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Cyrillic Russian Alphabet |
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The
contemporary Russian alphabet goes back to medieval Cyrillic,
invented by Sts. Cyril and Methodius, the 9th century missionary
monks who first brought Christianity to the Slavonic tribes. The
Cyrillic alphabet was based on their native Greek alphabet with an
addition of several more letters. The original Cyrillic was later
modified.
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In its modern
form the Russian alphabet exists since 1918. The majority of
languages used in the former Soviet Union as well as some others
were elaborated on the basis of this alphabet.
The Russian
alphabet consists of 33 letters: 21 consonants, 10 vowels,
and two letters without sound - soft sign and hard sign.
Click on the Russian letter in the left-hand column of the
table to hear its name:
|
Russian letter |
Letter's name
in Russian |
Pronounced
as |
Transliteration |
Vowel |
|
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"ah" |
a in car |
a |
x |
|
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"beh" |
b in bit |
b |
- |
|
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"veh" |
v in vine |
v |
- |
|
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"geh" |
g in go |
g |
- |
|
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"deh" |
d in do |
d |
- |
|
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"yeh" |
ye in yet |
ye
or
e |
x |
|
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"yo" |
yo in yolk |
yo |
x |
|
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"zheh" |
s in pleasure |
zh |
- |
|
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"zeh" |
z in zoo |
z |
- |
|
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"ee" |
ee in see |
i |
x |
|
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"ee kratkoyeh"
"short ee" |
y in boy |
i
or
y
or j |
- |
|
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"kah" |
k in kitten |
k |
- |
|
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"ehl" |
l in lamp |
l |
- |
|
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"ehm" |
m in map |
m |
- |
|
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"ehn" |
n in not |
n |
- |
|
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"oh" |
o in fork |
o |
x |
|
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"peh" |
p in pet |
p |
- |
|
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"ehr" |
r in roll |
r |
- |
|
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"ehs" |
s in see |
s |
- |
|
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"teh" |
t in tip |
t |
- |
|
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"oo" |
oo in boot |
u |
x |
|
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"ehf" |
f in face |
f |
- |
|
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"khah" |
h in house |
kh
or
h |
- |
|
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"tseh" |
ts in sits |
ts |
- |
|
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"cheh" |
ch in chip |
ch |
- |
|
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"shah" |
sh in shut |
sh |
- |
|
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"schyah" |
sh in sheep |
sch |
- |
|
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"tvyordiy znahk"
"hard sign" |
a separation sign |
' |
- |
|
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"i" |
i in ill |
y |
x |
|
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"myagkeey znahk"
"soft sign" |
indicates
the softness of consonants
|
' |
- |
|
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"eh" |
e in met |
e |
x |
|
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"yoo" |
u in use |
yu |
x |
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"yah" |
ya in yard |
ya |
x |
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