False Friends

The "false friends" are the most dangerous group of Cyrillic letters for English speakers. These letters look exactly like Latin letters but make completely different sounds. If you do not learn to override your instincts, you will misread every word that contains them.

---

The False Friends Table

Letter	Name	Looks Like	Actual Sound	Example Word
В в	вэ (ve)	B b	"v" as in "very"	вода (voda) — water
Н н	эн (en)	H h	"n" as in "no"	нет (nyet) — no
Р р	эр (er)	P p	"r" (rolled/trilled)	рыба (ryba) — fish
С с	эс (es)	C c	"s" as in "sun"	супе (supe) — soup
У у	у (oo)	Y y	"oo" as in "boot"	утро (utro) — morning
Х х	ха (kha)	X x	"kh" as in "loch"	хлеб (khleb) — bread

---

Why These Are So Tricky

Your brain has spent years associating these shapes with English sounds. When you see Р, your brain screams "P!" — but in Russian, Р is a rolled R. This creates a mental conflict that takes deliberate practice to overcome.

The Most Confusing Word: РЕСТОРАН

English reader sees: PECTOPAH
Russian pronunciation: Restoran
Meaning: Restaurant

Every single consonant in this word is a false friend:

• Р = R (not P)
• С = S (not C)
• Т = T (this one is true)
• Р = R (not P again)
• Н = N (not H)

---

Deep Dive into Each False Friend

В в — "V" (Not "B")

Russian В comes from the Greek Beta (Β β), which in modern Greek is also pronounced "v." The Russian letter for the "b" sound is Б б (a completely different letter).

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
вода	voda	water
ваш	vash	your/yours
вход	vkhod	entrance
Москва	Moskva	Moscow

Н н — "N" (Not "H")

Russian Н comes from the Greek Nu (Ν ν). The Russian letter that makes the "h" sound does not exist — the closest is Х (which makes a "kh" sound).

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
нет	nyet	no
нос	nos	nose
он	on	he
она	ona	she

Р р — "R" (Not "P")

Russian Р comes from the Greek Rho (Ρ ρ), which also looks like "P." The Russian R is typically trilled (rolled), similar to the Spanish "rr."