Russian Alphabet

Front 1

А а

Back 1

'ah'

a as in another; u as in umbrella

Front 2

Б б

Back 2

'beh'

b as in bit, bake, boys

Front 3

В в

Back 3

'veh'

v as in vine, veranda

Front 4

Г г

Back 4

'geh'

g as in get, go, girls

Front 5

Д д

Back 5

'deh'

d as in door, ditch

Front 6

Е е

Back 6

'yeh'

ye as in yesterday

Front 7

Ё ё

Back 7

'yo'

yo as in yonder

Front 8

Ж ж

Back 8

'zheh'

zh as in pleasure

Front 9

З з

Back 9

'zeh'

z as in zoo

Front 10

И и

Back 10

'ee'

i as in pip or kiss; ee as in eel

Front 11

Й й (this letter usually modifies a vowel)

Back 11

'ee krAtkayeh' (И краткое: ee short)

y as in boy; y as in bay

Front 12

К к

Back 12

'kah'

k as in kitten

Front 13

Л л

Back 13

'el'

l as in lamp, like

Front 14

М м

Back 14

'em'

m as in milk

Front 15

Н н

Back 15

'en'

n as in night, neat

Front 16

О о

Back 16

'oh'

o as in born; aw as in lawn

(the Russian o is very strong and usually pronounced as though there is bit of an 'r' following it)

Front 17

П п

Back 17

'peh'

p as in poke

Front 18

Р р

Back 18

'ehr'

r as in run.

However, this is a 'rolled r' that is common to many European languages

Front 19

С с

Back 19

'es'

s as in single, send, see

Front 20

Т т

Back 20

'teh'

t as in take, tip

Front 21

У у

Back 21

'oo'

oo as in fool, pool

Front 22

Ф ф

Back 22

'ef'

f as in face, fish

Front 23

Х х

Back 23

'khah'

kh; ch as in Scottish loch

Front 24

Ц ц

Back 24

'tseh'

ts as in sits

Front 25

Ч ч

Back 25

'cheh'

ch as in chair

Front 26

Ш ш

Back 26

'sheh'

sh as in shop, shut

Front 28

Щ щ

Back 28

'scheh'

officially 'shch', but sh as in sheep

(when Russians speak it sounds like they just use ш). Don't worry too much about the difference between ш and щ

Front 29

ъ

Back 29

'tvYOrdi znak' (твёрдый знак: hard sign)

the 'hard sign' has no sound of its own, but adds a slight pause. Very rare to see this in a word.

Front 30

ы

Back 30

'eigh'

most difficult Russian vowel sound, with no equivalent in English. Closest sound is ei as in being, but vocalised from the back of the throat with the lips pulled back like a smile to show the front teeth

Front 31

ь

Back 31

'mYAkee znak' (мягкий знак: soft sign)

the 'soft sign' has no sound of its own, but softens (modifies) the preceding letter, adding a soft y sound

Front 32

Э э

Back 32

'eh'

e as in peg, met

Front 33

Ю ю

Back 33

'yu'

yoo as universe, duke

Front 34

Я я

Back 34

'ya'

ya as in yarn