Russian Alphabet

Letter Name of Letter Similar English Sound
А а
 a like ar in far
Б б
 be like b in box
В в
 ve like v in voice
Г г
 ge like g in go
Д д
 de like d in day
Е е
 ye like ye in yet or e in exit
Ё ё
 yo like yo in your
Ж ж
 zhe like s in pleasure
З з
 ze like z in zoo
И и
 ee like ee in meet
Й й
 ee kratkoye (short i) like y in boy
К к
 ka like k in key or c in cat
Л л
 el like l in lamp
М м
 em like m in man
Н н
 en like n in note
О о
 o like o in not
П п
 pe like p in pet
Р р
 er like r in rock (but rolled)
С с
 es like s in sun
Т т
 te like t in table
У у
 oo like oo in moon
Ф ф
 ef like f in food
Х х
 kha like ch in Scottish loch
Ц ц
 tse like ts in boots
Ч ч
 che like ch in chat
Ш ш
 sha like sh in short
Щ щ
 shcha like sh_ch in fresh_cheese
ъ
 tviordiy znak (hard sign) has no sound
ы
 ih* like i in ill
ь
 myagkiy znak (soft sign) has no sound
Э э
 e like e in end
Ю ю
 yoo like u in use
Я я
 ya like ya in yard

* ih - "h" had been added to produce a more open sound, but is not pronounced as an English "h".


Back to main