Alphabet and Pronunciation

The Russian alphabet (русский алфавит) has 33 letters: 21 consonants, 10 vowels, and 2 semivowels/signs (ь, ъ).

Vowels

• Hard vowels: а, о, у, ы, э
• Soft vowels: я, ё, ю, и, е (soften the preceding consonant)

Key pronunciation rules

• Vowel reduction: unstressed о is pronounced as [а] (e.g., молоко → малако).
• Voicing/devoicing: voiced consonants at the end of a word become voiceless. E.g., дуб (oak) is pronounced [дуп].
• Always soft: щ, ч
• Always hard: ж, ц, ш

Written vs spoken

Russian spelling is generally phonetic, but vowel reduction and consonant devoicing mean that words are not always pronounced exactly as written.