RUSSE
| Russian for English speakers ABC 01 |
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The Russian alphabet Ðóññêèé àëôàâèò |
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Letter Áóêâà |
Sound Çâóê/Çâó÷àíèå |
| Àà | ah |
| Áá | b |
| Ââ | v |
| Ãã | gh |
| Ää | d |
| Åå | ai |
| ¨¸ | yo |
| Ææ | (d)j |
| Çç | z |
| Èè | ee |
| Éé | ee (short or assimilated) |
| Êê | k |
| Ëë | l |
| Ìì | m |
| Íí | n |
| Îî | o |
| Ïï | p |
| Ðð | r |
| Ññ | s |
| Òò | t |
| Óó | oo |
| Ôô | f |
| Õõ | kh |
| Öö | ts |
| ×÷ | tch |
| Øø | sh |
| Ùù | shtch |
| Úú | hard sign |
| Ûû | hard y (hard ee) |
| Üü | soft sign |
| Ýý | ay |
| Þþ | yoo |
| ßÿ | ya |
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THE RUSSIAN ALPHABET You are not supposed to learn these words by heart, but simply to become able to read them fluently. |
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Russian Ðóññêèé |
Pronunciation Ïðîèçíîøåíèå |
English Àíãëèéñêèé |
AK-NOTE |
| ÏÀÏÀ, ïàïà | papa | papa, dad | |
| ÄÀÌÀ, äàìà | damma | (dame), lady | This transcribes as "dàma", no doubling of "m" required. |
| ÄÐÀÌÀ, äðàìà (1) | dramma | drama | This transcribes as "dràma". Someone may say he hears "dràmma", but this is just a personal preference. |
| ÄÎÊÒÎÐ, äîêòîð | doctör (2) | doctor | Letter "ö" itself is a German one, sounds like "u" in the English word "fur". Do not confuse it with Russian "murky a/o" sound. |
| ÀÇÎÒ, àçîò | azot | azote, nitrogen | |
| ÀÄÐÅÑ, àäðåñ (3) | address | address | Transcription with tones is "àdres" |
| ÀÊÐÎÁÀÒ, àêðîáàò | acròbat (4) | acrobat | |
| ÀÍÀÍÀÑ, àíàíàñ (5) | ananas | ananas, pine-apple | |
| ÀÍÎÍÈÌ, àíîíèì | anoneem (6) | anonym, anonymous |
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(1) English P is Russian R. In Russian, the letter a is
never sounded as in fate. (2) We represent by ö a rather obscure o, sounded like -er. (3) In Russian, the letter c (which is, by the way, called s) has always the sound of hard s. (4) By ò, we represent an open o, nearly ah. (5) H (English capital h) is always an n in Russian. (6) Notice the È (inverted N), the Russian i, but sounded as in "machine" (= -ee-). As a general rule the letter o has its normal sound (= -aw-) only in the stressed syllable of the word, e.g. : äîêòîð, like our doctor. When preceding the stress, it tends towards ah. (Ñàìîâàð is sounded almost "samavar") ; after the stress, it becomes obscure and is sounded almost like -er- (ïàñïîðò is nearly "passpert"). |