Russian Alphabet · Lesson 2 of 4 · Level A1 · 45 min
Good news — you already know some Russian letters! These 5 letters look the same as Latin letters AND sound the same. Start here to build confidence fast.
А
— a (father)
Exactly like “a” in father or spa. No surprises here.
а́ист
(stork)
аку́ла
(shark)
А́нна
К
— k (kit)
Like “k” in king or “c” in cat. Same shape, same sound.
кот
(cat)
кино́
(cinema)
Ка́тя
М
— m (map)
Exactly like English M. One of the easiest letters.
ма́ма
мо́ре
(sea)
Москва́
О
— o (core) ⚠
Like “o” in core — but only when stressed. When unstressed, О sounds closer to А.
Key rule:
молоко́
→ /malako/
Only the last О is stressed; the first two are reduced toward an А-like sound. This is one of the most important pronunciation patterns in Russian.
Т
— t (top)
Like “t” in top. Clean and crisp — without the strong puff of air often heard in English T.
там
(there)
тут
(here)
такт
(tact)
Try reading before looking at the translation:
ма́ма
— mama
кот
— cat
там
— there
те́ма
— theme
а́том
— atom
коме́та
— comet
такт
— tact
Ex. 1 — Read aloud and guess the meaning:
мото́р
ата́ка
тома́т
то́тем
та́ктика
моти́в
маке́т
Ex. 2 — Write from dictation:
ма́ма
кот
там
а́том
коме́та
Ex. 3 — Write 5 words using only А К М О Т.
Memorise А К М О Т — write each 5 times. Find 5 more Russian words using only these 5 letters. Next lesson: False friends — letters that LOOK familiar but sound different. Watch out!