How Many Letters are There in the Russian Alphabet?

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Written by Ari Helderman | Last updated: January 29, 2025 |  min read
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I learned the Russian alphabet in the beginning of 2015. Even though the letters looked a bit weird, it was okay to learn them. One of my first questions before learning was: “how many letters are there in the Russian alphabet?”

How many letters are there in the Russian alphabet?

The Russian alphabet (or as the Russians prefer to call it: the Cyrillic alphabet) has 33 letters.

Now, that’s the number of characters there are.

If you look closely, there are actually 2 characters that DO NOT have a sound.

So the Russian alphabet has 33 letters, among which 2 are without sound.

How to pronounce the Russian alphabet?

Here’s an overview of how to pronounce the Russian alphabet:

CyrillicEnglish pronunciationTransliterationExample
А аfather aмама, карта
Б бbetbбанк
В вvanvвокзал, вот
Г гgogгараж, готов
Д дdaddдом, код
Е еyesye, je, eесть, где
Ё ёbeyondyo, jo, ëёлка, всё
Ж жpleasurezh, žможно, муж
З зzerozздесь, занят
И иpoliceiи, или
Й йyety, i, jбольшой
К кkingkкак, король
Л лlamplлампа, далеко
М мmilkmМосква, там
Н нnicenнет, но
О оport (stressed)
again (unstressed)		oон, она
П пpleasepпрезидент
Р рrolled ‘r’rРоссия, работа
С сsitsспасибо
Т тteamtэто, так
У уbootuпо-русски, у
Ф фfunfкофе
Х хScottish ‘loch’kh, hхлеб, хорошо
Ц цbitstsцирк
Ч чchairch, čчек
Ш шshipshваш, наш
Щ щpushchairshch, sch, ščборщ, ещё
Ъ ъhard signʺсъел
Ы ыresembles i in bityвы, ты
Ь ьsoft sign‘думать, большой
Э эgete, èэто
Ю юyouyu, juзнаю, говорю
Я яyardya, jaмоя, время

What should you do next?

Most learners don't struggle because Russian is "too hard."

They struggle because they don't train speaking directly.

  • You can study vocabulary
  • you can memorize Grammar
  • You can listen for hours

But if you don't practice building sentences in real time, you'll still struggle when someone speaks to you.

One of my students once told me:

“I have been studying Russian for a year. In my head I can prepare basic sentences, yet when it comes to actually speaking I ‘chock’.”

That's not a knowledge problem.

That’s a training problem.

Your weakest skill determins your conversational level.

4 learn russian skills

And for most learners, that weakest skill is speaking.

That's why I built Russian Conversations Unlocked - a structured 30-lesson audio course designed to train real-time speaking ability step by step.

If you want to have real conversations in Russian, start here:

Check out Conversations Unlocked.

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About the author

Ari Helderman

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Hey I'm Ari, a Dutch guy who struggled with languages in school. I failed formal English classes and dropped French and German at the earliest opportunity. Languages just weren’t for me.

But everything changed when I started dating a Russian girl who invited me to meet her non-English speaking parents in Moscow. I had just 3 months to learn Russian.

But traditional methods failed me. Apps, textbooks, courses - nothing worked. Then I realized I'd become fluent in English through movies, games, and real conversations, not studying.

I applied this insight to Russian, focusing on practical communication instead of grammar. The results were immediate. In Moscow, I had meaningful conversations with her family, and soon found myself speaking Russian without thinking about it.

As I shared my journey online, others asked for help. And I created my course Russian Conversations Unlocked. Now over 500 students have transformed their Russian using this same natural immersion approach.

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