How to Read Russian

Co-authored by Anna Guryeva

Last Updated: June 3, 2019 References

Russian is a Slavic language spoken mostly in Russia although Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine also speak Russian or use the Cyrillic alphabet (which is what Russian was formed upon). There are approximately 155 million Russian speakers in the world and it is one of the six official languages of the United Nations, making it a useful language to know. This article will explain how to read the Cyrillic alphabet so that learning Russian becomes easier.

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There are 33 letters in the Russian alphabet.^{[1]
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Research source} It consists of 11 vowels, 20 consonants and 2 pronunciation signs.^{[2]
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It is: 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.^{[3]
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In English the Russian alphabet translates to: a, b, v, g, d, e, yo, zh, z, i, y, k, l, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, u, f, kh, ts, ch,sh, shch, 'hard sign', i, 'soft sign', ye, yu, ya. As you can see there are a lot of letters that represent sounds, e.g. Ж = zh.^{[4]
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Russian letters that are basically the same: Aa = pronounced like the 'a' in car (not like the flat 'a' in mat). Kk = pronounced like the 'k' in kitchen. Mm = pronounced like the 'm' in mail. Oo = pronounced like the 'o' in bore. Tt = pronounced like the 't' in top.^{[5]
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Russian letters that look like English letters but sound different are: B = pronounced like the 'v' in vet. E = pronounced like the 'ye' in yes. H = pronounced like the 'n' in no. P = pronounced like the 'r' in rabbit (the 'P' is rolled though), C = pronounced like the 's' in snake. Y = pronounced like the 'oo' in shoot. X = pronounced like the 'h' in hello (similar sound to the ending of 'Bach' in German).^{[6]
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Russian letters that look unfamiliar, but have similar sounds in English are: Б = pronounced like 'b' in bread. Г = pronounced like 'g' in great. Д = pronounced like 'd' in dark. З = pronounced like 'z' in zoo. И = pronounced like 'i' in taxi. Л = pronounced like 'L' in like. П = pronounced like 'p' in person. Ф = pronounced like 'f' in fish. Э = pronounced like 'e' in bet.^{[7]
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These letters are: Ё = pronounced like 'yo' in yonder. Ю = sounds just like the word 'you'. Я = pronounced like the 'ya' in yacht. Ж = sounds like the 's' in pleasure. Ц = pronounced 'ts' like in sits. Ч = pronounced like 'ch' in church. Ш = sounds like 'sh' in sharp. Щ = to say this letter you have to arrange your mouth as if you were going to say 'ch' but instead you would say 'sh'. Ы = pronounced like the 'i' in lip. Й = sounds like the 'y' in boy.^{[8]
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Ъ = the 'hard sign' represents a slight pause between syllables. Ь = the 'soft sign' makes the previous letter soft, so 'K' sound could sound like a 'H' if this symbol was after the 'K'.^{[9]
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^{[10]
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Research source} Some example words are: БAP = BAR (not BAP!), ВИДЕО = VIDEO, ТЕКСТ = TEXT, MИHУTA = MINUTE, ИЮHЬ = JUNE, СЕНТЯБРЬ = SEPTEMBER.

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How to leave Russia?

Lingomaster2012

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Right now, Russia isn’t the safest place to visit, so I wouldn’t recommend going in the first place.

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Is there an easy way to remember this?

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Not really. Like any memorization, it will take practice.

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What is English for this word: TOMATHE AEPEBO?

Lingomaster2012

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It means ‘Tomato Airfield.’ Sorry, it’s very confusing. But now I want to know, where did you hear that?

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Tips

Knowing someone who is from Russia or one of the other countries that uses the Cyrillic alphabet can be a big advantage; let them test you to see how you're progressing.

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The best way to get good at something is to practice it a lot, reading Russian is no different.

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Try thinking in Russian, and when you say something in English, imagine how you would translate it to Russian. Reading words aloud helps too!

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