Learning the First 6 Letters in Russian: Alphabet Basics & Pronunciation 🔤

Ready to tackle the Russian alphabet? In this first lesson, we’ll guide you through the first six letters of the азбука: А, Б, В, Г, Д, and Е. You’ll learn their sounds, practice with essential vocabulary like ‘да’ (yes) and ‘дом’ (house), and even read your first Russian question!

💬 Video Transcript

Иван: Всем привет!
(Ivan: Hello everyone, and welcome to Russian Made Easy!)

Аня: And a very special welcome to Episode 1 of Module 1. We are so happy you are here!

Иван: Да, это самое начало нашего пути. И сегодня мы начинаем с абсолютной основы.
(Ivan: Yes, this is the very beginning of our journey. And today, we start with the absolute foundation.)

Аня: That’s right! The Russian Alphabet, the азбука.

Иван: Выглядит немного пугающе, но поверьте, это весело. Вы готовы?
(Ivan: It looks a bit scary, but trust us, it’s fun. Are you ready?)

Аня: Let’s learn our first six letters today!

Иван: Итак, первая буква очень дружелюбная: А.
(Ivan: Okay, first up is a very friendly letter: А.)

Аня: It looks exactly like the English ‘A’, and it sounds the same. Like the ‘a’ in ‘father’.

Иван: Давайте все вместе скажем. Я скажу очень медленно. Аааа.
(Ivan: Let’s all say it together. I will say it very slowly. Аааа.)

Аня: A great word with this sound is ‘а́том’.

Иван: Это значит ‘atom’. Слушайте: а́-том.
(Ivan: It means ‘atom’. Listen: а́-том.)

Аня: Perfect. Next is the letter Б.

Иван: У нее маленький хвостик наверху. Эта буква издает звук ‘б’, как в ‘book’.
(Ivan: It has a little tail on top. This letter makes the ‘b’ sound, like in ‘book’.)

Аня: Let’s try it. Б… б…

Иван: И полезное слово - ‘банк’.
(Ivan: And a useful word is ‘банк’.)

Аня: ‘Банк’ means ‘bank’. Very similar to English!

Иван: Слушайте еще раз: банк.
(Ivan: Listen again: банк.)

Аня: Okay, now for our first important trick!

Иван: Да, приготовьтесь к этому. Это буква В.
(Ivan: Yes, get ready for this one. It’s the letter В.)

Аня: It looks like the English letter ‘B’, but it does NOT sound like ‘b’.

Иван: Это очень важно. Буква В издает звук ‘в’. Как в ‘violin’.
(Ivan: This is so important. The letter В makes a ‘v’ sound. Like in ‘violin’.)

Аня: Let’s say the sound together: в… в…

Иван: Слово, которое вы можете использовать, это ‘вот’. Оно означает ‘here is’.
(Ivan: A word you can use is ‘вот’. It means ‘here is’.)

Аня: Listen to that ‘v’ sound. Вот.

Иван: Отлично! Давайте двигаться дальше. Следующая буква - Г.
(Ivan: Excellent! Let’s move on. The next letter is Г.)

Аня: It makes a ‘g’ sound, like in ‘go’.

Иван: Давайте попрактикуемся. Г… г…
(Ivan: Let’s practice. Г… г…)

Аня: And a good word for this letter is ‘год’.

Иван: ‘Год’ означает ‘year’. Год.
(Ivan: ‘Год’ means ‘year’. Год.)

Аня: You’re doing great! Only two letters left for today.

Иван: Следующая - Д.
(Ivan: The next one is Д.)

Аня: It looks like a little house, which is a great way to remember it!

Иван: Она издает звук ‘д’, как в ‘dog’.
(Ivan: It makes the ’d’ sound, like in ‘dog’.)

Аня: And we have two very important words with this letter. The first is ‘да’.

Иван: ‘Да’ означает ‘yes’! Вы будете использовать это слово миллион раз. Да, да, да!
(Ivan: ‘Да’ means ‘yes’! You will use this word a million times. Да, да, да!)

Аня: And the second word, Ivan, is ‘дом’.

Иван: Что означает…‘house’! Видите? Она похожа на ‘дом’. Давайте скажем: дом.
(Ivan: Which means…‘house’! See? It looks like a ‘дом’. Let’s say it: дом.)

Аня: Now for our final letter of the day, and our second big trick!

Иван: Это буква Е.
(Ivan: This is the letter Е.)

Аня: It looks like an English ‘E’, but the sound is different.

Иван: Она издает звук ‘йе’. Как в слове ‘yes’.
(Ivan: It makes a ‘ye’ sound. Like in the word ‘yes’.)

Аня: So, not ’eh’, but ‘ye’. Let’s practice that. Е… е…

Иван: И фантастическое слово - ‘еда́’.
(Ivan: And a fantastic word is ‘еда́’.)

Аня: ‘Еда́’ means ‘food’. Very important word!

Иван: Давайте скажем медленно: е-да́.
(Ivan: Let’s say it slowly: е-да́.)

Аня: Fantastic! Let’s quickly review all six letters.

Иван: А, Б, В, Г, Д, Е.

Аня: And now, let’s try to read a short question using letters we learned!

Иван: Готовы? Где дом?
(Ivan: Ready? Где дом?)

Аня: ‘Где’ means ‘where’. So the question is ‘Where is the house?’.

Иван: Вы можете это прочитать! Где дом?
(Ivan: You can read that! Где дом?)

Аня: Amazing work today. You’ve learned six Russian letters!

Иван: И несколько очень полезных слов, таких как ‘да’, ‘дом’, и ‘еда́’.
(Ivan: And some very useful words like ‘да’, ‘дом’, and ‘еда́’.)

Аня: Remember the two tricky letters: В sounds like ‘v’, and Е sounds like ‘ye’.

Иван: Это все на наш первый эпизод. Спасибо за внимание!
(Ivan: That’s all for our first episode. Thank you for listening!)

Аня: Keep practicing, and we’ll see you next time. До свидания!

Иван: Пока-пока!

📝 Essential Vocabulary

Here are the key words and phrases you’ll learn in today’s lesson. Practice their pronunciation with the audio clips.

🔍 Grammar Focus

The Russian alphabet has a few letters that look familiar to English speakers but have very different sounds. These are often called “false friends.” In this lesson, we met two of the most important ones.

The Letter В (veh) vs. English B

One of the most common mistakes for beginners is mispronouncing the Russian letter В. Although it looks exactly like the English letter ‘B’, it does not make a ‘b’ sound.

The Russian letter В always makes a ‘v’ sound, like in ‘violin’ or ‘very’.

In the video, Ivan introduces this sound with the word:

• вот (vot) - here is

Remember: When you see В in a Russian word, think ‘v’!

The Letter Е (yeh) vs. English E

Similarly, the Russian letter Е looks just like the English ‘E’, but its pronunciation is different. It is not the ’eh’ sound from ‘bed’.

The Russian letter Е makes a ‘ye’ sound, just like the beginning of the English word ‘yes’.

Anya and Ivan give us a great example word to practice this sound:

• еда́ (yeda) - food

Always pronounce Е as ‘ye’, and you’ll sound much more natural.

🌍 Cultural Tip

🃏 Flip & Learn

Use these flashcards to test your knowledge of the new vocabulary from this lesson.

💡 Key Takeaways

Here are the most important points to remember from this lesson:

• The first six letters of the Russian alphabet are А, Б, В, Г, Д, Е.
• The letter В is a “false friend” and makes a ‘v’ sound, as in the word вот (vot).
• The letter Е is another “false friend” and makes a ‘ye’ sound, as in the word еда́ (yeda).
• The letters А, Б, Г, and Д have sounds that are very similar to their English counterparts (a, b, g, d).
• You can already read a full Russian sentence: Где дом? (Where is the house?).

🎯 Practice Quiz

Check your understanding with this short quiz.

✍️ Fill in the Blanks

Let’s test your spelling and memory! Fill in the missing words below. Use correct spelling.