Welcome to the Cyrillic Alphabet!
Before we build our first sentences, let's meet the Russian letters used in this lesson. Some look and sound just like English, some are "false friends" (they look familiar but sound completely different), and some are entirely new.
- Аа (а) - Sounds like "a" in father.
- Бб (бэ) - Sounds like "b" in bat.
- Вв (вэ) - Sounds like "v" in vet. (Looks like an English B!)
- Гг (гэ) - Sounds like a hard "g" in go.
- Дд (дэ) - Sounds like "d" in dog.
- Ее (е) - Sounds like "ye" in yes.
- Ии (и) - Sounds like "ee" in meet.
- Кк (ка) - Sounds like "k" in kite.
- Лл (эль) - Sounds like "l" in lamp.
- Мм (эм) - Sounds like "m" in man.
- Нн (эн) - Sounds like "n" in net. (Looks like an English H!)
- Оо (о) - Sounds like "o" in open.
- Пп (пэ) - Sounds like "p" in pot.
- Рр (эр) - Sounds like a rolled "r". (Looks like an English P!)
- Сс (эс) - Sounds like "s" in sit. (Looks like an English C!)
- Тт (тэ) - Sounds like "t" in top.
- Уу (у) - Sounds like "oo" in boot. (Looks like an English Y!)
- Чч (че) - Sounds like "ch" in chat.
- Ыы (ы) - Sounds like "i" in hit, but pronounced deeper in the throat.
- Ьь (мягкий знак) - This is the "soft sign." It has no sound of its own, but softens the consonant right before it.
- Ээ (э) - Sounds like "e" in pet.
- Яя (я) - Sounds like "ya" in yard.
Pointing Things Out with "Это"
In Russian, you can start building complete sentences right away because the present tense is incredibly simple.
First, Russian has no articles. There is no word for "a," "an," or "the." The word дом can mean "house," "a house," or "the house" depending on the context.
Second, Russian does not use the verb "to be" (is, am, are) in the present tense.
To point something out and say "This is a [noun]," you simply use the word это followed directly by the object or person.
| This is a house. | Это дом. |
| This is mom. | Это мама. |
Saying "And"
To connect two nouns, use the word и (and).
| This is a house and a cat. | Это дом и кот. |
Saying "Not"
To make a sentence negative, simply place the word не (not) directly in front of the word you are negating.
| This is not a window. | Это не окно. |
You can combine these simple rules to correct a statement and clarify what something is, all without ever needing the word "is"!
| This is not a book, this is a table. | Это не книга, это стол. |