Cyrillic Alphabet

Russian · 33 letters · Quick reference

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True friend Same shape & sound as Latin

False friend Looks Latin, sounds different — watch out

New shape No Latin lookalike

Silent Modifies adjacent letter, no own sound

Upper	Lower	Name	Sound	Like…	Type	Sample word	Notes
А	а	a	AH	father	True	МАМАMA-ma · mom	Lesson 1
Б	б	be	B	book	New	БАНКbank · bank	Like a 6 or a b with a flat top
В	в	ve	V	voice	False	ВОДАva-DA · water	Looks like B — sounds like V. DE: wie „w" in Wasser (besser als EN-V!)
Г	г	ghe	G	go	New	ГОРАga-RA · mountain	Like an upside-down L or Γ (Greek gamma)
Д	д	de	D	dog	New	ДОМdom · house	Like a delta Δ with legs
Е	е	ye	YE	yes	False	ЕДАye-DA · food	Looks like E — sounds like "je". DE: wie „je" in jetzt (j = y-Laut)
Ё	ё	yo	YO	yogurt	False	ЁЛКАYOL-ka · fir tree	E with two dots = "jo". DE: wie „jo" in Joga. Oft als Е geschrieben (ohne Punkte)
Ж	ж	zhe	ZH	measure	New	ЖУКzhuk · beetle	Like a snowflake. DE: „j" in Journal, Journalist (franz. Lehnwort im DE). Weiches „sch".
З	з	ze	Z	zoo	New	ЗАМОКZA-mok · castle	Looks like 3 (the number)
И	и	ee	EE	feet	False	КИТkit · whale	Looks like backwards N — sounds like "ie". DE: wie „ie" in sie, Bier
Й	й	kratkoye	Y	boy	New	МОЙmoy · my	И mit Bogen = kurzes J. DE: exakt wie „j" in ja, jetzt. Bestes DE-Beispiel!
К	к	ka	K	kite	True	КОТkot · cat	Lesson 1
Л	л	el	L	lamp	New	ЛОТОla-TO · lotto	Looks like an upside-down V or Λ (Greek lambda)
М	м	em	M	map	True	МАМАMA-ma · mom	Lesson 1
Н	н	en	N	night	False	НОТАNO-ta · note	Looks like H — sounds like N. DE: „n" in Nacht
О	о	o	OH	ocean	True	ОКНОak-NO · window	Lesson 1. Stressed only! Unstressed О → "AH/UH" (аканье). МОСКВА sounds like "mas-KVA" not "mos-KVA". See Lesson 3.
П	п	pe	P	park	False	ПАРКpark · park	Looks like Π (Greek pi) — sounds like P (not pi)
Р	р	er	R	road	False	РОТrot · mouth	Looks like P — sounds like R (gerollt). DE: gerolltes „r" wie im Bairischen/Österreichischen
С	с	es	S	sun	False	СОКsok · juice	Looks like C — sounds like S. DE: scharfes „s" wie in Straße, groß
Т	т	te	T	table	True	ТАКТtakt · beat / tact	Lesson 1. Lowercase looks like a small π
У	у	u	OO	food	False	УМum · mind	Looks like Y — sounds like "u". DE: wie „u" in gut, Kuh — identisch!
Ф	ф	ef	F	fire	New	ФАКТfakt · fact	Looks like a Φ (Greek phi)
Х	х	kha	KH	loch	False	ХАОСKHA-os · chaos	Looks like X — DE: exakt wie „ch" in Bach, Nacht, Koch (Ach-Laut). Perfektes DE-Beispiel!
Ц	ц	tse	TS	cats	New	ЦИРКtsirk · circus	Like a U with a tail. DE: exakt wie „z" in Zeit, Zug (DE-z = ts). Identisch!
Ч	ч	che	CH	chair	New	ЧАЙchay · tea	Looks like a 4. DE: wie „tsch" in Deutsch, Tschüss — identisch!
Ш	ш	sha	SH	ship	New	ШАРshar · balloon	Like a W with three prongs. DE: exakt wie „sch" in Schule, schön — identisch!
Щ	щ	shcha	SHCH	fresh cheese	New	ЩИshchi · cabbage soup	Like Ш with a small tail — longer "shch" sound
Ъ	ъ	tvyordy znak	—	—	Silent	ОБЪЕКТab-YEKT · object	Hard sign — creates a tiny pause/separation. Rare.
Ы	ы	yery	IH	roses	New	ТЫty · you	Deep "i" — like saying "i" with your tongue pulled back. Unique to Slavic.
Ь	ь	myagky znak	—	—	Silent	СОЛЬsol' · salt	Soft sign — softens the preceding consonant. Very common.
Э	э	e oborotnoye	EH	bed	New	ЭТОE-to · this / it	Like a backwards С — plain „e". DE: wie „e" in Bett, nett (kein j davor)
Ю	ю	yu	YU	you	New	ЮГyug · south	Looks like I-O joined. DE: wie „ju" am Wortanfang, z.B. jung (j+u)
Я	я	ya	YA	yard	False	ЯМАYA-ma · pit	Looks like backwards R. DE: exakt wie „ja" — bedeutet auch „ich" auf Russisch!

Country names — GeoGuessr quick ref

РОССИЯ

Rossiya — Russia

УКРАИНА

Ukraina — Ukraine

БЕЛАРУСЬ

Belarus' — Belarus

КАЗАХСТАН

Kazakhstan — Kazakhstan

МОНГОЛИЯ

Mongoliya — Mongolia

СЕРБИЯ

Serbiya — Serbia

БОЛГАРИЯ

Bolgariya — Bulgaria

КЫРГЫЗСТАН

Kyrgyzstan — Kyrgyzstan

МАКЕДОНИЯ

Makedoniya — North Macedonia

МОСКВА

Moskva — Moscow

САНКТ-ПЕТЕРБУРГ

Sankt-Peterburg — St. Petersburg

КИЕВ / КИЇВ

Kiyev / Kyiv — Kyiv (Ukrainian: КИЇВ)

Sources: Wikipedia: Russian alphabet · Omniglot: Russian