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Author Topic: Learn to read Russian signs  (Read 182567 times)

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Offline mendeleyev

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Learn to read Russian signs
« on: December 25, 2007, 10:57:06 PM »
Welcome to an interactive project for learning some basic Russian language reading and understanding skills. 

With the assistance of our most excellent Culture and Language moderator Chrismc and several of our Russian ladies/gentlemen as our ongoing language advisors, we can post Russian signs.  Let's start with a level of a beginner and allow members to learn as we go.  This is a thread designed to allow someone to start at their level, no matter how new, and grow to at least a basic level of reading and understanding proficiency.

We'll depend on our very talented Russian members to "grade" our responses.  Please do not make fun of each other or be critical.  It is important that each person be allowed to make mistakes and for help to be given so they can learn without fear of ridicule.

When you think about it, reading signs is one of the most important abilities for a traveler, yet most don't know how and spend a lot of money on guides and translators even for the ability to move about a region or city. 

Here are some goals for this thread:

1) Help members learn the alphabet...in the four basic forms of upper and lower case printed letter and upper and lower case cursive letters.

2) Over time we can teach our members how to navigate the basics and save some money in more simple travel and navigation by recognizing and understanding street signs, travel/traffic signs, and by understanding basic advertising signs.  As we do this our members will have the power of control over their own travel and not be totally dependent for every move on someone else.

3)  We will assist our members with the written basics of a beautiful language system and give them tools to better understand their new family members.

Rules of the road:

A) Please post any signs you find, but at first let's keep them very simple
B) Post only 3-4 at a time so that our members have time to read and then work on translating them.
C) Allow a little time between photo postings for members to respond and practice and for our panel of Russian experts to make comments and corrections if needed.
D) Offer encouragement to each other as this will help build confidence.

Remember the goal is not to offer a class on how to read complicated journals or newspapers.  We are striving for the simple:  Just the basic understanding skills for travel and advertising signs to assist in navigation.
First I'll post some alphabet resources and then we can slowly add some basic photos.





Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Lets learn to read Russian signs together
« Reply #1 on: December 26, 2007, 12:12:42 AM »
In my humble estimation, understanding the alphabet is vital to learning Russian.  Many times we listen to good language programs and learn to speak words and phrases but we don't do it perfectly or we say words with an accent.  Neither do we fully understand what we're saying because every single language CD progam takes grammar shortcuts...designed to teach us the basics but we usually miss something in the process. 

Knowledge of the Russian alphabet will help rid you of some accent issues...perhaps not all....but when you know how a letter should sound and what that letter is (instead of a memorized phrase or word) you can say words and phrases correctly and be more easily understood.

The Cyrillic Alphabet
Russian is naturally phonetic so once you learn the alphabet your learning/speaking will accelerate more rapidly.  Unlike English which requires us to learn the letters, the name of the letters, and the sound of the letters, Russian is more simple.  The name of the letter is the sound of the letter in most cases.  Much easier.

Russian has a total of 33 letters.  To make them simple lets break them down into parts:
- There are 10 vowels.  Broken down into 5 "hard" vowels and 5 "soft" vowels.  They are paired and easy to learn.
- There are 21 consonants.
- There are 2 letters which have a name but they have no sound.  They are silent and simply serve to tell you how to place emphasis on surrounding letters.  One of them the "hard" sign is no longer used in modern Russian so you will rarely see it unless you're reading a very, very, very old book.  The "soft" sign you'll get to know and use.

You may find it easiest to learn the alphabet in order from "Ah" to "Ya."  When I learned it, I divided it into 3 equal groups of 11 letters.  Then practiced and practiced until I had them memorized and could repeat them without looking.  Do it however you deem best.

Learn the alphabet by both writing and speaking it.  Writing it will solidify your visual comprehension and help as you begin to read signs and directions. 

Our first resource is for learning the alphabet.  You should practice and learn each letter using 4 forms.  Those forms are:  Printed in upper case and lower case, and in cursive writing style in upper and lower case.

Why learn the cursive?  3 reasons:
1. Russians never print anything.  A shopping list or directions from your hotel to an apartment will always just naturally be written in cursive.  Many letters look very differently from upper to lower case and from printed to cursive.  Just one quick example, a printed P looks like this П, but a lower case cursive P looks something more along the lines of an English lower case n.

2. Russian signmakers have a habit of mixing printed and cursive styles in signs.  A word with 6 letters could very well have 3 printed letters and 3 cursive.  Because they look very different you'd never be able to read the sign by learning only the printed alphabet.

3. When your lady sends you a Christmas card, shopping list or love note, she will always write it in cursive.  With only the printed alphabet you will have no clue what she wrote.

Okay, here we go!

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Lets learn to read Russian signs together
« Reply #2 on: December 26, 2007, 12:56:36 AM »
Go to this website and follow the link.  http://www.languageguide.org/im/alpha/ru/
1) Place your cursor over each letter to listen to the alphabet as it's spoken. 
2) Practice writing each letter, using both printed cases and cursive cases.

This site even includes a basic quiz to test your ability to put the alphabet in order.

Assignment:
-Listen to this for 10 minutes day for 30 days and you'll have learned it permanently.
-Write the alphablet 3-5 times each day for 60 days and you'll have learned it permanently.


If you have problems with Real Player then use one of these alternate sites instead: 
http://www.languagehelpers.com/members/russian/online/languagehelper.html
(Just hit the "next" button until the alphabet appears.  Click on each letter to listen.)

Or, try http://www.masterrussian.com/blalphabet.shtml if those two don't work.


Notes:
A) Each of these websites pronounce the C letter as "ehs" like an English S.  The Cyrillic C does take the place of an English S, true.  But if you will remember that it can be either "ceh" or "ehs" words depending on usage you may find that words will flow easier and are easier to learn. 

Just two quick examples: the Russian word for soup is суп and is spoken as "suup."  Try starting that word with an "ehs" sound and you'll murder it.  Use "ceh" and it will flow nicely.  Example two, take a common word for souvenir which in Russian sounds like "sue-vah-ner."   The "ehs" sound just doesn't cut the mustard.  Again, "ceh" flows nicely.

B) The two alternate websites say there are 11 vowels and 20 consonants.  Ignore that.  We'll teach you a very simple and quick way to learn the vowel sounds (5 hard and 5 soft = 10 paired vowels) very soon. 

C) Alphabet letters 10 and 11 look like a backward English N, or "И" as in the girl's name Irina (Ирина).  Letter number 10 is pronounced just like "E" and number 11 just like a very long-long-long "E."  In addition to a sound (the long E) number 11 also has a name:  "E Krat-kah."  Sometimes you'll hear it referenced by it's name instead of sound.  But make a very long EEEEE and you'll be fine.  (Number 11, that long EEEE, is never in caps so you can learn the lower case printed form and lower case cursive form and be just fine.)

For now just concentrate on learning to sound and print/write the alphabet.



Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Lets learn to read Russian signs together
« Reply #3 on: December 26, 2007, 01:14:05 AM »
We're not going to spend a lot more time on alphabet so practice daily! 

Later in some signs we'll come across basic things like numbers and days of the week, both necessary to do things like buy train tickets or make purchases, but let's not worry about that now.

To tantalize you about what is ahead, here are just 2 very simple Russian signs.  We'll throw them out now to let you see where you are headed.  Again, work on that alphabet so we can make the journey together.

Sign One:  Can you use the Cyrillic alphabet to spell the Russian version of "Coca Cola?"






Sign Two:  At least in printed letters write the word for "buffet."




Offline Manny

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Re: Lets learn to read Russian signs together
« Reply #4 on: December 26, 2007, 07:42:35 AM »


Another self explanatory sign. You will observe that the "П" is a "P" and the "C" is an "S" and the "И" is an "I" making the ПЕПСИ become PEPSI.

Read a trip report from North Korea >>here<< - Read a trip report from South Korea, China and Hong Kong >>here<<

Look what the American media makes some people believe:
Putin often threatens to strike US with nuclear weapons.

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Re: Lets learn to read Russian signs together
« Reply #5 on: December 26, 2007, 08:44:42 AM »
Great thread, I have this one in my bookmarks :)
 :party0031:
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My first trip to my wife: To Evpatoria!
My road trip to Crimea: Roadtrip to Evpatoria

Offline Olga

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Re: Lets learn to read Russian signs together
« Reply #6 on: December 26, 2007, 09:16:45 AM »


The white sign above the entry says "электра" - electra it is from word electricity. Usual you can buy different electro tools and electro supplies in a store with a similar name  :)

The green sign says инструменты - instrumenti - tools  :)

"Electro instrument"


Offline Olga

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Re: Lets learn to read Russian signs together
« Reply #7 on: December 26, 2007, 09:22:59 AM »


обувь - oboov' - footwear

Offline Olga

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Re: Lets learn to read Russian signs together
« Reply #8 on: December 26, 2007, 09:42:02 AM »


The sign at the zoo entry says

Earnest request

Do not trample children down, please, at the entry!

Offline Olga

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Re: Lets learn to read Russian signs together
« Reply #9 on: December 26, 2007, 09:47:39 AM »


аптека - 'aph tye ka" - pharmacy/drugstore

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Lets learn to read Russian signs together
« Reply #10 on: December 26, 2007, 10:46:38 AM »

Review of the Lesson:
Go to this website and follow the link.  http://www.languageguide.org/im/alpha/ru/
1) Place your cursor over each letter to listen to the alphabet as it's spoken. 
2) Practice writing each letter, using both printed cases and cursive cases.


Homework assignment:
-Listen to this for 10 minutes day for 30 days and you'll have learned it permanently.
-Write the alphabet 3-5 times each day for 60 days and you'll have learned it permanently.


Resources:
- I recommend that you do not use an electronic translator for the signs.  Force yourself to learn the alphabet and it's sounds.  It may take a bit longer but the effort will yield valuable results as you learn.

- Buy a Russian/English dictionary.  They can be purchased on-line at places like Ebay and Amazon.  Usually under $10 with no problem.  A hard or soft bound dictionary has more versatility down the road than an on-line dictionary.




Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Lets learn to read Russian signs together
« Reply #11 on: December 26, 2007, 10:57:48 AM »
Help with how to make those cursive letters
This absolutely the best free resource I know of for teaching you how to form the cursive letters.  It teaches you as you watch the letter being slowly written on the page!  If you follow this form, you will never have a problem with making cursive letters again for the rest of your life.  Check it out:

http://www.brown.edu/Departments/LRC/RU_writing/index.htm#

Just place your cursor over the letter and then watch.  Do the same for the lower case.  Now practice it yourself.  Very impressive!

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Lets learn to read Russian signs together
« Reply #12 on: December 26, 2007, 02:26:53 PM »
Alphabet practice, first 11 printed letters:

А а = ah

Б б = beh

В в = veh

Г г = geh

Д д = deh

Е е = yeh

Ё ё = yoh

Ж ж = zheh

З з = zeh

И и = e

   й = eee (a long e; also has a name:  "e-krat-kah")


Notes:

- Б б = beh     Make sure its beh, not bee.  Think of a sheep and "bah" then change it to "beh" and you've got it!


- В в = veh     This is a really important letter because in many cases you'll use it for words such as "in" and "of" etc.  "Veh" is short and very quick.  Don't drag it out since you'll be literally ramming it into the front of other words.


Г г = geh     Take the place of the English G but make sure it's pronounced as "geh" and never as gee.  Will sometimes take the place of an H when coming back from Russian into English. 

(It's common for Russians to speak of Hamlet as "Gimlet" for example.  There is no natural H in Russian so even advertising signs for thinks like Hamlet will use a Г (geh) in the advertisement.)


Д д = deh     Never say dee.  It's deh.  Will help you sound like a native Russian speaker!


Е е = yeh     Russian has several variations of the E family.  It may look like an E but it's not.  Its a Yeh.


Ё ё = yoh     This is a Yoh.  It can be a little confusing because sometimes in written Russian it's "understood" by context and the little dots are not always added.  But we'll walk you thru that in time.  So that you can be understood when writing, make sure to always dot your yoh's!


Ж ж = zheh   The first of two Russian sounds in the Z family.  Make sure you say "zheh" because when you say the word "wife" you'll need it:  жена (zheh-nah is how you say "wife").


З з = zeh     Second Z of the Russian Z family.  To sound like a native speaker make sure it's "zeh" and not zee.  Good job!


И и = e         The first E in a language that uses several variations of an E sound.  It's a natural E and you already know how to say it correctly!  Often when you translate something to an English Y this (or the next letter below) will be how you'll translate it.


   й = eee     Doesn't need a capital or upper case form, you'll find it in lower case usage always.  Almost always at the very end of a word.  As noted above sometimes replaces and English Y at the end of a word.

(As with the yoh, sometimes Russians don't mark the long E when writing.  Again, sometimes its "understood" according to context.  But so you can be understood clearly by others, always mark your long e: й)



Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Lets learn to read Russian signs together
« Reply #13 on: December 26, 2007, 02:32:13 PM »
Your first quiz:
Fill in the missing letters, in their proper order.

А а

Б б

?

Г г

?

Е е

?

?

З з

?

Й й


I'm guessing you did fairly well, right?  Good job. 

Practice the first 11 until you feel comfortable with them.

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Re: Lets learn to read Russian signs together
« Reply #14 on: December 26, 2007, 02:56:40 PM »
The  Г г looks just like a display depth-problem in a computer window.

Sorry, IT guy in me couldn't resist  :happy0023:

This together with Pimsleur will make me a lot better next time around in Ukraine.
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My road trip to Crimea: Roadtrip to Evpatoria

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Lets learn to read Russian signs together
« Reply #15 on: December 27, 2007, 01:18:03 PM »
For those learning the alphabet, here is the middle set of 11 letters:

Alphabet practice

К к = kak

Л л = ehl

М м = ehm

Н н = ehn

О о = oh

П п = peh

Р р = ehrr

С с = ceh

Т т = teh

У у = oou

Ф ф = ehf


Notes:

- Л л = ehl   This takes the place of an English L but to say it correctly think more of the word "ill."  Or even the abreviation for the state of Illinois..."Il."  Put the tongue about midway back on the top of your throat when saying it.  It will sound funny--that's good! 

- О о = oh     Pucker your lips and say "oh" but don't let it continue the way we do an English O.  It's short, very short.  Very quickly and cut it  off.  Make sure your lips are puckered to force the sound out and you have now learned to say a Russian O correctly, with no accent!

- П п = peh     Make sure you're saying "peh" and not Pee.  It's peh.  And again you have quickly mastered another letter with little to no accent.  Good job!


- Р р = ehrr   If you haven't yet learned to thrill the r, then this will take a little practice.  I remember as a kid my Dad trying to teach me some of his native Dutch and trying to learn how to trill the r sound.  Its tough but with practice we can do it.  If you don't learn, speaking even the most simple Russian words will quickly identify you as a "foreigner" and more difficult to be understood.

- Т т = teh     Make sure you're saying teh and not tee.  It will make a difference and again help you sound more like a native speaker.


- У у = oou      Remember this is not an English Y, it is a Russian oou.  Think of O and U, merge them together and it almost like ouh.  Listen to the links with sound and practice until you can do it perfectly.

- Ф ф = ehf     Take the place of an English F, but give it an ehf sound to say it accent-free. 


The beautiful thing about Russian being a naturally phonetic language is that it is possible to learn to speak it without much of an accent.  It's the little things, like paying attention to each individual letter than makes it possible.


 

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Lets learn to read Russian signs together
« Reply #16 on: December 27, 2007, 02:30:38 PM »
Quiz on middle 11 letters:

Try from memory to write the first 11 letters in all forms, Upper and Lower case printed and Upper and Lower case cursive.

How did you do?


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Re: Lets learn to read Russian signs together
« Reply #17 on: December 28, 2007, 01:31:12 AM »
Before we move on to the third (and final) set of 11 letters, there is a quick grammar/spelling rule we should address.  Don't worry, its really rather simple and very easy to catch on quickly.

It regards the letter O.  Here is the rule:

- The letter O is pronounced as an O only when stressed, and when not stressed convert it to an A (ah) sound.  A majority of the time it will be pronounced as an A (ah).


Here are some quick examples to help you grasp this:

English         Russian        Stressed or not stressed          Pronounce it as this

but                 но                       Yes, stressed--its an O                    "No"

bed                кровать               No, convert to "ah"                         "kra-vat"

pillow             подушка              No, convert to "ah"                         "pa-duzh-ka"

restaurant     ресторан             No, convert to "ah"                         "ris-tah-ron

that               Это                       No, convert to "ah"                        "eh-tah"

it                    он                        Yes, stressed--its an O                  "Own"
 
apple             Яблоко            No, convert both to "ah"s                     "Ya-bla-ka"

they're           они                       No, convert to "ah"                        "ah-nee"

window          окно                convert 1st O to "ah", next O is stressed   "ak-no"


(The highlights in the far right column show you where to place stress as you pronounce the words.)


Whew, made it past that grammer rule. 

Understand?  If not, don't be afraid to ask questions about it.  We have some very knowledgable board members who can help us.




Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Lets learn to read Russian signs together
« Reply #18 on: December 28, 2007, 01:51:58 AM »
Time for some fun and then later we'll tackle those last 11 letters of the alphabet.

Since we've worked on the letter O, lets use a couple of signs with that letter:

1) This is a sign for a famous European auto maker.  Who is it?




2) A place to either win or lose a lot of money.  What is this word?


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Re: Lets learn to read Russian signs together
« Reply #19 on: December 28, 2007, 03:16:49 AM »
The first sign says Volvo!

The second sign (wild guess) Casino!
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My road trip to Crimea: Roadtrip to Evpatoria

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Lets learn to read Russian signs together
« Reply #20 on: December 28, 2007, 08:58:35 AM »
Note:  "OH" can mean either IT or HE.  It is used in Russian as both masculine pronoun and as a masculine personal pronoun.  As you can see I used it to illustrate "it" as this is probably the usage most westerners will see in printed signs. 

As you know the personal pronouns will vary depending on gender and context but that's too far advanced for a beginning illustration.

So that readers can follow by example, here is an illustration how our members might use Он when asking for directions:

English:  Where's the bus?          Russian:  Где автобус?
English:  The bus is there.          English:  (It is) он там.

The bus is a masculine pronoun and an object, not a person, therefore in English we don't say HE, we use IT (он)instead.

In English to use он as HE, it will be in context of a masculine personal pronoun.  A very simple example:

Russian:  Где человек?              Russian:  Он там.
English:  Where is the man?        English:  He is there.

I hope that helps with the difference in how English pronouns are expressed.

Perhaps another way to say (on) Он would be like this--Oohn.  Remember that this is a stressed O (unlike an English "on") and you need to give the O a little punch to say it correctly.  Pucker both lips when you say the O and that should help.






Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Lets learn to read Russian signs together
« Reply #21 on: December 28, 2007, 09:10:27 AM »
Excellent work Mark!  

With CASINO, make sure you pronounce the 3 (zh) instead of an S (ceh) and you'll be rockin! 
Ka-zhe-no.

Following our lesson on whether an O is stated as an O or an A (ah), how do you think this word ends? 

Is is Ka-zhe-nah or is it Ka-zhe-NO?
(Not a trick question)

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Lets learn to read Russian signs together
« Reply #22 on: December 28, 2007, 12:12:31 PM »
FREE Russian-English dictionary and English-Russian dictionary:

http://www.freelang.net/dictionary/russian.html

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Re: Lets learn to read Russian signs together
« Reply #23 on: December 28, 2007, 05:53:50 PM »
Here's a link to a site with downloadable 'Learn Russian flashcards':
http://www.flashcardexchange.com/tag/russian

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Re: Lets learn to read Russian signs together
« Reply #24 on: December 28, 2007, 06:13:24 PM »
Now for the final 11 letters of the Cyrillic alphabet:

Х х = kh

Ц ц = ts

Ч ч = ch

Ш ш = sh

Щ щ = shah

    ъ ( is the "hard sign" and has no sound)

    ы = the toughest Russian letter to sound in my opinion.  Listen to it on the previous audio links.  Practice a lot.

    ь ( is the "soft sign" and has no sound)

Э э = eh

Ю ю = u

Я я = ya


Notes:

Х х = kh     To say this correctly without accent will take some practice.  It is not like any English sound.  Practice using the links with sound.  As Olga has already pointed out this is the letter which begins the word for BREAD, хлеб.  "Khl-leb"

Ц ц = ts     Say it with the tongue at the front of the mouth, touching the roof and letting go as the hiss comes by.  Try to say T and S together at the same time and practice until perfect.  Think of the word SIRE, then put a T at the front to make TSIRE and you're getting closer!  Here is a word you will see a lot:  центр.  It means "center" such as center of the city, of the square, a hall or meeting place, etc.  As you can see it is spelled ts-ye-ehn-teh-err. 

Ч ч = ch     Ch, just like it looks.  A common word used for post office or mail, почта = "POCH ta."

Ш ш = sh     This is the short SH sound and a longer one is coming in the very next letter.  You've undoubtedly heard of Moscow's famous Bolshoi Theatre.  This word is part of the spelling for Bolshoi (which means big/large):  большой.  Now remember the rule about how to pronounce an O correctly.  If stressed it's an O and if not its an "ah" (A).  In Bolshoi (большой) the first O is NOT stressed but the second is.  So we're going to pronounce the first syllable as "bal" instead of "bol."  The emphasis will look like this:  bal-SHOY is how to say this just like a natural Russian speaker!

Щ щ = shah    Here is a sample of how this sound works.  Lets take the word ещё which can be used for "else" or "more."  So we have the e (ye) щ (shah) and ё (yo) so the word will sound like this:  ye-SCHO.

   ы           This letter is always in lower case, never capitalized, check a Russian dictionary and you'll see that it' omitted in most cases because a lack of words which begin with this letter.  But it's a common ending, expressing plurality in many cases.  A part of the Russian E family, it is the single most difficult to pronounce.  We just have nothing even remotely close to it in English.  But it's important used often so you need to learn it.  Listen on the links provided.  Make sure your tongue is neutral, and make the sound in the very back of the mouth, forcing wind to the top of your throat.  If it sounds weird, unnatural, and like you're trying to gag on an E, then your headed in the right direction. 

Э э = eh   In the E family, eh is just like it looks.  Sample word:  The English word for exam or examination is very similiar in Russian.  Here is the word in Russian...экзамен, or "Eks-zham-en."

Ю ю = u     This is one of the Russian U letters (the Russian Y is also in the U family).  Think of U as in union.  Here is a sample word:  The Russian word for humour is:  YU-mar and uses this letter  ю to spell it.  юмор = humour.

Я я = ya    Я is the word for "I."  Example:  I love = Я люблю, or "Ya Lu-blue." 

By the way, many Russian phrases can be shortened in normal conversation, thus making it more intimate.  This phrase is one of them.  Saying "I love" without ending the sentence with the expected "you" will give the same meaning and perhaps add a feeling of closeness/intimacy.  Or to drive your lady really crazy, shorten it even further by whispering in her ear, "Lu-blue-u."  Have the champagne and candles ready!