The alphabet and the sounds of Russian
The “friendly” letters (А, К, М, О, Т), then the look-alikes: Р reads r, Н reads n, В reads v.
Russian · for English speakers
Learn Russian for English speakers
5 minutes a day. The Cyrillic alphabet in 8 days, then short lessons built around the traps an English speaker falls into. Levels A1 → B2.
Cyrillic first
33 letters, 8 days, and the false friends Р, Н, В, У flagged.
The 6 cases, in colour
One colour per case, a one-sentence explanation.
Spaced review
Missed words come back at the right moment, not at random.
5-minute lessons, from the first letter to the first conversation
Every unit is a chapter of real life. Lessons alternate reading, listening, word blocks to put in order, pairs to match and a sentence to say aloud.
Introducing yourself
Меня зовут… — your name, nationality, city. A first meeting with the nominative and the instrumental.
At the café, in the street
Ordering, asking the way, counting to 100. Verbs of motion, one step at a time.
Family, work, time
Talking about yourself in the present and the past; verb aspect explained with examples, not tables.
Vocabulary chosen for an English speaker
The most frequent words first, the many borrowings flagged, the false friends called out before they bite.
котthe cat
ресторанthe restaurantborrowing
багажthe luggageborrowing
магазинthe shopfalse friend: not “magazine”
журналthe magazine
семьяthe family
The 6 cases, one colour each
Russian declines nouns and adjectives. Instead of a table of endings, each case has its colour and its question; you recognise them before you recite them.
Nominativeименительный
Это кот.
This is a cat. — the subject
Genitiveродительный
Нет кота.
There is no cat. — absence, possession
Dativeдательный
Дай коту.
Give it to the cat. — the recipient
Accusativeвинительный
Я вижу кота.
I see the cat. — the direct object
Instrumentalтворительный
С котом.
With the cat. — the means, the company
Prepositionalпредложный
О коте.
About the cat. — the place, the topic
Sound right from day one
Three rules make 80 % of the difference between Russian that is read and Russian that is understood.
Word stress
One syllable per word carries the stress, and it moves: молокó, мáма. Beelang marks it on every new word.
Unstressed о sounds like [a]
хорошо is said [kha-ra-sho]. You hear it in every lesson, with the [ma-la-tok] transcription under the word.
Soft consonants
The soft sign ь and the vowels я, е, ё, ю soften the consonant before them. The microphone corrects you word by word.
From A1 to B2, one step at a time
The course follows the European framework; a level ends when you can hold the conversation it promises.
Read Cyrillic, introduce yourself, order, ask the way.
Tell your day, shop, talk about family and work.
Follow an everyday conversation, give an opinion, write a simple message.
Debate, follow a film without subtitles, read a news article.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to know Cyrillic before starting?
No. The first 8 days teach the alphabet letter by letter, starting with the ones that look like ours.
How much time a day?
A lesson takes 5 minutes. One a day keeps your streak; spaced review brings words back at the right moment.
Is it free?
Free to start. Beelang Plus adds unlimited hearts, microphone pronunciation correction and the 6-case sheets.
Which devices?
iOS, Android and the web — same account, same progress.
I speak French — is there a French version?
Yes, the same method in French: /fr/learn/russian/.