Russian Alphabet

The modern Russian alphabet uses the Cyrillic script and consists of 33 letters: 10 vowels, 21 consonants, and 2 signs that modify pronunciation.

1. Classification of Letters

  • Vowels (10 letters):

    • Hard-indicating vowels: А, О, У, Ы, Э

    • Soft-indicating (iotated) vowels: Я, Е, Ё, И, Ю

  • Consonants (21 letters):

    • Voiced: Б, В, Г, Д, Ж, З

    • Voiceless: П, Ф, К, Т, Ш, С, Х, Ц, Ч, Щ

    • Sonorants: Л, М, Н, Р, Й

  • Signs (2 letters):

    • Hard Sign (Ъ): Separates a prefix ending in a consonant from a root beginning with an iotated vowel, preventing softening.

    • Soft Sign (Ь): Palatalizes the preceding consonant or functions as a separating sign.

2. Complete Inventory of the 33 Letters

  1. А а - Pronounced like 'a' in father

  2. Б б - Pronounced like 'b' in boat

  3. В в - Pronounced like 'v' in vine

  4. Г г - Pronounced like 'g' in go

  5. Д д - Pronounced like 'd' in door

  6. Е е - Pronounced like 'ye' in yes

  7. Ё ё - Pronounced like 'yo' in yolk (always stressed in native words)

  8. Ж ж - Pronounced like 's' in measure

  9. З з - Pronounced like 'z' in zoo

  10. И и - Pronounced like 'ee' in meet

  11. Й й - Semivowel, pronounced like 'y' in boy

  12. К к - Pronounced like 'k' in kite

  13. Л л - Pronounced like 'l' in lamp (hard) or leaf (soft)

  14. М м - Pronounced like 'm' in map

  15. Н н - Pronounced like 'n' in nest

  16. О о - Pronounced like 'o' in more when stressed; reduces to an 'a' sound when unstressed

  17. П п - Pronounced like 'p' in pen

  18. Р р - Rolled or trilled 'r'

  19. С с - Pronounced like 's' in set

  20. Т т - Pronounced like 't' in top

  21. У у - Pronounced like 'oo' in moon

  22. Ф ф - Pronounced like 'f' in fox

  23. Х х - Voiceless velar fricative, pronounced like 'ch' in Scottish loch

  24. Ц ц - Pronounced like 'ts' in cats

  25. Ч ч - Pronounced like 'ch' in chair

  26. Ш ш - Hard 'sh' sound

  27. Щ щ - Soft, elongated 'shch' sound

  28. Ъ ъ - Hard sign (silent modifier)

  29. Ы ы - Close central unrounded vowel, roughly like the 'i' in roses

  30. Ь ь - Soft sign (silent modifier; palatalizes preceding consonant)

  31. Э э - Pronounced like 'e' in echo

  32. Ю ю - Pronounced like 'yu' in universe

  33. Я я - Pronounced like 'ya' in yard

3. Key Phonological Rules

  • Palatalization (Hard vs. Soft Consonants): Most Russian consonants occur in hard and soft pairs. A consonant becomes soft when followed by a soft vowel (Е, Ё, И, Ю, Я) or the soft sign (Ь).

  • Vowel Reduction: Unstressed vowels undergo reduction. For instance, an unstressed О is pronounced as a reduced [a] or [ə], and unstressed Е and Я shift toward an [i] sound.

  • Voicing Assimilation and Final Devoicing:

    • Voiced consonants at the end of a word are pronounced as their voiceless equivalents (e.g., final Б sounds like [p], final Д sounds like [t]).

    • Consonants adapt their voicing to match immediately following obstruents.