Russian · Lesson 01

Alphabet Foundations

Six letters. Three words. One disciplined beginning.

Objective

By the end, you will recognize, pronounce, and write six Cyrillic letters without guessing.

The first set

Begin with what can become familiar

Russian uses 33 Cyrillic letters. Today you need only six. Say each sound aloud before moving to the next row.

АА (ah) — the sound in fatherLooks and sounds familiar. The sound button plays only the isolated sound, never an example word.

ММ (m) — the sound in motherLooks and sounds familiar. The sound button plays only the isolated sound, never an example word.

КК (k) — the sound in kiteLooks and sounds familiar. The sound button plays only the isolated sound, never an example word.

ОО (oh) — the sound in moreClear when stressed. The sound button plays only the isolated sound, never an example word.

ТТ (t) — the sound in stopA cleaner, lighter t. The sound button plays only the isolated sound, never an example word.

СС (s) — the sound in sunLooks like C, but sounds like S. The sound button plays only the isolated sound, never an example word.

Listening room

Hear the lesson twice

First isolate each sound. Then hear the same material with natural Russian timing.

Put them together

Your first readable words

Stress is shown with capital letters in the pronunciation guide. Read the Russian first; consult the guide only after attempting it.

МАМАМАМА (MAH-mah) — mama / mom

ТАМТАМ (tahm) — there

КОТКОТ (koht) — male cat

КОТkoht

male cat

Retrieval practice

Close the loop

Write each letter three times: А, М, К, О, Т, С.
Without looking above, write the letter that sounds like s.
Read МАМА, ТАМ, and КОТ aloud before checking the pronunciation.

Professor’s noteRecognition feels easy. Retrieval creates memory.

Return to the Study

Lesson summary and completion

What to retain

The lookalike Cyrillic letter shaped like Latin C represents an s sound. Retrieve the sound, rather than borrowing the English letter name; compare with the letter and item-level audio above.

Save your reading and continue when ready. All retrieval and physical practice in this extended lesson is optional; reading completion does not record a passing test or professional competence.

Ready to continue? The reading action is always available here. This is a reading position, not proof of understanding. Nothing advances automatically.