Lets start learning things about Russia and Russian language together! The first step to learning Russian is to learn the Russian alphabet.
The Russian alphabet is known as the Cyrillic alphabet. There are 33 letters in the Russian alphabet. 11 vowels, 20 consonants, and 2 pronunciation signs. Here is what the Russian alphabet looks like (in dictionary order).
К к - Pronounced like the "k" in "king". This letter replaces the English "c" sound in words like "cat".
М м - Pronounced like the "m" in Moscow.
O o - When stressed, it is pronounced like the "o" in "or". When un-stressed it is pronounced more like the letter "a".
Т т - Pronounced like the "t" in "team".
Е е - Pronounced like the "ye" in "yellow".
Н н - Pronounced like the "n" in "no". (Equivalent to the english letter "n").
Р р - Pronounced like the "r" in "rare", but it is rolled. (Equivalent to the english letter "r").
С с - Pronounced like the "s" in "see". (Equivalent to the English letter "s").
У у - Pronounced like the "oo" in "balloon".
Х х - Pronounced like the "h" in "hot".
Г г - Pronounced like the "g" in "good". (Equivalent to the letter "g").
Д д - Pronounced like the "d" in "delicate". (Equivalent to the letter "d").
З з - Pronounced like the "z" in "prize". (Equivalent to the letter "z").
И и - Pronounced like the "ee" in "easy".
Л л - Pronounced like the "l" in "like". (Equivalent to the letter "l").
П п - Pronounced like the "p" in "perfect". (Equivalent to the letter "p").
Ф ф - Pronounced like the "f" in "fancy". (Equivalent to the letter "f").
Э э - Pronounced like the "e" in "egg".
Ю ю - Pronounced like the "yoo" in "you". (Pronounced much like the english word "you").
Я я - Pronounced like the "ya" in "yahoo".
Ё ё - Pronounced like "yo" in "your".
Ж ж - Like "s" in , "pleasure" (As there is no English symbol for this sound, it is usually represented as "zh")
Ц ц - Similar to the "ts" sound in "boots" .
Ч ч - Pronounced like the "ch" in "chair" .
Ш ш - Pronounced like the "sh" in she.
Щ щ - Pronounced like "sh" but with your tongue on the roof of your mouth, like Scottish. Try putting your tongue in the same position as you would to say "ch" but say "sh" instead.
ы - Pronounced like the "i" in "bit" or "ill". (Said with your tongue slightly back in your mouth.)
Й й - This letter is used to form diphthongs. So "oй" is like the "oy" sound in "boy" or "aй" is like the "igh" in "sigh".
ъ - The 'Hard Sign' is rarely used. It indicates a slight pause between the letters.
ь - The 'Soft Sign' makes the previous letter 'soft'.
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 letters that are almost the same.
А а - Pronounced like the "a" in the word "car". It is not the 'flat' "a" sound you sometimes hear in words like "cat" or "flat".К к - Pronounced like the "k" in "king". This letter replaces the English "c" sound in words like "cat".
М м - Pronounced like the "m" in Moscow.
O o - When stressed, it is pronounced like the "o" in "or". When un-stressed it is pronounced more like the letter "a".
Т т - Pronounced like the "t" in "team".
Russian letters that look like English letters but sound different.
В в - Pronounced like the "v" in "very". (Equivalent to the english letter "v").Е е - Pronounced like the "ye" in "yellow".
Н н - Pronounced like the "n" in "no". (Equivalent to the english letter "n").
Р р - Pronounced like the "r" in "rare", but it is rolled. (Equivalent to the english letter "r").
С с - Pronounced like the "s" in "see". (Equivalent to the English letter "s").
У у - Pronounced like the "oo" in "balloon".
Х х - Pronounced like the "h" in "hot".
Russian letters that look unusual, but have familiar sounds
Б б - Pronounced like the "b" in "beautiful". (Equivalent to the letter "b").Г г - Pronounced like the "g" in "good". (Equivalent to the letter "g").
Д д - Pronounced like the "d" in "delicate". (Equivalent to the letter "d").
З з - Pronounced like the "z" in "prize". (Equivalent to the letter "z").
И и - Pronounced like the "ee" in "easy".
Л л - Pronounced like the "l" in "like". (Equivalent to the letter "l").
П п - Pronounced like the "p" in "perfect". (Equivalent to the letter "p").
Ф ф - Pronounced like the "f" in "fancy". (Equivalent to the letter "f").
Э э - Pronounced like the "e" in "egg".
New Russian letters and sounds
(The sounds will be familiar, but they don't have their own letter in English).Ю ю - Pronounced like the "yoo" in "you". (Pronounced much like the english word "you").
Я я - Pronounced like the "ya" in "yahoo".
Ё ё - Pronounced like "yo" in "your".
Ж ж - Like "s" in , "pleasure" (As there is no English symbol for this sound, it is usually represented as "zh")
Ц ц - Similar to the "ts" sound in "boots" .
Ч ч - Pronounced like the "ch" in "chair" .
Ш ш - Pronounced like the "sh" in she.
Щ щ - Pronounced like "sh" but with your tongue on the roof of your mouth, like Scottish. Try putting your tongue in the same position as you would to say "ch" but say "sh" instead.
ы - Pronounced like the "i" in "bit" or "ill". (Said with your tongue slightly back in your mouth.)
Й й - This letter is used to form diphthongs. So "oй" is like the "oy" sound in "boy" or "aй" is like the "igh" in "sigh".
Pronunciation Symbols
(These letters have no sound on their own, but are still considered letters.).ъ - The 'Hard Sign' is rarely used. It indicates a slight pause between the letters.
ь - The 'Soft Sign' makes the previous letter 'soft'.