А, Б, В, Г, Д, Е, Ё, Ж, З, И, Й, К, Л, М, Н, О, П, Р, С, Т, У, Ф, Х, Ц, Ч, Ш, Щ, Ъ, Ы, Ь, Э, Ю, Я with sounds

• А а - Pronounced like the "a" in the word "father" or "car". It is not the 'flat' "a" sound you sometimes hear in words like "cat" or "flat".
• Б б - Pronounced like the "b" in "bat". (Equivalent to the english letter "b").
• В в - Pronounced like the "v" in "vet". (Equivalent to the english letter "v").
• Г г - Pronounced like the "g" in "go". (Equivalent to the english letter "g").
• Д д - Pronounced like the "d" in "dog". (Equivalent to the english letter "d").
• Е е - Pronounced like the "ye" in "yes".
• Ё ё - Pronounced like "yo" in "yonder".
• Ж ж - Like "s" in "measure", "pleasure" or "fusion" or like "g" in colour "beige". (As there is no english symbol for this sound, it is usually represented as "zh")
• З з - Pronounced like the "z" in "zoo". (Equivalent to the english letter "z").
• И и - Pronounced like the "i" in "taxi". (Sometimes equivalent to the english letter "i", the short 'ee' sound.). (Note: The hand-written form for "и" looks a little like the english "u").
• Й й - This letter is used to form diphthongs. So "oй" is like the "oy" sound in "boy" or "aй" is like the "igh" in "sigh".
• К к - Pronounced like the "k" in "kitten" or "kangaroo". This letter replaces the english "c" sound in words like "cat".
• Л л - Pronounced like the "l" in "love". (Equivalent to the english letter "l").
• М м - Pronounced like the "m" in man. (Note: Unlike english, the hand-written "м" should always start from the bottom)
• Н н - Pronounced like the "n" in "no". (Equivalent to the english letter "n").
• O o - When stressed, it is pronounced like the "o" in "bore". When un-stressed it is pronounced more like the letter "a". (See later notes.)
• П п - Pronounced like the "p" in "pot". (Equivalent to the english letter "p").
• Р р - Pronounced like the "r" in "run", but it is rolled. (Equivalent to the english letter "r").
• С с - Pronounced like the "s" in "see". (Equivalent to the english letter "s"). (It might help to remember that it's used like the "s" sound in the english words "centre" and "cent".)
• Т т - Pronounced like the "t" in "tap". (Note: The hand-written form for "т" should always start from the top, as it looks quite similar to the letter "м")
• У у - Pronounced like the "oo" in "boot" or "root".
• Ф ф - Pronounced like the "f" in "fat". (Equivalent to the english letter "f").
• Х х - Pronounced like the "h" in "hello". However, this is often pronounced more like the "ch" in the Scottish "Loch" or German "Bach", or the spanish "x" in "Mexico".
• Ц ц - Similar to the "ts" sound in "sits" or "its".
• Ч ч - Pronounced like the "ch" in "chips" or "church".
• Ш ш - Pronounced like the "sh" in shut.
• Щ щ - Pronounced like "sh" but with your tongue on the roof of your mouth. Try putting your tongue in the same position as you would to say "ch" but say "sh" instead. English speakers may find it hard to define the difference between "ш" and "щ".
• Ъ ъ (p.s.)- The 'Hard Sign' is rarely used. It indicates a slight pause between syllables.
• Ы ы - Pronounced like the "i" in "bit" or "ill". (Said with your tongue slightly back in your mouth.)
• Ь ь (p.s)- The 'Soft Sign' makes the previous letter 'soft'. Think of the "p" sound in the word "pew". (Try inflecting a very slight "y" sound onto letter before it.)
• Э э - Pronounced like the "e" in "fed".
• Ю ю - Pronounced like the "u" in "universe". (Pronounced much like the english word "you").
• Я я - Pronounced like the "ya" in "yard".

pronunciation symbols

• These letters have no sound on their own, but are still considered letters.).
  • Ъ ъ - The 'Hard Sign' is rarely used. It indicates a slight pause between syllables.
  • Ь ь - The 'Soft Sign' makes the previous letter 'soft'. Think of the "p" sound in the word "pew". (Try inflecting a very slight "y" sound onto letter before it.)