Why not just use a normal Unicode sort?

Unicode code points do not match Ukrainian dictionary order. Ґ (U+0490) sits far from Г (U+0413), and І (U+0406) comes before И (U+0418) in code-point order even though И must come first alphabetically. A raw sort therefore misplaces these letters.

Where does Ґ belong?

Ґ comes immediately after Г in the Ukrainian alphabet. The tool gives it the rank right after Г, so голуб, гора, then ґанок sort in the correct order rather than scattering Ґ words far away.

How are И, І and Ї ordered?

Ukrainian order is И, then І, then Ї. The tool assigns these explicit ranks, so words beginning with и sort before those beginning with і, which in turn sort before ї — the opposite of what code-point order would give.

What happens to the apostrophe?

The apostrophe in words like п'ять is ignored for ordering, so it does not push the word out of place. It is treated as transparent, matching how Ukrainian dictionaries collate such words.

Are non-Ukrainian characters handled?

Yes. Latin letters, digits, and other symbols sort after all Ukrainian letters by their code point, so a mixed list still produces a stable, predictable order with the Ukrainian words grouped first.

Ukrainian Alphabetical Sort

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The Ukrainian Alphabetical Sort orders a list of words the way a Ukrainian dictionary does. It fixes the two places where a naive computer sort goes wrong: the position of Ґ relative to Г, and the order of И, І, and Ї.

How it works

The tool defines the full Ukrainian alphabet as an ordered string and assigns each letter a rank from its position in that sequence: А=1, Б=2, … Г=4, Ґ=5, … И=11, І=12, Ї=13, …. To compare two words it converts each to a list of ranks, skipping the apostrophe, then compares position by position — the first differing rank decides the order, and a shorter prefix sorts first. Characters outside the alphabet (Latin letters, digits) receive ranks above every Ukrainian letter so they sort last but remain deterministic.

Notes and example

гора, ґанок, голуб sort as голуб, гора, ґанок — Ґ falls in right after the Г words, not at the far end.
икати, ірій, їжак sort in exactly that order, because И precedes І precedes Ї.
The apostrophe is transparent, so п'ять collates as though it were пять.
Tick Sort Z→A to reverse the whole list while keeping the same Ukrainian letter ranking.