Introduction

On March 30,  I have a short presentation in Ukrainian. In preparation of this presentation, I discovered several similarities of Ukrainian with other European languages which point towards its exciting, reaching back to origins in the Latin and Nordic languages. Although I my knowledge of Ukrainian language and the other languages is limited, I think these examples are interesting.

Ukrainian and Latin

English<-Latin	Latin	Ukrainian	Ukrainian (Romanization)	Ukrainian -> English
to be	esse (Present)	Бути	Buty	to be (Future)
1.a) I am	sum	1.a) буду	1.a) budu	1.a) I will be
1.b) you are	es	1.b) будеш	1.b) budesh	1.b) you will be
1.c) he/she/it is	est	1.c) буде	1.c) bude	1.c) he/she/it will be
2.a) we are	sumus	2.a) будемо	2.a) budemo	2.a) we will be
2.b) you are	estis	2.b) будете	2.b) budete	2.b) you will be
2.c) they are	sunt	2.c) будуть	2.c) budutʹ	2.c) they will be
eye	oculus	око	oko	eye
cloud	nebula	небо (pars pro toto)	nebo	sky
heated room with a chimney	camera caminata (cf caminus) see German: Kemenate	кімната	kimnata	room
onion	cepa (cepulla)	цибуля	tsybulya	onion
potatoe	terrae tuber (italian: tartufo, tartufolo, ie «little truffel») see German: Kartoffel	картопля	kartoplya	potatoe

Ukrainian and Swedish

English <- Swedish	Swedish	Ukrainian	Ukrainian (Romanization)	Ukrainian -> English
physician	physician	лікар	likar	physician
cure	läke (cf läkemedel)	ліки	liky	cure
I	jag	я	ya	I
day	dygn	день	denʹ	day

The historical explanation seems to be the settlement of th Kyiv region around 1000 B.C by Vikings known as teh Kyivian Rus’, from which als the term Russia emerged. In Finnish, the Swedes as a people are still called “ruotsi”. The area in Sweden where the Vikings used to live is still called “Roslagen”.

According to the prevalent theory, the name Rus’, like the Proto-Finnic name for Sweden (*rootsi), is derived from an Old Norse term for ‘men who row’ (rods-) because rowing was the main method of navigating the rivers of Eastern Europe, and could be linked to the Swedish coastal area of Roden, later known as Roslagen.[25][26] The name Rus’ would then have the same origin as the Finnish and Estonian names for Sweden: Ruotsi and Rootsi. [1]

Nevertheless, the close connection between the Rus’ and the Norse is confirmed both by extensive Scandinavian settlement in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine and by Slavic influences in the Swedish language.[57][58][page needed] Though the debate over the origin of the Rus’ remains politically charged, there is broad agreement that if the proto-Rus’ were indeed originally Norse, they were quickly nativized, adopting Slavic languages and other cultural practices. This position, roughly representing a scholarly consensus (at least outside nationalist historiography), was summarized by the historian, F. Donald Logan, “in 839, the Rus were Swedes; in 1043 the Rus were Slavs”. [1]

References:

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kievan_Rus%27

Ukrainian and German

English<-German	German (Bavarian)	Ukrainian	Ukrainian (Romanization)	English -> Ukrainian
old (silver) coin	Groschen (old coin) Latin: Grossus	гроші	hroshi	Money
Shower	Dusche	дощ	dosch	Shower
room (casual)	Bude	будинок	budynok	House
to paint	malen	малювати	malyuvaty	to paint
Onion	Zwiebul	цибуля	tsybulya	Onion
to love	lieben	любити	lyubyty	to love
sandwich	Butterbrot	бутерброд	buterbrod	sandwich
Landscape	Landschaft	Ландшафт	Landshaft	Landscape
fog	Nebel	небо	nebo	sky
sun	Sonne	сонце	sonse	sun
Nosse	Nase (Bavarian: Nos'n) niesen	ніс, носи	nis, nosy	nose, noses
Heart	Herz(e)	серце	serse	Heart
Fair	Jahrmarkt	ярмарок	yarmarok	Fair (annual)
Spa	Kurort	Курорт	Kurort	Spa
Count (title)	Graf	граф	hraf	Count
What a pity!	Wie schade (Bavarian: Wia schod!)	яка шкода!	yaka shkoda!	What a pity!
seven	sieben (Bavarian: sim(e))	сім	sim	seven
People	Leute	люди	lyudi	people