☰ Units · Russian A1

Stress and sounds

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

Hard and soft consonants

Russian A1 · Unit 3
GoalKnow that most consonants are hard or soft, and that the vowel letter after them decides.
New words
мя́со (myáso) · meatдя́дя (dyádya) · uncleтётя (tyótya) · auntпять (pyatʹ) · fiveлю́ди (lyúdi) · peopleле́то (léto) · summerде́ти (déti) · children
Explanation

Most Russian consonants come in two kinds, hard and soft. A soft consonant is said with the middle of the tongue raised towards the palate, like the n in “canyon”. The vowel letter after the consonant shows which kind it is. The letters а, о, у, ы, э keep it hard. The letters я, ё, ю, и, е make it soft. So та is “ta” but тя is “tya”, and ту is “tu” but тю is “tyu”. The soft sign ь also makes a consonant soft, as in пять. Ж, Ш and Ц are always hard, and Ч, Щ and Й are always soft.

HardSoft
татя
тотё
тутю
тыти
тэте
Worked examples
Hard and soft side by side. Press each card.
Family and food words with soft consonants.
More soft consonants, with я, ю, е, и and ь.
Class activity

Tongue test. Say ta, then tya; tu, then tyu; to, then tyo. Feel your tongue move forward and up for the soft ones. Say the same pairs with n and l. Then read the seven words of this lesson aloud.

Practice
1
Press Listen. Is the first consonant hard or soft?
2
Which syllable is soft, ту or тю?
3
Which vowel letter makes the consonant before it soft, а or я?
4
Read aloud and say what the words mean: дя́дя, тётя.
5
Write the number “five” in Russian.