Greek Cousins: Г г, Д д, Л л, П п, Ф ф

Letter	Handwriting	Name (RU)	Sound [IPA]	Similar English Sound
А а	А а	а	[a]	father
Е е	Е е	е	[je], [e]	yes / met
Ё ё	Ё ё	ё	[jo], [o]	yo-yo / more
И и	И и	и	[i]	machine
О о	О о	о	[o] / [a]	more
У у	У у	у	[u]	root
Ы ы	Ы ы	ы	[ɨ]	deep "i" (between "bit" and "roses")
Э э	Э э	э	[ɛ]	red
Ю ю	Ю ю	ю	[ju], [u]	universe / you
Я я	Я я	я	[ja], [a]	yacht / father

Ё: The Yo-yo letter

Ё looks like a fancy E with two dots on top.
It is pronounced [yo] as in "yo-yo ".
When you see the letter with the dots, remember the image of yo-yos being played by a master Yo-yoists.
Ё is always stressed in a word, so it sounds like "yo " every time.

Note: In many printed texts the two dots of Ё are often omitted and the letter is written as Е. Native speakers know the correct pronunciation from context. For new learners, it’s best to keep the dots. For example, ёлка vs. елка ("Christmas Tree ") It is often printed without dots but with the same pronunciation [yolka].

И: EEE... this is fun!

Illustration: Letter И. Kids on a rollercoaster yelling eee.

Shape: Think of a rollercoaster track slanting down with two support pillars on the sides.
Sound: Like "ee " in see or machine (hold it: eee)
Articulation tips: Lips spread (small smile), jaw slightly open, tongue high and forward.
Softening: И usually makes the preceding consonant soft (palatalized), e.g., ми, ли, ни.

Common pitfalls: Don’t shorten to English "ih. " Don't add y at the start (not yee). Keep it a long, pure "ee. "

Ы: Eh-uh. I'm not feeling good.

Illustration: Letter Ы. The letter has a cane and sighing iuh.

Shape: When you see the vertical line, picture a cane. The letter holding it feels a bit off and sighs "iuh. "
Sound: Ы does not have an exact English equivalent (between "bit" and "roses")
Not Softening: Does not soften the preceding consonant. Pairs with the softening И.

Э: Eh? I can't hear you.

Illustration: Letter Э. The ear shaped like the letter Э. A person cups a hand to the ear and says eh? I can't hear you.

Shape: Looks like a big round ear Э; think of a person cups a hand to the ear and says “eh? I can't hear you.”
Sound: Short eh /e/ — like the vowel in bet, met
Not Softening: Э does not soften the preceding consonant. It’s the "hard" counterpart to Е.
Word examples: это (EH-to, “this/it is”), эхо (EH-kho, “echo”), этаж (eh-TAZH, “floor/storey”), мэр (mehr, “mayor”), Мэри (MEH-ree, “Mary”).

Ю: Who is in the mirror? - You!

Letter shape: Looks like a hinged mirror; a woman is looking into it. Think: the letter “You” is a mirror—who’s in the mirror? YOU. That’s the sound.
Sound: yu — /ju/ at word start/after vowels/Ь; after consonants it softens the consonant (e.g., лю, ню).
Softening effect: After a consonant, Ю usually softens the preceding consonant: люкс, тюль, люблю.

Я: The fairest one of all.

Letter: Я (means “I” in Russian). It loves looking at itself in the mirror, and luckily its neighbor Ю is a mirror!
Mnemonic image: Я is admiring itself.
Sound:
- ya — /ya/ at word start/after vowels/Ь;
- after consonants it softens the consonant and gives /ʸa/ (e.g., мя, ня, ля).
Softening effect: After a consonant, Я usually softens the preceding consonant: мясо, ряд, мяч.

Riddle: You (Ю) and Ya (Я) are the last letters of the Russian alphabet. Я likes looking at itself in the mirror, and its neighbor Ю is a mirror.
Guess: When the last letter of the Russian alphabet looks at its neighbor, who/what does it see?

Riddle Answer: English letter R!

Reading Practice

Cognates & loanwords

шофёр — chauffeur/driver
дирижёр — conductor
интерне́т — internet
иде́я — idea
и́мпорт — import
и́ндекс — index
инжене́р — engineer
сын — son
мышь — mouse

экзаме́н — exam
эконо́мика — economy
электро́н — electron
эне́ргия — energy
эффе́кт — effect
ю́мор — humor
Юпи́тер — Jupiter
я́хта — yacht
ягуа́р — jaguar