Russian pronunciation

of the transcription used at this website

(in Russian alphabetical order)

First posted y11108
latest change y11108

Copyright © 2001 by Hugo S. Cunningham

This Latin-alphabet transcription may be slightly different from the ones you are most accustomed to. It is intended to keep each Cyrillic character as distinctive as possible, while consistent with the most common on-line Cyrillic alphabet converters, eg at URL
http://bluefir.net/ilya/cyrconv/cyrconv.html

Vladimir Gurov's "Russian Gymnastics" at URL:
http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Track/7635/alphabet.html
from which I "borrowed" the Cyrillic images used below, has some interesting links on Russian culture.

Alternative Latin-alphabet transcriptions are shown in parentheses. Alternatives commonly given by on-line Cyrillic-Latin converters are marked with an asterisk *.

Cyrillic
character
transcription pronunciationnote
a stressed: "a" in English "father
unstressed: "a" in "Lima"
hard
bas in English
v as in English
g English g in "go". Never English g in "gin."
d similar to English dt
e
(sometimes "ye" at beginning of word)
stressed: "ye" in English "yet" (but see also entry for ë)
unstressed: same as Russian "i" (see)
Note: When this letter appears at the beginning of a Russian word, it is often transcribed "ye" to distinguish it from the letter I transcribe as "e^" (see below). This does not cause confusion with the separate vowel "y" (see below), because the sequence "y-e" never appears at the beginning of a Russian word.
Example: The surname «Ezhov» is often written "Yezhov."
soft
ë (always stressed) "yaw" in English "yawl"
The dots are shown in dictionaries and primers; otherwise this is usually written "e."
soft
zh voiced "sh" sound: the "s" in "measure"
(always hard)
z as in English "zoo"
i as in Spanish, or the English "i" in "machine"
Keep in mind, however, that the preceding consonant is "soft" (palatalized). When unstressed, Russian "i" often sounds more like a quickly and softly pronounced English "yi" in "yip."
soft
j
(y, i)
English "y" in "toy" or "yet"
k as in English "bucket"kpt
l soft: like English "ll" in "million"
hard: somewhat like English "l" in "yolk"
m as in English
n as in English
o stressed: as in Spanish, or like English "au" in "auto"
unstressed: like Russian "a" (see)
hard
p as in English "reaper" kpt
r is trilled (rolled)
s always unvoiced, as in English "set"
t similar to "t" in English "butter" dt, kpt
u as in Spanish, or like English "oo" in "boot" hard
f as in English
x
(h *, kh)
Spanish "j", Polish or Greek "ch", German "hard ch";
distantly related to English "h"
c
(ts *)
English "ts" in "cats"
(always hard)
ch as in English
(always soft)
sh as in English
(always hard)
shch
(sch *)
like English "shch" in "fresh cheese"
(always soft)
" or ''
(hard sign)
(makes previous consonant "hard". Puts English "y" sound [as in "yet"] in front of following "soft" vowel.)
Since Russian uses «brackets» for quotes, the hard sign " and the soft sign ' need not be confused with quotes.
y related to Russian "i" (see), but follows "hard" consonant.
The most difficult Russian sound to explain to English-speakers.
Sounds a bit like "ui" sound in English "quick," or sometimes more like "uoy" in "buoy" (pronounced softly and quickly).
Sounds "shorter" than Russian "i" to English ears, more like English "i" in "pit."
hard
'
(soft sign)
makes previous consonant "soft"
Also, if followed by "soft" vowel, puts English "y" sound (as in "yet") in front of vowel
e^
(e *, eh)
English "e" in "bet"
Note: Except in a handful of compound words, or foreign borrowings (eg "poe^t," "poe^ziya,"), this letter is only found at the beginning of words. For that reason, most transcription systems do not bother to distinguish it from the common "soft" letter "e," except at the beginning of words. (See "note" to "e" above.)
hard
yu English "yu" in "Yule" soft
ya stressed: English "ya" as in "yacht"
unstressed: like Russian "i" (see).
soft

Notes

Russian Vowels, hard and soft

Russian makes a key distinction between palatalized ("soft") consonants (pronounced with the tongue against the palate, the gum ridge behind the upper teeth) and unpalatalized ("hard") consonants. To English ears, palatalization sounds similar to a "y" (though not exactly the same); thus, English-speakers hear the Russian word for "no" as "nyet," even though it would more properly be transcribed "net." Almost all Russian consonants have alternate "soft" and "hard" pronunciations. These are indicated by the following vowel, one of 5 alternating "soft" or "hard" forms.

hard vowelsoft vowel
aya
e^e
yi
oë
uyu

If the last consonant in a cluster is "soft" (palatalized), then the one(s) before it are soft as well, eg in the word «otomsti» ("avenge"), the «m» and the «s» are soft just like the «t».

Incidentally, Polish, a related language written with a Latin script, solves the same problem by using "i" to indicate palatalization ("softness"). "I" also can be a stand-alone "soft" vowel:

hard vowelsoft vowel
aia
eie
yi
oio
uiu

A phonetic script, with a few exceptions

The Russian script is largely phonetic (each letter corresponds to only one sound, and each sound corresponds to only one letter), making pronunciation and spelling much easier than English.

Historical note: the
origin of the Cyrillic script.


Return to main alphabet page.

Go to Cyber-USSR home page

Vladimir Gurov's "Russian Gymnastics":
http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Track/7635/alphabet.html