☰ Units · Russian A1

The rest of the alphabet

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

Ы Я Ю Ё Э

Russian A1 · Unit 2
GoalRead and write the letters Ы, Я, Ю, Ё, Э and meet the five pairs of vowel letters.
New words
я (ya) · Iты (ty) · you (to a friend)мы (my) · weэ́то (éto) · this isры́ба (rýba) · fishсыр (syr) · cheeseя́блоко (yábloko) · appleмёд (myod) · honey
Explanation

Russian has ten vowel letters, in five pairs: А–Я, О–Ё, У–Ю, Ы–И and Э–Е. This lesson teaches the five you have not met. Э says e, as in “bed”. Ы has no English sound: say ee, but pull your tongue back. Я says ya, as in “yard”, and Ю says yu, as in “you”. Ё says yo, as in “York”; it is always stressed, so it never carries a stress mark. At the start of a word or after a vowel, Я, Ю, Ё and Е add a y sound; after a consonant they make the consonant softer.

Ыы
сырcheese
yno English sound: say “ee” with the tongue pulled back
Яя
я́блокоapple
yaya as in “yard”
Юю
ю́бкаskirt
yuyu as in “you”
Ёё
мёдhoney
yoyo as in “York”; always stressed
Ээ
э́тоthis is
ee as in “bed”
Worked examples
HardSoft
ая
оё
ую
ыи
эе
The five pairs of vowel letters. The left one is the hard partner, the right one is the soft partner.
Three small words about people. Use ты for one friend or a child.
Food words: fish, cheese and apple.
Class activity

Vowel pairs. Write the five pairs А Я, О Ё, У Ю, Ы И, Э Е on a card. Say the sound of each letter, then read the words of this lesson. Try to say ы without smiling: keep the lips relaxed, neither spread nor rounded, and pull the tongue back.

Practice
1
Press Listen. Which letter do you hear in the first syllable, я or а?
2
Which of these two letters is always stressed and needs no stress mark?
Ёё
Ее
3
Say “I”, “you (to a friend)” and “we” in Russian.
4
Write the Russian word for this picture. It has two syllables and starts with р.
5
Read aloud and say what they are: сыр, мёд.