Stress moves
In Russian the stress can fall on any syllable, and it changes how vowels sound: молоко is ma-la-KO.
The Russian alphabet: read your first words in 10 minutes
We don't learn the letters in alphabetical order, but in order of difficulty. You only need alphabetical order for a dictionary. First six familiar letters, then six false friends, and you're already reading real Russian words.
Familiar letters
They look and sound the way you expect.
- А а a as in father
- К к k as in kite
- М м m as in mother
- Т т t as in top
- О о o as in more when stressed, close to a when not
- Е е ye as in yes. Not e!
Read your first words
- мама
- там
- так
- кот
- мак
- том
- кто
- тема
- атом
- какао
You understood the last two without a translation: atom and cocoa. Ten minutes ago you couldn't read a single letter.
False friends
A shape you know, a different sound.
- В в v not b! As in van
- Н н n not h! As in no
- Р р r not p! A rolled r
- С с s not k! As in sun
- У у u not y! oo as in food
- Х х kh not x! As in Scottish loch
Now read these
Try them yourself first. The first word is a trap.
- сон
- нос
- он
- она
- вот
- кто
- нет
- рука
- утро
Show the answer
Did your eye read the Latin letters C, O, H? Сон is read son and means sleep. Нос is nos, a nose.
No translation needed:
- метро
- космос
- Москва
New letters
New shapes. Learn them a few at a time.
First these ten
- Б б b book
- Г г g go
- Д д d dog
- З з z zoo
- И и ee meet
- Й й y boy. мой sounds like moy
- Л л l ball, tongue further back
- П п p pen
- Ф ф f fun
- Э э e met. Plain e, not ye
Then the other eleven
- Ж ж zh as s in measure
- Ц ц ts cats
- Ч ч ch chair
- Ш ш sh shop
- Щ щ shsh long soft sh, as in fresh sheep
- Ы ы no English match: say ee, pull your tongue back
- Ю ю yu you
- Я я ya yard
- Ё ё yo yoga. Always stressed
- Ъ ъ hard sign, no sound of its own
- Ь ь soft sign: softens the consonant before it
After the letters
You'll learn the letters fairly quickly. After that, the hard part isn't reading, it's pronunciation.
Hard and soft consonants
Many consonants come in two versions. The letters Е, Ё, Ю, Я and Ь after a consonant make it soft.
No a, no the
Russian has no articles, and no "to be" in the present: Я Ольга means I am Olga.
The same steps in a real first lesson
This is how a first lesson from zero goes: the six familiar letters, the false friends, атом, какао, Москва.
Start with your first lesson
Know your level? Pick a time and book. Not sure? Take the three-minute test and book a free 20-minute call at the end of it. I'll tell you what you already do well, what's holding you back and where to start.