LESSON 3.1
Lesson 3.1 – Russian letters (part 3 : same sound, different writing) / Voiced and voiceless consonants
- The Russian alphabet (part 3) : letters that sound like English letters but are written differently
- Voiced and unvoiced/voiceless consonants
The Russian alphabet (part 3) : letters that sound like English letters but are written differently
В / б – This letter is pronounced « v » in Russian.
Example :
Ваза (vaza) – vase
П / п – This letter is the Russian P.
Example :
Парк (park) – park
У / у – This letter is pronounced « oo » in Russian.
Example :
Суп (soop) – soup
Й / й – This letter is called « short i » and is pronounced « y », like in the word « boy ».
Example :
Йога (yoga) – yoga
Ф / ф – This letter is the consonant F in Russian.
Example :
Кофе (kofye) – coffee
Г / г – This letter is pronounced like the letter G in « get ».
Example :
Газ (gas) – gas
Pay attention to the pronunciation of the letter з here ! It is pronounced « s ».
Voiced and unvoiced/voiceless consonants
In Russian, the consonants are divided into two groups : voiced consonants and voiceless (unvoiced) consonants. Voiced consonants make our vocal cords vibrate when we pronounce them, whereas unvoiced ones do not.
The consonant з is a voiced consonant ; and at the end of a word, a voiced consonant becomes voiceless, which means that you have to pronounce it like its voiceless counterpart, the consonant c.