Complete Russian Alphabet

The Russian alphabet uses Cyrillic script and consists of 33 letters: 10 vowels, 21 consonants, and 2 signs. Learn all of them with pronunciation guides and examples.

All 33 Cyrillic Letters

Vowels (10 letters)

Vowels can be “hard” or “soft” depending on the preceding consonant.

Consonants (21 letters)

Consonants can be voiced or voiceless, and hard or soft.

Signs (2 letters)

These signs modify the pronunciation of preceding letters.

Pronunciation Guide

Pronunciation Tip

Russian pronunciation is generally consistent – letters are pronounced the same way in most words. Focus on learning the sounds of individual letters first.

Key Pronunciation Rules

Vowel Reduction: Unstressed ‘o’ is pronounced like ‘a’, and unstressed ‘я’ and ‘е’ are pronounced like ‘и’.

Voicing Assimilation: Consonants change their voicing to match surrounding consonants.

Soft Sign (Ь): Makes the preceding consonant soft (palatalized).

Hard Sign (Ъ): Prevents palatalization, creates a slight pause between syllables.

молоко́ (milk) → pronounced “malaKO”
The first two ‘o’s are unstressed and sound like ‘a’
ло́дка (boat) → pronounced “LOTka”
‘д’ becomes ‘т’ because it’s followed by voiceless ‘к’

Essential Russian Vocabulary (A1 Level)

Learn over 500 essential Russian words and phrases organized by topic. Master these to handle basic communication in everyday situations.

Basic Words & Phrases

Thematic Vocabulary

Learning Strategy

Learn vocabulary in context by grouping words thematically. Try to use new words in sentences to improve retention.

Complete A1 Russian Grammar

Master the fundamental grammar rules you need to form basic sentences in Russian. This section covers everything from noun genders to basic sentence structure.

Nouns and Gender

Three Genders in Russian

Every Russian noun has one of three genders: masculine, feminine, or neuter. The gender affects adjectives, pronouns, and verb endings.

Gender Typical Endings Examples Translation
Masculine consonant, -й, -ь стол, музей, словарь table, museum, dictionary
Feminine -а, -я, -ь, -ия книга, неделя, дверь, Россия book, week, door, Russia
Neuter -о, -е, -ие окно, море, здание window, sea, building
Это мой стол (masculine)
This is my table
Это моя книга (feminine)
This is my book
Это моё окно (neuter)
This is my window

Plural Formation

To form plurals in Russian, nouns change their endings based on gender and the final letter.

Singular Ending Plural Ending Example Plural
consonant (masc.) add -ы or -и стол (table) столы
-а change to -ы книга (book) книги
-о change to -а окно (window) окна
-е, -ие change to -я, -ия море (sea), здание (building) моря, здания

Pronouns

Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns change based on their grammatical case (nominative, accusative, etc.). At A1 level, focus on the nominative case (subject pronouns).

English Russian Pronunciation
I Я ya
You (informal) Ты ty
He Он on
She Она aNA
It Оно aNO
We Мы my
You (formal/plural) Вы vy
They Они aNEE
Я студент. (I am a student.)
Note: Russian often omits the verb “to be” in present tense
Они врачи. (They are doctors.)

Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns agree with the noun they modify in gender and number.

English Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural
My мой моя моё мои
Your (informal) твой твоя твоё твои
Our наш наша наше наши
Your (formal/plural) ваш ваша ваше ваши

Verbs and Conjugation

Present Tense Conjugation

Russian verbs have two conjugation patterns. Most verbs belong to the first conjugation.

First Conjugation (most verbs)
Pronoun говорить (to speak) читать (to read) делать (to do)
Я (I) говорю читаю делаю
Ты (You inf.) говоришь читаешь делаешь
Он/Она/Оно (He/She/It) говорит читает делает
Мы (We) говорим читаем делаем
Вы (You form./pl.) говорите читаете делаете
Они (They) говорят читают делают
Я говорю по-русски. (I speak Russian.)
Он читает книгу. (He reads a book.)

Verb “To Be” (быть)

The verb “to be” is usually omitted in the present tense. It’s only used in the past and future tenses.

Tense Form Example Translation
Present (omitted) Я студент I am a student
Past (masc.) был Я был студентом I was a student
Past (fem.) была Она была студенткой She was a student
Future буду, будешь, будет… Я буду врачом I will be a doctor

Sentence Building

Basic Sentence Structure

Russian typically follows Subject-Verb-Object order, but word order is flexible due to the case system. At A1 level, stick to SVO for clarity.

Я читаю книгу. (I am reading a book.)
Subject (Я) – Verb (читаю) – Object (книгу)
Мама готовит обед. (Mom is cooking lunch.)
Subject (Мама) – Verb (готовит) – Object (обед)
Мы говорим по-русски. (We speak Russian.)
Subject (Мы) – Verb (говорим) – Adverbial phrase (по-русски)

Questions

To form questions in Russian, you can either use question words or change your intonation (raising your voice at the end of the sentence).

Question Word Meaning Example
Что? What? Что это? (What is this?)
Кто? Who? Кто это? (Who is this?)
Где? Where? Где книга? (Where is the book?)
Когда? When? Когда урок? (When is the lesson?)
Почему? Why? Почему ты здесь? (Why are you here?)
Как? How? Как дела? (How are you?)
Ты говоришь по-русски? (Do you speak Russian?)
Intonation question – voice rises at the end

Negation

To make a sentence negative, add “не” (not) before the verb.

Я не говорю по-английски. (I don’t speak English.)
Он не читает книгу. (He is not reading a book.)
Это не мой дом. (This is not my house.)

Practice Exercises

Test your knowledge with interactive exercises covering all A1 topics. Get immediate feedback and track your progress.

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Practice Tips

Try to complete all practice questions without looking at the answers. Review any questions you get wrong and study the corresponding material again.

Additional Resources

Supplement your learning with these recommended resources, study plans, and downloadable materials.

Study Plan for A1 Russian

8-Week Study Schedule

Follow this schedule to complete the A1 level in 8 weeks:

  • Weeks 1-2: Master the Cyrillic alphabet and pronunciation
  • Weeks 3-4: Learn basic vocabulary (200+ words) and greetings
  • Weeks 5-6: Study noun genders, pronouns, and basic sentence structure
  • Weeks 7-8: Learn verb conjugation, practice forming sentences, take final assessment

Recommended study time: 30-60 minutes daily, 5 days a week.

Downloadable Materials

Alphabet Chart

Printable PDF with all 33 Cyrillic letters, pronunciation, and examples.

Vocabulary Lists

500+ essential Russian words organized by theme with translations.

Grammar Cheat Sheet

All A1 grammar rules summarized in one reference sheet.

Recommended External Resources

  • Duolingo: Great for daily practice and vocabulary building
  • Memrise: Excellent for vocabulary memorization with spaced repetition
  • RussianPod101: Audio lessons for listening comprehension
  • RT Russian: News in simple Russian for beginners
  • Forvo: Pronunciation database with native speaker recordings