Log inSign up free
Langula for iPhone and iPad ★ 4.6Get it free

Russian alphabet: hear and practice all 33 letters

33 letters: 10 vowels, 21 consonants and 2 signs with no sound of their own. You already know five: А, К, М, О, Т. Tap any letter to hear it, or start the trainer.

Start trainerGo to chart
ΩMore scripts: hiragana, katakana, Greek

Cyrillic trainer

Practice mode
Choose rows

Progress is saved in this browser – sign in to keep it on all your devices.

    Missed characters came back at the end of the round. Keep practicing these:

      Saved. Green bars in the row picker show what you know.

      Russian alphabetAll letters with romanization and pronunciation tips

      Tap ▶ to hear the sound. Orange marks letters that sound different from how they look.

      • Аа

        alike a in “father”

      • Бб

        blike b in “ball”

      • Вв

        vlike v in “van”

      • Гг

        glike g in “go”

      • Дд

        dlike d in “dog”

      • Ее

        yelike ye in “yes”

      • Ёё

        yolike yo in “yogurt”

      • Жж

        zhlike s in “measure”

      • Зз

        zlike z in “zoo”

      • Ии

        ilike ee in “see”

      • Йй

        ylike y in “boy”

      • Кк

        klike k in “kite”

      • Лл

        llike l in “ball”

      • Мм

        mlike m in “map”

      • Нн

        nlike n in “no”

      • Оо

        olike o in “more”, unstressed like a

      • Пп

        plike p in “pen”

      • Рр

        rrolled r

      • Сс

        slike s in “sun”

      • Тт

        tlike t in “top”

      • Уу

        ulike oo in “food”

      • Фф

        flike f in “fish”

      • Хх

        khlike ch in “Bach”

      • Цц

        tslike ts in “cats”

      • Чч

        chlike ch in “church”

      • Шш

        shlike sh in “shop”

      • Щщ

        shchlong, soft sh

      • Ъъ

        –hard sign, silent

      • Ыы

        ylike i in “bill”, tongue back

      • Ьь

        –soft sign, softens

      • Ээ

        elike e in “bet”

      • Юю

        yulike “you”

      • Яя

        yalike ya in “yard”
      langula.app/en/russian-alphabet/Learn for free at langula.app
      AdvertisementLearn without ads
      Watch out

      Easy to mix up

      • Р
        Looks likePSounds liker

        The Russian “R”. “PECTOPAH” reads “restoran”.

      • В
        Looks likeBSounds likev

        Sounds like v: вода = voda (water).

      • Н
        Looks likeHSounds liken

        An n, not an h: нет = nyet (no).

      • С
        Looks likeCSounds likes

        Always an s: суп = sup (soup).

      • У
        Looks likeySounds likeoo

        Like oo: утро = utro (morning).

      • Х
        Looks likeXSounds likekh

        Like ch in Bach: хлеб = khleb (bread).

      How to learn

      In three steps

      1. The familiar ones

        Look and sound like English.

        А К М О Т

      2. The false friends

        Familiar shape, different sound.

        В Н Р С У Х

      3. The new ones

        New shapes – practice them group by group.

        Б Г Д Ж З Л

      First words

      Read your first words

      Read first, then listen.

      • мамаmamamom
      • папаpapadad
      • домdomhouse
      • котkotcat
      • водаvodawaterUnstressed о sounds like a: “vada”.
      • даdayes
      • нетnyetno
      • чайchaytea
      • спасибоspasibothank you
      • приветprivethi
      AdvertisementLearn without ads
      Printable

      A4 chart to print

      A4 · portrait · PDF
      Russian alphabetAll letters with romanization and pronunciation tips

      Tap ▶ to hear the sound. Orange marks letters that sound different from how they look.

      • Аа

        alike a in “father”

      • Бб

        blike b in “ball”

      • Вв

        vlike v in “van”

      • Гг

        glike g in “go”

      • Дд

        dlike d in “dog”

      • Ее

        yelike ye in “yes”

      • Ёё

        yolike yo in “yogurt”

      • Жж

        zhlike s in “measure”

      • Зз

        zlike z in “zoo”

      • Ии

        ilike ee in “see”

      • Йй

        ylike y in “boy”

      • Кк

        klike k in “kite”

      • Лл

        llike l in “ball”

      • Мм

        mlike m in “map”

      • Нн

        nlike n in “no”

      • Оо

        olike o in “more”, unstressed like a

      • Пп

        plike p in “pen”

      • Рр

        rrolled r

      • Сс

        slike s in “sun”

      • Тт

        tlike t in “top”

      • Уу

        ulike oo in “food”

      • Фф

        flike f in “fish”

      • Хх

        khlike ch in “Bach”

      • Цц

        tslike ts in “cats”

      • Чч

        chlike ch in “church”

      • Шш

        shlike sh in “shop”

      • Щщ

        shchlong, soft sh

      • Ъъ

        –hard sign, silent

      • Ыы

        ylike i in “bill”, tongue back

      • Ьь

        –soft sign, softens

      • Ээ

        elike e in “bet”

      • Юю

        yulike “you”

      • Яя

        yalike ya in “yard”
      langula.app/en/russian-alphabet/Learn for free at langula.app
      Questions

      Frequently asked questions

      How many letters are in the Russian alphabet?
      33: ten vowels, 21 consonants, plus the hard and soft signs.
      How long does it take to read Cyrillic?
      Usually one to two weeks at 15 minutes a day.
      Which letters are hardest?
      The false friends Р, В, Н, С – and the hissing sounds Ж, Ш, Щ.
      Is my progress saved?
      Yes, in this browser. With a free account, on all your devices.

      Try another script

      Hiragana and katakana: 46 characters each, with chart and trainer.

      All scriptsHiragana chart
      Russian

      Russian course with 80 lessons

      You can read the alphabet – now on to words and sentences, every lesson with audio.

      Start the Russian course