Cyrillic Alphabet Flashcards
А / а
Letter (vowel) : A - “ah”
Sound: Alligator, cAr, After
Б / б
Letter: B - “beh”
Sound: Bit, Bat, Blue
В / в
Letter: V - “veh”
Sound: Vine, Vet, Voice
Г / г
Letter: G - “ghe”
Sound: Go, Guard, Good
Д / д
Letter: D - “deh”
Sound: Do, Dog, Double
Е / е
Letter Pronunciation (vowel): "йе" - "yeh" Eg: Е = E, Ye / Елена Еремеева - Yelena Yeremeyeva
Sound: YEt, YEs
Ё / ё
Letter Pronunciation (vowel): "йо" - "yoh" Eg: Ё = Yo / Пётр Воробьёв - Pyotr Vorobyov
Sound: YOrk, YOlk , YOnder
Ж / ж
Letter Pronunciation: “zhe”
Eg: Ж = Zh / Жанна Стриж - Zhanna Strizh
Sound: meaSure, pleaSure
З / з
Letter: Z - “zz”
Sound: Zoo, Zodiac
И / и
Letter (vowel): i - “ee”
Sound: mE, sEE, mEEt
Й / й
Letter Pronunciation: “и краткое” - “i kratkaye”
Eg: Й = Y / Андрей Зайцев - Andrey Zaytsev
Tip: The “й” sound can be represented as “j” (in spelling, when using English letters), that is, a shorter sound than “и” (“ee”) and similar to the sound of “y” in “oyster” or “boy”. Eg: “мой” - “moj”.
Sound: boY, oYster, Yes
К / к
Letter: K - “ka”
Sound: Kitten, Kite
Л / л
Letter: L - “el”
Sound: Lamp, Lock (only similar)
М / м
Letter: M - “em”
Sound: Map, My, Moon
Н / н
Letter: N - “en”
Sound: Not, Nose, Nine
О / о
Letter (vowel): O - “oh” (“ah” when not stressed)
Sound: mOre, AUdio
П / п
Letter: P - “peh”
Sound: Pet, Pot, Point
Р / р
Letter: R - “err” (rolling the R)
Sound: peRRo (Spanish)
С / с
Letter: S - “es”
Sound: See, Sun, Soft
Т / т
Letter: T - “teh”
Sound: Tip, Task, Time
У / у
Letter Pronunciation (vowel): "oo" Eg: У = U / Ульяна Бушуева - Ulyana Bushuyeva
Sound: bOOK, bOOth
Ф / ф
Letter: F - “ef”
Sound: Face, Fact, Force
Х / х
Letter Pronunciation: “kha” (soft, guttural throat rasp - air thru heavy saliva)
Eg: Х = Kh / Михаил Тихонов - Mikhail Tikhonov
Sound: loCH (as pronounced in Scotland)
Ц / ц
Letter Pronunciation: “tseh” (like Japanese: KaTSuro, TSunami)
Eg: Ц = Ts / Цаплин, Кузнецов - Tsaplin, Kuznetsov
Sound: siTS, thaT’S
Ч / ч
Letter Pronunciation: “che” (“e” sounds like “e” in “йе”) ?
Eg: Ч = Ch / Вячеслав Чистович - Vyacheslav Chistovich
Sound: CHip, CHair
Ш / ш
Letter Pronunciation: “sha” ?
Eg: Ш = Sh / Шура Шишкина - Shura Shishkina
Sound: SHip, SHut, SHe
Щ / щ
Letter Pronunciation: “shya” ?
Eg: Щ = Shch / Щукин, Татищев - Shchukin, Tatishchev
Sound: sh+ch = freSH CHicken (similar)
Ы / ы
Letter Pronunciation (vowel): "i, ee, iuh"?...Vladimir's example resembled "uh/ih", but more like a hum in back of throat. Eg: ы = y / Рыков, Малышев - Rykov, Malyshev
Tip: To imitate this sound, take a pencil and bite it with your teeth spreading the corners of your mouth as wide as possible. In this position pronounce the sound [ i ].
Sound: The sound of “ы” has no English equivalent but it resembles the sound [ i ] as in “be”, “mean”, or “three”.
Э / э
Letter (vowel): E - “eh”
Sound: mEt, bEt
Ю / ю
Letter Pronunciation (vowel): "yoo" (йу) Eg: Ю = Yu / Юлия Тюрина - Yulia Tyurina
Sound: YOU, Use
Я / я
Letter Pronunciation (vowel): "йа" - "yah" Eg: Я = Ya / Яна Смелянская - Yana Smelyanskaya
Sound: YArd, YUmmy
Ь / ь
Letter Pronunciation: “мягкий знак” - “myah-kij znak”, which means “soft sign”.
Sound: It has no sound. It modifies the sound of the letter (consonant) before it.
Ъ / ъ
Letter Pronunciation: “твёрдый знак” - “tvyor-dyj znak”, which means “hard sign”.
Tip - This letter can only be followed by е, ё, я, ю, and thanks to “ъ”, they are pronounced very clearly.
Sound: It has no sound. It modifies the sound of the letter (consonant) before it.
