playshot

How To Learn The Cyrillic Alphabet

Whether you want to see Swan Lake at the historic Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, take the legendary Trans-Siberian Railway across Siberia to Vladivostok, or go to one of the largest soccer matches in the world — you’ll need to understand a bit of Russian. Whatever your motivation for traveling in Russia, it’s vital to know some of the language, because only around 5 percent of Russians speak English. So where should a savvy traveler begin? First thing’s first: you should learn the Cyrillic alphabet.

Sure, Cyrillic may look intimidating, but it’s not as unfamiliar as it looks. The Cyrillic script shares the same ancestor as our familiar Latin letters: the Greek alphabet. You’ll probably notice that many letters look the same or similar, so the only hurdle will be readjusting how your brain associates shapes with certain sounds. If you’re looking to hit the ground running, we’ve created a roadmap to help you learn the Cyrillic alphabet.

Sound impossible? We’ll break it down for you step by step.

Which countries use Cyrillic?

Cyrillic is used in several countries, primarily in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Notably, it is the official script for languages such as Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, and Ukrainian. Additionally, countries like Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan also utilize the Cyrillic alphabet for their national languages, reflecting the script’s wide-ranging influence in the region.

Is Russian alphabet same as Cyrillic?

The Russian alphabet is in-fact a variant of the Cyrillic script. While the term “Cyrillic” refers to a family of alphabets used across various Slavic and non-Slavic languages, the Russian alphabet specifically consists of 33 letters. It has evolved from the original Cyrillic script, which was developed in the 9th century by Saints Cyril and Methodius to write Slavic languages.

Is English a Cyrillic?

However, some other languages like English are not written in the Cyrillic script. Instead, English uses the Latin alphabet, which consists of 26 letters. The distinction between the two scripts is significant, as they represent different linguistic traditions. While Cyrillic is primarily associated with Slavic languages, the Latin alphabet is used by many languages around the world, including English.

What are all 33 Russian letters?

The Russian alphabet consists of 33 letters, which include both consonants and vowels. The letters are: А, Б, В, Г, Д, Е, Ё, Ж, З, И, Й, К, Л, М, Н, О, П, Р, С, Т, У, Ф, Х, Ц, Ч, Ш, Щ, Ъ, Ы, Ь, Э, Ю, Я. Each letter has its own distinct sound, contributing to the richness of the Russian language and its phonetic structure.

A chart displaying the Cyrillic alphabet, featuring 33 letters arranged in a grid format. Each letter is presented in a square with a light orange background, and the letters are in white. The top of the chart includes the title "The Cyrillic Alphabet." The letters are grouped in rows, with some letters including diacritical marks. The layout provides a clear visual representation of each letter in the Cyrillic script.

Learning The Cyrillic Alphabet Step by Step

Start by blocking out your day into four 30-minute sessions. If your plan is to take in all this information over a short period of time, we recommend spacing out your learning so your brain has time to process it.

1. Learn 5 completely familiar letters

A visual chart featuring letters from the Cyrillic alphabet alongside corresponding English words. The chart has a light peach background with rectangular boxes in varying shades of orange. Each box contains a letter in uppercase on the left and its lowercase equivalent with a phonetic example on the right. The letters displayed are: "A" with "a like Anna," "K" with "к like Katia," "M" with "м like Maria," "O" with "o like Olga," and "T" with "т like Tatiana." The design emphasizes the connection between the Cyrillic letters and their English phonetic equivalents.

2. Learn 4 letters that look familiar (but sound different)

A visual chart explaining the pronunciation of specific Cyrillic letters. The background is a soft peach color, and the letters are displayed in rectangular boxes with varying shades of orange. The letters featured are "у" (y), "ц" (c), "е" (e), and "ё" (ë). Each letter is accompanied by a description of its pronunciation: "у" is pronounced like "oo" in "tool"; "ц" is always pronounced like "c" in "ceiling"; "е" is pronounced "ye" as in "yes," and is used in the name of the Russian city Yekaterinburg; "ё" is pronounced "yo" as in "yore." The layout emphasizes the differences in pronunciation compared to English sounds.

3. Learn 4 more of these trick letters

A visual chart explaining the pronunciation of additional Cyrillic letters. The background is a soft peach color, and the letters are displayed in rectangular boxes with varying shades of orange. The featured letters are "Б" (B), "Н" (H), "Х" (X), and "Р" (P). Each letter is accompanied by a description of its pronunciation: "Б" is pronounced like a "V" as in "Vladimir"; "Н" equates to "N" as in "niet," which means "no" in Russian; "Х" resembles the sound made in the back of the throat, similar to the "ch" in "loch"; and "Р" is described as a rolled "R" sound. The layout highlights the differences in pronunciation compared to English sounds.

4. Learn 5 letters borrowed from Greek

A visual chart detailing the pronunciation of more Cyrillic letters. The background is a soft peach color, and the letters are displayed in rectangular boxes with varying shades of orange. The featured letters are "Г" (G), "Д" (D), "Л" (L), "П" (P), and "Ф" (F). Each letter is accompanied by a description of its pronunciation: "Г" sounds like the "G" in "Grigori"; "Д" resembles the Greek letter delta and represents the "D" sound as in "Dmitri"; "Л" comes from lambda, pronounced like "L" in "Lena"; "П" sounds like the "P" in "Pushkin"; and "Ф" represents the "F" sound as in "Fyodor." The layout emphasizes the connections between the Cyrillic letters and their Greek counterparts.

5. Learn 3 completely new letters

A visual chart explaining the pronunciation of three Cyrillic letters. The background is a soft peach color, and the letters are displayed in rectangular boxes with varying shades of orange. The featured letters are "И" (I), "Й" (Y), and "Ы" (Y). Each letter is accompanied by a description of its pronunciation: "И" sounds like the "I" in "Igor," and is associated with an E sound like in "see" or "piece"; "Й" sounds similar to the "Y" in "toy," and can combine with vowels to create sounds like “eй” (as in "hey") or “ой” (as in "Bolshoi"); "Ы" is described as a challenging sound for English speakers, pronounced like an "I" produced from the throat. The layout highlights the nuances in pronunciation for each letter.

6. Learn 7 more Russian letters

The next five are important, and a little trickier. To a certain extent, they make up the hardcore foundation of Russian lettering. Concentrate so you can learn them well!

A visual chart describing the pronunciation of several Cyrillic letters. The background is a soft peach color, and the letters are displayed in rectangular boxes with varying shades of orange. The featured letters are "Ж" (Zh), "Ц" (Ts), "Ч" (Ch), "Ш" (Sh), and "Щ" (Shch). Each letter is accompanied by a description of its pronunciation: "Ж" is pronounced like the "S" in "pleasure"; "Ц" sounds like the "ts" in "sits"; "Ч" represents the "ch" sound in "Chekhov"; "Ш" is the "sh" sound in "Babushka"; and "Щ" is described as a soft "shch" sound that does not exist in English. The layout emphasizes the unique sounds of these Cyrillic letters.

7. Learn the last 3 vowels and 2 “different letters”

A visual chart detailing the pronunciation of three Cyrillic letters. The background is a soft peach color, and the letters are displayed in rectangular boxes with varying shades of orange. The featured letters are "Э" (E), "Ю" (Yu), and "Я" (Ya). Each letter is accompanied by a description of its pronunciation: "Э" sounds like the "E" in "met"; "Ю" is pronounced like the "you" sound in "Yuri"; and "Я" represents a "ya" sound, as in "yard." The layout emphasizes the distinct sounds associated with each Cyrillic letter.

Now you’ve learned 31 letters. The remaining two letters are probably a bit different than any other letters you’ve run into because you don’t pronounce them:

A visual chart explaining the functions of two specific Cyrillic signs. The background is a soft peach color, and the signs are displayed in rectangular boxes with varying shades of orange. The first sign, "ь" (the soft sign), is described as not being pronounced on its own but serves to soften the pronunciation of the preceding letter. The second sign, "ъ" (the hard sign), is noted for making the sound of the letter before it slightly harsher in pronunciation. The layout emphasizes the distinct roles these signs play in modifying the sounds of letters in the Cyrillic alphabet.

Although you will see the soft sign frequently, you will rarely come across the hard sign. (Maybe Russian is more of a soft language than you originally thought!)

So there you have it, we’ve reached the end of our journey. Now all you need to do is to keep reviewing and train yourself to read more and more quickly. We bet that in the end, you’ll find that the whole effort to learn the Cyrillic alphabet was less difficult than you ever anticipated!

This article was updated with the assistance of AI.