O and A

Question: Why is О often pronounced as А?

Answer: Because O is unstressed. The rule is: pronounce О as О if it's stressed, pronounce О as А if it's unstressed.

Question: How do I know if it's unstressed?

Answer: It's not possible to understand if it's stressed or unstressed just by looking at the word.

Question: So what do I do if I want to know when to say А instead of О?

Answer: Memorize how to pronounce the word when you open a dictionary.

Question: Ok, let's say I see МОЛОКО in a sentence. How do I understand how to read it?

Answer: Open a dictionary, find МОЛОКО. You will see a little tick above the stressed O, like this: МОЛОКÓ. It means, that Ó is pronounced as O, and the other ones are pronounced as А. You will also see a full transcription (pronunciation) next to the word.

Question: So does it mean that I will have to open a dictionary every time I see a new word in order to say in correctly?

Answer: Yes. Opening a dictionary is like holding a guitar when you are learning to play. If you don't take guitar in your hands, you will not learn how to play it.

Question: Is there anything similar in English?

Answer: Yes. For example - monopoly. There are 3 letters O. This is pronunciation - [ME-NÓ-PE-LI]. Can you see that the stressed O is pronounced as O? And, can you see that the other 2 ones are not pronounced as O, but as E?

Question: So what is happening in our languages?

Answer: Basically, a stressed O is powerful, fully articulated. Whereas, the unstressed O is weak, our mouths are lazy to pronounce them, so we naturally reduce articulation, spending less energy to pronouce the word.

Written by Alex on 15 June, 2025, updated on 06 May, 2026.

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