Pronunciation Rules

Knowing all 33 letters is not quite enough to read Russian correctly. Russian has several pronunciation rules that change how letters sound depending on their position in a word, what letters surround them, and whether they are stressed or unstressed. Mastering these rules is the difference between sounding like a textbook and sounding natural.

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Rule 1: Vowel Reduction (Аканье)

This is the most important pronunciation rule in Russian. Unstressed vowels are pronounced differently from stressed vowels.

О Reduction

Position	Pronunciation	Example
Stressed	Clear "o"	мо́ре (more) — sea
One syllable before stress	"ah"	молоко́ (malako) — milk
Other unstressed positions	Weak "uh"	голова́ (galavah) — head

А Reduction

Position	Pronunciation	Example
Stressed	Clear "ah"	ма́ма (mama) — mum
Unstressed (most positions)	Weak "ah" or "uh"	бана́н (banan) — banana

Е/Я Reduction