Russian Typing Practice

Switch your keyboard to Russian, then type the 33 letters, then real words and sentences, row by row.

Type each word and press space after it. The clock starts on your first key. 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 ъ ы ь э ю я
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All 496 letters, words and sentences

The 33 letters, each with its row, finger and English key 33

  • а The letter а, named а. Home row, left hand, index finger: the key marked F on an English keyboard, a home key, and the one with the raised mark. Shift gives А. It looks like Latin a but is a different character, and the key marked A types ф instead. It is also a word on its own: but, and.
  • б The letter б, named бэ. Bottom row, right hand, middle finger: the comma key on an English keyboard. Shift gives Б. The Russian comma is not on this key. On the standard layout, the one with ё to the left of 1, it is Shift + the key marked /. On the layout with ё on the backslash key it is Shift + 6.
  • в The letter в, named вэ. Home row, left hand, middle finger: the key marked D on an English keyboard, a home key. Shift gives В. Its capital В looks like Latin B, but it is a different character. It sounds like v. It is also a word on its own: in, into.
  • г The letter г, named гэ. Top row, right hand, index finger: the key marked U on an English keyboard. Shift gives Г.
Show all 496 letters, words and sentences (492 more)

The 33 letters, each with its row, finger and English key, continued

  • д The letter д, named дэ. Home row, right hand, ring finger: the key marked L on an English keyboard, a home key. Shift gives Д.
  • е The letter е, named е. Top row, left hand, index finger: the key marked T on an English keyboard. Shift gives Е. It looks like Latin e but is a different character, and the key marked E types у instead.
  • ё The letter ё, named ё. Number row, left hand, little finger: on the standard Russian layout it is the ` key, to the left of 1. On the other widely shipped Russian layout it moves to the backslash key. Printed Russian often writes е in its place, which the spelling rules allow, but this drill asks for ё wherever the dictionary headword has it, and е is a miss. Shift gives Ё.
  • ж The letter ж, named жэ. Home row, right hand, little finger: the semicolon key on an English keyboard, a home key. Shift gives Ж.
  • з The letter з, named зэ. Top row, right hand, little finger: the key marked P on an English keyboard. Shift gives З.
  • и The letter и, named и. Bottom row, left hand, index finger: the key marked B on an English keyboard. Shift gives И. It is also a word on its own: and.
  • й The letter й, named и краткое, the short i. Top row, left hand, little finger: the key marked Q on an English keyboard. Shift gives Й. The mark on top is part of the letter, so it has its own key and и is a miss.
  • к The letter к, named ка. Top row, left hand, index finger: the key marked R on an English keyboard. Shift gives К. Its capital К looks like Latin K, but it is a different character. It is also a word on its own: to, towards.
  • л The letter л, named эль. Home row, right hand, middle finger: the key marked K on an English keyboard, a home key. Shift gives Л.
  • м The letter м, named эм. Bottom row, left hand, index finger: the key marked V on an English keyboard. Shift gives М. Its capital М looks like Latin M, but it is a different character, and the key marked M types ь instead.
  • н The letter н, named эн. Top row, right hand, index finger: the key marked Y on an English keyboard. Shift gives Н. Its capital Н looks like Latin H, but it is a different character. It sounds like n.
  • о The letter о, named о. Home row, right hand, index finger: the key marked J on an English keyboard, a home key, and the one with the raised mark. Shift gives О. It looks like Latin o but is a different character, and the key marked O types щ instead. It is also a word on its own: about.
  • п The letter п, named пэ. Home row, left hand, index finger: the key marked G on an English keyboard. Shift gives П.
  • р The letter р, named эр. Home row, right hand, index finger: the key marked H on an English keyboard. Shift gives Р. It looks like Latin p but is a different character, and the key marked P types з instead. It sounds like r.
  • с The letter с, named эс. Bottom row, left hand, middle finger: the key marked C on an English keyboard. Shift gives С. It looks like Latin c and sits on the same key, but it is a different character. It sounds like s. It is also a word on its own: with.
  • т The letter т, named тэ. Bottom row, right hand, index finger: the key marked N on an English keyboard. Shift gives Т. Its capital Т looks like Latin T, but it is a different character.
  • у The letter у, named у. Top row, left hand, middle finger: the key marked E on an English keyboard. Shift gives У. It looks like Latin y but is a different character, and the key marked Y types н instead. It is also a word on its own: at, by.
  • ф The letter ф, named эф. Home row, left hand, little finger: the key marked A on an English keyboard, a home key. Shift gives Ф.
  • х The letter х, named ха. Top row, right hand, little finger: the left bracket key, [, on an English keyboard. Shift gives Х. It looks like Latin x but is a different character, and the key marked X types ч instead.
  • ц The letter ц, named цэ. Top row, left hand, ring finger: the key marked W on an English keyboard. Shift gives Ц.
  • ч The letter ч, named че. Bottom row, left hand, ring finger: the key marked X on an English keyboard. Shift gives Ч.
  • ш The letter ш, named ша. Top row, right hand, middle finger: the key marked I on an English keyboard. Shift gives Ш.
  • щ The letter щ, named ща. Top row, right hand, ring finger: the key marked O on an English keyboard. Shift gives Щ.
  • ъ The letter ъ, named твёрдый знак, the hard sign. Top row, right hand, little finger: the right bracket key, ], on an English keyboard. Shift gives Ъ. It has no sound of its own. Today it mostly separates a prefix from a root that starts with е, ё, ю or я, as in объект and съезд.
  • ы The letter ы, named ы. Home row, left hand, ring finger: the key marked S on an English keyboard, a home key. Shift gives Ы.
  • ь The letter ь, named мягкий знак, the soft sign. Bottom row, right hand, index finger: the key marked M on an English keyboard. Shift gives Ь. It has no sound of its own: it softens the consonant before it, so брат is brother and брать is to take.
  • э The letter э, named э. Home row, right hand, little finger: the apostrophe key on an English keyboard. Shift gives Э.
  • ю The letter ю, named ю. Bottom row, right hand, ring finger: the full stop key on an English keyboard. Shift gives Ю. The Russian full stop is not on this key. On the standard layout, the one with ё to the left of 1, it is one key further right, on the key marked /, and Shift + that key gives the comma. On the layout with ё on the backslash key, the full stop is Shift + 7 and the comma is Shift + 6.
  • я The letter я, named я. Bottom row, left hand, little finger: the key marked Z on an English keyboard. Shift gives Я. It is also a word on its own: I.

Home row only: ф ы в а п р о л д ж э 40

  • два two
  • вода water
  • право a right; law
  • правда truth
  • продажа sale
  • пол floor
  • вывод conclusion
  • род kind, sort; family line
  • пара pair, couple
  • пора it is time; a season
  • двор yard, courtyard
  • рад glad
  • повод reason, occasion
  • папа dad
  • дар gift
  • доллар dollar
  • дважды twice
  • порода breed
  • да yes
  • до up to, before
  • по along, by, according to
  • под under
  • про about
  • вы you, to several people or politely to one
  • во in, the form of в used before some consonant clusters
  • повар cook
  • парад parade
  • радар radar
  • дрова firewood
  • олово tin, the metal
  • жара heat, hot weather
  • жажда thirst
  • водопад waterfall
  • пар steam
  • арфа harp
  • лапа paw
  • подвал basement, cellar
  • вправо to the right
  • овал oval
  • эра era

Top row with the home row: й ц у к е н г ш щ з х ъ 86

  • год year
  • уже already
  • когда when
  • где where
  • нужно it is necessary
  • город city, town
  • однако however
  • цена price
  • группа group
  • должен must, ought to, said of a man
  • хорошо well; good, fine
  • каждый each, every
  • первый first
  • новый new
  • другой other, another
  • назад back; ago
  • школа school
  • друг friend
  • глаз eye
  • легко easily
  • рынок market
  • куда where to
  • наш our
  • какой which, what kind of
  • голова head
  • закон law
  • девушка girl, young woman
  • далеко far
  • воздух air
  • журнал magazine, journal
  • вдруг suddenly
  • дорога road
  • кофе coffee
  • кафе café
  • зал hall
  • жена wife
  • завод factory, plant
  • озеро lake
  • душа soul
  • парк park
  • одежда clothes
  • везде everywhere
  • поздно late
  • редко seldom
  • шкаф wardrobe, cupboard
  • груша pear
  • кошка cat
  • выход exit
  • запад west
  • погода weather
  • холод cold
  • луна moon
  • нога leg; foot
  • еда food
  • лук onion; also a bow for arrows
  • урок lesson
  • вокзал railway station
  • дело matter, business
  • важный important
  • поезд train
  • дерево tree
  • экран screen
  • эхо echo
  • подъезд entrance to a block of flats
  • даже even
  • надежда hope
  • как how; as, like
  • она she
  • век century; age
  • окно window
  • океан ocean
  • наука science
  • река river
  • рука hand; arm
  • не not
  • на on, at, to
  • его his; him
  • за behind; for
  • он he
  • но but
  • же a small word that adds emphasis
  • раз a time, once
  • ваш your, yours, plural or polite
  • плохо badly; bad
  • надо it is necessary, one must
  • над above, over

Bottom row with the home row: я ч с м и т ь б ю 91

  • что what; that
  • быть to be
  • там there
  • часть part
  • просто simply, just
  • работа work, job
  • три three
  • мир world; peace
  • люди people
  • потом then, afterwards
  • почти almost
  • часто often
  • сам oneself, himself
  • быстро quickly
  • работать to work
  • имя first name
  • пять five
  • фильм film
  • жить to live
  • любовь love
  • мать mother
  • дочь daughter
  • помочь to help
  • спорт sport
  • история history; story
  • мост bridge
  • идти to go on foot
  • читать to read
  • офис office
  • брат brother
  • мысль thought
  • мяч ball
  • час hour
  • спасибо thank you
  • стол table
  • масло butter; oil
  • письмо a letter that you post
  • память memory
  • радость joy
  • сюда here, to this place
  • дом house; home
  • мама mum. In capitals МАМА looks exactly like Latin MAMA, but м and а are on the V and F keys.
  • сад garden
  • сыр cheese
  • салат salad; lettuce
  • слово word
  • лампа lamp
  • рис rice
  • почта post office; mail
  • пальто coat
  • лист leaf; sheet of paper
  • пальма palm tree
  • было was, the neuter form
  • дома at home
  • дядя uncle
  • вопрос question
  • словарь dictionary
  • алфавит alphabet
  • аэропорт airport
  • это this, it
  • этот this, before a masculine noun
  • этаж floor, storey
  • поэт poet
  • дождь rain
  • рыба fish
  • любить to love; to like
  • юмор humour
  • вот here is, there is
  • вас you, as the object of a verb
  • тот that, that one
  • рост growth; a person's height
  • остров island
  • автор author
  • ворота gate; goal in football
  • рот mouth
  • сто one hundred
  • торт cake
  • сова owl
  • март March
  • июль July
  • для for
  • от from, away from
  • или or
  • то that
  • мы we
  • бы would, the word that marks a wish or a condition
  • ли whether, the word that marks a yes or no question
  • ты you, to one friend or child
  • мало little, few
  • чтобы in order to, so that
  • при at, in the presence of

Words with ё, the letter print often drops 41

  • её her, hers. Often printed ее, without the dots.
  • ещё still; more. Often printed еще, without the dots.
  • всё everything, all. Without the dots, все means everyone.
  • счёт bill; score; account
  • самолёт aeroplane
  • ребёнок child
  • режиссёр director of a film or play
  • объём volume, size. Both ъ and ё in one short word.
  • вперёд forward
  • полёт flight
  • актёр actor
  • серьёзно seriously
  • тяжёлый heavy; hard
  • лёгкий light; easy
  • днём in the daytime
  • моё my, mine, with a neuter noun
  • идёт goes, is going
  • живёт lives
  • даёт gives
  • берёт takes
  • пришёл came, arrived, said of a man
  • нашёл found, said of a man
  • зелёный green
  • жёлтый yellow
  • тёплый warm
  • тёмный dark
  • мёд honey
  • ёж hedgehog
  • ёлка spruce; the New Year tree
  • тётя aunt
  • звёзды stars
  • берёза birch
  • костёр campfire
  • ковёр carpet
  • котёнок kitten
  • весёлый cheerful
  • твёрдый hard, firm
  • клён maple
  • лётчик pilot
  • партнёр partner
  • учёба studies

Words built only from letters that pass for Latin ones 37

  • место place
  • комната room. In capitals КОМНАТА looks like the Latin letters KOMHATA.
  • весна spring, the season
  • смех laughter
  • хвост tail
  • все everyone, all. With two dots, всё means everything.
  • так so, like this
  • нас us
  • нет no; there is not
  • кто who
  • тут here
  • снова again
  • ответ answer
  • скоро soon
  • текст text
  • свет light; world
  • театр theatre
  • сторона side
  • страна country
  • вкус taste
  • совет advice; council
  • утро morning
  • сон sleep; dream
  • тренер coach, trainer
  • ветер wind
  • сестра sister
  • карта map; card
  • ресторан restaurant. In capitals, РЕСТОРАН looks like the Latin letters PECTOPAH.
  • север north
  • восток east
  • нос nose. In capitals НОС looks like Latin HOC, but н, о and с are on the Y, J and C keys.
  • сахар sugar
  • кот tomcat, cat
  • нота a note in music
  • касса till, ticket office
  • сосна pine tree
  • носок sock

Days and months, which take no capital 17

  • понедельник Monday
  • вторник Tuesday
  • среда Wednesday; also environment
  • четверг Thursday
  • пятница Friday
  • суббота Saturday
  • воскресенье Sunday
  • январь January
  • февраль February
  • апрель April
  • май May
  • июнь June
  • август August
  • сентябрь September
  • октябрь October
  • ноябрь November
  • декабрь December

Short common words 19

  • из out of, from
  • их their; them
  • они they
  • если if
  • очень very
  • чем than
  • мой my, mine
  • свой one's own
  • здесь here
  • теперь now, nowadays
  • всегда always
  • никогда never
  • завтра tomorrow
  • вчера yesterday
  • много much, many, a lot
  • только only
  • также also, as well
  • после after
  • через through; in, after a length of time

Words with х, ъ, ж, э, б or ю, the letters on English punctuation keys 38

  • пожалуйста please; you are welcome
  • отдыхать to rest, to be on holiday
  • кухня kitchen
  • автобус bus
  • билет ticket
  • буква a letter of the alphabet
  • пробел a space between words
  • экзамен exam
  • энергия energy
  • поэтому therefore, that is why
  • объявление announcement, advertisement. The hard sign ъ keeps б apart from the я sound.
  • объект object
  • съезд congress; also a turn-off from a road
  • хлеб bread
  • хороший good
  • хотеть to want
  • художник artist, painter
  • успех success
  • жизнь life
  • тоже also, too
  • можно one may, it is possible
  • между between
  • муж husband
  • дружба friendship
  • большой big
  • больше more; bigger
  • без without
  • более more, used before an adjective
  • берег shore, bank
  • белый white
  • бумага paper
  • бабушка grandmother
  • небо sky
  • обед lunch, the day's main meal
  • юг south
  • ключ key
  • компьютер computer
  • любой any

Words that jump between the top and bottom rows 58

  • человек person, human being
  • время time
  • сегодня today
  • здравствуйте hello, the formal greeting. The first в is silent but it is always typed.
  • привет hi
  • извините excuse me, sorry
  • сейчас now, right now
  • сколько how much, how many
  • почему why
  • который which, that, who
  • день day
  • ночь night
  • вечер evening
  • неделя week
  • месяц month
  • деньги money
  • семья family
  • учитель teacher
  • студент student
  • ученик pupil
  • книга book
  • страница page
  • язык language; tongue
  • русский Russian
  • пример example
  • знать to know
  • думать to think
  • говорить to speak, to say
  • сказать to say, to tell
  • видеть to see
  • смотреть to look, to watch
  • слушать to listen
  • делать to do, to make
  • купить to buy
  • играть to play
  • маленький small
  • красивый beautiful
  • интересный interesting
  • молодой young
  • старый old
  • красный red
  • улица street
  • магазин shop
  • машина car; machine
  • гостиница hotel
  • музей museum
  • музыка music
  • песня song
  • солнце sun. The л is silent but it is always typed.
  • зима winter
  • лето summer
  • осень autumn
  • цветок flower
  • птица bird
  • клавиатура keyboard
  • клавиша a key on a keyboard
  • запятая comma
  • точка full stop; point, dot

Short sentences 36

  • Сегодня, возможно, пойдёт дождь. It may well rain today. Tatoeba sentence 13987436 by marafon.
  • Всё вроде идёт хорошо. Everything seems to be going well. Without the dots, все would mean everyone. Tatoeba sentence 13806102 by marafon.
  • Вы прочтёте эту книгу? Will you read this book? Tatoeba sentence 13963004 by marafon.
  • Отец пришёл домой поздно. Father came home late. Tatoeba sentence 14020437 by marafon.
  • Её дом за мостом. Her house is beyond the bridge. The first word holds both letters: a capital Е, then ё. Tatoeba sentence 13986444 by marafon.
  • Вы пьёте много кофе. You drink a lot of coffee. Tatoeba sentence 13307622 by marafon.
  • Телевизор всё ещё работает. The television still works. Tatoeba sentence 13997743 by odexed.
  • Попробуйте ещё раз, пожалуйста. Try once more, please. Tatoeba sentence 13956269 by marafon.
  • К пятнице всё готово. Everything is ready for Friday. Tatoeba sentence 14004954 by marafon.
  • Вы идёте в парк? Are you going to the park? Tatoeba sentence 13937969 by Wezel.
  • Осень идёт за летом. Autumn follows summer. Tatoeba sentence 13732522 by marafon.
  • Спасибо за тёплый приём. Thank you for the warm welcome. Tatoeba sentence 14033667 by marafon.
  • Мы вернёмся домой завтра. We will come back home tomorrow. Tatoeba sentence 13861883 by Wezel.
  • Самолёт вылетел рано утром. The plane took off early in the morning. Tatoeba sentence 13513770 by Wezel.
  • Всё готово к зиме! Everything is ready for winter! Tatoeba sentence 12973018 by marafon.
  • Что пчёлы делают зимой? What do bees do in winter? Tatoeba sentence 11999653 by marafon.
  • Этот банан ещё зелёный. This banana is still green. Tatoeba sentence 13706769 by marafon.
  • Чашку зелёного чая, пожалуйста. A cup of green tea, please. Tatoeba sentence 13671468 by Wezel.
  • Погода тёплая и солнечная. The weather is warm and sunny. Tatoeba sentence 11179973 by marafon.
  • Пчёлы дают нам мёд. Bees give us honey. Tatoeba sentence 2412267 by sharptoothed.
  • Кто живёт этажом ниже? Who lives on the floor below? Tatoeba sentence 6802431 by nina99nv.
  • Машина ждёт у подъезда. The car is waiting at the entrance. Both ё and ъ in four words. Tatoeba sentence 4923842 by soniamiku.
  • Это сегодня или завтра? Is it today or tomorrow? Tatoeba sentence 13887863 by marafon.
  • Какое сейчас время года? What season is it now? Tatoeba sentence 13564853 by marafon.
  • Хочешь чай или кофе? Would you like tea or coffee? Tatoeba sentence 12944131 by marafon.
  • Хорошая сегодня погода, правда? Nice weather today, isn't it? Tatoeba sentence 13592176 by marafon.
  • Ты часто слушаешь музыку? Do you often listen to music? Tatoeba sentence 13168650 by EugeneGS.
  • Я люблю шоколадный торт! I love chocolate cake! Tatoeba sentence 13978711 by odexed.
  • Где ты делаешь уроки? Where do you do your homework? Tatoeba sentence 14029603 by marafon.
  • Большое спасибо, до свидания! Thank you very much, and goodbye! Tatoeba sentence 13843627 by marafon.
  • Спасибо за подробное объяснение. Thank you for the detailed explanation. The hard sign ъ sits inside the last word. Tatoeba sentence 13422948 by marafon.
  • Доброе утро, дорогие студенты! Good morning, dear students! Tatoeba sentence 13214496 by EugeneGS.
  • Это море или озеро? Is that the sea or a lake? Tatoeba sentence 8624718 by marafon.
  • Смотри! Кошка на кухне! Look! The cat is in the kitchen! Tatoeba sentence 14004584 by marafon.
  • Почему школа сегодня закрыта? Why is the school closed today? Tatoeba sentence 13088591 by Wezel.
  • Вы умеете печь хлеб? Do you know how to bake bread? Tatoeba sentence 12495991 by marafon.

How this list was compiled: Words chosen for this site from the Wiktionary frequency list 'Mixed web', described on its index page as the 2.4M most frequently occurring Russian words from a variety of web sources (2014-2021): a Wortschatz Leipzig list built, as its page says, from the 2014 Web (Kazakhstan), 2015 Web (Latvia), 2015 Web (Ukraine), 2015 Web ([presumably former] Soviet Union), 2019 News (Russia), 2019 Web Public (Russia) and 2021 Russian-language Wikipedia 1M-sentence corpora (no film-subtitle list was used), https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wiktionary:Frequency_lists/Russian/Mixed_web and its second page https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wiktionary:Frequency_lists/Russian/Mixed_web/10000-50000, both read 2026-09-19. The list ranks word forms, not dictionary headwords, so a verb's infinitive can rank far below its everyday forms. Every one of the 427 words was checked on 2026-09-19 to have a Russian entry at https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ followed by the word, spelt as the headword with ё. The English meanings were written for this site and compared with those entries, and words whose main sense is rude, slang, drug or military were cut. The one-letter words named in the letter notes (а, в, и, к, о, с, у, я) were checked the same way. Key positions for all 33 letters, and on the standard layout the full stop on the key marked /, the comma on Shift + that key, ! on Shift + 1 and ? on Shift + 7: the Unicode CLDR keyboard file https://raw.githubusercontent.com/unicode-org/cldr/release-43/keyboards/windows/ru-t-k0-windows.xml. The other widely shipped layout, https://raw.githubusercontent.com/unicode-org/cldr/release-43/keyboards/osx/ru-t-k0-osx.xml, places the other 32 letters on the same keys, ё on the backslash key, the comma on Shift + 6, the full stop on Shift + 7 and ? on Shift + the key marked /. The two files were compared key by key. ЙЦУКЕН as the main Russian layout: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JCUKEN and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyboard_layout. Home keys ФЫВА and ОЛДЖ, with the raised marks on А and О: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Слепой_метод_печати. Which finger takes which column: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touch_typing and its figure 'The standard placing of fingers on QWERTY keys'. Letter names, the hard and soft signs, брат and брать, the sounds of в, н, р and с, and ё being optional in print: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_alphabet. ё often printed as е, and все against всё: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yo_(Cyrillic). Days of the week and months written without a capital: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_orthography. Lookalike letters (Latin aBceHKopTxy against Cyrillic аВсеНКорТху, and с sharing a key with Latin c): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homoglyph. Capital М looking the same as Latin M: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Em_(Cyrillic). The twelve Cyrillic letters with a Latin double, А В Е К М Н О Р С Т У Х: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_Russia. All checked 2026-09-19. The 36 sentences come from the Tatoeba corpus, https://tatoeba.org, found 2026-09-19 with its search set to Russian sentences of four to eight words that have an owner who is a self-declared native speaker and a direct English translation; sentences with punctuation beyond , . ? and ! were passed over, and each chosen sentence was read for a ё printed as е. Each is credited with its Tatoeba number and author and opens at https://tatoeba.org/en/sentences/show/ followed by the number. The English line with each sentence was checked against the linked Tatoeba translation and is often the same. Every word and sentence was read against a Russian and an English blocklist of rude and upsetting words. A word that fits several drills is printed once in this list, under the first heading that fits it. The drill in the Practise menu still includes it. Licence: own work (selection, grouping, glosses and notes; words checked against Wiktionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, CC BY-SA; key positions from the Unicode CLDR keyboard data, https://github.com/unicode-org/cldr, Unicode License). The items in the sentences group are from Tatoeba, https://tatoeba.org, under CC BY 2.0 FR, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/fr/, each credited to its author by user name. Where the English line is the same as a Tatoeba translation, that translation is under the same licence and its author is named on the linked sentence page.

How it works

Russian typing practice on an English keyboard starts with finding the keys: а sits on F, not on A. Only one look-alike, с, stays put. The drills climb the ЙЦУКЕН layout one row at a time. Pick one and a Test length: 15, 30 or 60 seconds. The space bar ends each letter or word, and each run ends with WPM and accuracy.

Read the full guide

Eleven drills, from 33 letters to 36 sentences

The Practise menu opens on the first drill, the 33 letters. Take the drills in order: the 33 letters, the home row, where вода and правда never leave фывапролджэ, then the top and bottom rows. Next come ё words, look-alikes, days and months without capitals, common words, the punctuation-key letters, words that jump between rows and 36 Tatoeba sentences.

Letters that only look Latin

Twelve Cyrillic letters pass for Latin ones: seven in both cases and five, В, К, М, Н and Т, only as capitals. The look-alike drill has 69 words built from nothing else. In capitals ресторан reads as PECTOPAH, though р is r and с is s. A Latin o typed for о looks identical and still counts as a miss. If every word turns wrong, the keyboard is still set to English.

  • Rest your index fingers on а and о, the keys with raised marks. Your hands cover фыва and олдж, the English home keys.
  • For Russian keyboard practice without stickers, open Show all 496 letters, words and sentences under the tool. Its first group gives each letter its row, finger and English key.
  • Punctuation moves too. With ё left of 1: full stop on the / key, comma with Shift, ? on Shift + 7. With ё on the backslash key: comma Shift + 6, full stop Shift + 7, ? on Shift + /.

Questions and answers

How do I type Russian letters on an English keyboard?

Add Russian as an input language in your settings and switch to it. The Windows Russian layout puts ё left of 1, and a Mac's puts it on the backslash key, which also moves the punctuation: the last tip gives both. On a phone, add a Russian keyboard.

Why was е marked wrong when most Russian text skips ё?

The match follows the dictionary spelling. Print often writes е for ё, but they are two letters on two keys. The dots can decide the word: всё is everything and все is everyone. All 41 ё words want the real letter, from ещё to самолёт.

Do I need a Russian keyboard or stickers?

No. A layout is software, so any keyboard types Cyrillic once Russian is switched on. Touch typing works from the home keys, not the legends. Start with да, вода and два: every letter is one of the eight home keys.

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