1. Russian Alphabet Learning Russian Characters

2. Russian Characters look weird 3. But not all Russian characters are unfamiliar to you! The Russian alphabet has a whole six letters which are the same in the English alphabet. A E K M O T 4. A looks and sounds like A in English A is like a in father , (Anastasia, Grand Duchess) the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. A protagonist of animated musical film Anastasia 5. E looks and sounds like E in English E is like ye in yet or let , (Yeltsin, Boris) the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999. (source: www.kremlin.ru) 6. K looks and sounds like K in English is like k in kitten (Kiev) the capital and the largest city of Ukraine (photo by Elke Wetzig) 7. M looks and sounds like M in English M is like m in mom (Moscow) is the capital and the most populous city of Russia. Photo by villamon http://www.flickr.com/phot os/villamon/ 8. O looks and sounds like O in English O is like o in holly (Saint Olga) was a ruler of Kievan Rus as a regent (945-c. 963) for her son, Svyatoslav. 9. T looks and sounds like T in English T is like t in top , e (Tolstoy, Leo) a Russian writer 10. Same sound different character Some characters look funny, but you already know sounds that they represent! 11. is like B is like b in boy (Bliny) pancakes. Blini are thicker pancakes made from wheat flour, butter, eggs, milk, and yeast added to the batter. Photo by Andrei Zmievski, http://www.flickr.com/people/ andreiz/ 12. is like G is like G like Google , (Gorbachev, Mikhail Sergeyevich) the last head of state of the USSR, serving from 1988 until its collapse in 1991 Photo by 13. is like Z is like z in zoo (Zebra) Zebras are African equids best known for their distinctive black and white stripes. Photo by Crazy Souza, http://www.flickr.com/photos/ caochopp/ 14. is like I (ee) is like i in little or ee in feel (India) a country in South Asia that shares an extensive economic, defence and technological relationship with Russia Photo by Dave dwrawlinson http://www.flickr.com/peopl e/dave_raw_lin_son/ 15. is like y is like y in yes (Iodine) a chemical element widely used in Russia in first aid kit as a disinfectant 16. is like L is like l in lamp , (Lenin, Vladimir) a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. 17. is like P is like p in pizza (Pirozhki) generic word for individual-sized baked or fried buns stuffed with a variety of fillings. 18. is like F is like f in finish , (Faberg, Peter Carl) a Russian jeweller, best known for the famous Faberg eggs. Photo by Jos Antonio Alonso http://www.flickr.com/people /fotoblasete/ 19. Same character different sound Some characters look familiar, but have different sounds. They may be confusing! 20. is like V is like v in victory (Vodka) a distilled beverage and one of the world's most popular liquors. Photo by maksskam http://www.flickr.com/people /maksskam/ 21. is like D is like d in daughter (Dostoyevsky) a famous Russian novelist Portrait of Dostoyevsky by Vassily Perov 22. is like S is like S in Sun (Sputnik) the first Earth-orbiting artificial satellite. 23. H is like N H is like n in now II (Nicholas II) the last Emperor of Russia 24. is like R is like r in red (Russia) the largest country in the world, covering more than a ninth of the Earth's land area. 25. is like U (OO) is like u is super or oo in look , (Ulnova, Galina) frequently cited as being one of the greatest 20th Century ballerinas. 26. is like Kh is like ch in Bach (German) , (Khachaturian, Aram) a Soviet-Armenian composer, his most famous composition is the "Sabre Dance" Photo by Rita Willaert 27. Unique Russian Characters The rest are specific Russian characters for unique Russian sounds 28. is like Yo is like yo in York (Yozhik v tumane, Hedgehog in the Fog) a 1975 Soviet/Russian animated film directed by Yuriy Norshteyn, one of the most popular animations in Russia. 29. is like Zh is like -sure in pleasure (Zhivago) Doctor Zhivago is a 20th century novel by Boris Pasternak. 30. is like Ts is like ts in cats (Tsar) a title used in Russia to designate monarchs. 31. is like Ch is like ch in child , (Chekhov, Anton) a Russian short-story writer, playwright and physician, considered to be one of the greatest short-story writers in the history of world literature. 32. is like Sh is like sh in shut , (Shalyapin, Fyodor) opera singer known for his full-bodied, resonant bass, and expressive vocal ability. 33. is like Shch is like shch in fresh cheese (Shchi) a Russian soup with cabbage as the main ingredient. 34. is like... There's no equivalent for in English. Even if you try to extensively intonate an "i" sound, it might end up sounding like something / like some mutation close to "." There are no words that begin with "" in Russian. 35. is like E is like e in pet (Hermitage) a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. One of the largest and oldest museums of the world photo by pierlux.com http://www.flickr.com/peopl e/pierlux/ 36. is like Yu is like u in unit (Yuri) a common name given to men, equivalent to "George". Famous people: Yuri Gagarin, the first human being in space source: http://www.rirt.ru 37. is like Ya is like ya in yacht (Yalta) a city in Crimea, southern Ukraine, where a wartime meeting between the heads of state from the US, UK, and USSR took place in 1945 38. and are mute The last two characters are silent. is a hard sign is a soft sign They indicate whether a preceding consonant is hard or soft. 39. Russian Alphabet [ah] [k] [kh] [b] [l] [ts] [v] [m] [ch] [g] [n] [sh] [d] [o] [chsh] [e] [p] [-] [yo] [r] [yi] [zh] [s] [-] [z] [t] [eh] [i:] [u:] [yu] [y] [f] [ya]