Russian · Chapter 1 · Lesson 2 · Grammar primer

Cyrillic in an afternoon

Thirty-three letters sorted into the ones you know, the false friends that catch everyone, and the two that make no sound at all. You never have to type them here.

The short version

Learn the six false friends first

The letters that look like a Latin B, H, P, C, X and Y are pronounced v, n, r, s, kh and oo. Six characters, and they account for most beginner misreadings. Learn those deliberately and the rest of Cyrillic gives you very little trouble at all.

Da, net, spasibo.

Yes, no, thank you.

That's the gist. The full article goes deeper - more examples, the edge cases, the why. Read it through once, then come back and continue with the next lesson.

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Lesson 2 of 24 in this chapter

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