One rule that we are going to discuss now is “consonant devoicing”. Technically speaking, ‘devoicing’ means that a voiced consonant ‘loses’ its voice and becomes voiceless. For instance, the voiced В [v] is pronounced like Ф [f].
However, it only happens when:
1. the voiced consonant occurs at the end of a word, e.g. часов
you see:
часов you
say: чисоф
you see: в пять you say: ф пять
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This rule applies to all other voiced consonants, not just В. Here is the complete list of all voiced consonants with their voiceless pairs:
Voiced Voiceless You see: You say:
Б П хлеб хлеп
В Ф вчера фчира
Г К маг мак
Д Т год гот
Ж Ш муж муш
З С узкий уский
Why is the letter В sometimes pronounced as Ф?
