Russian Lesson 1
The Russian alphabet with sounds
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Alphabet reference guide (PDF file for printing)
Let's start with the very basics--the alphabet. The fact is that you can learn the Russian alphabet and will be able to read Russian words in less than 60 minutes! We will break down Russian letters into several groups according to how similar (or different) they are to English letters.
Being able to decipher the Russian alphabet will open the door to reading and writing in Russian. You will be able to read words on product labels, street signs, maps and so on. The Russian alphabet is an essential stepping stone to success with virtually every aspect of your Russian language study.
The Russian alphabet consists of 33 letters, 20 of which are consonants, the rest are vowels. In addition to vowels and consonants, there are two special modifying letters (Ь ь and Ъ ъ) called the soft sign and the hard sign. Historically, the Russian alphabet borrows some letters from Greek and Hebrew.
1. The Perfect Matches
These five Russian letters remind the letters of the English alphabet that you already know. You will have no difficulties in recognizing them and you will be able to read a few simple Russian words.
A а - pronounced like "a" in "father". It should not be confused with "a" as in "fate" or "map". K к - pronounced as in "king". M м - pronounced as in "most". O о - pronounced like "o" in "bore" when stressed, otherwise this letter makes a sound similar to the Russian "A" that you learned above but more reduced, almost like "u" in "under" or the first "o" in "tomato". T т - pronounced as in "time". E e - pronounced as "ye" in "yellow".
Words you can read now:
Мама - a mother
Кот - a cat
Там - there
Акт - an act
Том - a volume
2. The False Friends
The next group of letters includes eight false friends. They look exactly like English letters or even numbers but have different pronunciation.
В в - pronounced as "v" in "voice" (never "w") З з - pronounced as "z" in "zoo" Н н - pronounced as "n" in "noon" Р р - pronounced as a tap or roll like "r" in Spanish "pero" or Scottish "r". С с - pronounced as "s" in "soup" У у - pronounced as "oo" in "shoot" Ч ч - pronounced as "ch" in "chair". This letter is not the number four. Х х - pronounced as "h" in "hoopla" or "ch" in the Scottish "loch"
Words you can read now:
Весна - spring (season)
Ус - moustache
Чек - a check, receipt
Метр - meter
Хвост - tail
Верх - top
3. The Secret Agents
The next group includes sixteen letters of the Russian alphabet. Although it may be tricky to guess their pronunciation it won't be an easy task because they all have an unusual look. The good news is that these letters correspond to sounds that are relatively familiar to you as an English speaker.
Б б - pronounced as "b" in "boy" Г г - pronounced as "g" in "good" Д д - pronounced as "d" in "desk" Ё ё - pronounced as "yo" in "yonder" Ж ж - pronounced as "s" in "pleasure" П п - pronounced as "p" in "people" Ф ф - pronounced as "f" in "fast" И и - pronounced as "ee" in "feet" Й й - pronounced as "y" in "boy" Л л - pronounced as "l" in "last" Ц ц - pronounced as "ts" in "its" Ш ш - pronounced as "sh" in "short" Щ щ - pronounced as a long soft "shch". This letter reminds a combination of "Ш" (sh) and "Ч" (ch). Э э - pronounced as "e" in "echo" Ю ю - pronounced as English "you" but shorter Я я - pronounced as "ya" in "yard"
Words you can read now:
Дядя - an uncle
Бой - a battle
Юля - Yulia (female name)
Эти - these
Флаги - flags
Рэп - rap (music)
Ёлка - a fir-tree
Сколково - Skolkovo (Russian Silicon Valley project)
Ящик - a box
Ёж - a hedgehog
Шкаф - a cupboard
Цвет - a color
4. The Rare Aves
The last group includes three letters that do not represent independent sounds. These are auxiliary letters. They are used in combinations to modify the pronunciation of other letters in the word.
Ы ы - a combination of two sounds: "i" as in "kit" and "u" as in "sugar" Ь ь - soft sign. It has no sound of its own, but makes the preceding consonant sound as if a "y" sound was added to it. Ъ ъ - hard sign. It has no sound of its own, but makes the following sound separated. It is used to signal a slight pause between syllables.
Words with the letter "Ы":
Быт - everyday life
Рыба - fish
Мы - we
Reference Guide for the Russian Alphabet
This lesson comes with a reference guide in Adobe PDF format
.
Print it out and and take it everywhere for review and practice. Print it out on your favorite card stock or thick resume paper and cut along the crop marks. Keep it with you for review and you will soon know the Russian alphabet like the back of your hand.
Download the free reference guide.
Alphabetical order: А Б В Г Д Е Ё Ж З И Й К Л М Н О П Р С Т У Ф Х Ц Ч Ш Щ Ъ Ы Ь Э Ю Я
| Russian letter | English equivalent | Sounds like |
| The Perfect Matches | ||
| А а | A | "a" in "father" |
| К к | K | "k" in "king" |
| М м | M | "m" in "most" |
| О о | O | "o" in "bore" (stressed) |
| Т т | T | "t" in "time" |
| The False Friends | ||
| В в | V | "v" in "voice" |
| З з | Z | "z" in "zero |
| Н н | N | "n" in "noon" |
| Р р | R | "r" in "bright" (rolled) |
| С с | S | "s" in "soup" |
| У у | OO | "oo" in "shoot" |
| Ч ч | CH | "ch" in "chair" |
| Х х | KH | Scottish "loch" |
| The Secret Agents | ||
| Б б | B | "b" in "boy" |
| Г г | G | "g" in "good" |
| Д д | D | "d" in "desk" |
| Ё ё | YO | "yo" in "yonder" |
| Ж ж | ZH | "s" in "pleasure" |
| П п | P | "p" in "people" |
| Ф ф | F | "f" in "fast" |
| И и | EE | "ee" in "feet" |
| Й й | Y | "y" in "boy" |
| Л л | L | "l" in "last" |
| Ц ц | TS | "ts" in "its" |
| Ш ш | SH | "sh" in "short" |
| Щ щ | SHCH | long soft "shch" |
| Э э | E | "e" in "echo" |
| Ю ю | YOU | "you" (shorter) |
| Я я | YA | "ya" in "yard" |
| The Rare Aves | ||
| Ы ы | Y | combination of "i" as in "kit" and "u" as in "sugar" |
| Ь ь | -- | soft sign; no sound |
| Ъ ъ | -- | hard sign; no sound |
You should now be familiar with the letters of the Russian alphabet. Continue to the next lesson: Meetings and greetings where you will learn how to greet people and introduce yourself in Russian. If you want to further master the Russian alphabet, download our Learn Russian Alphabet for iPhone / Android app in App Store or on Google play.
More Russian alphabet resources
You may also like the following sites:
Letters of Russian alphabet from MasterRussian
Russian alphabet by Language Daily
Cyrillic alphabet on Wikipedia
"Practice makes perfect." ~ Periander