Catalog / Russian Language Basics Cheat Sheet
Russian Language Basics Cheat Sheet
A concise reference for essential Russian grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation rules to get you started with the language.
Alphabet and Pronunciation
The Russian Alphabet (Cyrillic)
|
The Russian alphabet is based on Cyrillic and has 33 letters: 11 vowels, 20 consonants, and 2 signs (ь, ъ) that modify pronunciation. |
|
Vowels: а, э, ы, у, о, я, е, ё, ю, и |
|
Consonants: б, в, г, д, ж, з, й, к, л, м, н, п, р, с, т, ф, х, ц, ч, ш, щ |
|
Hard and Soft Signs: ъ (hard sign, separates consonants and vowels), ь (soft sign, softens the preceding consonant) |
|
Note: Some letters change pronunciation depending on their position in a word. |
Pronunciation Rules
|
|
When unstressed, usually pronounced as a short ‘a’ sound (like the ‘a’ in ‘about’). |
|
|
Pronounced as ‘v’ in the genitive ending |
|
|
Always hard sounds, even before ‘и’. |
|
|
Always soft sounds. |
|
|
Softens the preceding consonant. For example, ‘письмо’ (letter) has a soft ‘с’. |
Basic Grammar
Nouns and Cases
|
Russian nouns have six cases: Nominative, Genitive, Dative, Accusative, Instrumental, and Prepositional. Each case indicates a different grammatical function. |
|
Nominative: Subject of the sentence (кто? что? - who? what?) |
|
Genitive: Possession, absence (кого? чего? - whose? of what?) |
|
Dative: Indirect object (кому? чему? - to whom? to what?) |
|
Accusative: Direct object (кого? что? - whom? what?) |
|
Instrumental: Instrument, means (кем? чем? - by whom? by what?) |
|
Prepositional: About someone/something (о ком? о чём? - about whom? about what?) |
Pronouns
|
|
I |
|
|
You (informal) |
|
|
He/She/It |
|
|
We |
|
|
You (formal/plural) |
|
|
They |
Basic Vocabulary
Greetings and Introductions
|
|
Hello! (Formal) |
|
|
Hi! (Informal) |
|
|
How are you? |
|
|
I’m fine, thank you. |
|
|
My name is… |
|
|
Nice to meet you. |
Common Phrases
|
|
Yes |
|
|
No |
|
|
Thank you |
|
|
Please / You’re welcome |
|
|
Excuse me / Sorry |
|
|
I don’t understand |
Verbs and Conjugation
Basic Verbs
|
|
Important for forming sentences. Often omitted in the present tense. |
|
|
Used to express possession. |
|
|
Common verb for various actions. |
|
|
Used for talking or speaking a language. |
|
|
Used for knowing a fact. |
Verb Conjugation Basics
|
Russian verbs are conjugated based on person (я, ты, он/она/оно, мы, вы, они) and tense (past, present, future). |
|
There are two main conjugation types, traditionally called First Conjugation and Second Conjugation, with different endings. |
|
Example (Present Tense): Я чита́ю (I read), Ты чита́ешь (You read), Он/Она чита́ет (He/She reads), Мы чита́ем (We read), Вы чита́ете (You read), Они чита́ют (They read) |