When и sounds like ы

[@AmazingRussian]

This is brilliant, Curtis! 👍🏻

[@russiangrammar]

Thanks, that means a lot coming from the creator of a channel as good as yours! )) NOTE FOR BEGINNERS: Olga has been updating her videos on the Russian sound system and they are excellent. If you’re starting out with hard & soft consonants, I highly recommend you start with her new video on the Amazing Russian channel: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b16Vpal3mb2Mb7s

[@AmazingRussian]

Russian grammar , it’s a huge honor and encouragement for me. Thank you!

[@АлександрВолжанин-в9ш]

Вы гении ))) Я носитель языка и не задумываюсь как говорю. Вы придумали правила, которых нет в Русском языке, но всё так и есть. Они (правила) - реально помогут в чистом произношении. Друг из Вьетнама попросил оценить ваше видео. Можно ли по нему учиться? Да - можно, и нужно! Это круто!

[@Жменя-у6ф]

Посмотрите спектрограммы звуков языков. Тут не правила, а измерения. Ну, и, конечно, ознакомьтесь с Vowel chart'ом, если не знаете, что это. С уважением.

[@ChernomirdinReturn]

Ну скорее всего в фонетике все эти правила указаны. :)

[@LiveRussian]

What a useful video for intermediate students!!! Not every Russian teacher can explain it this well! Bravo!

[@russiangrammar]

Спасибо! )

[@vojar9455]

These videos are gold ! 10/10

[@jpaulo_ap]

This lesson was mind-blowing. I've been studying Russian for more than a year now and I haven't yet figured this out, until today. Thank you so much!

[@russiangrammar]

Links for the examples: Бэлла Ахмадулина, В тот месяц май... Read by Аня Чиповская: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fJTbkmh_ZduVnNU Read by Айнур Ниязова: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fGram3iwhc2We8U Даниил Хармс, Иван Иваныч Самовар Read by Артём Долгобородов: kzbin.info/www/bejne/emPWe6uonLp0qdk Read by Даниил Хармс: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z3_CqXmBntKkrtU

[@JonandEva]

Brilliant video! I've been speaking Russian for 8 years and this video answered a couple questions I've had for a very long time. I've never had anybody be able to explain this well to me. I noticed that «в Индии» or «в Италию» are pronounced with an ы sound, but this is the first time I got why. Thanks! +1 subscriber. - *Jon*

[@nemetskiylager]

Если бы ты был русским, тебя бы звали Иван(Иван - это русская версия имени Джон)

[@arthursimsa9005]

Excellent lesson!

[@utomato1147]

Your lessons really encourage me to continue my Russian study~Please keep updating~and Thank you sooooo much~

[@prplt]

some of the sounds you describe aren't [i] but [ɪ] tho, when и is stressed it's [i] and when it's unstressed it's [ɪ] in fact most Russians probably have no idea that they are pronounced different, like I was also very surprised when I found out that they aren't the same but now I can tell the difference with no problems ;)

[@RuilinLinRyan]

Nice, thank you for the video! I live in the USA and have no one to practice Russian with so I rlly appreciate anything to help my pronunciation be as close to native as possible!

[@Serghey_83]

Слова со звуком «Ы» в обратных слогах под ударением и без • «бы»: ша́йбы, бы́л, жа́бы, грибы́, столбы́, бычо́к, зу́бы, бы́ль, • «вы»: вы́рос, вы́игрыши, вы́л, львы́, вы́лет, сли́вы, со́вы, вы́лететь, вы́ли, вы́шка, вы́ступ, вы́сох, вы́ставка, • «ды»: сады́, ряды́, дрозды́, пруды́, дыша́ть, ды́рка, ла́ндыши, ла́ндыш, плоды́, звёзды, бесе́ды, • «жи» (произностся как жы): окажи́, удержи́, миражи́, жигули́, снару́жи, ножи́, жи́вность, стеллажи́, коржи́, положи́, чертежи́, жи́дкий, жира́ф, моржи́, лу́жи, жира́фа, этажи́, расскажи́, задержи́, жи́молость, стрижи́, чижи́, жи́ле, пейза́жи, жиле́т, жило́й, жира́фы, живо́й, подскажи́, жи́тель, жи́дкость, лы́жи, держи́, жи́вопись, витражи́, жи́ли, жиры́, платежи́, мане́жи, живо́т, завяжи́, повяжи́, жильцы́, гаражи́, покажи́, • «зы»: моро́зы, призы́, ва́зы, угро́зы, зы́бь, возы́, • «лы»: лы́ко, голы́, полы́нь, ви́лы, лы́жи, малыши́, лы́сый, • «мы»: смычо́к, камы́ш, кумы́с, па́льмы, камыши́, мы́ло, мы́л, мыши́, мы́шка, мы́с, мы́ли, • «ны»: обезья́ны, оси́ны, детёныши, кочаны́, во́льный, кло́уны, ны́л, поля́ны, я́сный, чемода́ны, слоны́, широколи́стный, газо́ны, блины́, сосны́, почтальо́ны, тюльпа́ны, лимо́ны, бараба́ны, флако́ны, широче́нные, макаро́ны, клёны, • «пы»: ла́пы, ли́пы, снопы́, пы́шка, ла́мпы, пы́ль, шипы́, шля́пы, • «ры»: вы́игрыши, го́ры, рыба́к, дары́, ши́фры, шары́, кры́ша, ры́нок, зе́бры, кры́ши, па́ры, ры́ба, ры́сь, кры́шка, бобры́, ры́ть, коры́то, покры́шка, ти́гры, жиры́, но́ры, и́гры, • «сы»: ко́сы, сы́р, сы́пь, усы́, сы́т, о́сы, носы́, весы́, часы́, подно́сы, ли́сы, сы́н, лы́сый, косы́нка, • «ты»: зонты́, ша́хматы, со́ты, самока́ты, взя́тый, плиты́, кусты́, сты́к, пусты́ня, клесты́, болты́, то́рты, хала́ты, ле́нты, плоты́, космона́вты, газе́ты, мосты́, посты́, хвосты́, мотылёк, кроты́, цветы́, гале́ты, • «ши» (произностся как шы): вы́игрыши, шалаши́, карандаши́, детёныши, хороши́, ши́на, беляши́, шипя́щие, ши́фры, шифрова́льщик, кало́ши, ва́ши, широкопле́чий, гру́ши, маши́на, шифрова́ть, кры́ши, ладо́ши, ю́ноши, шипи́т, шине́ль, камыши́, покроши́, шика́рно, рассмеши́, широколи́стный, широ́кий, шипу́чка, баклу́ши, широ́кие, широко́, ширина́, ши́ло, ши́шечка, ши́шки, поспеши́, шифрова́льщица, шипо́вник, ча́ши, гало́ши, шипы́, ши́шка, шифрова́ние, ла́ндыши, мыши́, шифонье́р, ши́ть, ти́ши, су́ши, шифро́вка, малыши́, широче́нные, надпиши́, пиши́, шикану́ть, ерши́, гроши́, на́ши, кла́виши, • «фы»: ша́рфы, шкафы́, жира́фы, • «цы»: певцы́, кузнецы́, борцы́, бойцы́, жильцы́, пловцы́, Слова со звуком «Ы» в середине слова • Под ударением: вы́рос, вы́л, бы́л, сы́р, сы́пь, вы́лет, сты́к, пусты́ня, камы́ш, ны́л, кры́ша, сы́т, ры́нок, жи́дкий, лы́ко, вы́лететь, кры́ши, пы́шка, кумы́с, вы́ли, пы́ль, вы́шка, мы́ло, зы́бь, мы́л, ры́ба, ры́сь, полы́нь, ды́рка, кры́шка, лы́жи, ры́ть, мы́шка, сы́н, коры́то, покры́шка, мы́с, мы́ли, вы́ступ, косы́нка, вы́сох, вы́ставка, бы́ль, маши́на, • Без ударения: смычо́к, детёныши, взя́тый, во́льный, рыба́к, я́сный, дыша́ть, камыши́, широколи́стный, бычо́к, ла́ндыши, мыши́, ла́ндыш, малыши́, широче́нные, мотылёк, Слова со звуком «Ы» в конце слова • Под ударением: часы́, плиты́, клесты́, удержи́, бобры́, голы́, платежи́, возы́, держи́, певцы́, сосны́, грибы́, кроты́, стеллажи́, усы́, покажи́, ножи́, жильцы́, жиры́, призы́, плоты́, ряды́, дрозды́, посты́, шары́, подскажи́, пруды́, столбы́, слоны́, моржи́, львы́, мосты́, зонты́, чертежи́, шипы́, болты́, бойцы́, кузнецы́, хвосты́, плоды́, сады́, весы́, гаражи́, расскажи́, повяжи́, снопы́, задержи́, этажи́, борцы́, коржи́, блины́, дары́, цветы́, кусты́, пловцы́, носы́, шкафы́, кочаны́, положи́, завяжи́, окажи́, • Без ударения: ти́гры, то́рты, космона́вты, ли́сы, детёныши, ла́пы, кры́ши, зе́бры, поля́ны, на́ши, па́льмы, гале́ты, ли́пы, бараба́ны, сли́вы, го́ры, газо́ны, ша́йбы, со́вы, обезья́ны, мане́жи, подно́сы, снару́жи, ко́сы, ю́ноши, звёзды, гало́ши, оси́ны, чемода́ны, лы́жи, флако́ны, тюльпа́ны, и́гры, но́ры, пейза́жи, газе́ты, баклу́ши, почтальо́ны, клёны, хала́ты, ва́ши, ша́хматы, ле́нты, лимо́ны, ладо́ши, ла́ндыши, ви́лы, па́ры, ша́рфы, о́сы, угро́зы, ла́мпы, кло́уны, со́ты, макаро́ны, зу́бы, су́ши, лу́жи, кало́ши, шля́пы, ча́ши, ши́фры, моро́зы, ва́зы, жира́фы, самока́ты, гру́ши, жа́бы, бесе́ды,

[@bryxlynn]

These videos are so helpful omg, you're a life saver

[@Drmrfordancing]

Wonderful! So clear and very helpful. Большое спасибо!

[@samtlt]

Подтверждаю, у меня та же проблема со словом knee.

[@RussianLanguagePodcast]

Отличное видео, обязательно поделюсь со своими учениками.

[@AK-yc1sw]

Great channel great job

[@KimDammers]

This explains about producing the difference, but I can't hear the difference (except when you say them).

[@shaddyhacker]

Hi! Is there a particular order for your videos or should we just watch from oldest to recent? Amazing channel BTW!

[@russiangrammar]

Hi shaddyhacker! I wouldn't recommend going from oldest to most recent, since I haven't made them in any particular order. If you're taking a course, just search for whatever topic you're working on in class. If you're not in a class, it'd be a great idea to follow a path set out by an experienced teacher - for working on your own with a book, I often recommend Nicholas Brown's New Penguin Russian Course. The course at learnrussian.rt.com/ is also good, and www.mezhdunami.org is another good online resource for beginners (both free!).

[@shaddyhacker]

Thanks a lot!

[@pouritenne8996]

it's quite interesting to think that in early cyrillic spelling ы looked more like ъi, and since every word ending in a consonant was written with ъ after said consonant, it would kind of make sense to get ы just by a combination of two separate letters а вотъ i мы not sure if the conjunction was spelled as i and not as и though

[@matthewturner6593]

This was really interesting and useful - спасибо большое. I just had one question - would this occur with other vowels that indicate a soft consonant before eg would говорит Елена be pronounced говорит Элена? Also, could this occur the other way round, so that if you had a soft consonant followed by a hard-marking vowel? eg есть апельсины would that really be есть япельсины? Again, thanks. This video was great.

[@russiangrammar]

Great question. Keep in mind that the *letters* я, е, ё, ю at the beginning of a word are two sounds (ya, ye, yo, yu), so Елена, Ялта don't start with vowel sounds: they start with the soft consonant [j] (as in yard, yellow). Russian has no constraint against [j] after a hard consonant, so [j] doesn't drop out and we say [gǝvarit jilʲɛnǝ] for говорит Елена. Conversely, the presence of a final soft consonant doesn't require insertion of [j], so апельсины would not be pronounced *япельсины. There are times when the hardness/softness of consonant sounds can influence adjacent vowel sounds (careful: not letters, but sounds!), as we see with и and ы, but that may be best left for another video (or follow-up question :) ).

[@matthewturner6593]

@@russiangrammar Thanks a lot!

[@overlangedart]

Thanks for explaining, now I know how to pronouns Russian i. First I saw the phoneme [-i-], I thought it's like Turkish i, that's comparable with the vowels in the German word "wirken".

[@solihajanaydarova6602]

Здравствуйте из Узбекистана. Я не умею говорить по английски. Но ваш урок очень полезно. Расскажите и обьесните пожалуйста про редакции гласных букв. Спасибо за ответ заранее 💐

[@russiangrammar]

Здравствуйте Золиха! Два ролика о редукции гласных звуков можно найти здесь: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bn7MaIquhc1qpLM и kzbin.info/www/bejne/o3rEeqaMnt6lZsU Если вы хотите объяснения на русском, очень рекомендую канал Ольги Джаррелл, Amazing Russian kzbin.info

[@solihajanaydarova6602]

@@russiangrammar я безумно рада получив ваш ответ Спасибо вам. Дай бог вам здоровья много успехов и счастье

[@cliffordcasnermillar4976]

Suppose one word ends with a hard consonant, & the next word starts with е, ё, ю, or я; is there any change from the regular pronunciation of any of the letters?

[@russiangrammar]

Bonus points for an interesting question nobody has asked me before! Keep in mind that е, ё, ю, я (when not following a soft consonant) are two sounds: [j] (as in German 'ja,' or English 'yard') + a vowel sound. Generally both sounds are preserved after a hard consonant (spelling with a hard sign reflects this: под- + ехать is spelled подъе́хать), so the vowel sound normally won't change, as it's following [j], not the hard consonant. On the other hand, stress can enter into it: can't find the reference now, but I think I've heard русским языком pronounced [ruskimɨzɨkom]; perhaps because unstressed я reduces to [i], which would make it more likely to behave like и after a hard consonant.

[@cliffordcasnermillar4976]

Thank you for the help, I have only just started to study Russian, in case I sound ignorant, & I’m still attempting to master the sound system. I wonder if this was a reason that all words not ending in a vowel or soft side ended with a hard sign prior to the Bolshevik spelling reform.

[@russiangrammar]

Actually, centuries ago ъ was used for a vowel sound which later became silent in some positions, including at the end of the word (kind of like the 'e' in English 'name'). It wasn't until the reform of 1918 that the spelling system caught up with this change. There's a quick summary of this at therussianblog.wordpress.com/2012/08/21/on-the-russian-hard-sign/. :)

[@music_appreciation]

My question is: if I continue to pronounce И as И in these cases (which I as a native English-speaking student will probably do), will Russians still understand what I'm saying?

[@russiangrammar]

I'm curious: would the issue stem from a difficulty in pronouncing ы in general, or interference from the printed word (not being used to pronouncing the letter и as ы)? But in any case, no worries, you'll certainly be understood. This is a subtlety that many beginning materials don't even mention. :)

[@music_appreciation]

@@russiangrammar I think it's a combination of both "a difficulty in pronouncing ы in general" AND "interference from the printed word". My brain sees something like "в Италии" & thinks: "It's hard enough to pronounce Ы in the first place; why should I have to do it when I see a letter like И that would normally stand for a sound that's easier for me? Heck, the best I can do is just say И & pray that people don't misinterpret my 'в Италии' as 'Виталий'!"

[@Llampec95]

There's one think that doesn't match this explanation, or at least that's what it seems to me... the endings with -ли . I'm convinced I hear the vowel "ы" in there, not "и". An example can be any past tense in plural like "забыли". In this case (забыли) aren't the two last vowels completely the same? Also in the word или, to me the last vowel is ы ... But according to the explanation of the video, "л" should be soft before an "и" and shouldn't sound like "ы"... Помогите мне!

[@russiangrammar]

I've heard a tendency in some speakers for a final, unstressed и (especially before a pause) to glide into something like the [ɪ] vowel of English "bit," "sit," most noticeably after л - like the examples you give. Perhaps this is what you're noticing? I've just been listening to some examples I've isolated and there is a clear difference between the final -и in обсужда́ли, взя́ли and the final vowel in они́; but the onset of the vowel is [i], and the preceding consonant is definitely still soft. I don't recall this being emphasized in phonetics classes; interestingly, at rifmovik.ru if you type или into the search form (and choose словоформы in the dropdown), it'll give this transcription: [и л’ иэ] (that final э should be superscript). Your question has reawakened my interest in this, so I'll write a blog post including the audio examples and sonograms that show a clear difference in these examples. Спасибо за очень интересный вопрос!

[@Llampec95]

@@russiangrammar Thanks for your quick and detailed answer! It's really helpful, especially knowing that I still need to pronounce the soft consonant before it, cause it's hard for me to hear the difference. What you say makes complete sense. I could hear that something was different in there but couldn't quite tell what was it.

[@TheSchoolOfForeignLanguages]

Спасибо

[@changeitall9201]

Hello, can "л" be hard and soft depending on the word? Like in лис and лыс

[@russiangrammar]

Yes, the л in лис is soft, and the л in лыс is hard. Other examples: учитель ends in a soft л, and пепел ends in a hard л; the л is лёд is soft, and the л in лодка is hard.

[@changeitall9201]

Russian grammar thank you so much!

[@RuilinLinRyan]

Are there any situations where "я" sounds like "и". I hear it pronounced similarly sometimes on DuoLingo and that confuses me haha

[@russiangrammar]

Yes, unstressed я is normally pronounced like и; so пяти́ has essentially the same vowel sound in both syllables. The clip of Аня Чиповская ( kzbin.info/www/bejne/fJTbkmh_ZduVnNU ) has nice examples: in the 3rd & 4th lines of the 2nd to last stanza, listen for how unstressed я sounds like и in глядя́т, вяза́ньем. When unstressed я is in a grammatical ending (ку́хня, но́вая), though, it's a little different - more a very quick, indistinct vowel sound: as in пе́нья and пе́рья in the 2nd stanza. If Duolingo is still using synthesized speech, I'd urge you to find recordings of real speakers to work from instead - songs and poems can be a great resource! I have a free ebook with suggestions at www.tips4russian.com/tryout/.

[@RuilinLinRyan]

Russian grammar awesome thank you! You're the best grammar and Russian content creator I have come across. You're great man, keep it up

[@RuilinLinRyan]

Russian grammar the first link has a 404 error D:

[@russiangrammar]

Спасибо, Ruilin Lin! I've fixed the link. ))

[@YouNeedToRepentYou]

Do Russian children handle these complex unconsciously? Whenever I have to pronounce ы, I always look for a heavy table around me and lift the very heavy table and say ыыыыыыы

[@russiangrammar]

Yes, they do it unconsciously! It seems complex when explained, but it's really a matter of ease of pronunciation. When you pronounce a soft consonant, the tongue is already relatively raised in the mouth, so it's natural to pronounce и [i], for which the tongue is also raised. ы is pronounced with the tongue a little lower, so it's easier to pronounce after a hard consonant.

[@graywolf182]

What is this phonetic transcription system called? Doesn't look like IPA.

[@russiangrammar]

It's a modified system based on what was used in a textbook I was using with my students, and what was available on the computer I was using at the time (that's why I used the 'combining palatalized hook below' for soft consonants).

[@graywolf182]

@@russiangrammar Very interesting. Is the full character table available online anywhere? Or maybe that textbook itself?

[@russiangrammar]

I don't know if the table is online, but here's a link to the book (used in a Structure of Russian class, for 3rd-year students), Hamilton's 'Introduction To Russian Phonology And Word Structure': slavica.indiana.edu/bookListings/textbooks/Russian_Phonology

[@graywolf182]

@@russiangrammar I have not been able to find the book in open access, but thank you for the trouble anyway.

[@kiyoshifurukawa6406]

i have a question about 7 letter rule. plural of девушка--девушки. we spell девушки,but real pronunciation is девушкы ?

[@russiangrammar]

No, we really do pronounce it девушки. I'm not aware of any Russian words with the sequence (in spelling, or pronunciation) of кы, гы, or хы. Татьяна Толстая did write a novel called Кысь, but that's a word she made up, and the combination of кы does make it sound strange. :)

[@kiyoshifurukawa6406]

@@russiangrammar many thanks for your answer. the point i said is that russian и-sound belongs to palatalization vowel as е,ё,я,ю. however г, к,х --guttural consonant(near throat).for me,to combine guttural consonant with palatalization vowel is not easy. in my opinion,девушки possibly девушкй(й as y of boy).

[@russiangrammar]

When pronouncing к, г, and х, the back of your tongue touches (or for х, comes close to) the velum, toward the back of the roof of your mouth. To palatalize them, just raise the front part of your tongue - it will become easier with practice. :) Keep in mind that й is a consonant (like 'y' in 'yard'), which is articulated in basically the same place as the vowel и.

[@kiyoshifurukawa6406]

@@russiangrammar Thank you very much for your great professional help !!

[@graywolf182]

@@russiangrammar It's quite common in toponyms of non-Russian origin. Кыргызстан, Кызыл, Кыштым, Кындыг, etc

[@techmasteryt4536]

Mashina for car otherwise sounds like shch to me not sh