New Letters
- Шш: Sounds like the "sh" in shoe.
- Хх: Sounds like a breathy "h", similar to the "ch" in Bach.
- Цц: Sounds like the "ts" in cats.
- Ёё: Sounds like the "yo" in yolk. (The dots are often left out in everyday Russian writing, but we include them here to help with pronunciation).
Soft-Sign Nouns (-ь)
Nouns ending in a soft sign (ь) can be either masculine or feminine. Because the ending is identical for both, you must memorize each word's gender.
The soft sign makes no sound of its own; it simply softens the preceding consonant.
Masculine (-ь) Masculine soft-sign nouns like словарь (dictionary) and камень (stone) use the pronoun он (he/it).
| This is a dictionary. It is here. | Это словарь. Он здесь. |
| Where is the stone? It is not here. | Где камень? Он не здесь. |
Feminine (-ь) Feminine soft-sign nouns like тетрадь (notebook) and кровать (bed) use the pronoun она (she/it).
| Where is the notebook? It is here. | Где тетрадь? Она здесь. |
| This is a bed. Where is it? | Это кровать. Где она? |
More Examples Notice how pronouns reveal the hidden gender of these nouns in context.
| This is a cat, and this is a mouse. Where is it? | Это кот, и это мышь. Где она? |
| Where is the dictionary? It is not here. | Где словарь? Он не здесь. |
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