Learn Russian from A to Z: Your Complete Guide to Learning Russian

The Russian language ranks sixth among the most widely spoken languages ​​in the world, and first among the East Slavic languages ​​spread in Eastern Europe. The Russian language, or Cyrillic, began to spread in Europe starting in the ninth century thanks to the monks who tried to write the Bible in it, which helped in its spread.

It is spoken by millions of people around the world, whether as a mother tongue or a second language. The Russian language is considered one of the languages ​​that differ from the rest of the languages ​​of the countries of Europe and Asia. Although it is located in the continents of Asia and Europe, it is distinguished from them in many characteristics, which makes learning it more difficult.

Now let us mention some of the characteristics that make the Russian language different from other languages.

Features of the Russian alphabet

The Russian alphabet is known as the Cyrillic alphabet and is from the Indo-European language family, which is used in the Russian language and some other languages ​​by Russia and a number of countries affiliated with the former Soviet Union, and is based on the ancient Greek alphabet.

Some of its features:

• The Russian alphabet consists of 33 letters: А, Б, В, Г, Д, Е, Ё, Ж, З, И, Й, К, Л, М, Н, О, П, Р, С, Т, У, Ф, Х, Ц, Ч, Ш, Щ, Ы, Ь, Э, Ю, Я.
• The Russian alphabet is characterised by the presence of some letters that are similar to the Latin language in the way they are written, but not in the way they are pronounced, such as В, which is pronounced V , and the letter S , which is pronounced C.
• On the other hand, there are several letters in the Russian alphabet that have no equivalent in English in writing or pronunciation, namely Ё, Ж, Ц, and Щ.
• The Russian letters are also characterised by the presence of some diacritical marks that determine the correct pronunciation method and what are called the five or phonetic letters and revolve around the accent and the short and long alif.

What are the main rules of the Russian language?

There are many rules in the Russian language that are not similar to the rules in other languages, and there are even some conflicts between them. However, the rules in the Russian language are similar to the rules in the Old Slavonic languages.

Therefore, it is important to pay attention to the rules and practice them in a continuous and organized manner. In this article, we will present some of them:

• Which is subject to three rules: case, number, and gender. There are six cases: the genetic case , the nominative case, and the dative case .
• In these cases, they are inflected according to gender (male, female, neutral), and number (singular or plural).
• Example of the word book: it is in the definite noun книга, and in the genitive case книги.

• Verbs in Russian are conjugated according to tense (present, past, future), according to pronoun (I, you, he/she/they), and of course according to number (singular and plural).
• Each case has a specific rule depending on the time and situation, so it has many rules.

• Nouns and verbs are inflected and tanweened according to gender, number, case, and even the genitive and direct object.
• A sentence in Russian consists of a subject, a verb, and an object, but the order may differ depending on the speaker's or intended meaning, and the rules for affirmation and confirmation differ from negation and interrogation.

How to learn Russian for beginners

Russian is one of the most widely learned languages ​​today, but since it differs from other languages ​​in many aspects, and as we mentioned earlier about the differences it has from other languages , learning Russian can be a challenge for learners from different linguistic backgrounds, such as Arabs.

However, we can say that it is not impossible, and that nothing is difficult with continuous training and work, so it is necessary to know that it will require a long time and effort, as the average number of hours that you may need to learn the Russian language starts from 1100 hours as a start to mastering the language.

But you will find that the more you continue to practice, the easier it will become. In addition, the Russian language is considered one of the languages ​​in the world with the fewest words, so you will not find it more difficult than the Arabic language in this regard. When you start learning the Russian language, try to adhere to some advice:

As we all know, everything starts with the basics. The beginning is always difficult, but once you master it, it will undoubtedly make the rest of the way easier. Therefore, focus on the beginnings, learn the correct alphabet, try to master the sounds, then start learning numbers and memorizing some simple basic words and sentences as a start.

If you want to learn the Russian language, you must be aware that this will not happen overnight, but you must build a specific system for practicing the language daily, and identify your weak points and what are the most important methods and means that you have dealt with them.

Listening is the first skill that we always start with when learning, especially languages , so you have to expose yourself to the language as much as possible so that your mind gets used to the sounds and they become familiar, and thus absorbing and assimilating the language makes more sense in your mind.

Speaking is a skill that depends largely on practice. If you hear the language a lot but do not use your tongue to express yourself, there will be a gap between what you want to say and expressing it.

So make sure to practice speaking even if you don't have a partner, and there are many ways that I talked about this point and you can refer to them and search.

You should not neglect the reading aspect if you want to learn the Russian language or any language in general, as reading is one of the most important skills for practicing and improving the language, especially the sounds. You can start with short or simple and entertaining texts, such as short stories or articles of your preference.

Reading is useful not only for mastering sounds but also as a good source for memorizing some new phrases, words and sentences that you can use later.

As for writing, it is also important as a basic aspect of the language and cannot be neglected. It is important in consolidating the learning process, and you can also start by writing simple texts that do not necessarily have to be complex.

At first, you will find yourself unable to deal with the language without dictionaries or references. This is very normal at first, and it is also important for understanding the meanings of words. Some references also help you understand the grammar rules, so they are very useful and important.

This point is one of the most important points to encourage you to practice the language, so we advise you to join pages or groups of multilingual people in which there are people who share the same interest as you or even have sufficient experience.

Everyone must have their own way of learning the language and maybe you can try some methods or help you find some.

Your own way. In the end and in the beginning, language learning is only done when you find the way that suits you.

Educational resources for languages ​​vary between electronic and books. You can search for resources that suit your level of language and search for visual resources for teaching the language, whether they are videos on YouTube channels or even search for educational centers qualified to teach you.

Russian language learning courses with the Madrasa.com platform:

Madrasa.com offers many features for beginners in learning the Russian language, such as:

• A simple curriculum that suits students according to their level.
• Advanced teaching methods by a group of experienced and qualified trainers in teaching the Russian language.
• Flexibility in choosing appointments for students.
• Continuous follow-up, tests and training.

Finally, the challenge in learning the Russian language comes only from the fact that it is unfamiliar and not similar to other European languages, but in reality this language can be mastered with persistence, patience, determination, and enrolling in the courses of the Madrasa.com platform to learn the Russian language.