The Hard Sign and the Soft Sign: ъ and ь

Russian has two letters that are never pronounced by themselves: the soft sign ь and the hard sign ъ.

The soft sign ь

The soft sign makes the consonant before it soft, as if followed by a tiny y.

• мать (mat'), mother
• день (dyen'), day
• семь (syem'), seven
• конь (kon'), horse

Compare брат (brat), brother, with its hard final consonant.

Soft sign in the middle

Between a consonant and a vowel, the soft sign shows that the consonant is soft and that the vowel is pronounced with a y:

• семья (sem'ya), family
• статья (stat'ya), article
• платье (plat'ye), dress

Soft sign in grammar

The soft sign also marks some verb forms and nouns:

• говорить (govorit'), to speak. The infinitive often ends in -ть.
• ночь (noch'), night, which is feminine.

The hard sign ъ

The hard sign is rare. It separates a prefix that ends in a consonant from a root that begins with a soft vowel, so the vowel keeps its y sound.

• объект (ob-yekt), object
• подъезд (pod-yezd), entrance to a building
• съесть (s-yest'), to eat up

Why they matter

Skipping either sign changes the spelling and can change the word. A dictionary helps you check which one a word needs.

Tips

1. Treat ь as a softener.
2. Expect ъ only after prefixes.
3. Use the dictionary to confirm spelling.

Look up any Russian word with English Russian Dictionary →