The Russian Alphabet
The Russian (Cyrillic) alphabet consits of 33 letters:
10 vowels (а, е, ё, и, о, у, ы, э, ю, я) and 23 consonants.
| Letter | Russian name | Pronunciation (with English examples) | Transcribed | Audio samples as text |
| A a | a | a - long as in 'father"; short as in 'mother" | a | long: янвàрь short: в январé |
| Б б | be | b - hard as in 'boss' or soft as in 'Bjorn' | b | hard: быть soft: бить |
| В в | ve | v - hard as in 'vase' or soft as in 'view' | v | hard: новый soft: новейший |
| Г г | ge | g - hard as in 'God' or soft as in 'argue' | g | hard: много soft: многие |
| Д д | de | d - hard as in 'day' or soft as in 'dew' | d | hard: награда soft: наградить |
| Е е | ye | ye - as in 'yet' - in the initial position, after vowels and after ь and ъ. | ye, yi, e, a, i, ɨ | with y: ехать without y: побег |
| Ё ё | yo | Always stressed! | yo, o | with y: ёж without y: жёлтый |
| Ж ж | zhe | sh as in 'pleasure' | ʒ | жить |
| З з | ze | z - hard as in 'zero' or soft as in 'resume' | z | завтра |
| И и | i | i: - stressed as in 'deep'; i - unstressed as in 'pit'; after ж, ш, ц - wie ы (see below). Softens preceding consonants. | i:, i, ɨ | один like 'ы': машина |
| Й й | i krátkoye (short) | y - as in 'young' | i, y | мой |
| К к | ka | k - hard as in 'can' or soft as in 'keep' | k | hard: кот soft: кит |
| Л л | el | l - hard as in 'lord' or soft as in 'million' | l | hard: белый soft: белить |
| М м | em | m - hard as in 'must' or soft as in 'Muse' | m | hard: масло soft: мясо |
| Н н | en | n - hard as in 'null' or soft as in 'nude' | n | hard: ныть soft: нить |
| О о | o | o - if stressed - long as in 'obey'; shorter then 'a' - if unstressed as in 'together' | o, ə or ɔ | long: нóвый short: новéйший |
| П п | pe | p - hard as in 'pot' or soft as in 'peer' | p | hard: пат soft: пять |
| Р р | er | r trilled with the tip of the tongue; hard or soft | r | hard: рукá soft: рюмка |
| С с | es | s - hard as in 'some' or soft as in 'sue' | s | hard: суд soft: сюда |
| Т т | te | t - hard, but unaspirated as in 'time' or soft as in 'tulip' | t | hard: тонуть soft: тянуть |
| У у | u | shorter then 'oo' in 'goose' | u | думать |
| Ф ф | ef | f - hard as in 'fall' or soft as in 'few' | f | hard: кафé soft: кóфe |
| Х х | kha | ch - hard similar to 'Lochness' or soft. No English equivalent. | ch | hard: хохотать soft: хихикать |
| Ц ц | tse | ts (always hard) as in 'tsar' | ts | цвет |
| Ч ч | tche | tch (always soft) as in 'cheers' | ʧ | учить |
| Ш ш | sha | sh (always hard) as in 'sure' | ʃ | школа |
| Щ щ | tsha | tsch (always soft) as in 'schtschi' (Russian cabbage soup) | ʃtʃ | ещё |
| Ъ ъ | tvyordyi znak (hard sign) | The hard sign is not pronounced. It is placed between a hard consonant and the vowels -е, -ё, -ю, -я. These vowels are pronounced with the distinct initial 'j' (je, jo, ju, ja). | подъезд | |
| Ы ы | ɨ | A retracted variety of 'i' pronounced with the tongue blocking the throat. No English equivalent. | y | ты |
| Ь ь | myachkiy znak (soft sign) | The soft sign is not pronounced. It softens a preceeding consonant and indicates the distinct pronunciation of the initial 'j' of the following vowels -е, -ё, -ю, -я (je, jo, ju, ja). | sometimes 'j' | дверь |
| Э э | ε | 'ε' or 'e' similar to 'set' | ε, e | это |
| Ю ю | yu | ju as in 'you'. In some cases the 'j' is hardly pronounced. Softens preceeding consonant. | yu, u | юмор |
| Я я | ya | ja - if stressed as in 'young' yi - if unstressed as in 'yeast', but shorter. Can sometimes be reduced to 'a' or 'i'. Softens preceeding consonant. | ya, yi, yə, a, i | яблоко |
