7-letter rule (г, к, х, ж, ш, ч, щ)

The 7-letter rule is an important spelling rule in Russian that has no exceptions.The rule applies to these letters no matter where they are in the word – whether they are at the beginning, middle, or end.

The rule reads as follows:

After the letters г, к, х, ж, ш, ч, щ, you cannot write the letters ы, ю, я. Instead of ы, you write и. Instead of ю, you write у. Instead of я, you write а.

Remember:

ги, ки, хи, жи, ши, чи, щи

гу, ку, ху, жу, шу, чу, щу

га, ка, ха, жа, ша, ча, ща

This rule is particularly useful when you change the number or case of nouns and adjectives.