☰ Units · Russian A1

The first letters

Unit 1 · Part A · Russian A1 (Beginners)
2

А О К Т М

Russian A1 · Unit 1
GoalRead and write the letters А, О, К, Т, М and read your first Russian words.
New words
ма́ма (máma) · mumкот (kot) · catтам (tam) · thereкто (kto) · whoтома́т (tomát) · tomato
Explanation

Russian spelling is very regular: you say what you see. Five letters look like English letters and sound nearly the same. А is like the a in “father”, but short. О is like the o in “more”, said clearly with no glide, when it is stressed. К is a k without the puff of air, as in “sky”. Т is a t with the tongue tip on the teeth, also without a puff. М is the m of “mum”. Read from left to right, say every letter, and give the loud voice to the marked vowel.

Аа
тамthere
alike a in “father”, but short
Оо
котcat
olike o in “more”, without the glide
Кк
ктоwho
kak as in “sky”, no puff of air
Тт
тома́тtomato
tet with the tongue tip on the teeth
Мм
ма́маmum
emm as in “mum”
Worked examples
ма́má+маma
Read a word step by step: syllable by syllable, left to right. The marked syllable is the loud one.
Three small words with the new letters. Press each card and say it after the voice.
Longer words have more syllables, but the rule is the same: one loud vowel. In тома́т the loud one is the last.
Class activity

Write and say. On paper, write each letter three times, first the capital and then the small form: А а, О о, К к, Т т, М м. Say the letter aloud as you write. Then copy the five words of this lesson and put the stress mark on each one.

Practice
1
Press Listen. Write the word you hear, using the letters of this lesson.
2
Which letter says k, К or Т?
Кк
Тт
3
Write the Russian word for this picture. It has five letters.
4
Write the Russian word for this animal.
5
Which word means “there”, там or кто?