Russian Cyrillic Alphabet
The Russian Cyrillic alphabet contains 33 letters: 21 letters are consonants, 10 letters are vowels, and 2 letters – the soft sign and the hard sign – have no sound of their own. Take some time to read through each letter noticing that the pronunciation is not exactly like the name of the letter, just like in English!
Click below to hear a recitation of the alphabet read in the order you see below.
| Letter | Pronunciation | Letter Name |
|---|---|---|
| А а | as in father | а (a) |
| Б б | as in bat | бэ (be) |
| В в | as in vase | вэ (ve) |
| Г г | as in go | гэ (ge) |
| Д д | as in dog | дэ (de) |
| Е е | as in yes | е (ye) |
| Ё ё | as in yogurt | ё (yo) |
| Ж ж | as the ‘s’ in measure | жэ (zhe) |
| З з | as in zoo | зэ (ze) |
| И и | as in taxi | и (i) |
| Й й | as in boy | и краткое ‘short и’ |
| К к | as in kangaroo | ка (ka) |
| Л л | as in love | эль (el) |
| М м | as in man | эм (em) |
| Н н | as in no | эн (en) |
| О о | as in open | о (o) |
| П п | as in pot | пэ (pe) |
| Р р | as in run | эр (er) |
| С с | as in sun | эс (es) |
| Т т | as in tall | тэ (te) |
| У у | as in moon | у (u) |
| Ф ф | as in fall | эф (ef) |
| Х х | as in hello | ха (kha) |
| Ц ц | as in nuts | це (tse) |
| Ч ч | as in church | че (che) |
| Ш ш | as in shut | ша (sha) |
| Щ щ | as in fresh sheets | ща (shsha) |
| Ъ ъ | no sound | твёрдый знак ‘hard sign’ |
| Ы ы | as in ill | ы (y) |
| Ь ь | no sound | мягкий знак ‘soft sign’ |
| Э э | as in fed | э (eh) |
| Ю ю | as in university | ю (yu) |
| Я я | as in yard | я (ya) |
