This post is also available in: French, Spanish
Many of our readers asked for a lesson about the alphabet (алфави́т). And today we are pleased to publish it.
The Russian alphabet consists of 33 letters: 10 vowels, 21 consonants and 2 letters which do not have a sound (instead they make the word harder or softer). Also hand written Russian looks different to printed Russian.
More free Russian lessons for beginners you can find on learnrussianstepbystep.com.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
* pron. – approximate pronunciation. Listen to the audio to hear the real sound of each letter.
| letter | pron.* | letter | pron.* | letter | pron.* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| А а | [a] | К к | [k] | Х х | [h] |
| Б б | [b] | Л л | [l] | Ц ц | [ts] |
| В в | [v] | М м | [m] | Ч ч | [ch] |
| Г г | [g] | Н н | [n] | Ш ш | [sh] |
| Д д | [d] | О о | [o] | Щ щ | [sch] |
| Е е | [ye] | П п | [p] | ъ | the hard sign |
| Ё ё | [yo] | Р р | [r] | ы | ~ [i] |
| Ж ж | [zh] | С с | [s] | ь | the soft sign |
| З з | [z] | Т т | [t] | Э э | [e] |
| И и | [ee] | У у | [u] | Ю ю | [yu] |
| Й й | [y] | Ф ф | [ph] | Я я | [ya] |
 |
А а |  |
Б б |  |
В в |
 |
Г г |  |
Д д |  |
Е е |
 |
Ё ё |  |
Ж ж |  |
З з |
 |
И и |  |
Й й |  |
К к |
 |
Л л |  |
М м |  |
Н н |
 |
О о |  |
П п |  |
Р р |
 |
С с |  |
Т т |  |
У у |
 |
Ф ф |  |
Х х |  |
Ц ц |
 |
Ч ч |  |
Ш ш |  |
Щ щ |
 |
ъ |  |
ы |  |
ь |
 |
Э э |  |
Ю ю |  |
Я я |
Pronunciation rules: vowels
Правила произношения: гласные
- In unstressed positions, Russian letter O is pronounced like unstressed Russian A. But when stressed, it sounds like О in more.
- In unstressed positions, Russian letters Я, Е, Э are pronounced like an abbreviated Russian И.
- The letter Ё is always stressed in Russian words.
| vowel | stressed | unstressed |
|---|---|---|
| а | ма́ма (mother) | каранда́ш (pencil) |
| o | по́мощь (help) | молоко́ (milk) |
| у | ру́ки (hands) | уро́к (lesson) |
| э | э́хо (echo) | эта́ж (floor) |
| ы | ры́ба (fish) | краси́вый (beautiful) |
| и | кри́к (scream) | игра́ (game) |
| е | ме́бель (furniture) | семья́ (family) |
| ё | зелёный (green), жёлтый (yellow) | — |
| ю | ю́бка (skirt) | любо́вь (love) |
| я | я́щик (box) | тяжёлый (heavy) |
Pronunciation rules: consonants
Правила произношения: согласные
Des paires de consonnes. Пары согласных.
| voiced | voiceless |
|---|---|
| б | п |
| в | ф |
| г | к / х |
| д | т |
| ж | ш |
| з | с |
- Russian voiced consonants are pronounced as their voiceless counterparts when they appear in the the very end of the word.
Example: обе́д – (dinner) – [abе́t]
- Voiced consonants become voiceless when they are followed by other voiceless consonants.
Example: ю́бка – (skirt) – [yúpka]
- Voiceless consonants sound voiced when they are followed by voiced consonants.
Example: футбо́лка – (t-shirt) – [fudbólka]
The lesson is developed on the materials of masterrussian.com
