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Russian Basic Pronunciation

In the Russian language, there are consonant and vowel letters. Russian has five vowel sounds and ten vowel letters. Five of the letters are “hard” and the rests are “soft”. The one vowel sound in each word that is stressed receives special emphasis. As you speak Russian, try in the beginning to exaggerate your pronunciation.

Consonant Letters

Russian

Letter

Russian Sound

Example

б

b as in bat

банк

в

v as in vote

вот

г

g as in go

гол

д

d as in dog

да

ж

zh as in azure

жена

з

z as in zoo

за

й

y as in boy

мой

к

k as in kayak

касса

л

l as in lot

лампа

м

m as in mall

муж

н

n as in note

нос

п

p as in papa

парк

р

r as in rabbit

рот

с

s as in sun

суп

т

t as in toe

такси

ф

f as in fund

фунт

х

ch as in bach, loch

ах

ц

ts as in tsar

царь

ч

ch as in cheap

чнтает

ш

sh as in show

шапка

щ

sh as in sheep

щн

ъ

hard sign

ь

soft sign

VOWELS

Russian

Letter

Russian Sound

Example

HARD VOWELS

а

a as in father

да

з

e as in echo

зхо

ы

y as in hairy

мы

о

o as in hello

но

у

u as in rule

ну

SOFT VOWELS

я

ya as in yahoo

я

е

ye as in yes

нет

и

ee as in bee

ива

ё

yo as in yo-yo

полёт

ю

u as in union

юмор

You know you’re in Russia when the simple sign for a restaurant looks like PECTOPAH. Actually, the Russian alphabet has only a few more letters than English. But to get started, look at the list below. Read aloud the pronunciation in the first column and then look at the Russian letters in the middle column. At the far right you’ll see the translation and you’ll be pleasantly surprised to learn how many of them you already know. After the first three words we’ll add only one new letter per word.