Letters ц,й,ы,и

Russian For Everyone Learn Russian Language Online

Self study guide for elementary level learners of Russian
and for intermediate level students who wish to review basic grammar and vocabulary

Introductory Lesson 4

Letters ц,й,ы,и

Introduction. Russian letters and sound system
Russian alphabet Sounds, handwriting, keyboard
Introductory Lesson 1 Reading syllables. Translating This is..., Here is...
Introductory Lesson 2 Reading syllables. Conjunctions и and а
Introductory Lesson 3 Learn Russian hushing and velar sounds. Stress and vowel reduction (а, о)
Quiz 1 Check what you have learned from Lessons 1-3 with this 10 minute quiz.
Introductory Lesson 4 Letters ц,й,ы,и
Introductory Lesson 5 Learn Russian 7-letter spelling rule
Introductory Lesson 6 Learn Russian Hard and Soft сonsonants. Vowel reduction (я, е)
Quiz 2 Check what you have learned from Lessons 4-6 with this 15 minute quiz.
Introductory Lesson 7 Letters ь and ъ. Pronunciation of я, ё, ю, е. Letters к, г, х
Introductory Lesson 8 Unpaired hard and soft consonants. The soft consonant й
Quiz 3 Check what you have learned from Lessons 7-8 with this 15 minute quiz.
Introductory Lesson 9 Voiced and Voiceless Consonants. Devoicing of Final Consonants. Consonant Clusters
Introductory Lesson 10 Pronunciation of г, ч, тся and ться
Phrasebook Topic 1 Learn how to greet people and say goodbye in Russian
Phrasebook Topic 2 Introducing Yourself in Russian
Quiz 4 Check what you have learned from Lessons 7-8 with this 10 minute quiz.

Фонетика Lesson 4 - Урок 4

4.1.

Letters Цц and Йй

Practice reading combinations of consonants Цц Йй and vowels.

Click each combination to listen, then click again and say it with me.

ца	цо	цу	це
ай	ой

The letter й is very rarely spelled as the first letter in the word, but й is often spelled in the ending or in the middle of a word. The letters ц and й are discussed in more detail in Урок 8.

Practice reading words with consonants ц and й. Click each word to listen, then repeat.

цапля		heron
яйцо		egg
цент		cent
чай		tea
мой		my
копейка		copeck

4.2.

Letters ы and И и

Pay attention to the pronunciation of the vowels ы and и. Note that ы sounds like [ i ] in ill, whereas И и sounds like [ee] in meet. The letter ы never occurs as the first letter in the word, therefore it is never capitalized.

Click the syllable to listen, then click again and say it with me. Do the whole upper line (with ы) first then go to the lower one (with и).

мы	ты	вы	сы	ры	бы	лы
ми	ти	ви	си	ри	би	ли

Practice reading the pairs of syllables. Listen and repeat. Make sure that two syllables in each pair sound differently.

мы <->	ми
ты <->	ти
вы <->	ви
сы <->	си
ры <->	ри

Practice reading words with vowels ы and и. Click each word to listen, try to hear the difference between ы and и sounds, then repeat the pair of words.

мыло	Мила	soap	Mila
тыква	титры	pumpkin	subtitles
вышел	Виктор	went out	Victor
сыр	такси	cheese	taxi
рыба	рис	fish	rice
был	бил	he was	he beat
лыжник	лист	skier	leaf, sheet

Practice reading some Russian sentences aloud. Click each sentence to listen, then repeat, imitating the pronunciation you hear.

1. Это копейка, а это цент.

2. Тут чайник, а тут рыба.

Reading Чтение

Practice reading some Russian words aloud. Do not forget about vowel reduction rules.

Виктор, Мила, мыло, рыба, рис, такси, был, бил, цапля, яйцо, чай, копейка.

Practice reading some Russian sentences aloud.

Это мой брат Виктор. Виктор лыжник. Вот яйцо и йогурт, а вот чай.

Exercises Упражнения

Practice identifying syllables with vowels ы and и.

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