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The Russian alphabet

33 letters, each with its name and roughly the sound it makes. The sounds are English approximations — enough to sound a word out, not enough to pass for a local.

🇷🇺 Cyrillic · An alphabet: vowels and consonants are letters of equal standing.

Thirty-three letters. Several look like Latin ones and are not: В is v, Р is r, С is s, У is u, Н is n. Two letters make no sound of their own — ь softens the consonant before it, ъ separates.

New to it? Our beginner's guide to the Russian alphabet explains how the script works and gives you a plan to learn it.

• А а a a in father
• Б б be b
• В в ve v
• Г г ge g
• Д д de d
• Е е ye ye in yes
• Ё ё yo yo in yonder
• Ж ж zhe s in measure
• З з ze z
• И и i ee in see
• Й й short i y in boy
• К к ka k
• Л л el l
• М м em m
• Н н en n
• О о o o in more
• П п pe p
• Р р er rolled r
• С с es s
• Т т te t
• У у u oo in boot
• Ф ф ef f
• Х х kha ch in loch
• Ц ц tse ts in cats
• Ч ч che ch in chair
• Ш ш sha sh
• Щ щ shcha longer, softer sh
• Ъ ъ hard sign silent, separates
• Ы ы y i in bill, further back
• Ь ь soft sign silent, softens
• Э э e e in bet
• Ю ю yu u in use
• Я я ya ya in yard

Now read something in it

The letters are the smaller half. The 10,000 commonest Russian words are where they start meaning something.

Cyrillic is also used for Ukrainian, Bulgarian and Macedonian. The letters mostly carry over; a handful do not.

Reading it is one thing.

Being understood when you say it is another. That takes a person.

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