Russian Alphabet

А is the most common vowel in Russian. In unstressed positions, it often sounds like a short 'uh' sound.

Б is based on the Greek Beta but was modified for Slavic sounds. It becomes 'p' at the end of words.

В looks like B but sounds like English V. It devoices to 'f' at the end of words.

Г can sound like 'g', 'v', or 'kh' depending on position. In words like 'его', it sounds like 'v'.

Д resembles a house or tent, reflecting its Greek ancestor Delta. It softens to 't' word-finally.

Е is always pronounced 'ye' at the start of words but just 'e' after consonants.

Ё was introduced in 1783 and is often written as Е in informal text, causing pronunciation confusion.

Ж is unique to Slavic languages. This 'zh' sound is always hard and never softens.

З represents the voiced 'z' sound. It looks similar to the number 3.

И descends from Greek Eta. After velars and at the start of words, it sounds more like English 'ee'.

Й is called 'и краткое' (short i). It only appears after vowels, never at word beginnings.

К comes directly from Greek Kappa. Like all Russian consonants, it can be hard or soft.

Л has two distinct sounds: hard Л sounds like 'l' in 'ball', soft Л sounds like 'l' in 'million'.

М comes from Greek Mu. Russian words rarely begin with 'м' followed by another consonant.

Н is from Greek Nu but looks like Latin H. It's one of the most common consonants.

О is Russia's most common letter overall. In unstressed positions, it reduces to an 'ah' sound.

П matches Greek Pi visually. It pairs with Б as voiceless-voiced partners.

Р is always trilled in Russian, unlike English R. It comes from Greek Rho.

С comes from Greek Sigma. It looks like English C but always makes an 's' sound.

Т resembles Latin T but with a horizontal line. It pairs with Д as voiceless-voiced.

У represents the 'oo' sound. It comes from Greek Upsilon via an intermediate form.

Ф is rare in native Russian words – most words with Ф are borrowed from Greek or other languages.

Х sounds like German 'ch' in 'Bach'. It represents the voiceless velar fricative.

Ц represents the 'ts' sound. It's always hard and never softens before front vowels.

Ч is always soft in Russian. It represents the 'ch' sound as in 'cheese'.

Ш represents a hard 'sh' sound, always pronounced with the tongue retracted.

Щ is pronounced as a long soft 'sh', written in IPA as /ʃʲː/. It's unique to Russian.

Ъ (hard sign) prevents palatalization. It's silent and used between prefixes and roots.

Ы is unique to Russian – the sound doesn't exist in most other languages. It's a central vowel.

Ь (soft sign) makes preceding consonants soft/palatalized. It's silent itself.

Э was added to the alphabet in 1735 for foreign words. Native Russian rarely uses it.

Ю represents 'yu' after consonants, it softens them. At word beginnings, it's a full 'you'.

Я is the last letter of the Russian alphabet. It also means 'I' (me) as a pronoun.