Learn about Russian consonants
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| Hi everyone. |
| Welcome to The Ultimate Russian Pronunciation Guide. |
| In this lesson, you'll learn the final 12 Russian consonant sounds. |
| t tʲ, ts tɕ, v vʲ, x xʲ, z̪ z̪ʲ, ʐ ʑː |
| Nearly half of these consonant sounds are identical to the ones in English. |
| So if you know English, some of them will already be familiar to you. |
| Are you ready? |
| Then let's get started! |
| The first consonant is... |
| "т |
| тот (that) |
| читаю (I read)" |
| This is like the T in the word' take', except in Russian, the T sounds a little heavier. Stress this consonant more than you would in English by flattening the tip and blade of the tongue against the upper teeth. The tip of the tongue should touch the lower teeth, while the front part of the tongue should be touching the upper teeth. |
| т, т (slowly) |
| т, т (slowly) |
| And here's the soft version. |
| "ть |
| читать (to read) |
| дитя (child)" |
| This is almost like saying a T and a Y sound at the same time. Try to pronounce the previous T sound while keeping the middle part of your tongue close to the roof of your mouth. Listen to (host name). |
| ть, ть (slowly) |
| ть, ть (slowly) |
| The next consonant is... |
| "ц |
| цель (goal) |
| отец (father)" |
| "This consonant sound is like a combination of a T and an S sound. |
| It starts off as a T sound, but ends with an S sound. |
| You can pronounce this sound by saying 'cats' or 'tsunami'." |
| ц, ц (slowly) |
| ц, ц (slowly) |
| The next consonant sound is... |
| "ч |
| чай (tea) |
| часы (watch)" |
| This is similar to the 'ch' sound in 'church'. Unlike English however, which focuses on the tip of the tongue contacting the gum ridge, the Russian 'ch' sound uses the blade of the tongue to contact the area *behind* the gum ridge, closer to the roof of the mouth. This should produce a narrow channel from your throat, all the way to the back part of the gum ridge. Protrude your lips as you pronounce this sound. |
| ч, ч (slowly) |
| ч, ч (slowly) |
| The next consonant sound is... |
| "в |
| ваш (your, yours) |
| давать (to give)" |
| Like the V in 'veal'. |
| в, в (slowly) |
| в, в (slowly) |
| And here's the soft version. |
| "вь |
| (в)ести (to guide, to conduct) |
| чело(в)ек (human)" |
| Some English speakers can pronounce this sound when saying the word 'view'. |
| вь, вь (slowly) |
| вь, вь (slowly) |
| The next consonant sound is... |
| "х |
| ходить (to walk, to go) |
| ухо (ear)" |
| "This is exactly like a prolonged K sound. The trick is to attempt to pronounce a K sound but as your tongue and the back roof of the mouth make contact, slowly blow a constant stream of air through the opening until you get a turbulent sound. The key is to blow the air through the opening without cutting off the airstream completely, *or* allowing it to pass through unobstructed. |
| It's the same as the CH sound in words like yech, Bach, or Loch Ness." |
| x, x (slowly) |
| x, x (slowly) |
| And here's the soft version. |
| "хь |
| химия (chemistry) |
| Хьюстон (Houston)" |
| This is identical to the previous sound, but with the middle part of the tongue raised to the roof of the mouth. |
| хь, хь (slowly) |
| хь, хь (slowly) |
| The next consonant sound is... |
| "з |
| заяц (hare) |
| язык (language, tongue)" |
| This is like the Z in 'zoo', except in Russian, the tongue is positioned lower. The tip of the tongue should rest behind the bottom teeth, while the blade of the tongue makes contact with the top teeth. |
| з, з (slowly) |
| з, з (slowly) |
| And here's the soft version. |
| "зь |
| зелёный (green) |
| озеро (lake)" |
| This is identical to the previous sound, but with the middle part of the tongue raised to the roof of the mouth. |
| зь, зь (slowly) |
| зь, зь (slowly) |
| The next consonant sound is... |
| "ж |
| жест (gesture) |
| тяжёлый (heavy)" |
| It's similar to the S in words like 'measure' or 'pleasure'. Unlike English however, the tip of the tongue should be further back in the mouth. The tip of your tongue should be curled up *behind* the gum ridge as opposed to being in front of it. |
| ж, ж (slowly) |
| ж, ж (slowly) |
| The final consonant sound is... |
| "жж |
| дрожжи (yeast) |
| заезжать (drive by)" |
| This is similar to the previous sound, but instead of curling the tip of your tongue behind the gum ridge, try using the blade of your tongue instead. Also, you'll need to emphasize this sound by holding it longer than you would normally with other sounds. |
| жж, жж (slowly) |
| жж, жж (slowly) |
| Well done! You just learned another 12 Russian consonants. |
| t tʲ, ts tɕ, v vʲ, x xʲ, z̪ z̪ʲ, ʐ ʑː |
| We've covered every single sound that could possibly appear in the Russian language. You can now properly pronounce anything in Russian! Isn't that great? |
| How difficult were they to learn? Please comment and share your thoughts. |
| In the next lesson, you'll learn about palatalization in Russian. |
| See you in the next Ultimate Russian Pronunciation Guide lesson! |
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