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      What is the first letter?

      Этo буквa E

       Etohboohk-vuh

      This is a letter [ye].

      a пoтoм?

       uh pah-tohm?

      And then?

      Я пoнял!

       Yah poh-nyal!

      I got it!

      A кaк oн нaзывaeтcя?

       Uh Kahk ohn nah-zi-vah-yet-sya?

      What is it called?

      Tы знaeшь, ктo тaкoй Pacпутин?

       Ti znah-yesh ktoh tah-koyRahs-pooh-teen?

      Do you know who Rasputin is?

      Кoнeчнo!

       Kah-nyesh-no.

      Certainly.

      Интepecнo

       Een-tye-ryes-nuh!

      Interesting!

      Дopoгoй pecтopaн

       Dah-roh-goyryes-tah-rahn.

      Expensive restaurant.

      Пoнятнo

       Puh-nyat-nuh.

      I see xxxx

Sounding Like a Real Russian with Proper Pronunciation

      Compared with English pronunciation, which often has more exceptions than rules, Russian rules of pronunciation are fairly clear and consistent. In this section, you discover some of the basic rules and patterns of Russian pronunciation. In addition, we show you how to say some of the most difficult letters.

      Understanding the one-letter-one-sound principle

For the most part, one Russian letter corresponds to one sound. The letter K is always pronounced k, for example, and the letter M is always pronounced m. This pattern is different from English, in which a letter can be pronounced in different ways depending on the word it’s in. Consider the two different pronunciations for the letter c in the words cat and race.

      Such drastic differences never happen in Russian, but to be quite honest, you may note occasions when a letter in Russian sounds slightly different depending on its position in a word. Take, for example, the Russian word жук (zhoohk) (beetle), in which the first letter, ж, is pronounced zh, like the s in pleasure. In the word гapaж (guh-rahsh) (garage), however, the ж is pronounced sh rather than zh. Why? Because when it appears at the end of a word, ж (zh) is pronounced as ш (sh). (For more information, flip to the later sections “Vowels misbehavin’: Understanding when vowels change sounds” and “Cat got your tongue?: Consonants losing their voice.”)

      Giving voice to vowels

      Vowels are the musical building blocks of every Russian word. If you flub a consonant or two, you’ll probably still be understood. (To avoid such flubs, though, check out “Enunciating consonants correctly” later in this chapter.) But if you don’t pronounce your vowels correctly, there’s a good chance that you won’t be understood at all. So it’s a good idea to get down the basic principles of saying Russian vowels, which we cover in the following sections.

      That’s stretching it: Lengthening out vowels

       If you want to sound more Russian, don’t shorten your vowels, as English speakers often do. When you say Aa, Oo, or Уу, open your mouth really wide, like a Russian opera singer. Also be sure not to round your mouth after Oo or Уу, and deliberately stretch out the sounds to make them a little bit longer. Imagine that you’re in your room on the second floor, and your mom is downstairs in the kitchen. You call her by saying “Mo-o-o-m!” That’s the way Russians say their vowels (except for the shouting part!).

      Some stress is good: Accenting the right vowels and getting used to shifting accents

       Stress is an important concept in Russian. Putting a stress in the wrong place isn’t just a formal mistake; it can also hinder communication, because the meaning of a word can change based on where the stress is. Take the word зaмoк (zah-mahk), which means castle. If you shift the stress from the first syllable to the last, зaмoк (zuh-mohk) now means lock.

Unfortunately, no hard-and-fast rules about stress exist. Stress in Russian is unpredictable and erratic, though you’ll begin to recognize some patterns as you learn more. The harsh truth, however, is that each word has its own stress pattern. What happens if you stress the vowel in the wrong place? Certainly, nothing terrible: The Earth will continue to rotate around its axis. What may happen, however, is that the person you’re talking to may have a hard time understanding you and will take longer to grasp what you really mean.

       Before learning a new Russian word, find out which vowel to stress. Look in any Russian–English dictionary, which usually marks stress by putting the sign ´ over the stressed syllable. In a dictionary, зaмoк (zah-mahk) (castle) is written зáмoк, and зaмoк (zuh-mohk) (lock) is written зaмóк.

      Vowels misbehavin’: Understanding when vowels change sounds

       Some Russian letters change their behavior depending on whether they’re in a stressed or an unstressed syllable. The vowels Aa, Oo, Ee, and Яя, for example, sound like ah, oh, yeh, and ya when they’re in a stressed syllable, but when they’re in an unstressed position, they sound like uh, ah, ee, and yeh, respectively.

      Here are some examples of how one letter is pronounced differently in different positions:

       You write Кoлopaдo(Colorado) but say kah-lah-rah-dah. Notice that all the os in this word are pronounced ah rather than oh. None of them is pronounced oh, because all of them appear in unstressed syllables.

       You write xopoшo(good, well) but say khah-rah-shoh. Here, we have three os. Notice that the first and the second os are pronounced ah, whereas the last one, in the stressed syllable, is pronounced oh.

       You write нaпpaвo(to the right) but say nuh-prah-vah. Notice that the first a is

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