The Russian alphabet consists of 33 letters. Here’s a detailed list of each letter, its pronunciation, and an example word:
| Letter | Name | Pronunciation | Example Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| А а | A | [a] | автобус (avtobus) | bus |
| Б б | Be | [b] | брат (brat) | brother |
| В в | Ve | [v] | вода (voda) | water |
| Г г | Ge | [g] | город (gorod) | city |
| Д д | De | [d] | дом (dom) | house |
| Е е | Ye | [je] | еда (yeda) | food |
| Ё ё | Yo | [jo] | ёж (yozh) | hedgehog |
| Ж ж | Zhe | [zh] | жизнь (zhizn) | life |
| З з | Ze | [z] | зуб (zub) | tooth |
| И и | I | [i] | имя (imya) | name |
| Й й | Short I | [j] | май (may) | May |
| К к | Ka | [k] | кот (kot) | cat |
| Л л | El | [l] | луна (luna) | moon |
| М м | Em | [m] | мама (mama) | mom |
| Н н | En | [n] | нота (nota) | note |
| О о | O | [o] | окно (okno) | window |
| П п | Pe | [p] | парень (paren) | guy |
| Р р | Er | r | река (reka) | river |
| С с | Es | [s] | солнце (solntse) | sun |
| Т т | Te | [t] | трава (trava) | grass |
| У у | U | [u] | утка (utka) | duck |
| Ф ф | Ef | [f] | фильм (film) | film |
| Х х | Kha | [kh] (hard h) | хлеб (khleb) | bread |
| Ц ц | Tse | [ts] | царь (tsar) | king |
| Ч ч | Che | [ch] | час (chas) | hour |
| Ш ш | Sha | [sh] | школа (shkola) | school |
| Щ щ | Shcha | [shch] | щука (shchuka) | pike (fish) |
| Ъ ъ | Hard Sign | (no sound) | (indicates hardness) | (not pronounced) |
| Ы ы | Y | [y] | мы (my) | we |
| Ь ь | Soft Sign | (no sound) | (indicates softness) | (not pronounced) |
| Э э | E | [e] | это (eto) | this |
| Ю ю | Yu | [ju] | юг (yug) | south |
| Я я | Ya | [ja] | я (ya) | I |
Summary
The Russian alphabet is phonetic, and each letter corresponds to a specific sound, making pronunciation manageable once you learn the letters. The examples provided give context to how each letter is used in common words.