Cyrillic

 I asked Perplexity AI for the Russian alphabet, with the vowels in pink and the 

consonnants in blue...

А
Б
В
Г
Д
Е
Ё
Ж
З
И
Й
К
Л
М
Н
О
П
Р
С
Т
У
Ф
Х
Ц
Ч
Ш
Щ
Ъ
Ы
Ь
Э
Ю
Я

This visual color coding clearly distinguishes **vowels** and **consonants** in the Russian alphabet, making it easier to learn and recall each letter’s type.

Russian Alphabet Table with Sound – RusslandJournal.de English

                                                                            

Copilot:

🇷🇺 Russian Alphabet with Pronunciation

💗 А а — sounds like [a] in father 

💙 Б б — sounds like [b] in bat 

💙 В в — sounds like [v] in van 

💙 Г г — sounds like [g] in go 

💙 Д д — sounds like [d] in dog 

💗 Е е — sounds like [ye] in yes (softens preceding consonant) 

💗 Ё ё — sounds like [yo] in yolk (always stressed) 

💙 Ж ж — sounds like [zh] like pleasure (always hard) 

💙 З з — sounds like [z] in zoo 

💗 И и — sounds like [ee] in see (softens preceding consonant) 

💙 Й й — sounds like [y] in boy (short i) 

💙 К к — sounds like [k] in kite 

💙 Л л — sounds like [l] in love 

💙 М м — sounds like [m] in man 

💙 Н н — sounds like [n] in no 

💗 О о — sounds like [o] in more (unstressed: sounds like [a]) 

💙 П п — sounds like [p] in pen 

💙 Р р — sounds like [r] rolled, like in Spanish perro 

💙 С с — sounds like [s] in sun 

💙 Т т — sounds like [t] in top 

💗 У у — sounds like [oo] in boot 

💙 Ф ф — sounds like [f] in fun 

💙 Х х — sounds like [kh] as in Loch Ness 

💙 Ц ц — sounds like [ts] in cats 

💙 Ч ч — sounds like [ch] in cheese (always soft) 

💙 Ш ш — sounds like [sh] in shut (always hard) 

💙 Щ щ — sounds like [shsh], a softer, longer sh (always soft) 

⚪ Ъ ъ — hard sign, not pronounced; makes the next vowel sound harder 

💗 Ы ы — sounds like [ɨ], a deep i sound from the throat 

⚪ Ь ь — soft sign, not pronounced; softens the preceding consonant 

💗 Э э — sounds like [e] in met 

💗 Ю ю — sounds like [yu] in universe (softens preceding consonant) 

💗 Я я — sounds like [ya] in yard (softens preceding consonant)

And the name of each is its sound?

Great question, Louise! In Russian, the names of the letters are not always the same as their sounds—though they’re often closely related. Let’s break it down:

🧠 How Russian Letter Names Work

Vowels: Most vowel names are pretty close to their sounds. For example:

А а is called "а" and sounds like [a] in father.

О о is called "о" and sounds like [o] in more (when stressed).

Consonants: These usually have a name that includes a vowel to make them pronounceable, but the name is not the same as the sound.

Б б is called "бэ" (beh), but its sound is just [b].

Д д is called "дэ" (deh), but its sound is [d].

Signs:

Ъ ъ is called "твёрдый знак" (tvyordiy znak) — hard sign.

Ь ь is called "мягкий знак" (myagkiy znak) — soft sign. These don’t have sounds of their own but affect pronunciation.

How do the two signs affect pronounciation?

Great question, Louise! The two signs in the Russian alphabet—Ь (soft sign) and Ъ (hard sign)—don’t have sounds of their own, but they play a powerful role in shaping how nearby letters are pronounced. Here’s how they work:

⚪ Soft Sign (Ь — Мягкий знак)

Function: Softens the consonant that comes before it.

Effect: The consonant becomes palatalized, meaning the middle of your tongue rises toward the roof of your mouth.

English analogy: Think of the difference between “n” in now (hard) vs. new (soft).

Examples:

мать (mat’) — “mother” → the т is softened

конь (kon’) — “horse” → the н is softened

⚪ Hard Sign (Ъ — Твёрдый знак)

Function: Prevents softening of the preceding consonant, even if followed by a softening vowel.

Effect: Creates a clear, hard break between syllables and keeps the consonant firm.

Examples:

съесть (s-yest’) — “to eat” → the с stays hard despite the soft vowel е

объект (ob-yekt) — “object” → the б remains hard before е

🧠 Bonus Tip: Softening Vowels

Even without the soft sign, some vowels naturally soften the preceding consonant. These are: я, ё, ю, е, и So the soft sign is often used when you want to soften a consonant before a non-softening vowel or at the end of a word.

                                                                       *     *     *

                                                                                 

I asked Copilot the app in microphone mode to conjugate the verb 'to be' in the present for me. C was reluctant, said it was rarely if ever used. Asked for 'It is raining'. Please clarify this for me...

Ah, yes—this is one of those quirky features of Russian that throws English speakers for a loop. You're absolutely right to ask for clarification, Louise.

🧩 The Verb “To Be” in Russian (Быть)

• The infinitive form is быть (to be).

• In the present tense, the form is есть (pronounced yest’).

• But here’s the twist: есть is almost always omitted in everyday speech.

So instead of saying:

Я есть студент. (I am a student)

You simply say:

Я студент. — “I student” (and it means “I am a student”)

This omission is totally normal and grammatically correct in Russian. The verb “to be” is implied by context.

🧠 Why Copilot Might Have Hesitated

When you asked for the present tense conjugation of “to be,” Copilot was being technically accurate: есть exists, but it’s rarely used in modern spoken Russian. It mostly appears in:

• Formal writing

• Scientific definitions

• Existential or possessive constructions (like “there is” or “I have”)

Examples:

• У меня есть книга. — “I have a book.”

• В комнате есть стол. — “There is a table in the room.”

🌧️ “It is raining” in Russian

This is a different kind of sentence. Russian uses impersonal verbs for weather:

• Идёт дождь — literally “Goes rain” → “It is raining”

• No subject like “it” is needed.

• No form of “to be” is used.

So when you asked for “It is raining,” Copilot was shifting gears to give you the natural Russian phrasing, which doesn’t use быть at all.

                                                                                  

У меня есть книга... translate each word

Absolutely, Louise! Let’s break down the Russian sentence "У меня есть книга" word by word:

                                                                                         

💬 Natural Translation

"У меня есть книга" = I have a book.

It literally means:

“By me there exists a book.”

This is how Russian expresses possession—not with a verb like “have,” but with a structure that says something exists near or with someone.

Want to try a few more examples like “I have a cat” or “She has a car”? Or maybe flip it around and say “I don’t have a book”? Let’s keep going!

                                                                    *     *     *

To hear it: