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The Russian alphabet

The Russian alphabet has 33 letters: 10 vowels, 21 consonants and two signs that do not have a sound of their own. It looks strange for a week and then becomes ordinary.

This page gives you the letters, their names and a rough English equivalent. The equivalents are approximate: Russian sounds do not map neatly onto English, and the notes below matter more than the letters themselves.

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33 letters
10 vowels
21 consonants
2 signs

The letters

The “rough English” column is a starting point, not a promise. Use it to read your first words, then replace it with the real sound by listening and repeating.

Letter	Name	Sound	Rough English
А а	a	[a]	a in father
Б б	be	[b]	b in book
В в	ve	[v]	v in very
Г г	ge	[g]	g in go
Д д	de	[d]	d in door
Е е	ye	[je]	ye in yes
Ё ё	yo	[jo]	yo in yonder
Ж ж	zhe	[ʐ]	s in measure
З з	ze	[z]	z in zoo
И и	i	[i]	ee in see
Й й	i kratkoye	[j]	y in boy
К к	ka	[k]	k in kite
Л л	el	[l]	l in lamp
М м	em	[m]	m in map
Н н	en	[n]	n in nose
О о	o	[o]	o in more (stressed)
П п	pe	[p]	p in pen
Р р	er	[r]	rolled r
С с	es	[s]	s in sun
Т т	te	[t]	t in table
У у	u	[u]	oo in boot
Ф ф	ef	[f]	f in fish
Х х	kha	[x]	ch in loch
Ц ц	tse	[ts]	ts in cats
Ч ч	che	[tɕ]	ch in cheese
Ш ш	sha	[ʂ]	sh in ship
Щ щ	shcha	[ɕː]	soft sh + ch
Ъ ъ	hard sign	—	no sound; separates
Ы ы	y	[ɨ]	no English equivalent
Ь ь	soft sign	—	softens the previous consonant
Э э	e	[ɛ]	e in met
Ю ю	yu	[ju]	you
Я я	ya	[ja]	ya in yard

Three letters that confuse English speakers

В looks like B but sounds like V. Н looks like H but sounds like N. Р looks like P but sounds like a rolled R. These are the classic false friends; learn them on the first day and they stop causing trouble.

С sounds like S, У sounds like oo, and Я sounds like ya. The shapes are unfamiliar, but the sounds are not exotic.

Hard and soft consonants

Most Russian consonants come in pairs: hard and soft. The soft version is made with the tongue raised towards the palate, close to the difference between the “n” in “not” and “ny” in “canyon”.

The soft sign Ь does not make a sound. It tells you that the previous consonant is soft. The hard sign Ъ separates a prefix from the stem and also has no sound.

How to practise reading

Do not wait until you “know the alphabet” to read words. Reading words is how the alphabet becomes automatic.

Read names first: Москва, Лондон, Марина, Александр.
Then signs and menus: кафе, метро, аптека, выход.
Read aloud for five minutes a day, even if it feels slow.
Record yourself and compare with a native model — not with English spelling.

Written by Marina

Native Russian speaker and qualified teacher with more than 25 years of experience. Lessons are explained in English and built around the student’s goal. More about Marina.

Last updated: 13 November 2026

Questions

Short, direct answers. If yours is not here, send a message and we will reply within one working day.

How long does the alphabet take?

Most students can read simple words after two or three lessons and are comfortable with the alphabet in two to three weeks of short practice.

Is Cyrillic the same as the Russian alphabet?

Russian uses the Cyrillic script. Other languages, such as Ukrainian, Bulgarian and Serbian, also use Cyrillic with different letters and rules. This page is about Russian.

Why does О sound like А sometimes?

In unstressed syllables, Russian vowels reduce. An unstressed о is usually pronounced closer to а. This is normal, not a mistake.

Do I need to learn cursive?

You need to read it, because many Russians write in cursive. Writing it yourself is useful but can come later.

What is the best order to learn the letters?

Start with the letters that look and sound like English, then the false friends, then the signs. We use this order in the first lessons.

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