Russian Speaking Practice
Targeted exercises to master Russian pronunciation and fluency
Phonetics Guide
This guide provides the key Russian sounds with their International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) symbols and English approximations to help you pronounce them correctly.
Vowels
| Letter | IPA | English Equivalent | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| А | /a/ | "a" in "father" | дам (dam, house) |
| И | /i/ | "ee" in "see" | мир (mir, peace) |
| Ы | /ɨ/ | No English equivalent; like "i" in "bit" but with tongue back | ты (ty, you) |
| У | /u/ | "oo" in "food" | душа (dusha, soul) |
| О | /o/ | "o" in "more" (stressed) | дом (dom, house) |
| Е | /je/ | "ye" in "yes" (word-initial) | есть (yest', to be) |
| Ё | /jo/ | "yo" in "yogurt" (always stressed) | ёлка (yolka, Christmas tree) |
| Ю | /ju/ | "you" in "youth" | юг (yug, south) |
| Я | /ja/ | "ya" in "yard" | яблоко (yabloko, apple) |
Consonants
| Letter | IPA | English Equivalent | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Р | /r/ | Trilled "r" like Spanish "rr" | рыба (ryba, fish) |
| Ж | /ʐ/ | "s" in "measure" | жить (zhit', to live) |
| Ш | /ʂ/ | "sh" in "she" (harder) | школа (shkola, school) |
| Ч | /tɕ/ | "ch" in "church" | чай (chay, tea) |
| Ь | - | Softens preceding consonant | день (den', day) |
| Ъ | - | Separates consonant and vowel | объявление (ob"yavlenie, announcement) |
Pronunciation Tip: Practice these sounds in isolation first, then in words. Use a mirror to check your mouth position, especially for Ы and trilled Р.
Minimal Pairs
Minimal pairs are words that differ by only one sound, helping you distinguish tricky Russian sounds. Practice these to sharpen your pronunciation.
бит
/bit/
beaten
Soft "и" sound
быт
/bɨt/
everyday life
Hard "ы" sound
мат
/mat/
checkmate
Hard "т" sound
мать
/matʲ/
mother
Soft "т" sound
нос
/nos/
nose
Unvoiced "с"
ноз
/noz/
knife
Voiced "з" (devoiced to "с" at end)
лук
/luk/
onion
Hard consonant
люк
/lʲuk/
hatch
Soft consonant with "ю"
Practice Tip: Repeat each pair 5 times, focusing on the differing sound. Record yourself to check accuracy.
Tongue Twisters
Tongue twisters are great for practicing difficult sounds and improving fluency. Start slow, then speed up as you get comfortable.
Beginner: Hard/Soft Consonants
Карл у Клары укорал кораллы, а Клара у Карла укорла кларнет.
Karl u Klary koral korally, a Klara u Karla korla klarnet.
(Karl stole corals from Klara, and Klara stole a clarinet from Karl.)
Beginner: Sibilants and Soft Consonants
Шла Саша по шоссе и сосала сушку.
Shla Sasha po shosse i sosala sushku.
(Sasha walked along the highway and sucked on a bagel.)
Beginner: Soft Consonants and Clusters
Тише мыши, кот на крыше, а котята ещё выше.
Tishe myshi, kot na kryshe, a kotyata eshchyo vyshe.
(Hush, mice, the cat is on the roof, and the kittens are even higher.)
Intermediate: Consonant Clusters
На дворе трава, на траве дрова. Не руби дрова на траве двора!
Na dvore trava, na trave drova. Ne rubi drova na trave dvora!
(There is grass in the yard, there is firewood on the grass. Don’t chop firewood on the yard’s grass!)
Intermediate: Trilled Р
Ехал Грека через реку, видит Грека—в реке рак. Сунул Грека руку в реку. Рак за руку Греку цап!
Ekhal Greka cherez reku, vidit Greka—v reke rak. Sunul Greka ruku v reku. Rak za ruku Greku tsap!
(Greka rode across the river, saw a crayfish in the river. Greka stuck his hand in the river. The crayfish snapped at Greka’s hand!)
Intermediate: Soft Consonants and Ы
Кукушка кукушонку сшила капюшон. Примерил кукушонок капюшон. Как в капюшоне он смешон!
Kukushka kukushonku sshila kapyushon. Primeril kukushonok kapyushon. Kak v kapyushone on smeshon!
(The cuckoo sewed a hood for her chick. The chick tried on the hood. How funny he looks in the hood!)
Intermediate: Consonant Clusters and Л
Во лесу лозу вяжу. На возу лозу везу. Коза, лозу не лижи—Накажу!
Vo lesu lozu vyazhu. Na vozu lozu vezu. Koza, lozu ne lizhi—Nakazhu!
(In the forest, I weave a vine. On the cart, I carry the vine. Goat, don’t lick the vine—I’ll punish you!)
Advanced: Sibilants and Ч
Четыре чёрненьких чумазеньких чертёнка чертили чёрными чернилами чертёж.
Chetyre chornen'kikh chumazen'kikh chertyonka chertili chornymi chernilami chertyozh.
(Four little black sooty imps were drawing a blueprint with black ink.)
Advanced: Sibilants and Щ
Advanced: Sibilants and Щ
Два щенка щека к щеке щиплют щётку в уголке.
Dva shchenka shcheka k shcheke shchiplyut shchyotku v ugolke.
(Two puppies, cheek to cheek, are nibbling a brush in the corner.)
Advanced: Ж and Vowel Reduction
Жужжит жужелица, жужжит, да не кружится.
Zhuzzhit zhuzhelitsa, zhuzzhit, da ne kruzhitsya.
(The beetle buzzes, buzzes, but doesn’t spin.)
Advanced: Л and Vowel Reduction
Корабли лавировали, лавировали, да не вылавировали.
Korabli lavirovali, lavirovali, da Alves: da ne vyvirovali.
(The ships maneuvered, maneuvered, but didn’t outmaneuver.)
Advanced: Repetition and Stress
Сшит колпак, да не по-колпаковски, вылит колокол, да не по-колоколовски. Надо колпак переколпаковать, перевыколпаковать. Надо колокол переколоколовать, перевыколоколовать.
Sshit kolpak, da ne po-kolpakovski, vylit kolokol, da ne po-kolokolovski. Nado kolpak pere kolpakovat', perevykolpakovat'. Nado kolokol pere kolokolovat', perevykolokolovat'.
(The cap is sewn, but not in a cap-like way, the bell is cast, but not in a bell-like way. The cap must be re-sewn, re-re-sewn. The bell must be re-cast, re-re-cast.)
Advanced: Х and Laughter Sounds
Хохлатые хохотушки хохотом хохотали: ха-ха-ха-ха!
Khokhlatye khokhotushki khokhotom khokhotali: kha-kha-kha-kha!
(Crested laughers laughed with laughter: ha-ha-ha-ha!)
Advanced: П and Stress
Проворонила ворона воронёнка.
Provoronila vorona voronyonka.
(The crow missed her little crow.)
Advanced: П and Clusters
У перепела и перепёлки пять перепелят.
U perepela i perepyolki pyat' perepelyat.
(The quail and the female quail have five quail chicks.)
Advanced: К and Stress
У Кондрата куртка коротковата.
U Kondrata kurtka korotkovata.
(Kondrat’s jacket is a bit short.)
Advanced: Е and Soft Consonants
Мы ели, ели ершей у ели. Их еле-еле у ели доели.
My yeli, yeli yershey u yeli. Ikh yele-yele u yeli doyeli.
(We ate, ate ruff fish by the fir tree. We barely finished them by the fir tree.)
Advanced: П and Т
От топота копыт пыль по полю летит.
Ot topota kopyt pyl' po polyu letit.
(From the clatter of hooves, dust flies across the field.)
Advanced: П and Clusters
Наш Полкан попал в капкан.
Nash Polkan popal v kapkan.
(Our Polkan fell into a trap.)
Practice Tip: Say each twister 3 times slowly, then 3 times at normal speed. Focus on clarity over speed at first.
Rapid Speaking Exercises
These exercises target specific pronunciation challenges with short, repetitive drills to build muscle memory and fluency. Practice each for 1-2 minutes daily.
Exercise 1: Ы Sound Drill
ты - мы - рыба - быт - вы
ty - my - ryba - byt - vy
(you - we - fish - everyday life - you (plural))
Exercise 2: Hard/Soft Consonants
мат - мать - ден - день - сол - соль
mat - mat' - den - den' - sol - sol'
(checkmate - mother - day - day (soft) - salt - salt (soft))
Exercise 3: Vowel Reduction
дом - вода - город - молоко
dom - vada - gorod - moloko
(house - water - city - milk)
Exercise 4: Consonant Clusters
встреча - взгляд - здравствуйте - спрашивать
vstrecha - vzglyad - zdravstvuyte - sprashivat'
(meeting - glance - hello - to ask)
Exercise 5: Intonation (Yes/No Questions)
Ты идёшь домой? ↗️↘️
Ty idyosh domoy?
(Are you going home?)
Practice Tip: Use a metronome (set to 60-80 BPM) to keep a steady pace during these drills. Gradually increase speed as you improve.
Common Pronunciation Mistakes
English speakers often make these mistakes when speaking Russian. Practice these to avoid them:
- Ы vs. И: English speakers pronounce Ы like И. Practice keeping your tongue back for Ы (e.g., ты vs. ти).
- Vowel Reduction: Failing to reduce unstressed vowels (e.g., pronouncing вода as "vo-da" instead of "va-da").
- Consonant Clusters: Adding schwa sounds between consonants (e.g., saying "vuh-strecha" instead of "vstrecha").
- Stress Placement: Incorrect stress changes meaning (e.g., замок (castle) vs. замок (lock)).
- Trilled Р: Using the English "r" instead of a rolled Russian Р. Practice trilling with your tongue tip.
- Soft Consonants: Ignoring palatalization (e.g., pronouncing день like "den" instead of "den'").
Learning Tip: Record yourself and compare with native speaker audio. Focus on one mistake at a time to improve steadily.