Learn Russian
Russian, and you never have to type a Cyrillic letter.
A 1,000-word frequency course. Almost nobody has a Russian keyboard installed, so every exercise here accepts Latin transliteration as well as Cyrillic. We test your Russian, not your keyboard layout.
Designed by linguists and built with data.
Read the whole course freeOne Plus subscription covers all 11 languages, not just Russian, and the full Learn IPA course See what Plus adds
Try Russian now - no sign-up
Quick taster
3-word session
A quick mix of exercises - recognise, recall, type and build each word. Miss one and it comes back round until it sticks.
Graded reader
Вре́мени нет
Only words the course has taught
, . , .
He says there is no time. But today he is here, and he is doing nothing.
Tap any word for its word page
Read Russian from the first week.
45 graded readers, each written only from words the course has already taught, in Cyrillic. Tap any word and its Latin spelling sits under it while the alphabet is still settling.
Browse Russian storiesGrammar that treats you like an adult.
Six cases sounds worse than it is. The endings overlap heavily and a few patterns cover most of what you meet. Aspect is the part that actually takes years.
Explore Russian grammarThe six cases
пра́вда
truth - Feminine noun
- nominative
- пра́вда
- accusative
- пра́вду
- genitive
- пра́вды
- dative
- пра́вде
- instrumental
- пра́вдой
- prepositional
- пра́вде
The ending carries the noun's job, which is why Russian needs no articles and tolerates free word order. The stress stays on пра́в throughout, so the mark never moves - plenty of nouns are not so obliging.
Built for Russian, specifically
Not one course photocopied eleven times. Each language gets the tools its own difficulties actually call for.
The Learn IPA course comes with it
One Plus subscription gets you the Russian course and the full Learn IPA course: ten lessons, every drill, and the same words heard in two English accents, General American and British RP. The Russian IPA chart then maps Cyrillic to sounds, hard and soft consonants and vowel reduction included, so a dictionary transcription tells you how a word is really said.
Russian by the numbers
Counted from the course, not rounded up for the brochure.
- words in the course
- 1000
- grammar guides
- 52
- graded readers
- 45
words in the course
grammar guides
graded readers
Certification
Prove your Russian
A timed exam on the words that matter most: recognition, listening, recall and a reading passage. Pass with 80% and the certificate is yours, with its own verification link for LinkedIn or a CV.
Every way to learn Russian
The course is the spine, but every part of it stands on its own.
Courses
- Online AppThe course as a game: a trail, streaks and XP
- Online Coursebook1,000 words in order: words, grammar, stories
- Just DrillPick a word list, or build your own, and drill it
- IntroductionHow the course works, and where to begin
- GCSE journey mapThe GCSE course as a trail
- GCSE coursebookThe GCSE specification, in its own order
- What is a GCSE?The exam, its tiers, and how it compares to CEFR
Read
Words and sounds
Play
Teach and print
Read real Russian stories from chapter 1
Graded stories, a grammar article and drill for every point, a whole games arcade, printable worksheets and lessons by email. One account, every language.
Chapters 1 and 2 free, forever. Plus: 7 days free, then $5 a month for all eleven languages.
Start Russian at word one.
Every word and grammar lesson is free to read, and stays that way. Plus adds every graded reader past chapter 2, the story drills, grammar practice, games, printables and lessons by email: free for a week, then $5 a month - one subscription for every course on the site, not just Russian, and the full Learn IPA course with it.