Й Ф Э Ю Ё Ы Ъ — the last letters. After this lesson, you can sound out every word in Russian.
★ Final lesson — all 33 letters
You already know 26 of 33 letters. These last 7 are rarer — but they appear in enough important words to be worth learning. Finish these and your toolkit is complete.
Your alphabet so far
Letters you already know (lessons 1–6):
А К М О Т — В Н Р С У Х — И Я Л Б Г — П Е Д Ь Ц — Ш Ж З Щ Ч
Today you add the last 7: Й Ф Э Ю Ё Ы Ъ
The seven letters
Group 1 — Two familiar sounds
Йй
= short "y"
Like the y in boy or Mai — a short glide, not a full vowel. It's the short form of И.
Shape: И with a small breve (˘) on top — the curve signals it's "short". Examples: ТРАМВАЙ (tram)
НОВЫЙ (new)
Фф
= "f"
Exactly like German F in Foto or Telefon — or ph in Greek-derived words.
Shape: looks like the Greek letter Φ (phi) — the same letter, the same "f" sound in modern usage. Examples: КАФЕ (café)
ФОТО (photo)
Group 2 — Three more vowels
Ээ
= open "e"
Like the e in German Bett or setzen — a clear, open "e" with no palatalization.
Shape: like a backwards Є — the opening of the curve faces left (← Э) while Е opens right. Examples: ЭТО (this / it is)
ЭТАЖ (floor/storey)
Юю
= "yu"
Like yu in English you, or German ju in jung.
Shape: looks like a barred "IO" — the vertical bar on the left, the О on the right. Think IO → Ю. Examples: ЮГ (south)
ЛЮКС (luxury / suite)
Ёё
= "yo" (always stressed)
Like yo in English yolk or German jo in Joch. Ё is always the stressed syllable.
Shape: Е with two dots above — just like German ä/ö/ü add dots to change a vowel. Examples: ЁЛКА (fir tree / Christmas tree)
БЕРЁЗА (birch tree)
Ё is often printed as Е. In most Russian books, newspapers, and signs, Ё is written as Е without the dots. So you might see БЕРЕЗА instead of БЕРЁЗА — same word. When you see a word that looks hard to pronounce, try adding "yo" to an Е and see if it clicks.
Group 3 — The two special ones
Ыы
= dark "i"
No direct German equivalent. Say i (German Igel), then push your tongue back and down without moving your lips. The result is Ы — a dark, back-of-throat "i".
Practical shortcut: approximating it with a short "i" is close enough to be understood. Where you'll see it: Ы is the stem vowel in the adjective ending -ЫЙ (masculine) — НОВЫЙ, СТА́РЫЙ (old). You'll see -ЫЙ everywhere in street names and shop signs.
Ъъ
= silent separator
The hard sign (твёрдый знак). Makes no sound at all, but acts as a wall between a prefix and the following vowel — forcing a slight pause so the prefix consonant doesn't palatalize.
Shape: like Ь (soft sign) but with a small arm on the left. Ь softens; Ъ hardens/separates. Examples: СЪЕЗДА (exit / rally — "s-YEZD")
ОБЪЕКТ (object / facility)
The -ЫЙ ending is everywhere. Once you know Ы and Й together, Russian adjective endings click: НОВЫЙ
(new), СТАРЫЙ (old), ГЛАВНЫЙ (main), ЦЕНТРАЛЬНЫЙ (central). Street names use these constantly: НОВЫЙ АРБАТ , ЦЕНТРАЛЬНАЯ УЛИЦА .
The complete alphabet
You now know all 33 letters of the Russian Cyrillic alphabet.
А Б В Г Д Е Ё Ж З И Й К Л М Н О П Р С Т У Ф Х Ц Ч Ш Щ ЪЫ Ь ЭЮ Я
Yellow = new today. All 33.
GeoGuessr vocabulary unlocked
Words that appear on signs, maps, and building labels — now fully readable.
ТРАМВАЙ
tram-VAY
Tram — on stops and route signs across Eastern Europe
Т–Р–А–М–В–А–Й
КАФЕ
KA-feh
Café — on awnings and storefronts everywhere
К–А–Ф–Е
ОФИС
O-fis
Office — on building directories and intercoms
О–Ф–И–С
ЭТАЖ
eh-TAZH
Floor / storey — in elevator menus and building directories
Э–Т–А–Ж
ЮГ
yug
South — on compass roses and direction signs
Ю–Г
НОВЫЙ
NO-viy
New — in street names (НОВЫЙ АРБАТ) and shop signs
Н–О–В–Ы–Й
СЪЕЗД
s-YEZD
Exit (road) / congress — on freeway exit ramps and official building signs
С–Ъ–Е–З–Д
ФОТО
FO-to
Photo — on photo labs, passport booths, tourist shops
Ф–О–Т–О
Yellow letters = new from today. The rest you already knew.
All 33 letters learned. You can now attempt to sound out any Russian word you encounter — city names, street signs, shop fronts, metro maps, and more. What was an indecipherable script a few lessons ago is now readable.
Quiz — read the sign
A word appears. Read it, then answer the question. Click 🔊 to hear it spoken.
Word reading — sound it out
All 33 letters now in play. Sound out each word before revealing. Space to reveal, 1/2/3 to score.
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