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Some Russian letters look like English letters but are pronounced differently. You want to watch out for these:

 Bв: The capital letter in this pair looks exactly like the English B, but don’t trust appearances: The letter is pronounced like the English letter v, as in victor or vase.

 Ee: English speakers very often feel an irresistible urge to say it like ee, as in the English word geese — but that sound in Russian is made by the letter И. In fact, it should be pronounced as ye in yesterday. Be aware, though, that the letter Eeis sometimes pronounced as ee, but only in an unstressed position in a word.

 Ёё: Note the diaeresis (two cute little dots), and don’t confuse this one with the English letter E — Ee and Ёё are two different letters! Ёё is pronounced like the yo in yoke.

 Hн: This letter looks like the English H, but actually, it’s pronounced like n, as in Nick.

 Pp: In Russian, this letter is pronounced like an r, not like the English letter P, as in Peter.

 Cc: This letter is always pronounced like the s in sun, never like the k in cake.

 Уу: This letter is pronounced like the oo in shoot, never like the y in yes.

 Xx: Never pronounce this letter z or ks, like the first and last x, respectively, in the word Xerox. In Russian, the sound it represents is a coarse-sounding, guttural kh, similar to the German ch. (See “Surveying sticky sounds” later in this chapter for info on pronouncing this sound.)