a dozen of those heroes.

How similar or different are the Ukrainian and Russian? Find out in our article here.

Література — Literature

It is not surprising that there is no lack of YouTubers who talk about books and literature in Ukraine. Those people are intelligent and educated, so they prefer to speak Ukrainian. Moreover, their Ukrainian language is very clear, rich in vocabulary, and has a good style. Here is my favorite blog from Anya:

AnnikaBlog
Level: Advanced (fast casual speech with some idioms)

You can also check more Ukrainian channels about literature in her suggested channels on the right.

Another popular Ukrainian Book-Tube channel is Вишневий Цвіт.
Level: Advanced (fast casual speech with some idioms)

Check out Liuda’s video on different children’s books and why it’s important to read them:

Стиль життя — Lifestyle

Христина Соломаха
Level: Intermediate and Advanced (everyday topics with a slight Lviv accent)

Христина Соломаха is a blogger and photographer from Lviv. In her videos, she talks about fitness, lifestyle, healthy nutrition, and blogging on Instagram.

She now has her very own video series titled “Ти хто шоу” (Who are you show), where she talks to bloggers and tells her audience the news from the “blogger’s world.”

Andrian Vityuk 
Level: Intermediate to Advanced (everyday topics)

I guess most of the Ukrainian lifestyle Youtubers are teenagers. Here is one of the most popular ones. Andrian Vituik is a 19-year-old Ukrainian from Zalishchyky, in Chernivtsi oblast. His recent videos are titled in Russian, but he still speaks Ukrainian in them. He makes vlogs, cooking, travel videos, and challenges. Here is a video in which his friend and he are guessing the food they are trying:

JuliaKit
Level: Intermediate to Advanced (everyday topics in clear Ukrainian)

Юля is a young mom with two kids, who was on maternity leave at the time. In her free time, she makes videos about beauty, children’s care, lifestyle, and shopping. Also, Yulia interviews the owners of new Ukrainian businesses and start-ups.

If you want to learn how to do simple makeup, Ukrainian style, here is a video in Ukrainian for you:

Do you want to watch more in Ukrainian? Have a look at our collection of Authentic videos in Ukrainian with Ukrainian subtitles or transcripts!

Кулінарія — Cooking

КОСТЯНТИН ГРУБИЧ
Level: Beginner to Advanced (how-to videos are a good visualization of the words you learn)

Костянтин Грубич is a well-known Ukrainian journalist and TV showman. His program Смачна країна (Tasty country) has been on TV for years.

He now also has a YouTube channel where he posts cooking videos. You can find some great recipes for Ukrainian food and practice your Ukrainian language at the same time.

Here, for example, Kostya and a local man from the Zakarpattya region are cooking a traditional Zakarpathian dish — бограч.

First Culinary Ukraine
Level: Beginner to Advanced (how-to videos are good visualization of the words you learn)

Very simple videos with the recipes of various Ukrainian dishes, from the classics like Chicken Kyiv to original recipes and ideas for every day.

The titles of the videos are in two languages: Russian and Ukrainian. However, the videos are all in Ukrainian (though sometimes the cook gives translation for some words into Russian). This technique made this channel so popular among Russian speakers in different countries, even though the videos are in Ukrainian!

Подорожі — Traveling

Blog 360
Pre-intermediate to Advanced (Pre-intermediate learners can watch a video with subtitles)

Blog 360 is an interesting project about traveling in Ukraine created by a group of enthusiastic people.

I found that their first video (about Ivano-Frankivsk) has both Ukrainian and English subtitles, which are useful for Ukrainian learners:

Ukraїner, The Expedition
Pre-intermediate to Advanced (Pre-intermediate learners can watch the videos with subtitles)

Ukraїner is a series of beautiful videos made during their ethnographical and anthropological expeditions around Ukraine.

While enjoying the beautiful sceneries, you can practice your Ukrainian, as their videos have subtitles in different languages, including English and Ukrainian:

Олексфільм
Level: Intermediate to Advanced

This channel has different kinds of videos about funny movies, crafts, social experiments, etc. I found their series about the history and modern times of Kyiv quite interesting, and shot in a nice, informal way:

Відвідати всі країни (Dima&Inna)
Pre-intermediate to Advanced (Pre-intermediate learners can watch the videos with subtitles)

Відвідати всі країни (“To visit all countries”) is a travel blog of Dima and Inna. They make videos about their trips in Asia, hitchhiking experiences, life in the USA, etc.

Their Ukrainian language is informal and could be a good example of some surzhyk (using some Russian words in mostly Ukrainian speech).

The great thing is that some of the older videos have Ukrainian subtitles, like this one:

Looking for more listening experience in Ukrainian? Subscribe to our free Ukrainian Lessons Podcast here to hear many authentic Ukrainian voices!

Двоколісні хроніки / Two-wheeled Chronicles 

Pre-intermediate to Advanced (Pre-intermediate learners can watch the videos with subtitles)

Volodymyr Muliar, Yaryna Kvitka, and their small son Marko were at the time on a round-the-world cycling journey. Marko, a new team member, was born during this journey 🙂

Two-wheeled Chronicles is a series of journeys around the globe aimed at researching cultures of various peoples and spreading Ukrainian culture (Volodymyr and Yaryna are musicians).

Learn more about this channel in the video “Півсвіту на велосипедах, або Що таке Двоколісні хроніки”:

Техніка та ігри — Technology and games

Pingvin Pro
Level: Intermediate to Advanced

Pingvin Pro is a Ukrainian-speaking channel with reviews of gadgets, movies, and games. As a Ukrainian learner, you will like the nice, clear voice of the presenter.

Here is their review of найцікавіші фільми 2017 року — the most interesting movies of 2017:

PlayUA
Level: Intermediate to Advanced

Probably the most popular gaming channel in Ukrainian, Play UA features reviews of games and movies.

Телебачення — Television

Сніданок з 1+1
Level: Pre-intermediate to Native speaker (you can choose between various topics depending on your level)

This is a recommendation of my Hungarian student Attila who says he watches this program every day.

It is actually a TV morning program called Сніданок з 1+1 (“Breakfast with 1+1 (1+1 is the name of the TV channel)”).

Every morning they have different short episodes about a great variety of topics: lifestyle, celebrities, fashion, health, fitness, traveling, interesting facts, and even Ukrainian language lessons for Ukrainians! You can choose what you like on their Youtube channel.

Here is an example of the lesson for Advanced and Proficient Ukrainian speakers:

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If you are already following a Ukrainian YouTube channel that helps you to improve your language skills, let us know and we will add it to the list 😉

Приємного перегляду! — Enjoy watching!


Would you like to learn to understand more Ukrainian?

Check our article about the best Ukrainian radio stations online and prepare your ear to a lot of listening. Or learn Ukrainian wherever you are with our free Ukrainian Lessons Podcast.