Thread: сего́дня

Isn't г supposed to sound like a g? It sounds like a v here to me. Am I missing something?

Originally Posted by leosmith

сегодня
It sounds like a v here to me.

Yes. Nowadays it does sound like "v", as well as in the words like "чего", "кого".

Why is this? That complicates the alphabet slightly...

That is just how the language is developed. Like saying "Why is 'who' pronounced 'hoo' in English and not with a W sound."

Don't worry though it's quite an easy 'rule' to learn.

Basically in the genitive adjectival ending -oго and -его, the г is pronounced like a в (v)

You probably haven't got as far as learning the genitive case yet, so in the meantime, basically whenever you see -oго and -его at the end of a word, the г is mostly likely going to be prounounced /v/.

cегодня was originally two words сего дня meaning 'of this day'.


The most common exception is the word много (a lot of / many) which is pronounced with a G sound.

Originally Posted by TATY

That is just how the language is developed. ....

Приветик!

thanks! But can you explain the pronunciation of живёте and Входите?

Originally Posted by leosmith

But can you explain the pronunciation of живёте and Входите?

These words are pronounced according to spelling. What is the problem exactly?

Originally Posted by it-ogo

These words are pronounced according to spelling. What is the problem exactly?

According to spelling, and applying all default rules, such as devocing 'в' before 'х' and resucing of unstressed vowels.

Voiced consonants (б, в, г, д, ж, з) are pronounced as their unvoiced equivalent (п, ф, к, т, ш, з) when they precede an unvoiced consonant, and vice-versa.

For example, the word "ни́зкий" (low) is pronounced "ни́ский", which initially confused me as I couldn't find the word "ниский" in any dictionary!

Voiced consonants are also pronounced unvoiced at the end of words.

For example, the word "по́езд" (a train) is pronounced "по́ест". Don't ever spell it this way though, as it may get confused with the word "пое́ст", which is the 3rd-person singular future tense of the verb "пое́сть", meaning "to eat"!

I'm ok with живёте now, but the Вхо in Входите sounds like the vi in viaduct to me.

An unstressed o in Russian often makes the "ah" sound. The x is probably just difficult to hear or to say in that position.

Originally Posted by leosmith

I'm ok with живёте now, but the Вхо in Входите sounds like the vi in viaduct to me.

Perhaps what you are hearing is "войдите" rather than "входите". Both words are used as an invitation to come in.