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33 letters · Cyrillic The Russian alphabet
Russian uses the Cyrillic alphabet with 33 letters: 10 vowel letters, 21 consonant letters and 2 signs (ъ and ь) that have no sound of their own. Many letters look like Latin ones but sound different, such as В (v), Н (n), Р (r) and С (s). Below are all 33 letters with an English pronunciation hint and an example word with audio from a real native speaker.
Stress matters in Russian: unstressed о sounds like a, and unstressed е sounds like i. The hints show the stressed pronunciation.
| Letter | Latin letters | Sounds like | Example word |
|---|---|---|---|
| А а | a | a in father | архитектор arhitektor Architect |
| Б б | b | b in boy | бабушка babuška Grandmother |
| В в | v | v in van | ванная vannaya Bathroom |
| Г г | g | g in go | голова golova Head |
| Д д | d | d in dog | девочка devočka Girl |
| Е е | ye | ye in yes | — |
| Ё ё | yo | yo in yonder | ёжик yožik Hedgehog |
| Ж ж | zh | s in measure | женщина ženššina Woman |
| З з | z | z in zoo | запястье zapyast'e Wrist |
| И и | i | ee in see | имя imya Name |
| Й й | y | y in boy (short) | — |
| К к | k | k in sky | кулак kulak Fist |
| Л л | l | l in lamp | лоб lob Forehead |
| М м | m | m in man | мужчина mužčina Man |
| Н н | n | n in net | нос nos Nose |
| О о | o | o in more | окно okno Window |
| П п | p | p in spot | прозвище prozvišše Nickname |
| Р р | r | rolled r | ребёнок rebeyonok Child |
| С с | s | s in sun | сестра sestra Sister |
| Т т | t | t in stop | тётя tyotya Aunt |
| У у | u | oo in moon | ухо uho Ear |
| Ф ф | f | f in fan | фен fen Hair dryer |
| Х х | kh | ch in Scottish loch | хижина hižina Hut :-) |
| Ц ц | ts | ts in cats | цепочка tsepočka Chain |
| Ч ч | ch | ch in cheese | человек čelovek Person |
| Ш ш | sh | sh in ship (hard) | шея šeya Neck |
| Щ щ | shch | soft sh, like sh-ch in fresh cheese | щека ššeka Cheek |
| Ъ ъ | (hard sign) | no sound; separates a consonant from the next vowel | — |
| Ы ы | y | like i in ill, said further back in the mouth | — |
| Ь ь | (soft sign) | no sound; softens the consonant before it | — |
| Э э | e | e in met | экономист ekonomist Economist |
| Ю ю | yu | u in use | юбка yubka Skirt |
| Я я | ya | ya in yard | язык yazyyk Tongue |
Next steps
Listen to every word by topic in the free Russian vocabulary (455 words), then hear real Russian phrases at two speeds. Want to read Cyrillic text in Latin letters? Try the Cyrillic to Latin transliterator.