The Ukraine is the probable heartland of the 450 extant Indo-European languages, and also where the horse was first domesticated. English and Ukrainian share many cognates, particularly for kin, numbers and agriculture.
These words sound similar and are therefore easy to learn:
batʹko, maty, syn, dochka, brat, sestra (father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister)
kit, myshka, svynya, husak, frukty, yabluko (cat, mouse, pig, goose, fruit, apple)
The PIE connection is less obvious for these: aunt (titka, Latin amita PIE ámetā, Fr. tante); uncle (dyadʹko); cousin (dvoyuridnyy brat, kuzen is recognised); bird (ptakh; PIE ‘fly’, Ancient Greek ptera ‘wing’); sheep (vivtsi, L. ovis)
The PIE connection is probably unhelpful for these: husband/ man (cholovik; muj is known from Romany and Russian); woman/ wife (druzhyna, zhinka); dog (sobaka; doh is recognised); horse (kin’; kavaleriya is recognised); cow/ ox (koliv, bik)
