Capitalization Rules in Ukrainian for English Speakers

Understanding Capitalization in Ukrainian

Capitalization in Ukrainian differs in some ways from English. Knowing when to capitalize letters is essential for proper writing and communication in Ukrainian.

General Rules for Capitalization

In Ukrainian, the first word of a sentence is always capitalized, similar to English. However, there are specific rules about which nouns, adjectives, and other words are capitalized.

Capitalizing Proper Nouns

Proper nouns such as names of people, cities, countries, and organizations are capitalized in Ukrainian, just like in English.

• Імена людей (People's names): Олександр, Марія
• Назви міст (City names): Київ, Львів
• Назви країн (Country names): Україна, Польща
• Назви організацій (Organization names): ООН, Національний банк України

Capitalization of Days, Months, and Seasons

Unlike English, in Ukrainian, names of days of the week, months, and seasons are not capitalized unless they start a sentence.

Capitalization of Nationalities and Languages

In Ukrainian, names of nationalities and languages are written with a lowercase letter, unlike English where they are capitalized.

Capitalization in Titles and Headings

In Ukrainian titles and headings, only the first word and proper nouns are capitalized. Other words are written in lowercase.

For example: Історія України (History of Ukraine) - only the first word and the proper noun are capitalized.

Capitalization of Religious Terms

Names of religions and religious holidays are generally written with lowercase letters unless they are proper names.