The Soft Sign ь
The Soft Sign
The soft sign ь has no sound of its own. It shows that the consonant before it is soft: соль (salt), дзень (day), восень (autumn), пісьмо (letter).
How It Works
Where ь is written
- At the end of a word: соль, дзень, восень, конь, пяць, чытаць.
- Before a hard consonant: пісьмо (letter), бацька (father), касьба (mowing).
- After л before any consonant: толькі, колькі, вельмі.
- In the plural command ending: кіньце, сядзьце.
Where ь is not written
- After letters that are always hard: ноч, мыш, дождж, цар (Russian writes ночь, мышь).
- After б, в, м, п, ф: голуб, сям’я.
- When the next consonant is soft too: песня, снег, свет, дзверы. The softness spreads by itself, and the official spelling does not mark it. Exceptions keep ь because a related form has a hard consonant or by a fixed rule: пісьменнік (from пісьмо), людзьмі, дзецьмі.
After н, ь inside a word is written mainly before the suffixes -к- and -еньк-: нянька, маленькі. Compare конскі (from конь), which has no ь.Older and diaspora texts in taraškievica write many more soft signs (сьнег, сьвет, песьня); see Official Spelling and Taraškievica.
A separating ь
In a few words ь also separates a soft consonant from the vowel after it, as in льецца (pours). After hard consonants that job is done by the apostrophe: сям’я.
Examples (6)
- Дай мне, калі ласка, соль.
Pass me the salt, please.
Word by Word: Give me, please, salt.
соль ends in a soft л, marked with ь.
- Восень у Беларусі цёплая.
Autumn in Belarus is warm.
Word by Word: Autumn in Belarus warm.
- Я пішу пісьмо сябру.
I am writing a letter to a friend.
Word by Word: I write letter to-friend.
In пісьмо, ь marks a soft с before the hard м.
- Мой бацька вельмі любіць рыбу.
My father really loves fish.
Word by Word: My father very loves fish.
Three uses of ь: before a hard к, after л before a consonant, and at the end of a verb.
- Гэта мая любімая песня.
This is my favourite song.
Word by Word: This my favourite song.
No ь in песня: the с is soft because the next н is soft.
- Ноч была цёмная.
The night was dark.
Word by Word: Night was dark.
No ь after ч, which is always hard.
Common Mistakes
Writing ь after an always-hard consonant, as in Russian.
Ночь была цёмная.Ноч была цёмная.Ч is always hard in Belarusian, so it never takes ь.
Marking softness caused by the next soft consonant (official spelling).
Гэта мая любімая песьня.Гэта мая любімая песня.In the official spelling ь is not written when the following consonant is also soft. Песьня is the taraškievica spelling.
Writing ь after a labial consonant.
На даху сядзіць голубь.На даху сядзіць голуб.Belarusian does not write ь after б, в, м, п or ф.
How It Connects
Learn This First
The soft sign is learned with the alphabet.
Related Patterns
- Always-Hard ж, ш, ч, р, цAlways-Hard Ж, Ш, Ч, Р and Ц
Ж, ш, ч, дж, р and the old hard ц never take ь. The soft ц that comes from т does: пяць, чытаць.
Level 1 - The Apostrophe
The apostrophe separates a hard consonant from я, е, ё, ю, і, while ь marks softness.
Level 1 - Tsekanye and Dzekanye
Soft ц and дз often carry ь: дзень, пяць.
Level 1 - Official Spelling and Taraškievica
Taraškievica writes ь in places the official spelling does not.
Level 5
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice The Soft Sign ь in Bubblegum
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