Letters ь and ъ. Pronunciation of я, ё, ю, е. Letters к, г, х

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 7

Letters ь and ъ. Pronunciation of я, ё, ю, е. Letters к, г, х

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 7 - Урок 7

7.1.

Letters ь and ъ

ь, ъ are only letters. They don't have sounds of their own and cannot be pronounced in isolation.

The letter ь indicates the softness of the preceding consonant. Compare:

угол -	уголь	(corner - coal)
брат -	брать	(brother - to take)

The letter ъ indicates the hardness of the preceding consonant. It is written after prefixes only. Compare:

объект

(object)

7.2.

Pronunciation of Letters Я я, Ё ё, Ю ю, Е е

The letters я, ё, ю, е represent sounds [а, о, у, э] after a soft consonant:

дядя	(uncle)
тётя	(aunt)
костюм	(suit)
тень	(shadow)

The letters я ё ю е are pronounced as two sounds [йа, йо, йу, йе] :

after ь and ъ:

судья

[суд'йа] (judge)

объект

[абйект] (object)

объём

[абйом] (volume)

after a vowel:

июль

[ийул'] (July)

Россия

[рас'ий] (Russia)

at the beginning of a word:

я	[йа] (I)
ёлка	[йолк] ( fir-tree, Christmas tree)
Юра	Юра [йур] (men's first name)

Note that ё is always stressed.

7.3.

Letters к, г, х

For the consonant letters к, г, х Russian has hard and soft sounds: [к]-[к'], [г]-[г'], [х]-[х']. But as distinct from other pairs of hard and soft consonants,

к, г, х can never be followed by ы;
к, г, х are not usually followed by vowels я, ё, ю, and э. Though such combinations can be seen in foreign names like Гётте, Кёльн, Гюнтер, Кэтлин.

So, common combinations of к, г, х with vowels are the following:

ка, ко, ку, ке, ки;

га, го, гу, ге, ги;

ха, хо, ху, хе, хи.

Complete the exercises below for listening and reading practice.

Exercises Упражнения

Practice reading words with ь and ъ.
Practice reading words with vowels я, ё, ю, е.
Listening and reading practice (hard [к] and soft [к']).
Listening and reading practice (hard [г] and soft [г']).
Listening and reading practice (hard [х] and soft [х']).

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