LESSON 21: ‘Ъ’ (HARD SIGN)

The hard sign ‘ъ’, like the soft sign, has no sound of its own and is used to modify the pronunciation of preceding consonant. It keeps the consonant hard in the position before the soft-indicating vowels - я, ю, е, ё. And the vowel is pronounced separately from the consonant like it would be pronounced at the beginning of the word.

Listen to the audio and compare the difference in pronunciation between syllables. 

бе - бъе     ве - въе      се - съе

бё - бъё     дё - дъё     сё - съё

бя - бъя     зя - зъя      ся - съя  

The hard sign ‘ъ’ is important for correct pronunciation of the words. It can even change the meaning of the word. Compare: ‘сесть’ means ‘to sit down’ and ‘съесть’ means ‘to eat’.

Task 1: Listen to the audio. Then read out loud

се – съе       съел           съезд

сё – съё       съёмка

бе – бъе       субъект      объект

бё – бъё       объём

де – дъе       подъезд

дё – дъё       подъём 

ве – въе        въезд

зя  – зъя       изъян

Task 3: Listen to the audio & compare pronunciation of the words with the soft sign, hard sign & without them. Then read the words out loud

объём - бьёт

сел - досье - съел 

зяблик - изъян - друзья