Small signs, important differences

See what ь and the apostrophe tell you about the sounds around them.

Ь ь has no sound of its own

The soft sign marks the preceding consonant as soft: raise the middle of the tongue toward the hard palate while making it. It does not add a vowel. In кінь (horse), the final н is soft. Ь is its all-capital form; normal words do not begin with it.

кінь

horse · the н is soft

An apostrophe keeps the y sound separate

The apostrophe is a spelling sign, not an alphabet letter. Before я, ю, є, ї it signals separate pronunciation rather than softening the preceding consonant. In п’ять (five), я is ya after the apostrophe. The final т is soft because of ь.

п’ять

five · separate p + ya; soft final t