Russian Character

English Equivalent Bb Vv Gg Dd YE ye YO yo Zh zh

Sound Like "a" in car Like "b" in bat Like "v" in van Like "g" in go Like "d" in dog Like "ye" in yet, Like "yo" in yonder Like "s" in measure or pleasure

Letter Name in Russian "ah" "beh" "veh" "geh" "deh" "yeh" "yo" "zheh"

or like "g" in beige (the colour) Zz EE ee I i or Y y Kk Ll Mm Nn Stressed: O o Unstressed: A a Pp Rr Ss Tt Uu Ff H h, KH kh TS ts Like "z" in zoo Like "ee" in see like "y" in boy or toy Like "k" in kitten, "c" in cat. Like "l" in light Like "m" in mat Like "n" in no Like "o" in bore Like "a" in car Like "p" in pot Like "r" in run (rolled) Like "s" in sam Like "t" in tap Like "oo" in boot Like "f" in fat Like "h" in hello or like the "ch" in Scottish 'loch' or German 'Bach' Like "ts" in bits "zeh" "ee" "ee kratkoyeh" "kah" "ehl" "ehm" "ehn" "oh" "peh" "ehr" "ehs" "teh" "oo" "ehf" "khah" "tseh"

CH ch SH sh (hard) SH sh (soft) Hard Sign Ii Soft Sign Ee YU yu YA ya

Like "ch" in chip Like "sh" in shut Like "sh" in sheep Letter before is hard Like "i" in ill Letter before is soft Like "e" in pet Like "u" in use or university Like "ya" in yard.

"cheh" "shah" "schyah" "tvyordiy znahk" "i" "myagkeey znahk" "eh" "yoo" "yah"

The table below gives you the normal printed version of the russian characters, and the cursive (italic) version of the character. This may be useful in a later lesson, as the lowercase cursive version is much closer to the hand-written version of the russian character. Differences to note are highlighted in red.

Main Lesson Vocabulary Exercises New Russian Audio: This lesson now has Russian sound samples. Click the green icon to listen. (Help) Now that you understand the Russian letters and numbers, we will begin to learn some basic Russian phrases that you will commonly use as part of everyday communication. We will not attempt to introduce any grammar in this lesson. It is more important to have basic communication skills in Russian. Once you have a 'feel' for the language, you will find it easier to understand how the grammar works. When you were young, you learnt to speak before you learnt the grammar. We feel it is easier to learn Russian the same way, however dont worry, we will cover grammar in later lessons. In this lesson you will learn the Russian language basics.

When you are in Russia it is important to realise that Russians have two manners of speaking, formal or friendly. It would be considered slightly rude to use the wrong form in the wrong situation. Use the friendly (or familiar) form when you are speaking to someone you consider a friend. In situations where you have never met the person before you would use the formal form, for example in shops or with taxi drivers. You would also use the formal form as a sign of respect to teachers, or in places like business meetings. Keep this in mind as you work through these lessons. This is much easier than it sounds, as there are only a couple of words that change. (Mainly the Russian word for you.) Please and Thank-You. The two most important words you will learn in Russian are please and thank-you. You can just add these to any sentence to make it more polite. ("spa-see-ba") - Thank-You ("pa-zhal-sta") - Please (and You're Welcome) The word is also used to mean "You're Welcome", after somebody says thank-you. You should always say this after someone thanks you. is pronounced a little different than it is written, you can basically forget the "". Yes and No. Two other very important Russian words are "Yes" and "No". ("da") - Yes ("nyet") - No Saying Hello. When you are in Russia and you meet somebody, the first thing you will want to do is to say "hello". There are two forms of this word. ("zdra-stvooy-tye") - Hello (Formal) ("pree-vyet") - Hi (Informal) may be a little difficult for you to pronounce at first, but it is the most common Russian greeting so you should try to practice it. is also commonly used with friends. However, keep in mind that is informal (much like "hi" in English), and should only be used with friends. If somebody says to you, then it is normally safe to proceed in the friendly tone. Introducing Yourself. In order to introduce yourself, you may need the following phrases. ... ("min-ya za-voot") - My name is ...

 ? ("kak vas za-voot") - What is your name? ("och-en pree-yat-na") - Pleased to meet you.
Note: The above 3 phrases are gramatically unusual. You should just learn the whole phrase, not the individual words.

How are you? The most natural way to ask someone how they are in Russian is to ask: "how are things?" ? - How are things?

Main Lesson Vocabulary Exercises New Russian Audio: This lesson now has Russian sound samples. Click the green icon to listen. (Help)

Now that we have done the hard work learning some Russian grammar, it is time to start using it. In this lesson we will form simple Russian phrases and sentences. After this lesson you should be able to ask or tell people what you want and like. To Love Let's start with the Russian verb "to love": (, ) Remember that a noun after I love should be in the accusative case as it is the object of the sentence. Here are some uses of the word: - I love sport. - I love music. - I don't like music. ? - Do you love music? - I love Moscow. - He loves Moscow. - Ivan loves tea. - Nadya loves wine. - Nadya doesn't like wine. What?

The word "?" (pronounced "shto?") means "What?". You can use it to form questions. ? - What do you love? However, if you see the word "" in the middle of a sentence, it is probably the conjunction "that". The word "" has two uses, so don't be confused. An example could be: , . - I know that you love music. Using other Russian verbs To express yourself better in Russian you will need to learn some more Russian verbs. Let's introduce some new Russian verbs now. If you would like, you can see how these verbs are conjugated by clicking here. - to watch. - to read. - to listen - to study - to think - to work - to want Here are some possible uses of these verbs: - I am watching television. - I am listening to the radio. - I am listening to music. - I am reading a magazine. - I am reading the newspaper - I am reading a book. - I study Russian. (lit: I study the Russian language). - I think so! ? - What do you think? (lit: How do you think?) - I want tea. ? - What do you want? Sometime you will want to talk about an action. For example "I like to read" or "I want to read". In such cases you are using 2 verbs in a row. In Russian you should leave the 2nd verb in the infinitive form. For example: - I love to read.

 - I love to travel. - I want to buy a magazine. Very A very useful Russian word is the word for "very". You can include it into many phrases. It sometimes replaces the word "really" also. For example: - very. (or really) - I really love sport. - I really love Moscow. Question Words You may also find these question words useful during your travels around Russia. ? - Where? ? - Who? ? - What? ? - How? ? - Why? If you would like to learn more then refer to the question words page in the grammar section. Conclusion You should now know the basics for forming simple Russian sentences. In this lesson we learnt expressions that are useful for talking about things that you like. There is quite a bit of vocabulary in this lesson, so you may wish to review some of it again later. In particular, if you can memorise the verbs you will find it easier to express yourself in Russian. Russian Audio: This lesson now has Russian sound samples. Click the green icon to listen. (Help) The aim of lesson 4 is to enable you to buy things when you are in Russia. With just a few phrases you should be able to manage in Russian bars or cafes. In this lesson we will not introduce any grammar concepts. The lesson will focus on some new basic Russian phrases. Finding a cafe

After a busy day in Russia, you might be looking for somewhere to have a drink. You could ask people with the following phrases. , .... - Tell me please.... , , ? - Tell me please, where is a cafe? , , ? - Tell me please, where is a bar? Russian does not use the articles a or the, so the phrase ? means both where is a cafe? and where is the cafe?. On the Menu If you were in a Russian bar or caf, here are some words you might see on the menu: - Menu - Coffee - Tea - Milk - - Coca-Cola - Lemonade - Juice - Russian beetroot soup - Soup - Cake - Vodka - Beer - Wine - Water Be careful, when you order vodka in russia, you will generally get straight vodka. Do you have...? If you want to ask someone if they have something, you can use the following phrase. (Just learn the whole phrase, it is gramatically unusual). ....? - Do you have ....? (formal)

For example:
? - Do you have coffee? ? - Do you have tea? ? - Do you have vodka? Please give me

When you decide what you will have you will need to order. Here are some Russian phrases you might need, or be asked: ? ("shto?") - What? ? - What do you want? ... - I want... , .... - Give me please... ? - How much is it?.

Examples:
, , . - Please give me tea. , , - Please give me coffee. , , - Please give me coffee with milk. , , - Please give me coffee with milk and sugar. Where is the toilet...? To finish up this lesson here is a Russian phrase to help you find out where a toilet is. , , - Tell me please, where is the toilet? The mens toilets are normally labeled with an "M". The ladies toilets are normally labeled with a "". Conclusion This has been a shorter Russian lesson. However these Russian phrases should be helpful next time you are in a Russian caf or bar. You may wish to try some of the exercises. In the next lesson we will introduce verbs and pronouns, and you will be able to start constructing your own sentences.