The Russian alphabet has 33 letters, written in the Cyrillic script: 10 vowels, 21 consonants and 2 signs that have no sound of their own. Six letters (А, Е, К, М, О, Т) look like English letters and make similar sounds. Six more (В, Н, Р, С, У, Х) are false friends: they look like English letters but stand for different sounds, so Р is an "r" and Н is an "n". The remaining 21 are new shapes. With 20 to 30 minutes of practice a day, a realistic goal is to sound out simple words by the end of the first week.

The table below lists every letter with its name, the closest English sound and an example word. To hear each one spoken, open the Russian letters page, which has audio for every letter.

What are the 33 letters of the Russian alphabet?

Here is the full alphabet in order. In the romanised examples, an accent mark shows the stressed syllable of words with more than one syllable. Normal Russian text leaves stress unmarked.

Uppercase	Lowercase	Name	Closest English sound	Example word	Meaning
А	а	а (a)	"a" in "father"	арбуз (arbúz)	watermelon
Б	б	бэ (be)	"b" in "bed"	брат (brat)	brother
В	в	вэ (ve)	"v" in "van"	вода (vodá)	water
Г	г	гэ (ge)	"g" in "go"	город (górod)	city, town
Д	д	дэ (de)	"d" in "do"	дом (dom)	house, home
Е	е	е (ye)	"ye" in "yes"; after a consonant, "e" in "met"	еда (yedá)	food
Ё	ё	ё (yo)	"yo" in "yogurt"	ёлка (yólka)	spruce, Christmas tree
Ж	ж	жэ (zhe)	"s" in "measure"	журнал (zhurnál)	magazine
З	з	зэ (ze)	"z" in "zoo"	зима (zimá)	winter
И	и	и (i)	"ee" in "see"	имя (ímya)	name
Й	й	и краткое (i kratkoye, "short i")	"y" in "boy"	мой (moy)	my, mine
К	к	ка (ka)	"k" in "kit"	кот (kot)	cat (male)
Л	л	эль (el)	"l" in "feel"	лампа (lámpa)	lamp
М	м	эм (em)	"m" in "map"	мама (máma)	mum, mom
Н	н	эн (en)	"n" in "not"	нос (nos)	nose
О	о	о (o)	"o" in "more" (when stressed)	окно (oknó)	window
П	п	пэ (pe)	"p" in "pet"	парк (park)	park
Р	р	эр (er)	rolled "r", like Spanish "rr"	рыба (rýba)	fish
С	с	эс (es)	"s" in "set"	сок (sok)	juice
Т	т	тэ (te)	"t" in "top"	такси (taksí)	taxi
У	у	у (u)	"oo" in "tool"	утро (útro)	morning
Ф	ф	эф (ef)	"f" in "face"	фото (fóto)	photo
Х	х	ха (kha)	"ch" in Scottish "loch"	хлеб (khleb)	bread
Ц	ц	цэ (tse)	"ts" in "cats"	цирк (tsirk)	circus
Ч	ч	че (che)	"ch" in "check"	чай (chay)	tea
Ш	ш	ша (sha)	"sh" in "shop", with the tongue pulled back	школа (shkóla)	school
Щ	щ	ща (shcha)	a long, soft "sh", as in "fresh sheets"	борщ (borshch)	borscht (beet soup)
Ъ	ъ	твёрдый знак (tvyordy znak, "hard sign")	no sound; separates a consonant from the vowel after it	подъезд (podyézd)	entrance and stairwell of an apartment block
Ы	ы	ы (y)	no exact match; roughly the "i" in "bit" said with the tongue pulled back	сыр (syr)	cheese
Ь	ь	мягкий знак (myagky znak, "soft sign")	no sound; softens the consonant before it	день (den')	day
Э	э	э (e)	"e" in "met"	это (éto)	this, that
Ю	ю	ю (yu)	"yu" in "youth"	юг (yug)	south
Я	я	я (ya)	"ya" in "yard"	яблоко (yábloko)	apple

Which Russian letters look and sound like English?

Six letters work almost the way you expect: А, Е, К, М, О and Т. Start with these, because you can read them on day one.

А is the "a" in "father".
Е is "ye" as in "yes" at the start of a word or after a vowel. After most consonants it sounds like the "e" in "met" and softens the consonant.
К, М and Т are plain k, m and t. In lowercase print they look like small capitals: к, м, т.
О is the "o" in "more", but only when it is stressed. Unstressed, it sounds more like "a". More on that below.

With these six letters you can already read мама (mum), кот (cat), там (there), так (so, like this) and атом (atom).

Which Russian letters are false friends?

Six capital letters look like English letters but make different sounds. Expect them to trip you up more than the brand-new letters, because your eye reads them as English before you notice.

Russian letter	Looks like	Actually sounds like
В в	B	"v" in "van"
Н н	H	"n" in "not"
Р р	P	a rolled "r"
С с	C	"s" in "set"
У у	Y	"oo" in "tool"
Х х	X	"ch" in Scottish "loch"

The classic test is the sign РЕСТОРАН. To an English reader it looks like "pectopah", but it says restorán, "restaurant". Then try метро (metro), нос (nose), сок (juice) and Москва (Moscow).

A few lowercase letters mislead too. The letter б looks like the number 6, and ь looks like a "b" but has no sound at all.

What are the new Russian letters?

The other 21 letters have no English lookalike, or look like something they are not. They fall into four groups.

New consonant shapes

Б (b), Г (g), Д (d), З (z), Л (l), П (p) and Ф (f). If you know Greek letters from maths or science, Г, Д, Л, П and Ф will remind you of gamma, delta, lambda, pi and phi. З looks like the number 3. Practise with банк (bank), доктор (doctor), лампа (lamp), парк (park), фото (photo) and газета (newspaper).

One letter where English uses two

Ж (zh, the "s" in "measure"), Ц (ts), Ч (ch), Ш (sh) and Щ (a long, soft sh). Ч looks a little like the number 4. Try журнал (magazine), центр (centre), час (hour), шоколад (chocolate) and борщ (borscht).

New vowels, plus Й

И (ee), Ы (no English match), Э (e as in "met"), Ю (yu), Я (ya) and Ё (yo). Й is И with a small curve on top. It stands for a short "y" and counts as a consonant, but it is easiest to learn next to И. Watch the mirror images: И looks like a backwards N, and Я looks like a backwards R. Ы looks like two characters but is a single vowel. Try такси (taxi), мы (we), это (this), меню (menu) and яблоко (apple).

Two signs with no sound

Ъ (the hard sign) and Ь (the soft sign) change how the letters around them sound. They have their own section below.

What do the hard and soft signs do?

Neither sign is pronounced. The soft sign Ь makes the consonant before it soft, and the hard sign Ъ keeps a consonant apart from the vowel that follows.

A soft consonant is said with the middle of the tongue raised toward the roof of the mouth, as if a tiny "y" were about to start. This changes meaning: брат (brat) means "brother", but брать (brat') means "to take". You will see Ь at the end of many words, such as день (day). Before a vowel it also adds a "y" sound, as in семья (sem'yá, family).

The hard sign is rare. It mostly appears after a prefix that ends in a consonant, before е, ё, ю or я, and tells you to say a clear "y" before the vowel: подъезд (podyézd, the entrance and stairwell of an apartment block), объявление (announcement) and съесть (to eat up).

How do Russian vowels and stress work?

Russian has 10 vowel letters in five pairs. Each pair has a "hard" letter and a "soft" letter. At the start of a word, the soft letter adds a "y" sound. After a consonant, it softens that consonant instead.

Hard vowel	Soft vowel	Soft vowel at the start of a word
а	я	ya
э	е	ye
ы	и	ee (no added "y")
о	ё	yo
у	ю	yu

Six consonants ignore this rule. Ж, Ш and Ц are always hard, and Ч, Щ and Й are always soft.

Why does unstressed о sound like а?

When о is not stressed, Russians say it like а. Linguists call this akanye. In the syllable just before the stress, and at the very start of a word, it is a short "a". Further from the stress it fades to a quick "uh". So молоко (milk) sounds roughly like "muh-la-KO", хорошо (good, well) like "khuh-ra-SHO", and вода (water) like "va-DA". The spelling never changes to show this.

Unstressed е and я usually shift toward an "i" sound, so сестра (sister) sounds close to "si-STRA".

How do you know where the stress goes?

Russian stress can fall on any syllable, and it can move between forms of the same word. Ordinary books, signs and websites do not mark it. Dictionaries, children's books and learner materials add an accent (вода́), so learn each new word with its stress. Stress can even change meaning: за́мок is "castle" and замо́к is "lock".

Ё is almost always stressed, but standard Russian allows writing it as Е, and many publications do. You may see ёлка printed as елка. Russian readers fill in the dots from memory.

How is Russian handwriting different?

Most handwritten Russian is in cursive, which Russian schools teach from first grade. Several cursive letters look nothing like print, so learn print first and spend a day on cursive once you can read slowly.

Lowercase т is written like an English "m", sometimes with a line above it.
Lowercase п is written like an "n", and и like a "u".
Lowercase д is often written like a "g".
The letters и, л, м, ш, щ and ы are built from the same small strokes, so some handwritten words are hard to tell apart without context.

Italic type borrows many of these shapes. In italics, т looks like "m" and п looks like "n".

How can you learn the Russian alphabet in a week?

Plan on 20 to 30 minutes a day. Read each day's words out loud and check yourself against the audio on the letters page. Each day only uses letters you have already met.

Day 1: the familiar six, А, Е, К, М, О and Т. Read мама, кот, там, так, атом.
Day 2: the false friends В, Н, Р, С, У and Х. Read ресторан, метро, нос, сок, Москва.
Day 3: Б, Г, Д, З, Л, П and Ф. Read банк, доктор, лампа, парк, фото, газета.
Day 4: Ж, Ц, Ч, Ш and Щ. Read журнал, центр, час, шоколад, борщ.
Day 5: the vowels И, Ы, Э, Ю, Я and Ё, plus Й. Read такси, музей (museum), мы, это, меню, яблоко, ёлка.
Day 6: Ь, Ъ and stress. Read брат and брать, день, семья, подъезд, молоко.
Day 7: real signs. Read вход (entrance), выход (exit), аптека (pharmacy) and кафе (café), then write the whole alphabet once from memory.

This plan gets you recognising letters. Reading at a normal speed takes longer, so keep reading a little every day. For a wider study routine, see how to learn a language.

Where can you hear every Russian letter?

Indilingo's Russian letters page has audio for every letter, so you can tap a letter, hear it and repeat it. In the Indilingo app, the Cyrillic script is taught letter by letter with audio, and you can learn Russian through English or through another language you know, such as Hindi or Spanish. When you are ready to speak, the Speak tab has voice conversations with an AI tutor. They are on every plan, including the free plan, which comes with free minutes. The Russian language guide has more on the language, and the app is on Android and iOS from the download page.

Russian alphabet FAQ

How many letters are in the Russian alphabet?

33: 10 vowels, 21 consonants and the hard and soft signs. The modern alphabet dates from the spelling reform of 1917 to 1918, which removed four older letters.

How long does it take to learn the Russian alphabet?

Plan on about a week of short daily sessions to recognise all 33 letters and sound out simple words. Learning the language takes far longer: the US Foreign Service Institute puts Russian in Category III, at about 44 weeks (1,012 class hours) of full-time study for an English speaker to reach professional-level speaking and listening (FSI).

Is the Russian alphabet the same as Cyrillic?

Russian uses one version of the Cyrillic script. Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Serbian and Mongolian also use Cyrillic, each with its own set of letters. Ukrainian, for example, has і, ї, є and ґ, and does not use ё, ъ, ы or э.

Which Russian letters are hardest to pronounce?

For most English speakers, ы, щ and the rolled р take the most practice, along with the difference between hard and soft consonants. Listening and repeating out loud works better than reading descriptions.

Why do some Russian words use Е instead of Ё?

Standard Russian allows Е in place of Ё, and many books, newspapers and websites leave out the dots. Dictionaries, children's books and learner materials usually print Ё, which is why it appears in this guide.

The Russian Alphabet: All 33 Letters with Pronunciation