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Basic rules of reading
(Summary)

Reading in Russian --> Rules of reading --> Summary

In order to be able to read in Russian it is necessary to be aware of the following rules:

- Palatalization of consonants: Before е, ё, и, ю, я and ь consonant letters designate palatalized (soft) sounds.

- Devoicing of consonants: Before unvoiced consonants, at the end of the word and before final ь letters б, в, г, д, ж, з, designate unvoiced consonant sounds.

- Vocalization of consonants: When found before letters б, г, д, ж, з, letters п, ф, с, т, ш and к denote voiced consonants.

- Reduction of vowels: The reading of letters е, о, э, я is different in stressed and unstressed positions. Letter о is read as [a], э is read as [i] or [i]; е and я inside the word are read as [yi] or [i].

The tables below represent Russian letters and sounds which they may denote in accordance with the above mentioned rules. You can listen to the sounds by clicking on their transcription.

Letters denoting vowel sounds:

1 previous consonant becomes soft

2 at the end of nouns, adjectives etc.

3 letter и is read as [i] after letters ж, ш, ц

Letters denoting consonant sounds:

1 in combinations сд + е, ё, и, ю, я