Last time, we looked at some letters of the Russian alphabet that either look and sound or just sound like their Latin counterparts. This time, we will look at letters that have similar sounds to other languages and, finally, some unique letters.

Letters That Sound But Don’t Look Like Latin Letters

A lot of these letters are closer to their Greek counterparts in form.

• ›Бб – “b”; брат (brother), авто́бус (bus)
• ›Гг – “g”; гита́ра (guitar), бумера́нг
• ›Дд – “d”; до́ктор (doctor), демокра́т (democrat)
• ›Зз – “z”; ви́за (visa), ро́за (rose)
• ›Лл – “l”; интелле́кт (intellect), киломе́тр (kilometer)
• ›Пп – “p”; па́спорт (passport), депо́ (depot)
• ›Фф – “f”; телефо́н (phone), фото́граф (photographer)
• ›Ээ – “eh” (a brief an incomplete explanation of the difference between э and е is that initial э is read “eh” and initial е is read “yeh”); эконо́мика (economics/economy), экза́мен (exam)

Unique Letters

• ›Ëё — “yaw”; historically, a combination of и and о; read a “yaw” after vowels and at the beginning of the word; read as an о after consonants, in which case the consonant becomes “soft“; always stressed; ёж (hedgehog), актёр (actor)
• ›Юю — “yoo”; и + у; read as “yoo” after vowels/initially; as “oo” after consonants, the latter becoming “soft”; бюро́ (bureau); ю́мор (humor)
• ›Яя — “yah”; и + а; “yah” after vowels/initially; as “ah” after consonants, the latter becoming “soft”; я (I), Англия (England)
• ››Йй — “y” sound in “yesterday”; йо́га (yoga), Нью-Йорк (New York)
• ›Ь — “soft sign”; has no sound of its own, makes the preceding consonant “soft”
• Ъ — “hard sign; has no sound of its own; separates word prefixes from roots
• ›Жж — “zh”, the “s” in “treasure”; журна́л (magazine), экипа́ж (crew)
• ›Шш — harsher-sounding “sh”; клише́ (cliche), шарм (charm)
• Щщ — closer to the English “sh”; historically с + ч; борщ (borsch); и́щет (is looking for)
• ›Цц — “ts”; центр (center), царь (czar)
• ›Чч — “ch”; ›чек (receipt), матч (sports match)
• ›ы — halfway between “ee” and “oo” (which was never useful to me in understanding it); listen here; ты (you), музыка (music)

Now, for beginners just learning to read, try reading some words on Russian websites — Yandex or RBC are a good place to start. Do you recognize any of them?