How to Learn Russian, Step by Step

To learn Russian, start with the Cyrillic alphabet. Russian vowels change sound when they aren't stressed, so learn each word with its stress from the start. About 145 million people speak Russian as their first language (2026 figure), Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan all use it as an official language. Russian is written with 33 letters.

How to Learn Russian, Step by Step

The first four steps get you reading. Steps 5 and 6 grow with you from there.

• 🔤Learn Cyrillic With AudioLearn a few Cyrillic letters at a time, and hear each one in a real word, like нет (no).
• 👀Watch the Look-Alike LettersSome letters look English but sound different. Р makes an r sound, Н an n sound and С an s sound, so ресторан means “restaurant.”
• 🎯Learn the Stress With Each WordWhen о isn't stressed, it sounds like а, so вода (water) starts like ва. Books for learners mark the stress with an accent, and everyday writing leaves it out.
• 🪶Hear Hard and Soft SoundsThe soft sign ь makes the sound before it softer, as in конь (horse). Listen for it in every new word.
• 🧩Notice the Case EndingsA Russian noun has six cases, so книга (book) turns into книгу when it's the thing someone gives. Watch for these endings in stories.
• 🔁Learn Verbs in PairsMost verbs come in pairs: читать is reading in progress, and прочитать is reading that's finished. Learn both forms together, then use them with a tutor.

For step 1, Bubblegum's Russian alphabet course starts with the letters you already know from English. For step 5, Duostories has 76 Russian stories with audio, and italki lists Russian tutors for step 6. If you're choosing between study methods, the best way to learn Russian compares them, and the easiest way to learn Russian shows what makes Russian easy or hard at the start.

Find Where You Are

Bubblegum is a language app with Russian lessons at six levels, and every lesson has audio. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes each one about a topic you choose. If you can't read Cyrillic yet, start at the first row.

1. Start With the Alphabet

   I can't read Cyrillic yet.

   Work through the course's nine short chapters, and say each new letter out loud as you meet it.

   Russian alphabet course →
2. Level 1

   I can sound out words but not much else.

   Play the café dialogues one line at a time, and mark the stressed vowel in each new word.

   Level 1 café dialogues in Russian →
3. Level 2

   I can read simple sentences.

   Read Duostories with audio, and say each line again without looking at it.

4. Level 3

   I can read short stories and messages.

   Read longer learner stories, and ask a tutor to check the case endings in your summary.

5. Level 4

   I can read longer texts about everyday life.

   Listen to the Russian With Max podcast, and notice which verb of each pair the speaker picks.

6. Level 5

   I can follow complex topics, but miss some details.

   Read BBC News Russian, and notice which case each preposition takes.

7. Level 6

   I can read almost anything.

   Read Russian novels, and ask your tutor about the sentences you had to read twice.

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