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Sounds: у/ў and і/й

Чаргаваньне у/ў і і/й

When у becomes ў (and і becomes й)

In Belarusian, the vowels у and і shorten to the semivowels ў and й after another vowel. This happens automatically and is one of the most distinctive features of Belarusian pronunciation and spelling.

я іду ў школу — I go to school (ў after у-sound in іду)

маму й сястру — mom and sister (й after у-sound in маму)

The preposition «у» (in, to) becomes «ў» when the preceding word ends in a vowel. Likewise, the letter у at the start of a word becomes ў after a vowel ending.

я ўжо — (я + ужо) — I already

яна ўбачыла — (яна + убачыла) — she saw

Я йду ў школу. — I go to school.

The conjunction «і» (and) becomes «й» after a vowel. This also applies to the letter і at the start of a word following a vowel.

маму й сястру — (маму + і сястру) — mom and sister

ся́бра й я — (сябра + і я) — my friend and I

Выбачай і ты. — You too, sorry. (і stays after consonant -й)

Vocabulary

Belarusian	English	Audio
й	I'm waiting for mom and sister at the station.	—
ў	I'm going to the library.	—
Я йду ў школу.		—

Practice

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