🔤 The Russian Cyrillic Alphabet
All 33 letters with pronunciation, IPA, and example words
The Russian Alphabet
Russian uses the Cyrillic script with 33 letters: 10 vowels, 21 consonants, and 2 signs (hard sign and soft sign). Some letters look like Latin letters but sound completely different — these "false friends" (like Н = /n/, Р = /r/, С = /s/) are the biggest traps for beginners. Work through the table slowly and sound out each letter.
| Letter | Name | IPA | Sounds Like... | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| А а | а | /a/ | "father" | Арбуз (watermelon) |
| Б б | бэ | /b/ | "boy" | Банан (banana) |
| В в | вэ | /v/ | "vine" | Вода (water) |
| Г г | гэ | /ɡ/ | "go" | Год (year) |
| Д д | дэ | /d/ | "dog" | Дом (house) |
| Е е | е | /je/ | "yet" (or /ɪ/ unstressed) | Ель (spruce) |
| Ё ё | ё | /jo/ | "yo" in "yoga" — ALWAYS stressed | Ёж (hedgehog) |
| Ж ж | жэ | /ʐ/ | "s" in "measure" but harder | Жук (beetle) |
| З з | зэ | /z/ | "zoo" | Звезда (star) |
| И и | и | /i/ | "see" | Имя (name) |
| Й й | и краткое | /j/ | "boy" (the y-sound) | Йогурт (yogurt) |
| К к | ка | /k/ | "key" | Кот (cat) |
| Л л | эль | /l/ | "bell" (dark l) | Луна (moon) |
| М м | эм | /m/ | "mother" | Мама (mom) |
| Н н | эн | /n/ | "no" | Нос (nose) |
| О о | о | /o/ | /o/ stressed, /ɐ/ unstressed | Окно (window) |
| П п | пэ | /p/ | "pen" | Парк (park) |
| Р р | эр | /r/ | rolled/trilled r | Рука (hand) |
| С с | эс | /s/ | "sun" | Слово (word) |
| Т т | тэ | /t/ | "top" | Три (three) |
| У у | у | /u/ | "food" | Утро (morning) |
| Ф ф | эф | /f/ | "fun" | Факт (fact) |
| Х х | ха | /x/ | Scottish "loch" | Хлеб (bread) |
| Ц ц | цэ | /ts/ | "cats" | Цвет (color) |
| Ч ч | че | /tɕ/ | "church" (soft) | Час (hour) |
| Ш ш | ша | /ʂ/ | "ship" (hard) | Школа (school) |
| Щ щ | ща | /ɕː/ | "fresh cheese" (soft, long) | Щи (cabbage soup) |
| Ъ ъ | твёрдый знак | — | hard sign — no sound, separates prefix from root | Объект (object) |
| Ы ы | ы | /ɨ/ | no English equivalent — between "i" and "u" | Мы (we) |
| Ь ь | мягкий знак | — | soft sign — softens preceding consonant | Мать (mother) |
| Э э | э | /ɛ/ | "bed" | Это (this) |
| Ю ю | ю | /ju/ | "you" | Юг (south) |
| Я я | я | /ja/ | "yard" | Яблоко (apple) |
Vowel Reduction
Russian vowels change depending on whether they are stressed or unstressed. This is called "vowel reduction" and it is one of the most important features of Russian pronunciation. The letter О is the most dramatic: when stressed it sounds like a clear /o/ (as in "more"), but when unstressed it reduces to /ɐ/ (a short "ah" sound). Е reduces from /je/ to /ɪ/ (a short "ih" sound) when unstressed. А stays roughly the same but becomes shorter and weaker. This means the word молоко (milk) is pronounced /mɐlɐˈko/ — only the final О gets its full /o/ sound because that is where the stress falls.
| Stressed | Unstressed | Example |
|---|---|---|
| О = /o/ | О = /ɐ/ | молоко /mɐlɐˈko/ (milk) |
| Е = /je/ | Е = /ɪ/ | весна /vɪˈsna/ (spring) |
| А = /a/ | А = /ɐ/ (shorter) | карандаш /kɐrɐnˈdaʂ/ (pencil) |
| Я = /ja/ | Я = /ɪ/ | язык /jɪˈzɨk/ (language) |
Consonant Rules
Russian consonants come in voiced/voiceless pairs. A key rule: voiced consonants become voiceless at the end of a word. So город (city) is pronounced /ˈɡorɐt/ — the final д sounds like т. This also happens before voiceless consonants: водка is pronounced /ˈvotkɐ/ (the д becomes т before к). The soft sign (ь) does not make a sound itself but palatalizes (softens) the consonant before it — your tongue moves toward the roof of your mouth. The hard sign (ъ) is rare and prevents palatalization after prefixes, creating a slight pause: объект = /ɐbˈjɛkt/.
| Voiced | Voiceless |
|---|---|
| Б /b/ | П /p/ |
| В /v/ | Ф /f/ |
| Г /ɡ/ | К /k/ |
| Д /d/ | Т /t/ |
| З /z/ | С /s/ |
| Ж /ʐ/ | Ш /ʂ/ |
Reading Russian Words
Here is a practical strategy for reading Russian: first, learn to recognize each letter and its sound. Then, sound out words slowly, letter by letter. Expect vowel reduction — unstressed О and Е will not sound the way they look. Pay attention to consonant devoicing at word ends. With practice, you will stop needing to decode letter-by-letter and start recognizing whole words. A great trick for building confidence early: Russian has many cognates borrowed from European languages. These words look and sound similar to English once you can read the Cyrillic letters.
Practice with Interactive Quizzes
Build lasting vocabulary with image-based flashcards and spaced repetition.
Try Vidi for Free