Alphabet.
English and Russian have the same Indo-European origins, that`s why a lot of grammar is common, and a large number of familiar words.
(read letters as sounds):
- A (as in after)
- К
- М
- О
- Т
(read words): как, так, кто, ток, кот, там, атом, Том, Тома, тот, мот, мак, атака, макака, мама, комок, моток
В в = v (as in very) вот, вода
Е е = ye (yesterday) ем, театр
Н н = n (enter) нос, нота
Р р = r (error) рот, ром
С с = s (yes) сорт, сам
У у = u (boot) рука, рукав
Х х = h (hobby) хобби, хобот
Notice, that the most Russian small letters are simply half-size versions of the capitals.
Read letters.
Read words:
вот, марка, антенна (long sound) касса (long sound), туман, сто, сахар, соус, карта, хор.
ве - во - ва - ву, не - но - на - ну, ре - ро - ра -ру, се - со - са - су, хе - хо - ха - ху, те - то - та - ту, ме - мо - ма - му, ке - ко - ка - ку.
Now – Russian letters, which look quite different from English:
Б б (b as in bad) брат, бор, баба
Г г (g as in got) город, гам, год
Д д (d as in does) дом, дам, дед
Ж ж (zh like the s in pleasure, sounds always hard) жмот, жал, живот
З з (z as in zoom) зол, зла, зонт
Л л (l as in people) лодка, лад, лук
П п (p as in pilot) папа, пол, порт
Ф ф (f as in effort) факт, форт
Ц ц (ts as in its) центр, цокот
Ч ч (ch as in check, but softer) час,
Ш ш (sh as in shall, sounds always hard) шапка,
Щ щ (shsh as Welsh sheep, a longer, softer sound than the previous letter ш) щи
ъ (hard sign has no sound of its own, and it is used to separate a consonant from a following sound е, ё, ю, я): въезд
ь (soft sign has no sound of its own, and it is used 1. to make consonant soft: пыл – пыль, мол – моль, мел – мель,
2. to separate a consonant from a following sound е, ё, ю, я, и in the middle and the end of the world): компьютер
- й (y as in boy) чай, дай
vowels
- ы (a tongue tip a little further back, than i as in bit) был, мыло, сыр
И и [ee] , as in meet: был – бил, мыло – мило, сыр – сила
Е е [ye], as in yesterday: ел, съел, поел
Э э , as in bad: это, эти, этот
О о (like in English) порт, море
Ё ё [yo] as in your: каёмка, ёлка
У [u] (boot) усы, ну, ум
Ю ю [yu] as in university – юг, юмор
А – [a] as in father: мама, сам,
Я я [ya] as in yard: я, семья
Read letters.
Read the words. Try to guess their meaning:
Телефон, факс, магазин, пресса, почта, метро, такси, кино, кафе, отель, ресторан, касса, театр, музей, парк, футбол, теннис, финиш, старт, университет, бульвар, станция, адрес, проспект, аэропорт, банк, компьютер, хобби.
Read words: NB: in a pretonic syllable the vowel [o] is pronounced as a short [a]. In a pretonic and a posttonic syllable the vowels is pronounced short.
булка, булочка, полка, ванна, баночка, брат, март, страна, стол, стул, дом, том, там, дам, Дон, тон, мост, тост, сад, стакан, масло, молоко, колбаса, сыр, сахар, салат, вода, буква, доска, каша, машина, завтра, задача, завод, запад, гора, мыло, комната, почта, жаба, жук, живот, жена, щи, борщ