🎒 What you need

chalk and a wall, or sand and a stick
twenty minutes

✋ Do this

Write the alphabet key you need first: А=a Б=b В=v Г=g Д=d Е=ye К=k Л=l М=m Н=n О=o П=p Р=r С=s Т=t У=oo Ф=f.
Now write СПОРТ. Decode it letter by letter using your key: s-p-o-r-t. Say it aloud. You just read Russian.
Decode ФУТБОЛ. f-oo-t-b-o-l. Football. Decode БАНК, МЕТРО and ТЕЛЕФОН the same way, out loud, one letter at a time.
Write all five words large on your wall in Cyrillic with nothing else — no translation.
Bring somebody to your wall and make them decode one word with your help. Watching the moment it clicks for them will lock it in for you.
Write three more international words yourself in Cyrillic: ДОКТОР, ТАКСИ, РАДИО. Read them aloud.

💡 Why it works

Reading real words on day one is what stops the alphabet feeling like a wall. Borrowed vocabulary lets you practise decoding without the extra load of learning meanings, so all your effort goes into the letters themselves.

🔥 Challenge

Write ФУТБОЛ on a wall or a ball and see how long it takes a friend to work it out with no clues.

📖 New words

спорт sportsport

футбол futbolfootball

банк bankbank

метро metrometro; underground railway

телефон telefontelephone

⚽

First Decode

Tap when you have finished this module.