How to pronounce Russian consonants

Part 2: Pronunciation guidelines

The 21 consonant letters of the Russian alphabet are б, в, г, д, ж, з, й, к, л, м, н, п, р, с, т, ф, х, ц, ч, ш and щ. Since most of these letters can be pronounced two different ways ("soft" and "hard") they designate almost twice as many consonant sounds. Note that the consonant letter й is sometimes called a semivowel.

How to pronounce "б" - Letter Б
How to pronounce "в" - Letter В
How to pronounce "г" - Letter Г
How to pronounce "д" - Letter Д
How to pronounce "ж"- Letter Ж
How to pronounce "з" - Letter З
How to pronounce "к" - Letter К
How to pronounce "л" - Letter Л
How to pronounce "м" - Letter М
How to pronounce "н" - Letter Н
How to pronounce "п" - Letter П
How to pronounce "р" - Letter Р
How to pronounce "с" - Letter С
How to pronounce "т" - Letter Т
How to pronounce "ф" - Letter Ф
How to pronounce "х" - Letter Х
How to pronounce "ц" - Letter Ц
How to pronounce "ч" - Letter Ч
How to pronounce "ш" - Letter Ш
How to pronounce "щ" - Letter Щ
How to pronounce "й" - Letter й

Letter combination ГК: sound /хк/ -- (e.g. мягко, легко)
Letter combination ЛНЦ: sound /нц/ -- (e.g. солнце)
Letter combination ЧТ: sound /шт/ -- (e.g. что, чтобы)
Letter combination ЧН: sound /шн/ -- (e.g. скучно, конечно)

Note: // encloses a sound, ' marks a "soft" sound

How to pronounce "б"

The sounds /б/ and /б'/ are designated by the letter Б. The sound /б/ is the same as the English b in but. Its "soft" version /б'/ is close to the English b in bee. The letter Б is pronounced "soft" when it is followed by "soft" vowels or a soft sign. Practice these words:

How to pronounce "в"

The "hard" /в/ is pronounced as v in voice. Its "soft" counterpart /в'/ is close to the English v in view. The letter В is "soft" when followed by "soft" vowels or a soft sign, and it is "hard" otherwise. Practice these words:

How to pronounce "г"

The letter Г designates the "hard" sound /г/ when followed by "hard" vowels, and the "soft" sound /г'/ otherwise. /г/ sounds like the English g in go. You should arch your tongue against the palate to get the /г'/ sound, which is close to the English g in girl. Practice these words:

How to pronounce "д"

The sound /д/ is pronounced like d in dial.   In order to pronounce /д'/ you should arch your tongue against the palate. Practice these words:

How to pronounce "ж"

The sound /ж/ is similar to s in leisure. The "soft" /ж'/ is very rare (can be found in приезжать) and is not explained here. Practice these words:

How to pronounce "з"

The sound /з/ is pronounced like z in zoom. Its "soft" counterpart /з'/ should be palatalised like the English z in zeal. Practice these words:

How to pronounce "к"

The sound /к/ is similar to the English c in clock, or ck in nock. The palatalised sound /к'/ is similar to c in cage, or k in okey. These sounds are designated by the letter K in Russian. Practice these words:

How to pronounce "л"

The sound /л/ is pronounced like l in lump, but you should lower the back of your tongue and touch the upper teeth with its tip. In order to get the "soft" counterpart /л'/ you should palatalise the sound as in leak. In writing, these sounds are designated by the letter Л. Practice these words:

How to pronounce "м"

The sound /м/ is pronounced like m in monk. The "soft" sound /м'/ is pronounced as if it followed by a short English y sound, and it is similar to the sound of m in muse. Practice these words:

How to pronounce "н"

The letter Н makes the sound /н/ when it goes after "hard" consonants or a hard sign. It is pronounced like n in noon. When followed by "soft" consonants or a soft sign, the letter H makes the "soft" sound /н'/ which is close the English n in need. Practice these words:

How to pronounce "п"

The sound /п/ is pronounced like p in pot or mop. Its "soft" counterpart /п'/ is close to p in pew because it is palatalised by arching the tongue against the palate. However, you will need to palatalise it more to the Russian /п'/. These sounds are designated by the letter П in writing. Practice these words:

How to pronounce "р"

The sounds /р/ and /р'/ are both rolled. The difference between them is that the sound /р'/ is palatilised by arching the tongue against the soft palate while the "hard" sound /р/ is not. Practice these words:

How to pronounce "с"

The "hard" /c/ is close to the English s in soup. In order to get "soft" /c'/ you should palatalise it by adding to it a short English y sound. You should get a sound close   to the English s in seed. Practice these words:

How to pronounce "т"

The sound /т/ is close to the English t in ten, but you should touch the upper teeth with the tip of your tongue. The sound /т'/ is palatalised as t in stew. These sounds are designated by the letter T in writing. Practice these words:

How to pronounce "ф"

The sound /ф/ is pronounced like f in fault. Its "soft" counterpart /ф'/ sounds more like f in few. These sounds are designated by the letter Ф in writing. Practice these words:

How to pronounce "х"

The sound /x/ is close to the English h in host. The "soft" /x'/ is similar to h in huge. These sounds are designated by the letter X in writing. Practice these words:

How to pronounce "ц"

This sound is similar to the sound produced by the letters ts in what's up. It is designatd by the letter Ц in writing. Practice these words:

How to pronounce "ч"

The consonant letter Ч can sound both "hard" and "soft". However, in the majority of cases it is "soft" (even if followed by "hard" vowels) and sounds like ch in church. Practice these words:

How to pronounce "ш"

This sound is similar to the English sh in shake. It is designated by the letter Ш in writing and /ш/ in phonetic transcription. Practice these words:

How to pronounce "щ"

This sound is designated by the letter Щ in writing and /ш'/ in phonetic transcription. There is no exact equivalent of the sound /ш'/ in English, but it is close to the sound made by combining sh and ch. The main idea is to make the sound /ш/ palatilised by arching your tongue against the soft palate. Practice these words:

How to pronounce "й"

The sound of letter й is represented by /j/. When the consonant й is the first letter in a syllable, the sound is like "y" in "yes". When it terminates a syllable, the sound is like "y" in "may". This sound is always "soft". It is also used to form "soft" vowels. You can find it in the letters е, ё, и, ю, я. Refer to the lesson on Russian vowels for more information.

Quick reference on Russian consonants

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Related Lessons

• Part 1: Basic Pronunciation Rules
• Russian vowels
• Russian alphabet
• Pronunciation Rules from R. Beard

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