The Russian alphabet

Russian is written in Cyrillic: 33 letters, 10 vowels, 21 consonants and two signs with no sound of their own. Five of them you can already read, and most of the rest take a day or two. Below is every letter with its name, how it sounds and a word to try it on. Press the speaker to hear it.

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All 33 letters

Letter	Sounds like	Example
А аа	a in “father”[a]	авто́бусbus
Б ббэ	b in “bed”[b]	братbrother
В ввэ	v in “van” (not a B!)[v]	вода́water
Г ггэ	g in “go”[ɡ]	го́родcity
Д ддэ	d in “dog”[d]	домhome
Е ее	ye in “yes”[je]	естьto eat
Ё ёё	yo in “yogurt”, always stressed[jo]	ещёstill / more
Ж жжэ	s in “pleasure”, but harder[ʐ]	жена́wife
З ззэ	z in “zoo”[z]	зима́winter
И ии	ee in “meet”[i]	интерне́тinternet
Й йи кра́ткое	y in “boy”[j]	чайtea
К кка	k in “kite”[k]	кни́гаbook
Л лэль	l in “milk”[l]	ла́мпаlamp
М мэм	m in “map”[m]	молоко́milk
Н нэн	n in “no” (not an H!)[n]	носnose
О оо	o in “more” when stressed, a in “about” when not[o]	окно́window
П ппэ	p in “pen”[p]	паркpark
Р рэр	a rolled r, as in Spanish or Scottish (not a P!)[r]	ры́баfish
С сэс	s in “sun” (not a K sound)[s]	сокjuice
Т ттэ	t in “top”[t]	теа́трtheater
У уу	oo in “moon” (not a Y!)[u]	у́троmorning
Ф фэф	f in “far”[f]	фру́ктыfruits
Х хха	ch in Scottish “loch” (not an X!)[x]	хлебbread
Ц ццэ	ts in “cats”[ts]	це́рковьchurch
Ч чче	ch in “chair”[tɕ]	часhour
Ш шша	sh in “shop”, with the tongue pulled back[ʂ]	шко́лаschool
Щ щща	a long, soft sh, like “fresh sheep” run together[ɕː]	пло́щадьsquare (town square)
Ъ ътвёрдый знак	no sound: keeps the letters before and after it apart[–]	подъе́здentrance (of a block of flats)
Ы ыы	i in “bit” said with the tongue pulled back; English has nothing quite like it[ɨ]	сырcheese
Ь ьмя́гкий знак	no sound: makes the consonant before it soft[ʲ]	деньday
Э ээ	e in “met”[e]	э́тоthis (neuter)
Ю юю	u in “use”[ju]	ю́бкаskirt
Я яя	ya in “yard”[ja]	я́блокоapple

Learn it in four steps

1. Letters you already know

А, К, М, О and Т look and sound like their English twins. You can read кот (cat) and том (volume) right away.

2. False friends

В, Е, Н, Р, С, У and Х look English but sound different: В is v, Е is ye, Н is n, Р is r, С is s, У is oo, Х is the ch in “loch”. Learn these next, because your eyes will keep misreading them. ресторан looks like nonsense until you read it as restoran.

3. New shapes, familiar sounds

Б, Г, Д, З, И, Й, Л, П, Ф and Э are sounds English already has, so you only learn the shape. Ё, Ю and Я are y + a vowel: yo, yu, ya.

4. New sounds

Ж, Ц, Ч, Ш and Щ are the hushing and hissing sounds; Ы is the one vowel English doesn't have; Ъ and Ь are signs with no sound. Leave these for last and listen to them often.

Three things that make reading easier

Stress decides how a word sounds, and normal texts don't mark it. Learner materials do, with an accent: молоко́. In the unstressed syllables O sounds like a: молоко is said ma-la-KO.
Ь makes the consonant before it soft, as if a short y were hidden after it: мать (mother) ends in a soft t. Without it, мат is a different word.
Handwritten and italic Cyrillic look different from print: т can look like m, and д like g. Learn print first, then handwriting.

From the blog

Questions about the Russian alphabet

How many letters are in the Russian alphabet?

33: 10 vowels (А, Е, Ё, И, О, У, Ы, Э, Ю, Я), 21 consonants and 2 signs (Ъ and Ь) that have no sound of their own.

How long does it take to learn the Russian alphabet?

Most people can sound out words after two or three days of short practice, and read with ease after one or two weeks of reading every day.

Is Cyrillic the same as the Russian alphabet?

Cyrillic is the script; the Russian alphabet is one version of it. Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Serbian and Kazakh also use Cyrillic, each with a few letters of its own.