Quote Originally Posted by GreenLarry View Post
Spacibo tovariche!
Now how is the Х pronounced?
It's pronounced like Darth Vader breathing, more or less. Or, if you prefer, like the Spanish "j" in jalapeño.

In other words, it's a very "back-of-the-throat" H-sound. But don't make the mistake -- as many English speakers do when learning Russian -- of pronouncing it too "wet and rough," like you're trying to bring up phlegm. It's a "dry and smooth" sound.

By the way, in Russian translations of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, the character we call Helen of Troy became Елена (pronounced "Yelena"), yet for some reason Helen's daughter Hermione became Гермиона -- which is also the spelling used in the Harry Potter translations. (Yet in the original Greek, both Helen and Hermione start with the same sound.)