Basic Russian sounds
and their transcription

Russian and English have similar sounds and even without special training you will be able to pronounce Russian words understandably for native speakers. At the same time, you should remember that Russian pronunciation has its own peculiarities and we are sure it will be very useful for you to learn more about Russian sounds on our site, as well as to listen to the speech of native speakers, and study our phonetics course.

To get started, we advise you to learn the basic sounds of the Russian language. Our aim is not to give a detailed linguistic description of Russian phonetic system. Here we provide the material which we think is sufficient to acquire essential skills in Russian pronunciation.

So, the Russian language has 42 basic sounds: 6 vowels and 36 consonants. The table below represents the signs (transcription) which are used on our site to designate Russian sounds. You can also listen to all of the represented sounds.

Russian Grammar (click on the link)

 

 

   Reading in Russian  (click on the link)

 

Vocabulary topics  (click on the link)

 

 

Tongue twisters 

 

 Speaking about jobs

 

Useful Russian podcasts

These podcasts are for those who already know basic grammar and want to improve their Russian. 
If you don't speak Russian at all, but can understand a few words, you still can listen to this podcast, it will help you too.
The audios are entirely in Russian!

 

-Здравствуйте! Чем я могу вам помочь?
-Здравствуйте! Можно купить билеты на поезд до Иркутска?
-Да, конечно! Вам нужны билеты в одну сторону?
-Нет, мне нужны билеты в обе стороны.
-Это будет стоить 12 600 рублей. Мне также нужен ваш паспорт.
-Вот 13 000 рублей, пожалуйста и паспорт.
-Спасибо! Вот ваша сдача - 400р!
-Скажите, когда отходит поезд и с какой платформы?
-Ваш поезд Москва-Владивосток отправляется с 5й платформы в 13-40 по Московскому времени.
-Спасибо. А где зал ожидания?
-Как выйдете, слева. Там также есть бар и столовая.
-Спасибо! Скажите, сколько примерно ехать до Иркутска?
-Около трёх дней. Счастливого пути!
-Три дня в поезде! Так долго! Буду читать книги!
New words
Помочь - to help
Отправляться - to depart , to leave
Билет - ticket
Купить билеты - to buy tickets
Заказать билеты - to order tickets
Забронировать билеты - to book tickets
Я еду до Владивостока - I'm going to Vladivostok
Я проезжаю Пермь - I passing Perm
Завтра я буду в Иркутске - Tomorrow I'll be in Irkutsk
Остановиться в гостинице / отеле - to stop at a hotel
Пойти в ресторан - to go to a restaurant
Подскажите - please tell me
Счастливого пути! - Have a great trip!
Мне нужен билет - I need a ticket
Рейс - flight
Стюардесса/стюард - flight attendant
По московскому времени - according to Moscow time
Бар - Bar
Столовая - Cafeteria
На втором этаже - On the 2nd floor (upstairs)
Сколько лететь до..? - What's the flight time to..?
Слушать плеер - to listen to MP3 player
Билет в одну сторону - one way ticket
Билет в обе стороны - round ticket
Так долго! - Such a long time!
Зал ожидания - Waiting Hall
Туалет - Restroom
Вокзал - Railroad Station
Регистрация - Registration
Пассажир - Passenger
Паспорт - Passport
Виза - Visa
Стоить - to cost
Сколько - how much
Сдача - change
Читать книги - to read books
Скажите - tell me
Кормить - to serve a meal

To fill in the form for a  free trial lesson go here or here

 Useful books for learning Russian 

Bookstore instructions : All books are supplied in scanned pdf or djvu format, together with audio and video files after you get the password and link for download.

After you've chosen the item click on "в Корзину" (books will be added to your Cart). To see the books and their quantinty and total price click on "Корзина" to come back to bookstore click on "Вернуться в магазин" , to count total quantity and price click on "Пересчитать".

To confirm your order click on "Оформить заказ" (You'll be redirected to online form where you can fill in your "Ваше имя"- Your name, "телефон"- tel number (optionally ), e-mail, then click on "Заказать" - "Confirm order". Your order will be sent to our manager who will contact you to give you further instructiuons.