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Related Resources • Part 1: Basic rules • Russian vowels • Russian alphabet

Elsewhere on the Web • Pronunciation Rules from R. Beard

The 20 consonant letters of the Russian alphabet are б, в, г, д, ж, з, к, л, м, н, п, р, с, т, ф, х, ц, ч, ш and щ. Being either "soft" or "hard" they designate more sounds than there are consonant letters in the Russian language.

Letter Б: sounds /б/ - /б'/
Letter В: sounds /в/ - /в'/
Letter Г: sounds /г/ - /г'/
Letter Д: sounds /д/ - /д'/
Letter Ж: sounds /ж/ - /ж'/
Letter З: sounds /з/ - /з'/
Letter К: sounds /к/ - /к'/
Letter Л: sounds /л/ - /л'/
Letter М: sounds /м/ - /м'/
Letter Н: sounds /н/ - /н'/
Letter П: sounds /п/ - /п'/
Letter Р: sounds /р/ - /р'/
Letter С: sounds /с/ - /с'/
Letter Т: sounds /т/ - /т'/
Letter Ф: sounds /ф/ - /ф'/
Letter Х: sounds /х/ - /х'/
Letter Ц: sound /ц/
Letter Ч: sound /ч'/
Letter Ш: sound /ш/
Letter Щ: sound /ш'/
Before "soft" vowels: sound /j/

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

/б/ - /б'/

These sounds 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:

/в/ - /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:

/г/ - /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:

/д/ - /д'/

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

/ж/ - /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:

/з/ - /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:

/к/ - /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:

/л/ - /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:

/м/ - /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:

/н/ - /'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:

/п/ - /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:

/р/ - /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:

/с/ - /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:

/т/ - /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:

/ф/ - /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:

/х/ - /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:

/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:

/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:

/ш/

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

/ш'/

This sound is designated by the letter Щ. 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:

/j/

This sound is used to form "soft" vowels. You can found 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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