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Consonant Friends

Meet friendly consonants like М (m), К (k) and Т (t) and practise saying them clearly.

  • Define and explain Consonant Friends in your own words
  • Use key terms such as согласная (soglásnaya) — consonant accurately
  • Apply what you have learned to new examples and questions
  • Avoid the common mistakes learners make with this topic

This lesson focuses on Consonant Friends: meet friendly consonants like М (m), К (k) and Т (t) and practise saying them clearly.

Definition: Consonant Friends

Meet friendly consonants like М (m), К (k) and Т (t) and practise saying them clearly.

Key ideas

Hard and soft consonants

Many Russian consonants come in pairs: a hard version and a soft, smiley version. Compare мат (mat — checkmate), said with a firm T, with мать (mat' — mother), where the soft sign Ь makes the T soft and gentle. For the soft sound your tongue moves a little forward — try saying 'tya' versus 'ta' and feel the difference.

One letter, one sound

Russian is very honest: each letter usually keeps the same sound wherever it appears. Once you learn that М says 'mmm' and А says 'ah', you can read МА anywhere — in мама (máma — mum), in машина (mashína — car) and in марка (márka — stamp). Reading Russian feels like cracking a code, and the code barely changes.

Key term — согласная (soglásnaya) — consonant: A consonant letter. Consonants like М (m), К (k) and Т (t) join with vowels to build syllables.

Reading the word мама

Read the Russian word мама out loud and say what it means.

Split it into syllables: ма-ма. Each syllable has one vowel, А. Sound out each syllable: 'ma'. М makes a soft 'mmm' sound and А says 'ah'. Join the syllables: ма-ма. The stress falls on the first syllable: МА-ма. Translate it: мама (máma) means 'mum'.

Answer: мама (máma) is read 'MA-ma' and means 'mum'.

Common mistakes
  • Forgetting that Е can sound like 'ye' At the start of a word Е sounds like 'ye': ель (yel' — fir tree). After a consonant it softens the consonant instead.
  • Saying В like the English B Cyrillic В sounds like V, not B — ваза (váza) is read 'VA-za' and means 'vase'. The letter Б is the one that sounds like B.

Practice

How many letters are in the Russian alphabet?
It is more than the 26 of English.

33 letters.

What sound does the letter М make?
Think of the humming sound 'mmm'.

It makes an 'm' sound, as in мама (máma — mum).

Which letter sounds like V: В or Б?
One of them sounds like B instead.

В sounds like V; Б sounds like B.

Read the word кот and say what it means.
К = k, О = o (stressed, so it keeps its 'o' sound), Т = t.

кот (kot) is read 'kot' and means 'cat'.

Quick check

Consonant Friends — quick check

Which of these best defines "согласная (soglásnaya) — consonant"?

A consonant letter. Consonants like М (m), К (k) and Т (t) join with vowels to build syllables.

Is the stress on ЗА or МОК in замок meaning 'castle'?

замок (zamók — castle) is stressed on МОК; zámok with stress on ЗА means 'lock'.

How many syllables does машина have?

Three syllables — ма-ши-на — because it has three vowels: А, И, А.
Key takeaways
  • Consonant Friends: meet friendly consonants like М (m), К (k) and Т (t) and practise saying them clearly.
  • Hard and soft consonants: Many Russian consonants come in pairs: a hard version and a soft, smiley version.
  • буква (búkva) — letter: A single written symbol of the alphabet.
  • Watch out for: forgetting that Е can sound like 'ye'
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