When does О sound like А?

[@dre_rps5552]

I was waiting for this video for a VERY long time

[@crusader1576]

Me too

[@soldierside365]

Not a very Lang time?

[@Natashanjka]

@@crusader1576 when I make live classes for Russian learners on my KZbin channel I always explain every sound that is different from a letter.

[@sr_512]

Fedor, how much we thank you, it will not enough for what u doing for us. Bt i pray from my heart for you.

[@aaronm8228]

this one ALWAYS gets me!!!

[@Unidentifying]

This was my big question for the first years when i started learning Russian, great video. Nowadays dont really bother with it, sometimes when pronouncing O or A there can be something in between too, or subtly. Even with the stressed rules, is it true that sometimes it depends on dialect or customs, sentence? I have heard native Russian speakers pronounce Xorosho like this: I heard a strong A and sometimes not: XARAsho / XAROscho or just XOROsho sometimes...

[@viniciuspaolini4007]

Well, russia is a really big country and just like brazil (where I live) the language may catch some of the regionalism from the countries on the border. I’ve heard that in ukraine the russian o-a rule doesn’t apply because they pronounce the written letters accordingly (source unknown, maybe some ukraine people can confirm). Hope it helps.

[@RapidCycling07]

Thanks Fedor! Totally appreciate it brotha!

[@Barbapoinkt]

I say each "o" as "a" when there is no stress on the letters. Statistically I am more often correct than wrong :)

[@raquelrichardson3666]

I don’t know how to say «Пожалуйста», every other time I say it, I say it differently.

[@raquelrichardson3666]

Also, where are you from? (Like country I mean, if it doesn’t bother you)

[@Barbapoinkt]

@@raquelrichardson3666 Hi Raquel, from Switzerland, but parents are from Kosovo. Have a nice day!

[@daemor02]

@@raquelrichardson3666 [пажалуста]

[@YaShoom]

No, not only do you have an accent with an error, but also the sound model changes. Better get used to saying O under stress, even when you don’t know where the stress is.

[@SpankyHam]

This is a basic rule without which it will be difficult to sound natural. Roughly like the rules for pronouncing the English letter A in combination with other letters.

[@iblackfeathers]

it depends on the word but there are more or less three types of pronunciations for vowel reductions depending where the stress / unstressed locations are in a word. some others consider there to be 4 types or degrees of vowel reduction. but simplifying it to just ‘o’ and ‘a’ leads you to the right direction. an important thing is also if it is pre- or post- stress. for example, фотография fo-tuh-graf-ia / (photograph). fo- tuh-graf -> the first ‘o’ is ‘uh’, the second ‘o’ is ‘o’, the third ‘o’ is ‘a’. that’s 1. o 2. uh 3. a. 2 & 3 are discussed in the video. 1. can be a weaker pronunciation that lies in the middle, depending. most foreigners tend to have problems with where the stresses are in a word they see as the video mentions. however, more native kids in school have the opposite problem. they often know where the stresses are in a word because they already know how to say the word, but it is a challenge figuring out the correct spelling based on ‘o’ ‘a’ and - maybe even ‘uh.’ (weakest stress) i have heard there is another reasoning for ‘o’ and ‘a’ that can be more confusing involving the type of word applied -whether it’s in motion, an adjective, or an adverb. but this is unclear and more confusing to me.

[@whispercat56235]

Great video as always !

[@Gympy]

Super informative. Thank you!

[@SOMEONE_5626]

you should do a video on phrases like "it looks like" and "it sounds like"

[@zx6r531]

выглядит как и звучит как

[@felipecardoso9678]

Спасибо

[@BeFluentinRussian]

first!

[@psydarks4761]

first reply!

[@thepants1450]

Два!

[@johnalexanderbjrkhaug1249]

🤣 хорошо👍

[@juvellianscorner]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!! I COULDNT FIGURE THIS OUT FOR THE LIFE OF ME 😂

[@MrMarina101000]

I was so confused when I went on Rosetta Stone and this happened.. I’ve been off and on looking at your vids they’re cool to just learn a little bit more too

[@DMihu]

Does the "o" situated after the stressed vowel sound any different from the "o" before the stressed vowel? I get the feeling that the "o" after the stressed vowel sounds like the letter "uh" ("нужно" sounding more like "nuj-nuh" than "nuj-na").

[@YaShoom]

Yes, everyone else sounds like a "Shwa" sound.

[@IzzyChopChop]

As a beginner, This is the topic I get confused by, so thank you

[@Natashanjka]

Are you a beginner now?

[@hanapasdelimite6506]

This was literally my first question when I was introduced to the language

[@ovidiuc4]

I've been living under a rock... I thought it was all random. What about hearing a word that contains "a" and "o" (pronounced as "a") and figuring out, when writing it down, if it's an actual "a" or an "o"? Is there a rule for that?

[@Максим-р4ч2я]

я знаю такое правило в безударных оро оло))))

[@YaShoom]

Нет, правило всегда чёткое: Безударное О всегда читается как А, а ударная О всегда как О. Если я правильно понял ваш вопрос, то нужно подобрать проверочне слово с другим ударением. Например слово "окно" [акнО], проверочное слово "окна" [Окна], по этому пишем "окно" (а говорим [акно]). Это морфологическая письменность (с остатками исторических деталей-исключений), гласные всегда проверяются ударением, а согласные постановкой между двумя гласными. \\p.s. Как проверить согласную: Например, мы слова "с головой" говорим как [з галавОй], ищем любое проверочное слово для звука "з", которое начинается с гласной, например "окно". Пытаемся произнести "с окном", звучит как [cакнОм], значит первый звук "с", а не "з", по этому пишем "с головой", а не "з головой" (потому что "С" перед "Г" начала становиться звонкой). Надеюсь не запутал.\\

[@johnday2971]

Semi-unrelated, but how accurate do you find KZbin's automatic captions for Russian? When I'm watching something in English, I find them to be less accurate than my own ear but I'm currently using them for Russian to strengthen my reading ability. (At 0.75 speed)

[@SpankyHam]

Ru subtitles often carry complete nonsense when they are created automatically.

[@TerryHesticles00]

Sometimes when I put words and phrases in the translator it’s too fast anyone have any tips to slow it down?

[@Natashanjka]

Be careful! I noticed, the translator makes pronunciation mistakes from time to time!!!

[@brize3452]

FINALLY THE ANSWER

[@davexhayter]

"Как ока?" "Кукуку!"

[@farrellwilson5468]

actually I don't know the reason why sometimes "o" sounds like "a", I just get used to it as I learnt Russian

[@Максим-р4ч2я]

pronounce а или о as it's written this is always true

[@setharnold9764]

One problem is figuring out homographs: замок, мука, писать, итд. If you pronounce замок one way it means castle; If you pronounce it another way it means lock. forvo.com/word/%D0%B7%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%BA/ one kind person gave both pronunciations in one recording but the others don't make clear that there's two ways to pronounce this word and that they mean different things. Потом is similar: one way sweat, the other way then. forvo.com/word/%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BC/ again several people give both and others give one. There's no о in писать but getting it correct is important :) pronounce it one way and you're talking about writing, pronounce it the other way and you're talking about pissing. Despite it's flaws I still like Forvo and I'm really glad people have taken the time to help out language learners like me.

[@Mars-Sello]

Oh Lord Jesus ! Fedor, I am dying suffering with the O and sound like A

[@Natashanjka]

What's your native language?

[@christspatriot]

What makes it stressed or not stressed

[@olegpetrov2617]

Nothing. Just correct pronunciation.

[@julia_bailone]

How do I know where a word is stressed just by reading it?

[@SpankyHam]

if you simplify the concept - most often the stress falls approximately in the middle of the word, on the middle syllable in the word. But this does not cancel out situations when the stress falls differently, or when a word has 2 syllables - it simply does not have a middle part then everything will have to be analyzed in more detail, it is possible to look at the stress in the dictionary.

[@siham7653]

What do you mean by stressed

[@nothingbutgianttrees1995]

Its kind of like the part where you put the most focus on and force behind.. its hard to explain via writing.. In all words there's a part that you put more "energy" in and one that you put in less. The stressed one is usually spoken slower and with more intensity too. The one that isnt stressed is kinda like just there to complete the word. If I say for example: "They looked at her *that* way." Then I'd be stressing the 'that'. I'd say it slower and with a different tone. I hope that answers your question :)

[@siham7653]

@@nothingbutgianttrees1995 yes now i understand thank you so much ❤️

[@nothingbutgianttrees1995]

@@siham7653 Happy I could help

[@neo123rej]

He means which syllable is emphasized

[@siham7653]

@@neo123rej oh ok thank you

[@boran2796]

о is read as а whenever it is not stressed so where is the stress? yes.

[@albertopajuelomontes2066]

the problem is to know where every word is stressed

[@SpankyHam]

Even the Russians all their lives learn and memorize how to put the stresses in new words by heart. If a person comes across new words from a field in which he does not understand at all for example if a psychologist starts reading books on astrophysics then he is forced to guess intuitively about the stresses in all words unfamiliar to him on the basis of previous language experience.

[@Natashanjka]

An

[@livetwiceforyou]

I learnt that .. молоко only pre-stress o is pronounced a, not the first o which is pronounced (ə)

[@Максим-р4ч2я]

оло оро , а я могу сказать малако молоко малоко или молако)

[@livetwiceforyou]

@@Максим-р4ч2я M(ə)l(ʌ)ko

[@Максим-р4ч2я]

@@livetwiceforyou это будет как мэлако) что тоже сойдет

[@YaShoom]

@@Максим-р4ч2я глупостей не пишите, мы реально говорим [мълако], а не [малако] и тем более не "малоко или молако", как вы указали. Не путайте иностранцев, они-то не знают и вы можете их научить ошибочному произношению.

[@Максим-р4ч2я]

@@YaShoom ты с какой деревни?)

[@ethiop_frum]

In reality, the Russian language requires knowledge of grammar. A clear pronunciation of vowel sounds is available only in a strong position (under stress). The pre-stressed vowel is less distinct, and the other positions are even weaker. In the word "карандаш" phonetically there will be. [кър@нда́ш]

[@halt7625]

Cyrillic: О / о Normal: O / o

[@rsvihla]

Аканье.

[@josephmith6198]

Matiox

[@RichieLarpa]

I hoped you would explain the mindfuck in case of "водá" and "вóду", but I guess it is again the element of randomness, is that correct?

[@SpankyHam]

sometimes stress is "walking around" syllables in different case forms of particular word - иногда ударение "гуляет"/прыгает между слогами для разных падежей одного и того же слова.

[@behruz_mirahmedov]

Curse words

[@YaShoom]

These are different cases. What beautiful water [vadAh]. Give me this water [vOduh].

[@SiloSimon]

Поггерс

[@SpankyHam]

Ар ю толкинг эбаут вот айм синкинг? 😂😂😂

[@aaronm8228]

How terrible/funny is it to pronounce an O as an O rather than an A? Can it be "cute" coming from a non native?

[@SpankyHam]

O as an O - you will sound very "Ukrainian"/Vologda style by doing this. For a person to pronounce the pure letter O as O is quite energy consuming in terms of the tension of the articulatory muscles and the reduction of O as weak A just exists in order to spend less effort and energy during a conversation. Если вы произносите слово "корова" как КОрОва вместо каРОва то вас конечно поймут. Но при этом вы можете немного повеселить своего собеседника манерой произношения, может быть он даже слегка рассмеётся. You will certainly be understood. But at the same time, you can amuse your interlocutor a little with the manner of pronunciation, maybe he will even laugh a little.

[@YaShoom]

You already have 90 percent of the wrong formulation of speech, do not aggravate your pronunciation.

[@themuhammad1]

This confuses me all the time and most cringe to me

[@Natashanjka]

Believe me, many Russians put the stress incorrectly, too. I'm a teacher but I often use an orthoepic dictionary, because I learnt many words with a wrong stress in my childhood.

[@themuhammad1]

@@Natashanjka I'm Urdu speaker from Pakistan and it is easy for me adapt Russian language. For, there are few things that perplex me.

[@Natashanjka]

@@themuhammad1 Russian and Urdu are similar in something?

[@themuhammad1]

@@Natashanjka yes, its the pronunciation of the letters.

[@Natashanjka]

@@themuhammad1 wow, I didn’t know about that.