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Russian Language Essentials
Part 3
In conclusion: Russian spelling rules / Базовые орфографические правила
This introductory course is primarily aimed at developing your skills in reading and using Russian phonetics. However, the importance of knowledge of the spelling rules should not be ignored because these rules are essential when learning the grammar.
That is why we complete this course with a few basic spelling rules that will help you throughout your further studies.
There are eight letters involved in the three important Russian spelling rules:
Г
К
Х
Ж
Ш
Ч
Щ
Ц
These rules are often called the 5-letter rule, the 7-letter rule and the 8-letter rule.
Knowing these rules helps spell words correctly, especially when it comes to endings of verbs, nouns and adjectives.
Г
К
Х
Ж
Ш
Ч
Щ
Ц
5-letter spelling rule: after Ж Ш Ч Щ Ц — no unstressed О. Use Е instead!
Г
К
Х
Ж
Ш
Ч
Щ
Ц
7-letter spelling rule: after Г К Х Ж Ш Ч Щ — no Ы. Use И instead!
Г
К
Х
Ж
Ш
Ч
Щ
Ц
8-letter spelling rule: after Г К Х Ж Ш Ч Щ Ц —
no Я. Use А instead!
no Ю. Use У instead!
To help memorizing the 8-letter list you may use the phrase below as a memo tip.
