☰ Units · Russian A1

The first letters

Unit 1 · Part A · Russian A1 (Beginners)
5

Reading the first words

Russian A1 · Unit 1
GoalRead words and short sentences with all fifteen letters you know.
New words
приве́т (privét) · hiсестра́ (sestrá) · sisterра́дио (rádio) · radioспорт (sport) · sportдо́ма (dóma) · at homeи (i) · and
Explanation

Now you know 15 letters, and you can already read real words. Reading has three steps: find the vowels, find the stressed vowel, then read the syllables from left to right. Names and the first word of a sentence start with a capital letter. A question ends with “?”. A Russian sentence often has no word for “is”: Вот дом means “Here is a house”. Keep the stress marks. They are your friends, even though Russians do not print them.

StepWhat to doExample
1Find the vowelsсестра́
2Find the stressed vowelсестра́
3Read the syllablesсе-стра́
Worked examples
Ди́ма

Приве́т, Ни́на!

Ни́на

Приве́т, Ди́ма! Кто там?

Ди́ма

Там па́па и сестра́.

Dima meets Nina. Read the talk, then press Listen on each line: “Hi, Nina!” “Hi, Dima! Who is there?” “Dad and my sister are there.”
Three short sentences. Notice that there is no word for “is”.
ра́rá·диdi·оo
A word that is the same in many languages. Say it in syllables.
Class activity

Label your home. Write five word cards in Russian letters with the stress mark, for example стол, лимо́н, зонт, ра́дио, такси́. Stick them on the real things or on toys, then read them aloud each morning for a week.

Practice
1
Press Listen. Write the word you hear.
2
Read aloud and translate.
3
Write the Russian word for this picture.
4
Write in Russian: “Hi, Dima!”
5
Read aloud and translate: Кто там? Там па́па.