Let’s start our lesson on Russian alphabet pronunciation with vowels. Though there are ten vowel letters, there are six vowels in the Russian language. Why is that? Because there are four pairs:
А - Я (A - Ya)
О - Ё (O - Yo)
Э - Е (E - Ye)
У - Ю (U - Yu)
As you can see, the second letter in the pair sounds the same. This Й (Y) sound in the beginning simply shows that this letter will make the preceding consonant soft.
Now let’s learn proper English to Russian pronunciation:
- A is pronounced as Ah.
- Камера (Kamera) — “Camera”
- Cад (Sad) — “Garden”
- Он (On) — “He”
- Дом (Dom) — “House”
- Это (Eto) — “This”
- Каратэ (Karate) — “Karate”
- Пуля (Pulya) — “Bullet”
- Стул (Stul) — “Chair”
So, we have А (A), О (O), Э (E), У (U) vowels. What are the other two?
Ы (Y)and И (I)make their own special pair as they sound similar, and И (I)also makes the preceding consonant soft.
- И is pronounced as “ie” in the word “field” or “ee” in the word “keep.”
- Мир (Mir) — “World”
- Кит (Kit) — “Whale”
- Мышь (Mysh’) — “Mouse”
- Сын (Syn) — “Son”
- Мыло (Mylo) —”Soap”
Useful facts.
As you’ve probably noticed, Russians usually write Й and Ы with the same transcription (Y). It’s easy to tell them apart:
- Ы isn’t used at the beginning of the word.
- Yozh is a transcription for Ёж — “Hedgehog.”
- Ryba is a transcription for Рыба — “Fish.”
Listen to our audio on Russian vowels pronunciation for more practice. Hearing from a native is essential in mastering pronunciation for Russian learners!
1- Stressed and Unstressed Syllables
Every Russian word has one stressed syllable. All other syllables—if there are any—are unstressed. So, what does that actually mean?
The thing is that in the stressed syllable, the vowel sounds loud and clear. In the unstressed syllable, exactly the same vowel sounds less clear, reduced, or even more like another vowel. This is why it’s important to learn which syllables are stressed, and not stressed, in every Russian word.
In Russian dictionaries, word stress is marked with an accent sign above the vowel. For example, и́мя (imya)which means “name.” By the way, if the word consists of only one syllable, then this syllable will be a stressed one.
So, let’s remember a couple of easy rules of vowel reduction in unstressed syllables:
1. A (A) and O (O) Before a Stressed Vowel or Beginning a Word
If the unstressed syllable with А (A) and О (O) vowels stands right before the stressed one, or if the word starts with the letters А (A) or О (O), they sound like А (A). But there’s a difference between stressed and unstressed А (A): The unstressed one is shorter.
- Трава́ (Trava) — “Grass”
- The unstressed syllable with А (A)stands before the stressed syllable.
- The unstressed syllable with О (O)stands before the stressed syllable.
- The word starts with О (O). It doesn’t matter if this syllable stands before the stressed one or not.
- The first О (O) stands at the beginning of the word, which is why it’s pronounced as А (A). The second О (O) is in the unstressed syllable right before the stressed one, which is why it’s also pronounced as А (A).
Interesting fact!
The type of pronunciation when unstressed О (O)is pronounced as А (A),according to the rules above, is called акание (akaniye), or”pronouncing A” in English. People who live in the capital of Russia—Moscow—pronounce А (A)very clearly.
On the other hand, people who live in southern Russian regions and in small villages keep pronouncing О (O)without changing it into А (A). This type of pronunciation is called окание (оkaniye), or”pronouncing O.”
So, be aware and change О (O) into А (A) so that you don’t sound too provincial.😄
There’s only one exception to this rule. If the unstressed vowels А (A) and О (O)stand after Ж (Zh) and Ш (Sh) consonants and before soft consonants, then they sound somewhere between the Э (E) and Ы (Y) sounds:
- Ло́шади (Loshadi) — “Horses”
- Жале́ть (Zhalet’) — “To regret”
2. Other Unstressed Syllables
In other unstressed syllables, vowels А (A) and О (O) will sound like А (A),with a little bit of the Ы (Y)sound:
- Золото́й (Zolotoy) — “Golden”
- Шко́ла (Shkola) — “School”
3. A (A), E (Ye), and Я (Ya) After Soft Consonants & Before Stressed One
After soft consonants, in the syllable right before the stressed one, the letters А (A), Е (Ye), Я (Ya)are pronounced with the sound between Э (E) and И (I):
- Часы (Chasy) — “Watches” or “Clock”
- Перо (Pero) — “Feather”
- Пяти (Pyati) — “Five” in Genitive case
In other unstressed syllables, letters А (A), Е (Ye), Я (Ya)are pronounced as a short И (I).
4. Vowel И (I)
The vowel И (I)after hard consonants, after a preposition, or when the two words are pronounced together, is pronounced as Ы (Y):
- Пединститут (Pedinstitut) — “Pedagogical institute”
- К Ивану (K Ivanu) — “To Ivan”
- Смех и слёзы(Smekh i slyozy) — “Laughter and tears”
Please note that if you put a pause and don’t pronounce the words together, then И (I)doesn’t change into Ы (Y):
- cмех [pause] и слёзы(smekh i slyozy) — “Laughter and tears”
2- Е and Ё Pronunciation
While learning Russian, you’ll probably notice that in some texts, exactly the same word can be written with either Е (Ye)or Ё (Yo). So, what the heck is happening and why do Russians make the language harder than it already is?
First, you should know that originally such words are written with Ё (Yo). So, when the word is written with Е (Ye),you should still pronounce it as if there was an Ё (Yo) instead. The thing is that some Russian linguists fight for removing the letter Ё (Yo) from the Russian language; other Russian linguists fight for leaving it in.
For the time being, the letter Ё (Yo)is always printed in all words in children’s books, junior school textbooks, and textbooks for Russian language-learners (yes, that’s you!). But in all other cases, it’s not an obligation to use it. How do people understand whether it’s Е (Ye)or Ё (Yo)? Well, the only way is to learn these words.
Of course, there are tricky cases when the same written words with Е (Ye)and Ё (Yo)have different meanings. For example:
- Все (Vse) — “Everyone”
- Всё (Vsyo) — “Everything”
- Небо (Nebo) — “Sky”
- Нёбо (Nyobo) — “Palate” (the upper part in the mouth)
The only way to understand how to read this word properly is to look at the context.
