Grapheme Data for Russian written with Cyrillic script
Note that Russian orthography is predominantly based on the concept of palatalization, which stems from the nature of consonants. Most consonants are paired as palatalized (also referred to as “soft”) and unpalatalized (“hard”). Russian palatalization is phonemic, with minimal pairs common, e.g. мат (/mat/ - ‘checkmate’) and мать (/matʲ/ - ‘mother’), and угол (/ugəl/ - ‘corner’) and уголь (/ugəlʲ/ - ‘coal’). Certain consonants do not have palatalized (or soft) counterparts, and are considered to be always “hard”, i.e. ж, /ʐ/; ш, /ʂ/; ц, /ʦ/; and others do not have unpalatalized counterparts, and are considered to be always “soft”, i.e. щ, /ʃ/ and ч, /ʧ/. Russian palatalized consonants also affect vowel orthography, creating a system of paired vowels as well (see note below). While it is inaccurate to describe vowels as being either “hard” or “soft”, the different written vowels are used to indicate that the preceding consonant sound is either “hard” (unpalatalized) or “soft” (palatalized). The vowels that are generally used following “hard” consonants are ‹a, э, о, у, ы›. Their counterparts, which are used following “soft” consonants, include ‹я, е, ё, ю, и›, respectively. The presence of a soft or hard consonant when it appears word finally is represented in the orthography by the presence or absence of the “soft sign” ‹ь›, while word medially the only indication of a consonant’s softness or hardness is usually the presence of the appropriate “soft” or “hard” vowel.
Most Russian consonants can also be paired in terms of voicing, with the exception of ‹х, ц, ч, щ›, which have no voiced counterparts (except in rare instances with foreign words), and ‹л, м, н, р›, which have no voiceless counterparts. The presence or absence of voicing is important for pronunciation since Russian has both a regressive assimilation rule for the feature word-medially, as well as a word final devoicing rule. For example, /t/ (‹т›) is the voiceless counterpart to /d/ (‹д›), which in turn is the voiced counterpart to /t/ (‹т›). A /t/ (‹т›) will need to be voiced when immediately preceding a voiced consonant word-medially, resulting in a /d/ sound instead, while a /d/ will need to be devoiced either when immediately preceding a voiceless consonant or word-finally, resulting in a /t/ sound. The same is true for the “soft” forms of all “hard” consonants.
Note: Consonant + vowel spelling conventions do not consistently reflect the distinction between palatal and non-palatal consonants. Therefore, some vowels that would usually signify a preceding palatalized (soft) consonant do appear following consonants that are always unpalatalized (hard). In such cases the vowel that is written does not reflect the actual pronunciation of the sound. This is particularly the case with both foreign loan words and also the case declensions of certain words (e.g. the prepositional case form of words like ). Of particular note is the fact that so-called “soft” vowels (‹е, ё, и, ю, я›) can follow those sibilant fricatives and affricates which do not have palatalized counterparts, i.e. xxx-Cyrl ж, /ʐ/; ш, /ʂ/; ц, /ʦ/. These consonants are never “softened”. In such cases, the following vowels are pronounced as their counterpart vowels which are used to indicate a preceding unpalatalized (hard) consonant. Examples include words like xxx-Cyrl цепь ‘chain’, /ʦɛpj/; xxx-Cyrl шесть ‘six’ /ʂɛstj/; жить ‘to live’, /ʐɨtj/; xxx-Cyrl Цю́рих ‘zürich’, /ʦuɾix/.
For further information, I recommend the chapter on phonology found in Russian: A Linguistic Introduction, by Paul Cubberley.
Since allophones are not represented in this data, the nuances regarding vowel reduction rules are not represented here.
For the sake of clarity, stress is indicated with an acute accent in all multi-syllable words, even if an accent wouldn’t be included in practical orthography. Note that an acute accent is not used over the vowel ‹ё›, which is always stressed.
Contributors: Marc Canner, Emily Roth
| Grapheme | USV | Phoneme | Status | Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <а> | 0430 | /a/ | expected | трава́ ‘grass’, анана́с ‘pineapple’, облака́ ‘clouds’, како́й ‘which’, сообража́ть ‘think’ | |
| <бь> | 0431 044C | /bʲ/ | expected | бью ‘beat’ | Preceding a vowel or a voiced consonant (except for ‹л, м, н, р, в›) |
| <бь> | 0431 044C | /pʲ/ | expected | зыбь ‘swell’ | Preceding a voiceless consonant or if word-final |
| <б> | 0431 | /b/ | expected | бок ‘side’ | Preceding either ‹а, о, э, у, ы› or a voiced consonant |
| <б> | 0431 | /bʲ/ | expected | бе́лый ‘white’ | Preceding either ‹я, ё, е, ю, и› |
| <б> | 0431 | /p/ | expected | ры́бка ‘fish’, зуб ‘tooth’ | Preceding a voiceless consonant or if word-final |
| <вь> | 0432 044C | /vʲ/ | expected | вью́га ‘snowstorm’ | Preceding a vowel or a voiced consonant (except for ‹л, м, н, р, в›) |
| <вь> | 0432 044C | /fʲ/ | expected | кровь ‘blood’ | Preceding a voiceless consonant or if word-final |
| <в> | 0432 | /v/ | expected | вы ‘you’ | Preceding either ‹а, о, э, у, ы› or a voiced consonant |
| <в> | 0432 | /vʲ/ | expected | весь ‘all’ | Preceding ‹я, ё, е, ю, и› |
| <в> | 0432 | /f/ | expected | вы́ставка ‘exhibition’, бо́ров ‘hog’ | Preceding a voiceless consonant or if word-final |
| <г> | 0433 | /v/ | rare | его́ ‘his’, сего́дня ‘today’, итого́ ‘total’ | Only in words or parts of compound words with the suffix -ого/-его |
| <г> | 0433 | /ɣ/ | rare | го́споди ‘oh god!’, ага́ ‘yeah’ | Only appears in some words and phrases derived from religious terms or in interjections |
| <г> | 0433 | /x/ | expected | бог ‘god’ | Only appears word-finally in some words and phrases derived from religious terms or in interjections |
| <г> | 0433 | /xʲ/ | rare | лёгкий ‘lightweight’ | Only appears in some words and phrases derived from religious terms or in interjections |
| <г> | 0433 | /g/ | expected | год ‘year’ | Preceding either ‹а, о, э, у› or a voiced consonant |
| <г> | 0433 | /gʲ/ | expected | геро́й ‘hero’ | Preceding ‹ё, е, и› |
| <г> | 0433 | /k/ | expected | бе́гство ‘escape’, флаг ‘flag’ | Preceding a voiceless consonant or if word-final |
| <дж> | 0434 0436 | /dʐ/ | uncommon | джип ‘jeep’ | Preceding ‹я, ё, е, ю, и›. Only in words of foreign origin |
| <дж> | 0434 0436 | /tʂ/ | uncommon | ко́лледж ‘college’ | Preceding either ‹а, о, э, у, ы›, a voiceless consonant, or ‹л, м, н, р, в›, or if word-final. Only in words of foreign origin |
| <дь> | 0434 044C | /d̪ʲ/ | expected | ходьба́ ‘walking’ | Preceding a vowel or a voiced consonant (except for ‹л, м, н, р, в›) |
| <дь> | 0434 044C | /t̪ʲ/ | expected | грудь ‘chest’ | Preceding a voiceless consonant or if word-final |
| <д> | 0434 | /d̪/ | expected | дать ‘give’ | Preceding either ‹а, о, э, у, ы› or a voiced consonant |
| <д> | 0434 | /d̪ʲ/ | expected | де́ло ‘matter’ | Preceding ‹я, ё, е, ю, и› |
| <д> | 0434 | /t̪/ | expected | во́дка ‘vodka’, лёд ‘ice’ | Preceding a voiceless consonant or if word-final |
| <е> | 0435 | /je/ = /j/ + /e/ | expected | е́сть ‘eat’, чита́ет ‘is reading’ | When either word-initial or following a vowel |
| <е> | 0435 | /ɨ/ | expected | жена́ ‘wife’, цена́ ‘price’ | When unstressed and after an always-hard (non-palatalized) consonant (‹ж, ш, ц›) or hard prepositions |
| <е> | 0435 | /i/ | expected | телефо́н ‘telephone’, четы́ре ‘four’ | When unstressed and not following an always-hard (non-palatalized) consonant (‹ж, ш, ц›) |
| <е> | 0435 | /e/ | expected | пень ‘stump’, отве́т ‘answer’, | When stressed, except when following those consonants that cannot be palatalized (ж, ш, щ, ц) |
| <жч> | 0436 0447 | /ɕ/ | expected | мужчи́на ‘man’ | |
| <ж> | 0436 | /ʐ/ | expected | жест ‘gesture’, жизнь ‘life’ | Preceding a vowel or a voiced consonant |
| <ж> | 0436 | /ʂ/ | expected | кни́жка ‘book’, муж ‘husband’ | Preceding a voiceless consonant or if word-final |
| <зж> | 0437 0436 | /ʑ/ | rare | по́зже ‘later’ | Marginally phonemic, only in conservative standard accent of Moscow and only in a handful of words even then. Was previously geminate but is no longer. |
| <зь> | 0437 044C | /ðʲ/ | expected | резьба́ ‘thread’ | Preceding a vowel or a voiced consonant (except for ‹л, м, н, р, в›) |
| <зь> | 0437 044C | /θʲ/ | expected | резь ‘pain’ | Preceding a voiceless consonant or if word-final |
| <з> | 0437 | /ð/ | expected | зуб ‘tooth’ | Preceding either ‹а, о, э, у, ы› or a voiced consonant |
| <з> | 0437 | /ðʲ/ | expected | зима́ ‘winter’, жизнь ‘life’ | Preceding ‹я, ё, е, ю, и› |
| <з> | 0437 | /θ/ | expected | ска́зка ‘fairy tale’, глаз ‘eye’ | Preceding a voiceless consonant or if word-final |
| <и> | 0438 | /ji/ = /j/ + /i/ | expected | мои́ ‘my’, во́ин ‘warrior’ | Following a vowel |
| <и> | 0438 | /ɨ/ | expected | переживёт ‘outlive’, шить ‘sew’, ши́шка ‘cone’, с и́грами ‘with games’, к ива́ну ‘to ivan’, {lang:first-char | When preceeded by an always-hard (non-palatalized) consonant (‹ж, ш, ц›) or hard prepositions. Some linguists consider /ɨ/ to be an allophone of /i/, rather than an independent phoneme |
| <и> | 0438 | /i/ | expected | ли́ния ‘line’, и́ли ‘or’ | Word-initial or preceeded by palatalized consonants that don't include a ‹ь› |
| <й> | 0439 | /j/ | expected | майо́р ‘Major’ | |
| <кь> | 043A 044C | /kʲ/ | expected | секью́рити ‘security’ | Preceding either a vowel, voiceless consonant, or ‹л, м, н, р, в›, or if word-final |
| <к> | 043A | /g/ | expected | анекдо́т ‘joke’ | Preceding a voiced consonant (except for ‹л, м, н, р, в›) |
| <к> | 043A | /k/ | expected | кость ‘bone’ | Preceding either ‹а, о, э, у›, a voiceless consonant, or ‹л, м, н, р, в›, or if word-final |
| <к> | 043A | /kʲ/ | expected | кино́ ‘movie’ | Preceding ‹ё, е, и› |
| <ль> | 043B 044C | /lʲ/ | expected | боль ‘pain’ | |
| <л> | 043B | /l/ | expected | луна́ ‘moon’ | Preceding either ‹а, о, э, у, ы› or a consonant, or if word-final |
| <л> | 043B | /lʲ/ | expected | лес ‘forest’ | Preceding ‹я, ё, е, ю, и› |
| <мь> | 043C 044C | /mʲ/ | expected | семь ‘seven’ | |
| <м> | 043C | /m/ | expected | мы́ло ‘soap’ | Preceding either ‹а, о, э, у, ы› or a consonant, or if word-final |
| <м> | 043C | /mʲ/ | expected | мя́со ‘meat’ | Preceding ‹я, ё, е, ю, и› |
| <нь> | 043D 044C | /n̪ʲ/ | expected | день ‘day’ | |
| <н> | 043D | /n̪ʲ/ | expected | нёс ‘carried’ | Preceding ‹я, ё, е, ю, и› |
| <о> | 043E | /o/ | expected | о́блако ‘cloud’ | When stressed |
| <о> | 043E | /a/ | expected | олигvа́рх ‘oligarch’, облака́ ‘clouds’, тропа́ ‘trail’, | When unstressed |
| <пь> | 043F 044C | /pʲ/ | expected | цепь ‘chain’ | Preceding either a vowel, voiceless consonant, or ‹л, м, н, р, в›, or if word-final |
| <п> | 043F | /b/ | expected | апде́йт ‘update’ | Preceding a voiced consonant (except for ‹л, м, н, р, в›) |
| <п> | 043F | /p/ | expected | под ‘under’ | Preceding either ‹а, о, э, у, ы›, a voiceless consonant, or ‹л, м, н, р, в›, or if word-final |
| <п> | 043F | /pʲ/ | expected | пе́пел ‘ash’ | Preceding ‹я, ё, е, ю, и› |
| <рь> | 0440 044C | /ɾʲ/ | expected | зверь ‘beast’ | |
| <р> | 0440 | /ɾ/ | expected | раз ‘once’ | Preceding either ‹а, о, э, у, ы› or a consonant, or if word-final. |
| <р> | 0440 | /ɾʲ/ | expected | ряд ‘row’ | Preceding ‹я, ё, е, ю, и› |
| <сч> | 0441 0447 | /ɕ/ | expected | счита́ть ‘count’ | |
| <сь> | 0441 044C | /ðʲ/ | expected | про́сьба ‘request’ | Preceding a voiced consonant (except for ‹л, м, н, р, в›) |
| <сь> | 0441 044C | /θʲ/ | expected | здесь ‘here’ | Preceding either a vowel, voiceless consonant, or ‹л, м, н, р, в›, or if word-final |
| <с> | 0441 | /ð/ | expected | сбор ‘collection’ | Preceding a voiced consonant (except for ‹л, м, н, р, в›) |
| <с> | 0441 | /θ/ | expected | соба́ка ‘dog’ | Preceding either ‹а, о, э, у, ы›, a voiceless consonant, or ‹л, м, н, р, в›, or if word-final |
| <с> | 0441 | /θʲ/ | expected | си́ний ‘blue’, есть ‘to eat’ | Preceding ‹я, ё, е, ю, и› |
| <тьс> | 0442 044C 0441 | /t̪s/ | common | нра́виться ‘to like’ | |
| <ть> | 0442 044C | /d̪ʲ/ | expected | жени́тьба ‘marriage’ | Preceding a voiced consonant (except for ‹л, м, н, р, в›) |
| <ть> | 0442 044C | /t̪ʲ/ | expected | путь ‘path’ | Preceding either a vowel, voiceless consonant, or ‹л, м, н, р, в›, or if word-final |
| <т> | 0442 | /d̪/ | expected | футбо́л ‘football’ | Preceding a voiced consonant (except for ‹л, м, н, р, в›) |
| <т> | 0442 | /t̪/ | expected | то ‘that’ | Preceding either ‹а, о, э, у, ы›, a voiceless consonant, or ‹л, м, н, р, в›, or if word-final |
| <т> | 0442 | /t̪ʲ/ | expected | тень ‘shadow’, дитя́ ‘child’ | Preceding ‹я, ё, е, ю, и› |
| <у> | 0443 | /u/ | expected | пу́ля ‘bullet’ | |
| <фь> | 0444 044C | /fʲ/ | expected | верфь ‘shipyard’ | Preceding either a vowel, voiceless consonant, or ‹л, м, н, р, в›, or if word-final |
| <ф> | 0444 | /v/ | expected | афга́н ‘afghan’ | Preceding a voiced consonant (except for ‹л, м, н, р, в›) |
| <ф> | 0444 | /f/ | expected | фо́рма ‘shape’ | Preceding either ‹а, о, э, у, ы›, a voiceless consonant, or ‹л, м, н, р, в›, or if word-final |
| <ф> | 0444 | /fʲ/ | expected | фина́л ‘finale’ | Preceding ‹я, ё, е, ю, и› |
| <хь> | 0445 044C | /xʲ/ | expected | хью́стон ‘Houston’ | |
| <х> | 0445 | /ɣ/ | rare | дух бодр ‘the spirit is willing’ | Only appears in some words and phrases derived from religious terms or in interjections |
| <х> | 0445 | /x/ | expected | ход ‘motion’, дух ‘spirit’ | Preceding either ‹а, о, э, у› or a consonant, or if word-final |
| <х> | 0445 | /xʲ/ | expected | хи́трый ‘cunning’ | Preceding ‹ё, е, и› |
| <ц> | 0446 | /d̪z/ | expected | плацда́рм ‘bridgehead’ | Preceding a voiced consonant (except for ‹л, м, н, р, в›) |
| <ц> | 0446 | /t̪s/ | expected | цена́ ‘price’ | Preceding either a vowel, a voiceless consonant, or ‹л, м, н, р, в›, or if word-final |
| <чь> | 0447 044C | /dʑ/ | expected | Дочь бы ‘a daughter would’ | Preceding a voiced consonant |
| <чь> | 0447 044C | /tɕ/ | expected | течь ‘flow’ | |
| <ч> | 0447 | /dʑ/ | expected | начди́в ‘chief’ | Preceding a voiced consonant (except for ‹л, м, н, р, в›) |
| <ч> | 0447 | /tɕ/ | expected | чай ‘tea’ | Preceding either a vowel, a voiceless consonant, or ‹л, м, н, р, в›, or if word-final |
| <ч> | 0447 | /ʂ/ | rare | что ‘what’ | Only in the pronoun ‘что’ and its derivatives |
| <ш> | 0448 | /ʐ/ | expected | кешбэ́к ‘cashback’ | Preceding a voiced consonant |
| <ш> | 0448 | /ʂ/ | expected | широ́кий ‘wide’ | Preceding either a vowel, a voiceless consonant, or ‹л, м, н, р, в›, or if word-final |
| <щ> | 0449 | /ʑ/ | rare | вещдо́к ‘material evidence’ | Marginally phonemic, only in conservative standard accent of Moscow and only in a handful of words even then |
| <щ> | 0449 | /ɕ/ | expected | щека́ ‘cheek’ | The consonant was previously geminate but is no longer. |
| <ъе> | 044A 0435 | /je/ | rare | въезд ‘entrance’, объезд ‘detour’ | When following a hard voiced labial or labiodental consonant ‹б, в› |
| <ъ> | 044A | /∅/ | uncommon | oбъект ‘object’, подъём ‘rise’ | Indicates the preceding consonant is hard (non-palatalized); also used for creating a diphthong |
| <ы> | 044B | /ɨ/ | expected | ты ‘you’, дыша́ть ‘breathe’, во́ды ‘waters’ | Some linguists consider /ɨ/ to be an allophone of /i/, rather than an independent phoneme |
| <ь> | 044C | /∅/ | expected | день ‘day’, aпельсин ‘orange’ | Indicates the preceding consonant is soft (palatalized) |
| <э> | 044D | /ɨ/ | expected | эта́п ‘stage’ | When unstressed. Some linguists consider /ɨ/ to be an allophone of /i/, rather than an independent phoneme |
| <э> | 044D | /e/ | expected | э́тика ‘ethics’, э́ти ‘these’ | When stressed |
| <ю> | 044E | /ju/ = /j/ + /u/ | expected | юг ‘south’ | When either word-initial or following a vowel |
| <ю> | 044E | /u/ | expected | лю́ди ‘people’, люби́ть ‘to love’ | |
| <я> | 044F | /ji/ = /j/ + /i/ | expected | язы́к ‘language’ | When unstressed, not part of a grammatical ending, and either word-initial or following a vowel |
| <я> | 044F | /ja/ = /j/ + /a/ | expected | я ‘i’, моя́ ‘my’, статья́ ‘article’ | When stressed and either word-initial or following a vowel |
| <я> | 044F | /i/ | expected | мясни́к ‘butcher’, ме́сяц ‘month’, пяти́ ‘five’ | When unstressed and not part of a grammatical ending, or when stressed and following consonants that cannot be palatalized (ж, ш, щ, ц). |
| <я> | 044F | /a/ | expected | мя́со ‘meat’, говоря́т ‘they say’, пя́тый ‘fifth’ | When stressed, except when following those consonants that cannot be palatalized (ж, ш, щ, ц), or when unstressed and part of a grammatical ending |
| <ё> | 0451 | /jo/ = /j/ + /o/ | expected | ёж ‘hedgehog’ | When either word-initial or following a vowel |
| <ё> | 0451 | /o/ | expected | шёпот ‘whisper’ | When stressed |
| <ё> | 0451 | /i/ | uncommon | трёхсо́т ‘three hundred’, сёгýн ‘shogun’ | When unstressed (only in some compound or derived words) |