Russian Phonology
This section discusses the phonological system of standard Russian based on the Central Russian dialect.
Vowels
Most descriptions of Russian describe it as having five vowel phonemes, though there is some dispute over whether a sixth vowel, /ɨ/, is separate from /i/.
Vowel Chart:
Front Central Back
Close i (ɨ) u
Mid e o
Open a
Stressed/Unstressed Vowels
As stated on the home page, in the Standard Russian dialect and the Central Russian dialect, an /o/ in an unstressed position is pronounced as an /a/. For instance, in the word Москва [maˈskva] ("Moscow"), the o is in an unstressed position so it is pronounced as an /a/ sound.
Unstressed /o/ = /a/
Stressed /o/ = /o/
In the video below, a native Russian speaker explains the difference between the unstressed/stressed /o/ sound.
Vowels
Most descriptions of Russian describe it as having five vowel phonemes, though there is some dispute over whether a sixth vowel, /ɨ/, is separate from /i/.
Vowel Chart:
Front Central Back
Close i (ɨ) u
Mid e o
Open a
Stressed/Unstressed Vowels
As stated on the home page, in the Standard Russian dialect and the Central Russian dialect, an /o/ in an unstressed position is pronounced as an /a/. For instance, in the word Москва [maˈskva] ("Moscow"), the o is in an unstressed position so it is pronounced as an /a/ sound.
Unstressed /o/ = /a/
Stressed /o/ = /o/
In the video below, a native Russian speaker explains the difference between the unstressed/stressed /o/ sound.
Soft and Hard Vowels
In general, Russian vowels are divided into two basic types: "soft-indicating" and "hard-indicating" vowels. The "hard-indicating" vowels are а, э, ы, у, о. Russian "soft-indicating" vowels are palatalized, and they are typically formed from their "hard-indicating" counterparts by adding an English "y" sound at the beginning. This produces the "soft-indicating" vowels: я, е, ё, ю, и.
Chart for "hard-indicating" vowels:
Russian letter Pronunciation
A (stressed) as Ah, but shorter
A (unstressed) as u in but
O (stressed) as aw in law
O (unstressed) as u in but
Ы no English equivalent
У as oo in wood
Э as e in pet
Chart for "soft-indicating" vowels:
Russian letter Pronunciation
Я (stressed) as ya in yahoo
Я (unstressed) as ee in meet, but very short
Е (stressed) as ye in yes
Е (unstressed) as ee in meet, but very short
Ё (always stressed) as yo in yolk
Ю as the word you
И (stressed) as ee in meet
Consonants
Russian has 34 consonants, which can be divided into two sets:
The basic rule is that consonants are "soft" if they are followed by soft-indicating vowels or the soft sign. Consonants are "hard" when they are followed by hard-indicating vowels or the hard sign.
The concept of "soft" and "hard" consonants should be somewhat familiar to you if you speak English. The following example roughly shows that the letters m and l can be both "hard" and "soft" in English. The word "soft" here means that your tongue should be arched against the roof of your mouth (called the soft palate) so that it "softens" the sound.
Hard Soft
moot mute
lip leap
Below is a chart that breaks down the Russian hard and soft consonants:
Russian letter IPA Pronounced as
Б (soft) [bʲ] b in bee
Б (hard) [b] b in but
В (soft) [vʲ] v in view
В (hard) [v] v in voice
Г (soft) [gʲ] g in girl
Г (hard) [g] g in go
Д (soft) [dʲ] d in dew
Д (hard) [d] d in dial
З (soft) [zʲ] z in zeal
З (hard) [z] z in zoom
К (soft) [kʲ] k in okey
К (hard) [k] c in clock
Л (soft) [lʲ] l in leak
Л (hard) [l] l in lump
М (soft) [mʲ] m in muse
М (hard) [m] m in monk
Н (soft) [nʲ] n in need
Н (hard) [n] n in noon
П (soft) [pʲ] p in pew
П (hard) [p] p in mop
Р (soft) [rʲ] no equivalent
Р (hard) [r] no equivalent
С (soft) [sʲ] s in seed, sew
С (hard) [s] s in soup
Т (soft) [tʲ] t in stew
Т (hard) [t] t in ten
Ф (soft) [fʲ] f in few
Ф (hard) [f] f in fault
Х (soft) [x] h in huge
Х (hard) [x] h in host
Ц (always hard) [t͡s] ts in what's up
Ч (mostly soft) [t͡ɕ] ch in church
Ш (hard) [ʂ] sh in shield
Щ (soft) [ɕɕ] no equivalent
й (soft) /j/ y in yes or may
Below is a very informative video that sums up the information on hard and soft vowels and consonants.
In general, Russian vowels are divided into two basic types: "soft-indicating" and "hard-indicating" vowels. The "hard-indicating" vowels are а, э, ы, у, о. Russian "soft-indicating" vowels are palatalized, and they are typically formed from their "hard-indicating" counterparts by adding an English "y" sound at the beginning. This produces the "soft-indicating" vowels: я, е, ё, ю, и.
Chart for "hard-indicating" vowels:
Russian letter Pronunciation
A (stressed) as Ah, but shorter
A (unstressed) as u in but
O (stressed) as aw in law
O (unstressed) as u in but
Ы no English equivalent
У as oo in wood
Э as e in pet
Chart for "soft-indicating" vowels:
Russian letter Pronunciation
Я (stressed) as ya in yahoo
Я (unstressed) as ee in meet, but very short
Е (stressed) as ye in yes
Е (unstressed) as ee in meet, but very short
Ё (always stressed) as yo in yolk
Ю as the word you
И (stressed) as ee in meet
Consonants
Russian has 34 consonants, which can be divided into two sets:
- hard (твёрдый [ˈtvʲo.rdɨj]) or plain
- soft (мягкий [ˈmʲæ.xʲkʲɪj]) or palatalized
The basic rule is that consonants are "soft" if they are followed by soft-indicating vowels or the soft sign. Consonants are "hard" when they are followed by hard-indicating vowels or the hard sign.
The concept of "soft" and "hard" consonants should be somewhat familiar to you if you speak English. The following example roughly shows that the letters m and l can be both "hard" and "soft" in English. The word "soft" here means that your tongue should be arched against the roof of your mouth (called the soft palate) so that it "softens" the sound.
Hard Soft
moot mute
lip leap
Below is a chart that breaks down the Russian hard and soft consonants:
Russian letter IPA Pronounced as
Б (soft) [bʲ] b in bee
Б (hard) [b] b in but
В (soft) [vʲ] v in view
В (hard) [v] v in voice
Г (soft) [gʲ] g in girl
Г (hard) [g] g in go
Д (soft) [dʲ] d in dew
Д (hard) [d] d in dial
З (soft) [zʲ] z in zeal
З (hard) [z] z in zoom
К (soft) [kʲ] k in okey
К (hard) [k] c in clock
Л (soft) [lʲ] l in leak
Л (hard) [l] l in lump
М (soft) [mʲ] m in muse
М (hard) [m] m in monk
Н (soft) [nʲ] n in need
Н (hard) [n] n in noon
П (soft) [pʲ] p in pew
П (hard) [p] p in mop
Р (soft) [rʲ] no equivalent
Р (hard) [r] no equivalent
С (soft) [sʲ] s in seed, sew
С (hard) [s] s in soup
Т (soft) [tʲ] t in stew
Т (hard) [t] t in ten
Ф (soft) [fʲ] f in few
Ф (hard) [f] f in fault
Х (soft) [x] h in huge
Х (hard) [x] h in host
Ц (always hard) [t͡s] ts in what's up
Ч (mostly soft) [t͡ɕ] ch in church
Ш (hard) [ʂ] sh in shield
Щ (soft) [ɕɕ] no equivalent
й (soft) /j/ y in yes or may
Below is a very informative video that sums up the information on hard and soft vowels and consonants.