Русский • Cyrillic Guide
Russian Cyrillic Transliteration & Reading Guide
Read Russian signs, metro maps, menus, and literature without getting tripped up by false-friend characters. Lisperio pairs Cyrillic sentences with direct Latin pronunciation spelling.
Watch Out: Visual "False Friends" in Cyrillic
Several Cyrillic letters look identical to Latin letters but represent completely different sounds:
В = V
Not English B!
Н = N
Not English H!
Р = R
Not English P!
С = S
Not English C!
Х = Kh
Not English X!
The 33 Russian Letters
А аa
like 'a' in father
Б бb
like 'b' in boot
В вv
looks like B, sounds like V
Г гg
like 'g' in go
Д дd
like 'd' in door
Е еye / e
like 'ye' in yes
Ё ёyo
like 'yo' in yoga
Ж жzh
like 's' in measure
З зz
like 'z' in zoo
И иi
like 'ee' in see
Й йy
short 'y' as in boy
К кk
like 'k' in kitten
Л лl
like 'l' in lamp
М мm
like 'm' in map
Н нn
looks like H, sounds like N
О оo
like 'o' in more (or 'a' unaccented)
П пp
like 'p' in pet
Р рr
looks like P, rolled R
С сs
looks like C, sounds like S
Т тt
like 't' in tea
У уu
looks like Y, sounds like 'oo' in root
Ф фf
like 'f' in fast
Х хkh
looks like X, guttural 'ch' as in Bach
Ц цts
like 'ts' in cats
Ч чch
like 'ch' in chair
Ш шsh
hard 'sh' as in shut
Щ щshch
soft 'shch' sound
Ъ ъ—
Hard sign (separator)
Ы ыy
guttural 'i' sound
Ь ь’
Soft sign (palatalizes preceding consonant)
Э эe
like 'e' in met
Ю юyu
like 'you'
Я яya
like 'ya' in yard
Reviewed Real-World Russian Samples
Transit / MetroPhrase 1
Осторожно, двери закрываются.
Ostorozhno, dveri zakryvayutsya.
“Caution, the doors are closing.”
Daily CourtesyPhrase 2
Спасибо большое за вашу помощь!
Spasibo bol'shoye za vashu pomoshch'!
“Thank you very much for your help!”
Read Cyrillic with confidence on iPhone
Paste Russian text, follow the Latin spelling guide, listen with Apple device voices, and save tricky words.