4
Voiced and voiceless consonants
Russian A1 · Unit 3
GoalHear voiced and voiceless pairs and know why хлеб is said “khlep”.
New words
хлеб (khleb) · breadдруг (drug) · friendгод (god) · yearсад (sad) · gardenглаз (glaz) · eye
Explanation
Many consonants come in voiced and voiceless pairs. When you say a voiced consonant, your throat vibrates: touch your throat and say “zzz”, then “sss”. The pairs are б–п, в–ф, г–к, д–т, ж–ш, з–с. At the end of a word a voiced consonant is said as its voiceless partner. So хлеб is said “khlep”, друг is said “druk” and год is said “got”. The spelling does not change: you write the voiced letter but you say the voiceless sound. The same happens before another voiceless consonant.
| Voiced | Voiceless |
|---|---|
| б | п |
| в | ф |
| г | к |
| д | т |
| ж | ш |
| з | с |
Worked examples
| Written | Said | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| хлеб | khlep | bread |
| друг | druk | friend |
| год | got | year |
| сад | sat | garden |
| глаз | glas | eye |
Press Listen and compare with what you read.
Two more words. The last letter is voiced, but the sound is voiceless.
Class activity
Throat check. Put two fingers on your throat. Say б then п, д then т, з then с. Feel the buzz in the first of each pair. Then say the five words of this lesson and listen: is the last sound voiced or voiceless?
Practice
1
Press Listen. The word is written with ж at the end. Which sound do you hear, ж or ш?
ш: нож (nozh) is said “nosh”, “knife”.
2
What happens to д at the end of a word?
It is said as т: год is said “got”.
3
Which letter is the voiceless partner of б?
п
4
How is the word друг, “friend”, said?
“druk”: the г at the end is said as к.
5
Write the Russian word for this picture. How is it said?
хлеб (khleb) is said “khlep”.