Say It Right in Russian

ePLs Consonants

Consonants are letters like T, D, and K. They are

easy to recognize and their pronunciation seldom

changes. The following pronunciation guide letters

represent some Cyrillic consonants and their EPLS

equivalents.

R Pronounce this EPLS letter like the

rolled Spanish r.

ZH Pronounce these EPLS letters like s

in measure.

LD Pronounce this EPLS letter like the ld

in cold.

ZD Pronounce these EPLS letters like the

letters sed in pleased.

H Pronounce this EPLS letter like the h

in ha preceded by a puff of air

making an aspirated H sound.

Y Pronounce this EPLS letter like the ye

in yes or the ya in yacht.

MN Pronounce these EPLS letters like the

mn in omni.

SHCH You have to run these four conso-

nants together. No way around it!

Try to isolate the letters in the

words fishchips.

ix

x

Ff Å as in saw

<, b as in bed

Dd v as in van

Uu g as in good

Ll d as in dog

Tt yé as in yet

?/ yO as in Yo

:;

zh as in pleasure

Pp z as in zoo

Bb E as in eat

Qq ¥ as in boy

Rr k as in keep

Kk l as in lake

Vv m as in mom

Yy n as in noon

Jj O as in oak

Å as in off

Gg p as in peg

Hh R as in run

Cc s as in see

Nn t as in tie

the CYRILLIC aLPhaBet

Ee ø as in oops

Aa f as in fun

{[

h as in hot, but guttural

Ww ts as in hits

Xx ch as in chair

Ii sh as in shoe

Oo

shch as in fishchips

}] hard sign:has no

sound of its

own but affects

other sounds.

Ss ˙/E as in if or

eat

Mm soft sign: has no

sound of its

own but affects

other sounds.

”' é as in end

>. yø as in you

Zz yÅ as in yawn

The Cyrillic alphabet has 33 letters. Below is

the entire alphabet, which is easily represented

by an EPLS letter or symbol. As you read

through the book you will start to assimilate this

alphabet. Although the Cyrillic letters are fairly

consistent, pronunciation will change depending

on position and various grammatical rules.

PRonUnCIatIon tIPs

• Each pronunciation guide word is broken into

syllables. Read each word slowly, one syllable

at a time, increasing speed as you become

more familiar with the system.

• In Russian it is extremely important to

emphasize certain syllables. This mark (´)

over the syllable reminds you to STRESS

that syllable.

• If you do not pay attention to the stressed

symbol you can easily change the meaning

of the word.

• In Russian the syllables following the stressed

symbol tend to be spoken lightly in a faded-

out manner.

• In the spoken language, the pronunciation of

a particular letter will be affected by the letters

in front of it or directly following.

• Take a little time to familiarize yourself with

the Cyrillic letters on the previous page. Note

that there are no articles such as a, an, and

the in Russian.

• To perfect your Russian accent you must listen

closely to Russian speakers and adjust your

speech accordingly.

• The pronunciation choices in this book were

chosen for their simplicity and effectiveness.

xi

xii

ICons UseD In

thIs Book

keY WoRDs

You will find this icon at the begin-

ning of chapters indicating key words

relating to chapter content. These are

important words to become familiar

with.

PhRaseMakeR

The Phrasemaker icon provides the

traveler with a choice of phrases that

allows the user to make his or her

own sentences.

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2 Say It Right in Russian

2

ESSENTIAL WORDS

AND phRASES

Here are some basic words..

and.phrases that will help

you express your needs and

feelings in Russian.

Hi

Ghbdtn

pRE-v

E

é´t

Hello

Plhfdcndeqnt (polite)

zdRÅ´-stvø-y

é

-t

E

é

How are you?

Rfr ds gj;bdftnt*

kÅk vE pÅ-zhE-vÅ´-yé -t

E

é

Fine, thank you.

{jhjij- cgfcb,j=

hÅ- RÅ -shO´ spÅ-sE´- bÅ

And you? Good-bye

F ds* Lj cdblfybz

Å vE dÅ-svE- dÅ´- nyÅ

Essential Words and Phrases 3

Good morning

Lj,hjt enhj

dO´- bRÅ-yé ø´-tRÅ

Good afternoon Good evening

Lj,hsq ltym Lj,hsq dtxth

dO´-bRE

d

E

é´n dO´-bRE v

E

é´- chéR

Good night

Cgjrjqyjq yjxb

spÅ-k¥´-nI nO´- chE

Mr. (literally: young man)

Vjkjljq xtkjdtr

mÅ-lÅ-d¥´ ché- lÅ-v

E

é´k

Mrs. / Miss (literally: young woman)

Ltdeirf

dé´-vøsh- kÅ

Ma'am (older woman)

<f,eirf

bÅ´´-bøsh-kÅ

4 Say It Right in Russian

Yes

Lf

dÅ

No

Ytn

n

E

ét

Please

Gj;fkeqcnf

pÅ-zhÅ´- lø-stÅ

Thank you

Cgfcb,j

spÅ-sE´- bÅ

Excuse me

Bpdbybnt

Ez-vE-nE ´-t

E

é

I’m sorry

Ghjcnbnt

pRÅ-stE´ -t

E

é

Essential Words and Phrases 5

I don't understand!

Z yt gjybvf.ˆ

yÅ nE-pÅ- nE- mÅ´ -yø

Do you understand?

Ds vtyz gjybvftnt*

vE mE-nyÅ´

pÅ-nE-mÅ´-yé -t

E

é

I’m a tourist.

Z nehbcn=

yÅ tø-RE´st

I don’t understand Russian.

Z yt gjybvf. gj_heccrb=

yÅ nE-pÅ-nE- mÅ´-yø

pÅ- Rø´s- kE

Do you speak English?

Ds gj_fyukbqcrb ujdjhbnt*

vE pÅ-Ån- glE´-skE

gÅ-vÅ- RE´-t

E

é

Please repeat.

Gjdnjhbnt› gj;fkebcnf=

pÅf-tÅ- RE´-t

E

é

pÅ -zhÅ´- lø -stÅ

6 Say It Right in Russian

FEELINGS

I would like...(male speaking)

Z ,s [jntk===

yÅ bwE hÅ -t

E

é´l...

I would like...(female speaking)

Z ,s [jntkf===

yÅ bwE hÅ -t

E

é´-lÅ...

I want...

Z [jxe===

yÅ hÅ-chø´´...

I have...

E vtyz tcnm===

ø-mE-nyÅ´ yést...

I know. I don't know.

Z pyf.= Z yt pyf.=

yÅ znÅ´-yø yÅ nE-znÅ´-yø

I like it.

Vyt 'nj yhfdbncz=

mn

E

é é´-tÅ nRÅ´-vE -tsÅ

I don’t like it.

Vyt 'nj yt yhfdbncz=

mn

E

é é´-tÅ nE-nRÅ´-vE-tsÅ

Say It Right in Russian

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