☰ Units · Russian A1

The rest of the alphabet

Unit 2 · Part A · Russian A1 (Beginners)
3

Й Ж Ш Ч Щ

Russian A1 · Unit 2
GoalRead and write the letters Й, Ж, Ш, Ч, Щ and read words with hushing sounds.
New words
чай (chay) · teaшар (shar) · balloon; ball (round shape)душ (dush) · showerёж (yozh) · hedgehogмой (moy) · my (for a masculine word)шко́ла (shkóla) · schoolчас (chas) · hourборщ (borshch) · borscht, beetroot soup
Explanation

Й is a short и. It never makes a syllable alone: it comes after a vowel and sounds like the y in “boy”, as in чай and мой. Ж says zh, like the s in “measure”. Ш says sh, like “ship”, but with the tongue pulled back. Ч says ch, as in “church”. Щ is a long, soft sh, with the middle of the tongue raised; English has no such sound. In modern Russian there is no ch in it, although it is written shch in our transcription. Ж and Ш are always hard, and Ч and Щ are always soft.

Йй
мойmy
short iy as in “boy”, after a vowel
Жж
ёжhedgehog
zhezh, like the s in “measure”
Шш
шарball
shash, like “ship”, tongue pulled back
Чч
часhour
chech as in “church”
Щщ
борщborscht
shchaa long, soft sh (no English sound)
Worked examples
LetterSoundLike
Йyboy
Жzhmeasure
Шshship
Чchchurch
Щlong soft sh(no English sound)
The hushing sounds and what they are like in English.
Words with Й: tea, my, hedgehog. Press Listen.
School, soup and shower.
Class activity

Hushing sounds. Say zh, sh, ch and shch ten times each, slowly, then fast. Read the eight words of this lesson aloud. Then write five words with Ш, Ч or Ж on cards and read them aloud.

Practice
1
Press Listen. Which sound is in the middle, ш or ч?
2
Which letter says ch as in “church”, Ч or Щ?
Чч
Щщ
3
Write the Russian word for this drink. It has three letters.
4
Read aloud and say what it is: шко́ла.
5
Which two letters are always hard, and which two are always soft?