Help:IPA/Russian

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The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Russian pronunciations in Wikipedia articles. For a guide to adding IPA characters to Wikipedia articles, see {{IPA-ru}} and Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Pronunciation § Entering IPA characters.

Russian distinguishes hard (unpalatalized or plain) and soft (palatalized) consonants. Soft consonants, most of which are denoted by a superscript j, ⟨ʲ⟩, are pronounced with the body of the tongue raised toward the hard palate, like the articulation of the y sound in yes. /j, ɕː, tɕ/ are always soft, whereas /ʂ, ts, ʐ/ are always hard.

See Russian phonology and Russian alphabet for a more thorough look at the sounds of Russian.

Consonants
Hard			Soft
IPA	Examples	English approximation	IPA	Examples	English approximation
b	бок; апде́йт^[1]	boot	bʲ	бе́лый	beautiful
d	дать; футбо́л^[1]	do	dʲ	де́ло; ходьба́; жени́тьба^[1]	dew (UK)
f	фо́рма; вы́ставка;^[1] бо́ров^[2]	fool	fʲ	фина́л; верфь; кровь^[2]	few
ɡ	год^[3]^[4]; анекдо́т^[1]	goo	ɡʲ	геро́й	argue
N/A			j	есть [je-]; ёж [jɵ-]; юг [ju-]; я [ja]; майо́р^[5]	yes, York, you, yard, boy
k	кость; бе́гство^[1]; флаг^[2]	scar	kʲ	кино́; секью́рити	skew
l	луна́^[6]	pill	lʲ	лес; боль	lean
m	мы́ло	moot	mʲ	мя́со; семь	mute
n	нос	noon	nʲ	нёс; день; ко́нчик^[7]	newt (for some dialects)
p	под; ры́бка^[1]; зуб^[2]	span	pʲ	пе́пел; цепь; зыбь^[2]	spew
r	раз	flapped or trilled r, like in Spanish	rʲ	ряд; зверь	flapped or trilled r, like in Spanish
s	соба́ка; ска́зка^[1]; глаз^[2]	soup	sʲ	си́ний; здесь; есть; грызть^[1]	assume (for some dialects)
ʂ	широ́кий; кни́жка^[1]; муж^[2]; что^[8]	rush	ɕː	щека́; счита́ть; мужчи́на^[9]^[10]	wish sheep
t	то; во́дка;^[1] лёд^[2]	stand	tʲ	тень; дитя́; путь; грудь^[2]	stew (UK; for some dialects)
ts^[11]	цена́; нра́виться^[10]	cats	tɕ^[11]	чай; течь^[10]	chip
v	вы; его́^[4]; афга́н^[1]	voodoo	vʲ	весь; вью́га	view
x	ход; Бог^[3]^[10]	loch (Scottish)	xʲ	хи́трый; Хью́стон; лёгкий^[1]^[3]^[10]	huge (for some dialects)
z	зуб; сбор^[1]	zoo	zʲ	зима́; резьба́; жизнь; про́сьба^[1]	presume (for some dialects)
ʐ	жест; волшба́^[1]	rouge	ʑː	по́зже^[12]	prestige genre
Stressed vowels
[-soft]			[+soft]
IPA	Examples	English approximation	IPA	Examples	English approximation
a	трава́	father	æ	пять; ча́сть^[13]	pat (US)
ɛ	жест; э́тот	met	e	пень; э́тика^[13]	penny
ɨ	ты; ши́шка; с и́грами	roses (for some dialects)	i	ли́ния; и́ли	meet
o	о́блако; шёпот	chore	ɵ	тётя; плечо́^[13]	bird (non-rhotic)
u	пу́ля	boot	ʉ	чуть; лю́ди^[13]	choose
Unstressed vowels
[-soft]			[+soft]
IPA	Examples	English approximation	IPA	Examples	English approximation
ɐ	облака́; како́й; сообража́ть; тропа́^[14]	bud	N/A
ə	ко́жа; о́блако; се́рдце	about	ə	во́ля; сего́дня; ку́ча^[15]	lasagna
ɨ	дыша́ть; жена́; во́ды; эта́п; к Ива́ну	roses (for some dialects)	ɪ	лиса́; четы́ре; тяжёлый; де́вять; часы́^[16]	bit
ʊ	мужчи́на	put	ʉ	чуде́сный; люби́ть^[13]	youth
ɛ	тетра́эдр; поэте́сса^[17]	met	N/A
o	ра́дио; поэте́сса^[17]	chore	ɵ	ма́чо; сёрфинги́ст^[18]	bird (non-rhotic)
Suprasegmental
IPA	Example		Explanation
ˈ	четы́ре [tɕɪˈtɨrʲɪ]		Stress mark, placed before the stressed syllable
ː	сза́ди [ˈzːadʲɪ]^[1]		Consonant length mark, placed after the geminated consonant

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q Consonants in consonant clusters are assimilated in voicing if the final consonant in the sequence is an obstruent (except [v, vʲ]). All consonants become voiceless if the final consonant is voiceless or voiced if the final consonant is voiced (Halle 1959:31).
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ The voiced obstruents /b, bʲ, d, dʲ, ɡ, v, vʲ, z, zʲ, ʐ/ are devoiced word-finally unless the next word begins with a voiced obstruent (Halle 1959:22).
^ ^a ^b ^c ⟨г⟩ is usually pronounced [ɣ] or [x] in some religious words and colloquial derivatives from them, such as Го́споди and Бог, and in the interjections ага́, ого́, го́споди, ей-бо́гу, and also in бухга́лтер [bʊˈɣaltʲɪr] (Timberlake 2004:23). /ɡ/ devoices and lenites to [x] before voiceless obstruents (dissimilation) in the word roots -мягк- or -мягч-, -легк- or -легч-, -тягч-, and also in the old-fashioned pronunciation of -ногт-, -когт-, кто. Speakers of the Southern Russian dialects may pronounce ⟨г⟩ as [ɣ] (soft [ɣʲ], devoiced [x] and [xʲ]) throughout.
^ ^a ^b Intervocalic ⟨г⟩ represents /v/ in certain words (сего́дня, сего́дняшний, итого́ ), and in the genitive suffix -ого/-его (Timberlake 2004:23).
^ The soft vowel letters ⟨е, ë, ю, я⟩ represent iotated vowels /je, jo, ju, ja/, except when following a consonant. When these vowels are unstressed (save for ⟨ë⟩, which is always stressed) and follow another vowel letter, the /j/ may not be present. The letter ⟨и⟩ produces iotated sound /ji/ only after ь.
^ /l/ is often strongly pharyngealized [ɫ], but that feature is not distinctive (Ladefoged & Maddieson 1996:187-188).
^ Alveo-palatal consonants are subjected to regressive assimilative palatalization; i.e. they tend to become palatalized in front of other phones with the same place of articulation.
^ Most speakers pronounce ⟨ч⟩ in the pronoun что and its derivatives as [ʂ]. All other occurrences of чт cluster stay as affricate and stop.
^ ⟨щ⟩ is sometimes pronounced as [ɕː] or [ɕɕ] and sometimes as [ɕtɕ], but no speakers contrast the two pronunciations. It is generally includes the other spellings of the sound, but the word счи́тывать sometimes has [ɕtɕ] because of the morpheme boundary between the prefix ⟨с-⟩ and the root ⟨-чит-⟩.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e [ts], [tɕ], [ɕː], [x], have voiced allophones, [dz], [dʑ], [ʑː], [ɣ] respectively, before voiced stop consonants. Examples: плацда́рм, начди́в, дочь бы, вещдо́к, трёхдне́вный.
^ ^a ^b The affricates [ts] and [tɕ] are sometimes written with ligature ties: [t͡s] and [t͡ɕ]. Ties are not used in transcriptions on Wikipedia (except in phonology articles) because they may not display correctly in all browsers.
^ Geminated [ʐː] is pronounced as soft [ʑː], the voiced counterpart to [ɕː], in a few lexical items (such as дрожжи or заезжать) by conservative Moscow speakers; such realization is now somewhat obsolete (Yanushevskaya & Bunčić (2015:224)).
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Vowels are fronted and/or raised in the context of palatalized consonants: /a/ and /u/ become [æ] and [ʉ], respectively between palatalized consonants, /e/ is realized as [e] before and between palatalized consonants and /o/ becomes [ɵ] after and between palatalized consonants.
^ Word-initial and pretonic (before the stress) /a/ and /o/, as well as when in a sequence.
^ Only in certain word-final morphemes (Timberlake 2004:48-51).
^ Unstressed /a/ is pronounced as [ɪ] after ⟨ч⟩ and ⟨щ⟩ except when word-final.^{[citation needed]}
^ ^a ^b In the careful style of pronunciation unstressed /e/ and /o/ in foreign words may be pronounced with little or no reduction.
^ Unstressed [ɵ] only occurs in foreign words.

References

Cubberley, Paul (2002), "The phonology of Modern Russian", Russian: A Linguistic Introduction, Cambridge University Press
Halle, Morris (1959), Sound Pattern of Russian, MIT Press
Jones, Daniel; Ward, Dennis (1969), The Phonetics of Russian, Cambridge University Press
Ladefoged, Peter; Maddieson, Ian (1996). The Sounds of the World's Languages. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-19814-8.
Timberlake, Alan (2004), "Sounds", A Reference Grammar of Russian, Cambridge University Press
Yanushevskaya, Irena; Bunčić, Daniel (2015), "Russian" (PDF), Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 45 (2): 221–228, doi:10.1017/S0025100314000395

[voice-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q Consonants in consonant clusters are assimilated in voicing if the final consonant in the sequence is an obstruent (except [v, vʲ]). All consonants become voiceless if the final consonant is voiceless or voiced if the final consonant is voiced (Halle 1959:31).

[devoice-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ The voiced obstruents /b, bʲ, d, dʲ, ɡ, v, vʲ, z, zʲ, ʐ/ are devoiced word-finally unless the next word begins with a voiced obstruent (Halle 1959:22).

[g2-3] ⟨г⟩ is usually pronounced [ɣ] or [x] in some religious words and colloquial derivatives from them, such as Го́споди and Бог, and in the interjections ага́, ого́, го́споди, ей-бо́гу, and also in бухга́лтер [bʊˈɣaltʲɪr] (Timberlake 2004:23). /ɡ/ devoices and lenites to [x] before voiceless obstruents (dissimilation) in the word roots -мягк- or -мягч-, -легк- or -легч-, -тягч-, and also in the old-fashioned pronunciation of -ногт-, -когт-, кто. Speakers of the Southern Russian dialects may pronounce ⟨г⟩ as [ɣ] (soft [ɣʲ], devoiced [x] and [xʲ]) throughout.

[g-4] Intervocalic ⟨г⟩ represents /v/ in certain words (сего́дня, сего́дняшний, итого́ ), and in the genitive suffix -ого/-его (Timberlake 2004:23).

[5] The soft vowel letters ⟨е, ë, ю, я⟩ represent iotated vowels /je, jo, ju, ja/, except when following a consonant. When these vowels are unstressed (save for ⟨ë⟩, which is always stressed) and follow another vowel letter, the /j/ may not be present. The letter ⟨и⟩ produces iotated sound /ji/ only after ь.

[6] /l/ is often strongly pharyngealized [ɫ], but that feature is not distinctive (Ladefoged & Maddieson 1996:187-188).

[7] Alveo-palatal consonants are subjected to regressive assimilative palatalization; i.e. they tend to become palatalized in front of other phones with the same place of articulation.

[8] Most speakers pronounce ⟨ч⟩ in the pronoun что and its derivatives as [ʂ]. All other occurrences of чт cluster stay as affricate and stop.

[щ-9] ⟨щ⟩ is sometimes pronounced as [ɕː] or [ɕɕ] and sometimes as [ɕtɕ], but no speakers contrast the two pronunciations. It is generally includes the other spellings of the sound, but the word счи́тывать sometimes has [ɕtɕ] because of the morpheme boundary between the prefix ⟨с-⟩ and the root ⟨-чит-⟩.

[dz-10] [ts], [tɕ], [ɕː], [x], have voiced allophones, [dz], [dʑ], [ʑː], [ɣ] respectively, before voiced stop consonants. Examples: плацда́рм, начди́в, дочь бы, вещдо́к, трёхдне́вный.

[tie-11] The affricates [ts] and [tɕ] are sometimes written with ligature ties: [t͡s] and [t͡ɕ]. Ties are not used in transcriptions on Wikipedia (except in phonology articles) because they may not display correctly in all browsers.

[12] Geminated [ʐː] is pronounced as soft [ʑː], the voiced counterpart to [ɕː], in a few lexical items (such as дрожжи or заезжать) by conservative Moscow speakers; such realization is now somewhat obsolete (Yanushevskaya & Bunčić (2015:224)).

[palatalized_vowel-13] Vowels are fronted and/or raised in the context of palatalized consonants: /a/ and /u/ become [æ] and [ʉ], respectively between palatalized consonants, /e/ is realized as [e] before and between palatalized consonants and /o/ becomes [ɵ] after and between palatalized consonants.

[14] Word-initial and pretonic (before the stress) /a/ and /o/, as well as when in a sequence.

[15] Only in certain word-final morphemes (Timberlake 2004:48-51).

[a-16] Unstressed /a/ is pronounced as [ɪ] after ⟨ч⟩ and ⟨щ⟩ except when word-final.^{[citation needed]}

[foreign-17] In the careful style of pronunciation unstressed /e/ and /o/ in foreign words may be pronounced with little or no reduction.

[foreign2-18] Unstressed [ɵ] only occurs in foreign words.

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