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Ultimate Russian Pronunciation Guide S1 #5 Russian Consonants Two
Ultimate Russian Pronunciation Guide S1 #5 Russian Consonants Two
Ultimate Russian Pronunciation Guide S1 #5 Russian Consonants Two
# 5
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Hi everyone.
l lʲ , m mʲ , n nʲ , p pʲ , r rʲ , s sʲ , ʂ, ɕː
Nearly half of these consonant sounds are identical to the ones in English.
"л
л уна (moon)
лук (onion)"
It's like the L in the word 'look', except in Russian, the L sounds a little heavier. Stress
this consonant more than you would in English by flattening the tip and the blade of
your tongue behind the back of your teeth.
л , л (slowly)
л , л (slowly)
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version.
"ль
лес (forest)
колено (knee)"
This is almost like saying an L and a Y sound at the same time. Attempt to pronounce
an L sound with the tip of your tongue touching the bottom teeth. The front part of your
tongue should cause an obstruction with your upper teeth, while the center of your
tongue should be raised to the roof of your mouth. Listen to (host name).
ль, ль (slowly)
ль, ль (slowly)
"м
мыло (soap)
там (there)"
м, м (slowly)
м, м (slowly)
"мь
мясо
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(meat)
мел (chalk)"
Some English speakers can produce this sound by saying the word 'mute'.
мь, мь (slowly)
мь, мь (slowly)
"н
нос (nose)
он (he)"
Like the N in the word 'nice', except in Russian, the N sounds a little heavier. Stress
this consonant more than you would in English by flattening the tip and the blade of
your tongue against the back of your teeth. The tip of your tongue should touch your
bottom teeth, while the front of your tongue should touch your upper teeth.
н, н (slowly)
н, н (slowly)
"нь
няня (nanny)
они (they)"
This is identical to the previous N sound but with the middle part of your tongue raised
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to the roof of your mouth. It's a little bit like the N in the word 'newt'.
нь, нь (slowly)
нь, нь (slowly)
"п
пыль (dust)
скрип (creak)"
п, п (slowly)
п, п (slowly)
"пь
пепел (ash)
This is almost like saying a P and a Y sound at the same time. As you bring your lips
together to pronounce the P sound, raise the middle part of your tongue to the roof of
your mouth and release. Listen to (host name).
пь, пь (slowly)
пь, пь
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(slowly)
"р
рыба (fish)
горло (throat)"
This is also known as a rolled R, or a Spanish R. Contact the gums directly behind
your top teeth with the tip of your tongue, build pressure behind the gums and release.
The small passage created by the gums and the tongue should open and close rapidly
-- as if your tongue is fluttering or vibrating against the gums. It almost sounds like a
rapid "D" sound.
When you build up pressure behind the tip of the tongue, rapidly brush the tip up and
back, against the gum ridge. As you do so, you should feel a vibrating sensation
behind your gum ridge.
It's like striking your gum ridge, and then again *behind* the gum ridge with the tip of
your tongue, in one quick up and back motion. Listen to (host name).
р, р (slowly)
р, р (slowly)
"рь
река (river)
три (three)"
This is exactly like the previous sound, but with the blade of your tongue raised to the
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roof of your mouth.
рь, рь (slowly)
рь, рь (slowly)
"с
собака (dog)
нос (nose)"
c, c (slowly)
c, c (slowly)
"сь
синий (blue)
осьминог (octopus)"
Some English speakers can produce this sound when saying the word 'assume'.
сь, сь (slowly)
сь, сь (slowly)
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is...
"ш
шарф (scarf)
шутка (joke)"
This is similar to the 'sh' sound in the word 'sure'. Compared to English however, the
'sh' sound is much harsher in Russian. The easiest way to pronounce this sound
properly, is to first try and pronounce an R sound. Your tongue should be curled up
*behind* your gum ridge as opposed to being in front of it. Now, with your tongue in that
position, try to make a 'sh' sound at the same time. Practice with the word 'sure'
repeatedly in this manner.
ш, ш (slowly)
ш, ш (slowly)
"щ
щётка (brush)
This is another 'sh' sound that's comparable to the SH sound in the English word 'ship'.
Unlike English however, which uses the tip of the tongue, Russian requires you to use
the middle part your tongue to approximate the region *behind* the gum ridge. The
center of the tongue should be raised to the roof of the mouth to cause a narrow
channel from the throat, all the way to the teeth. Round and protrude your lips. Also,
you'll need to emphasize this sound by holding it longer than you would normally with
other sounds.
щ, щ
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(slowly)
щ, щ (slowly)
l lʲ , m mʲ , n nʲ , p pʲ , r rʲ , s sʲ , ʂ, ɕː
Are there more familiar sounds than you expected? Let us know if you have questions
in the comments.
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