The Russian alphabet is based on Cyrillic and has 33 letters: 11 vowels, 20 consonants, and 2 signs (ь, ъ) that modify pronunciation.
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Russian Language Basics Cheat Sheet
A concise reference for essential Russian grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation rules to get you started with the language.
Alphabet and Pronunciation
The Russian Alphabet (Cyrillic)
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Vowels: а, э, ы, у, о, я, е, ё, ю, и |
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Consonants: б, в, г, д, ж, з, й, к, л, м, н, п, р, с, т, ф, х, ц, ч, ш, щ |
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Hard and Soft Signs: ъ (hard sign, separates consonants and vowels), ь (soft sign, softens the preceding consonant) |
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Note: Some letters change pronunciation depending on their position in a word. |
Pronunciation Rules
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When unstressed, usually pronounced as a short ‘a’ sound (like the ‘a’ in ‘about’). |
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Pronounced as ‘v’ in the genitive ending |
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Always hard sounds, even before ‘и’. |
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Always soft sounds. |
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Softens the preceding consonant. For example, ‘письмо’ (letter) has a soft ‘с’. |
Basic Grammar
Nouns and Cases
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Russian nouns have six cases: Nominative, Genitive, Dative, Accusative, Instrumental, and Prepositional. Each case indicates a different grammatical function. |
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Nominative: Subject of the sentence (кто? что? - who? what?) |
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Genitive: Possession, absence (кого? чего? - whose? of what?) |
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Dative: Indirect object (кому? чему? - to whom? to what?) |
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Accusative: Direct object (кого? что? - whom? what?) |
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Instrumental: Instrument, means (кем? чем? - by whom? by what?) |
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Prepositional: About someone/something (о ком? о чём? - about whom? about what?) |
Pronouns
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I |
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You (informal) |
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He/She/It |
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We |
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You (formal/plural) |
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They |
Basic Vocabulary
Greetings and Introductions
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Hello! (Formal) |
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Hi! (Informal) |
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How are you? |
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I’m fine, thank you. |
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My name is… |
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Nice to meet you. |
Common Phrases
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Yes |
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No |
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Thank you |
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Please / You’re welcome |
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Excuse me / Sorry |
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I don’t understand |
Verbs and Conjugation
Basic Verbs
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Important for forming sentences. Often omitted in the present tense. |
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Used to express possession. |
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Common verb for various actions. |
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Used for talking or speaking a language. |
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Used for knowing a fact. |
Verb Conjugation Basics
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Russian verbs are conjugated based on person (я, ты, он/она/оно, мы, вы, они) and tense (past, present, future). |
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There are two main conjugation types, traditionally called First Conjugation and Second Conjugation, with different endings. |
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Example (Present Tense): Я чита́ю (I read), Ты чита́ешь (You read), Он/Она чита́ет (He/She reads), Мы чита́ем (We read), Вы чита́ете (You read), Они чита́ют (They read) |