Cyrillic alphabets explained

Numerous Cyrillic alphabets are based on the Cyrillic script. The early Cyrillic alphabet was developed in the 9th century AD and replaced the earlier Glagolitic script developed by the theologians Cyril and Methodius. It is the basis of alphabets used in various languages, past and present, Slavic origin, and non-Slavic languages influenced by Russian. As of 2011, around 252 million people in Eurasia use it as the official alphabet for their national languages. About half of them are in Russia. Cyrillic is one of the most-used writing systems in the world. The creator is Saint Clement of Ohrid from the Preslav literary school in the First Bulgarian Empire.

Some of these are illustrated below; for others, and for more detail, see the links. Sounds are transcribed in the IPA. While these languages largely have phonemic orthographies, there are occasional exceptions—for example, Russian is pronounced pronounced as //v// in a number of words, an orthographic relic from when they were pronounced pronounced as //ɡ// (e.g. его yego 'him/his', is pronounced pronounced as /[jɪˈvo]/ rather than pronounced as /[jɪˈɡo]/).

Spellings of names transliterated into the Roman alphabet may vary, especially й (y/j/i), but also г (gh/g/h) and ж (zh/j).

Unlike the Latin script, which is usually adapted to different languages by adding diacritical marks/supplementary glyphs (such as acutes and carons) to standard Roman letters, by assigning new phonetic values to existing letters (e.g. (q), whose original value in Latin was /k/, represents /g/ in Azerbaijani, /t͡ɕʰ/ in Mandarin Chinese Pinyin, /q/ in a lot of other languages and /ǃ/ in some Bantu languages), or by the use of digraphs (such as (sh)), the Cyrillic script is usually adapted by the creation of entirely new letter shapes. However, in some alphabets invented in the 19th century, such as Chuvash, umlauts and breves also were used.

Bulgarian and Bosnian Sephardim without Hebrew typefaces occasionally printed Judeo-Spanish in Cyrillic.[1]

Spread

Non-Slavic alphabets are generally modelled after Russian, but often bear striking differences, particularly when adapted for Caucasian languages. The first few of these alphabets were developed by Orthodox missionaries for the Finnic and Turkic peoples of Idel-Ural (Mari, Udmurt, Mordva, Chuvash, and Kerashen Tatars) in the 1870s. Later, such alphabets were created for some of the Siberian and Caucasus peoples who had recently converted to Christianity. In the 1930s, some of those languages were switched to the Uniform Turkic Alphabet. All of the peoples of the former Soviet Union who had been using an Arabic or a different Asian script also adopted Cyrillic alphabets, and during the Great Purge in the late 1930s, all of the Latin alphabets of the peoples of the Soviet Union were switched to Cyrillic as well (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia were occupied and annexed by Soviet Union in 1940, and were not affected by this change). The Abkhazian and Ossetian languages were switched to Georgian script, but after the death of Joseph Stalin, both also adopted Cyrillic. The last language to adopt Cyrillic was the Gagauz language, which had used Greek script before.

In Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, the use of Cyrillic to write local languages has often been a politically controversial issue since the collapse of the Soviet Union, as it evokes the era of Soviet rule and Russification. Some of Russia's peoples such as the Tatars have also tried to drop Cyrillic, but the move was halted under Russian law. A number of languages have switched from Cyrillic to either a Roman-based orthography or a return to a former script.

Cyrillic alphabets continue to be used in several Slavic (Russian, Ukrainian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Belarusian) and non-Slavic (Kazakh, Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Gagauz, Mongolian) languages.

Common letters

The following table lists the Cyrillic letters which are used in the alphabets of most of the national languages which use a Cyrillic alphabet. Exceptions and additions for particular languages are noted below.

Common Cyrillic letters! Upright! Italic! Name(s)! IPA
А аА аA/a/
Б бБ бBe/b/
В вВ вVe/v/
Г гГ гGe/g/
Д дД дDe/d/
Е еЕ е
Ж жЖ жpronounced as /link/
З зЗ зZe/z/
И иИ иI
Й йЙ йShort I/j/
К кК кKa/k/
Л лЛ лEl/l/
М мМ мEmpronounced as /link/
Н нН нpronounced as /link/
О оО оOpronounced as /link/
П пП пPepronounced as /link/
Р рР рpronounced as /link/
С сС с/s/
Т тТ тTe/t/
У уУ уUpronounced as /link/
Ф фФ ф/f/
Х хХ хpronounced as /link/
Ц цЦ ц
Ч чЧ ч
Ш шШ шpronounced as /link/
Ь ьЬ ьpronounced as /link/
Э эЭ эEpronounced as /link/
Ю юЮ ю
Я яЯ я

Slavic languages

Cyrillic alphabets used by Slavic languages can be divided into two categories:

South Slavic

Bulgarian

See main article: Bulgarian alphabet, Bulgarian language and Reforms of Bulgarian orthography.

The Bulgarian Cyrillic alphabet
А аБ бВ вГ гД дЕ еЖ жЗ зИ иЙ й
К кЛ лМ мН нО оР рС сТ тУ у
Ф фХ хЦ цЧ чШ шЩ щЪ ъЬ ьЮ юЯ я

The Bulgarian alphabet features:

The Cyrillic alphabet was originally developed in the First Bulgarian Empire during the 9th – 10th century AD at the Preslav Literary School.[2] [3]

It has been used in Bulgaria (with modifications and exclusion of certain archaic letters via spelling reforms) continuously since then, superseding the previously used Glagolitic alphabet, which was also invented and used there before the Cyrillic script overtook its use as a written script for the Bulgarian language. The Cyrillic alphabet was used in the then much bigger territory of Bulgaria (including most of today's Serbia), North Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania, Northern Greece (Macedonia region), Romania and Moldova, officially from 893. It was also transferred from Bulgaria and adopted by the East Slavic languages in Kievan Rus' and evolved into the Russian alphabet and the alphabets of many other Slavic (and later non-Slavic) languages. Later, some Slavs modified it and added/excluded letters from it to better suit the needs of their own language varieties.

Serbian

See main article: article, language and Serbian language.

South Slavic Cyrillic alphabets (with the exception of Bulgarian) are generally derived from Serbian Cyrillic. It, and by extension its descendants, differs from the East Slavic ones in that the alphabet has generally been simplified: Letters such as Я, Ю, Ё, and Ь representing /ja/, /ju/, /jo/, and palatalization in Russian, respectively, have been removed. Instead, these are represented by the digraphs (ја), (ју), (јо), and unmarked palatization, respectively. Additionally, the letter Е, representing pronounced as //je// in Russian, is instead pronounced pronounced as //e// or pronounced as //ɛ//, with pronounced as //je// being represented by (је). Alphabets based on the Serbian that add new letters often do so by adding an acute accent (´) over an existing letter.

The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet
А а Б б В в Г г Д д Е е Ж ж З з И и
К к Л л М м Н н О о П п Р р
С с Т т У у Ф ф Х х Ц ц Ч ч Ш ш

The Serbian alphabet shows the following features:

Montenegrin

See main article: article, language and Montenegrin language.

The Montenegrin Cyrillic alphabet
А а Б б В в Г г Д д Ђ ђ Е е Ж ж З з И и
Ј ј К к Л л Љ љ М м Н н Њ њ О о П п Р р С с
Т т Ћ ћ У у Ф ф Х х Ц ц Ч ч Џ џ Ш ш

The Montenegrin alphabet differs from Serbian in the following ways:

Macedonian

See main article: article, language and Macedonian language.

The Macedonian Cyrillic alphabet
А а Б б В в Г г Д д Ѓ ѓЕ е Ж ж З з И и
Ј ј К к Л л Љ љ М м Н н Њ њ О о П п Р р С с
Т т У у Ф ф Х х Ц ц Ч ч Џ џ Ш ш

The Macedonian alphabet differs from Serbian in the following ways:

Bosnian

See main article: Bosnian Cyrillic.

Croatian

Historically, the Croatian language briefly used the Cyrillic script in areas with large Croatian or Bosnian speaking populations.[6]

East Slavic

Russian

See main article: article, language and Russian language.

The Russian Cyrillic alphabet
А аБ бВ вГ гД д (∂)Е еЁ ёЖ жЗ зИ иЙ й
К кЛ лМ мН нО оП пР рС сТ тУ уФ ф
Х хЦ цЧ чШ шЩ щ(Ъ) ъЫ ы(Ь) ьЭ эЮ юЯ я

Notes:

  1. In the pre-reform Russian orthography, in Old East Slavic and in Old Church Slavonic the letter is called yer. Historically, the "hard sign" takes the place of a now-absent vowel, which is still preserved as a distinct vowel in Bulgarian (which represents it with ъ) and Slovene (which is written in the Latin alphabet and writes it as e), but only in some places in the word.
  2. When an iotated vowel (vowel whose sound begins with pronounced as /[j]/) follows a consonant, the consonant is palatalized. The Hard Sign indicates that this does not happen, and the pronounced as /[j]/ sound will appear only in front of the vowel. The Soft Sign indicates that the consonant should be palatalized in addition to a pronounced as /[j]/ preceding the vowel. The Soft Sign also indicates that a consonant before another consonant or at the end of a word is palatalized. Examples: та (pronounced as /[ta]/); тя (pronounced as /[tʲa]/); тья (pronounced as /[tʲja]/); тъя (pronounced as /[tja]/); т (pronounced as //t//); ть (pronounced as /[tʲ]/).

Before 1918, there were four extra letters in use: Іі (replaced by Ии), Ѳѳ (Фита "Fita", replaced by Фф), Ѣѣ (Ять "Yat", replaced by Ее), and Ѵѵ (ижица "Izhitsa", replaced by Ии); these were eliminated by reforms of Russian orthography.

Belarusian

See main article: article, language and Belarusian language.

See also: Russian alphabet.

The Belarusian Cyrillic alphabet
А аБ бВ вГ г Д д Е еЁ ёЖ жЗ зІ іЙ йК к
Л лМ мН нО оП пР рС сТ тУ уЎ ўФ ф Х х
Ц цЧ чШ шЫ ыЬ ьЭ эЮ юЯ я'

The Belarusian alphabet displays the following features:

Ukrainian

See main article: article, language and Ukrainian language.

The Ukrainian Cyrillic alphabet
А аБ бВ вà 㥠ґД дЕ еЄ єЖ жЗ зИ и
І іЇ їЙ йК кЛ лМ мН нО оП пР рС с
Т тУ уФ фХ хЦ цЧ чШ шЩ щЬ ьЮ юЯ я

The Ukrainian alphabet displays the following features:

Rusyn

The Rusyn language is spoken by the Carpatho-Rusyns in Carpathian Ruthenia, Slovakia, and Poland, and the Pannonian Rusyns in Croatia and Serbia.

The Rusyn Cyrillic alphabet
А а Б б В в Г г Ґ ґ Д д Е е Є є Ё ё* Ж ж З з І і
Ї ї И и Ы ы Й й К к Л л М м Н н О о П п Р р С с
Т т У у Ф ф Х х Ц ц Ч ч Ш ш Щ щ Ю ю Я я Ь ь Ъ ъ

The Rusyn alphabet differs from Ukrainian in that the letters Ё, Ы, and the hard sign (Ъ), from Russian, are also used.

The Pannonian Rusyn alphabet
А а Б б В в Г г Ґ ґ Д д Е е Є є Ж ж З з И и
Ї ї Й й К к Л л М м Н н О о П п Р р С с Т т
У у Ф ф Х х Ц ц Ч ч Ш ш Щ щ Ю ю Я я Ь ь

Non-Slavic Indo-European languages

Romance languages

Romanian and Moldovan

The Romanian language used the cyrillic script up to the 19th century (see Romanian Cyrillic alphabet).

The Moldovan language (an alternative name of the Romanian language in Bessarabia, Moldavian ASSR, Moldavian SSR and Moldova) used varieties of the Romanian Cyrillic alphabet in 1812–1918, and the Moldovan Cyrillic alphabet (derived from the Russian alphabet and standardised in the Soviet Union) in 1924–1932 and 1938–1989. Nowadays, this alphabet is still official in the unrecognized republic of Transnistria (see Moldovan Cyrillic alphabet).

Ladino

Ladino uses the cyrillic script in occasional Bulgarian Sephardic publications.

Indo-Aryan

Romani

Romani is written in Cyrillic in Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and the former USSR.

Iranian

Kurdish

See main article: article and Kurdish alphabets. Kurds in the former Soviet Union use a Cyrillic alphabet:

Kurdish Cyrillic Orthography
А а Б б В в Г г Г' г' Д д Е е
Ә' ә' Ж ж З з И и Й й К к
К' к' Л л М м Н н О о П п
П' п' Р р Р' р' С с Т т Т' т' У у
Ф ф Х х Һ' һ' Ч ч Ч' ч' Ш ш
Щ щ Ь ь Э э Ԝ ԝ

Ossetic

The Ossetic language has officially used the Cyrillic script since 1937.

Ossetian Cyrillic script
А а Б б В в Г г Гъ гъ Д д Дж дж
Дз дз Е е Ё ё Ж ж З з И и Й й К к
Къ къ Л л М м Н н О о П п Пъ пъ Р р
С с Т т Тъ тъ У у Ф ф Х х Хъ хъ Ц ц
Цъ цъ Ч ч Чъ чъ Ш ш Щ щ Ъ ъ Ы ы Ь ь
Э э Ю ю Я я

Tajik

See main article: article and Tajik alphabet. The Tajik alphabet is written using a Cyrillic-based alphabet.

Tajik-Persian Cyrillic Alphabet
А а Б б В в Г г Д д Е е Ё ё Ж ж З з И и
Й й К к Л л М м Н н О о П п Р р С с
Т т У у Ф ф Х х Ч ч Ш ш Ъ ъ Э э
Ю ю Я я

Other

Uralic languages

Uralic languages using the Cyrillic script (currently or in the past) include:

Karelian until 1921 and 1937–1940 (Ludic, Olonets Karelian); Veps; Votic

Enets; Yurats; Nenets since 1937 (Forest Nenets; Tundra Nenets); Nganasan; Kamassian; Koibal; Mator; Selkup (since the 1950s; not used recently)

Karelian

See main article: article and Karelian alphabet. The Karelian language was written in the Cyrillic script in various forms until 1940 when publication in Karelian ceased in favor of Finnish, except for Tver Karelian, written in a Latin alphabet. In 1989 publication began again in the other Karelian dialects and Latin alphabets were used, in some cases with the addition of Cyrillic letters such as ь.

Kildin Sámi

See main article: article and Kildin Sami orthography.

Over the last century, the alphabet used to write Kildin Sámi has changed three times: from Cyrillic to Latin and back again to Cyrillic. Work on the latest version of the official orthography commenced in 1979. It was officially approved in 1982 and started to be widely used by 1987.[7]

Komi-Permyak

See main article: article.

The Komi-Permyak Cyrillic alphabet:

А аБ бВ вГ гД дЕ еЁ ё
Ж жЗ зИ иІ іЙ йК кЛ л
М мН нО оӦ ӧП пР рС с
Т тУ уФ фХ хЦ цЧ чШ ш
Щ щЪ ъЫ ыЬ ьЭ эЮ юЯ я

Mari alphabets

See main article: article and Mari alphabet. Meadow Mari Cyrillic alphabet:

А аБ бВ вГ гД дЕ еЁ ёЖ жЗ з
И иЙ йК кЛ лМ мН нҤ ҥО оӦ ӧ
П пР рС сТ тУ уӰ ӱФ фХ хЦ ц
Ч чШ шЩ щЪ ъЫ ыЬ ьЭ эЮ юЯ я

Hill Mari Cyrillic alphabet

А аӒ ӓБ бВ вГ гД дЕ еЁ ёЖ жЗ з
И иЙ йК кЛ лМ мН нО оӦ ӧП пР р
С сТ тУ уӰ ӱФ фХ хЦ цЧ чШ шЩ щ
Ъ ъЫ ыӸ ӹЬ ьЭ эЮ юЯ я

Turkic languages

Azerbaijani

See main article: article and Azerbaijani alphabet.

The Azerbaijani Cyrillic alphabet!+ style="font-size:smaller;"
First version (1939–1958):Аа Бб Вв Гг Ғғ Дд Ее Әә Жж Зз Ии Йй Кк Ҝҝ Лл Мм Нн Оо
+ style="font-size:smaller;" Өө Пп Рр Сс Тт Уу Үү Фф Хх Һһ Цц ЧчҸҹ Шш Ыы Ээ Юю Яя ʼ
+ style="font-size:smaller;" Second version (1958–1991):
still used today by Dagestan
Аа Бб Вв Гг Ғғ Дд Ее Әә Жж Зз Ии Ыы Јј Кк Ҝҝ Лл Мм Нн
+ style="font-size:smaller;" Оо Өө Пп Рр Сс Тт Уу Үү Фф Хх Һһ Чч Ҹҹ Шш ʼ
Latin Alphabet (as of 1992): Aa, Bb, Cc, Çç, Dd, Ee, Əə, Ff, Gg, Ğğ, Hh, Xx, Iı, İi, Jj, Kk, Qq, Ll, Mm, Nn, Oo, Öö, Pp, Rr, Ss, Şş, Tt, Uu, Üü, Vv, Yy, Zz

Bashkir

The Cyrillic script was used for the Bashkir language after the winter of 1938.

The Bashkir Cyrillic alphabet
А а Б б В в Г г Ғ ғ Д д Ҙ ҙ Е е Ё ё Ж ж З з
И и Й й К к Ҡ ҡ Л л М м Н н Ң ң О о Ө ө П п
Р р С с Ҫ ҫ Т т У у Ү ү Ф ф Х х Һ һ Ц ц Ч ч
Ш ш Щ щ Ъ ъ Ы ы Ь ь Э э Ә ә Ю ю Я я

Chuvash

The Cyrillic alphabet is used for the Chuvash language since the late 19th century, with some changes in 1938.

The Chuvash Cyrillic alphabet
А а Ӑ ӑ Б б В в Г г Д д Е е Ё ё Ӗ ӗ Ж ж З з
И и Й й К к Л л М м Н н О о П п Р р С с Ҫ ҫ
Т т У у Ӳ ӳ Ф ф Х х Ц ц Ч ч Ш ш Щ щ Ъ ъ Ы ы
Ь ь Э э Ю ю Я я

Kazakh

See main article: Kazakh alphabets. Kazakh can be alternatively written in the Latin alphabet. Latin is expected to entirely replace Cyrillic by 2031, alongside the modified Arabic alphabet (in the People's Republic of China, Iran and Afghanistan).

The Kazakh Cyrillic alphabet
А а Ә ә Б б В в Г г Ғ ғ Д д Е е Ё ё Ж ж З з
И и Й й К к Қ қ Л л М м Н н Ң ң О о Ө ө П п
Р р С с Т т У у Ұ ұ Ү ү Ф ф Х х Һ һ Ц ц Ч ч
Ш ш Щ щ Ъ ъ Ы ы І і Ь ь Э э Ю ю Я я

The Cyrillic letters Вв, Ёё, Цц, Чч, Ъъ, Ьь and Ээ are not used in native Kazakh words, but only for Russian loans.

Kyrgyz

See main article: Kyrgyz alphabets. Kyrgyz has also been written in Latin and in Arabic.

The Kyrgyz Cyrillic alphabet
А а Б б В в Г г Д д Е е Ё ё Ж ж З з И и Й й К к
Л л М м Н н Ң ң О о Ө ө П п Р р С с Т т У уҮ ү
Ф ф Х х Ц ц Ч ч Ш ш Щ щ Ъ ъ Ы ы Ь ь Э э Ю ю Я я

Bold letters are used only in loanwords.

Tatar

See main article: article and Tatar alphabet.

Tatar has used Cyrillic since 1939, but the Russian Orthodox Tatar community has used Cyrillic since the 19th century. In 2000 a new Latin alphabet was adopted for Tatar, but it is used generally on the Internet.

The Tatar Cyrillic alphabet
А а Ә ә Б б В в Г г Д д Е е Ё ё Ж ж Җ җ
З з И и Й й К к Л л М м Н н Ң ң О о Ө ө
П п Р р С с Т т У у Ү ү Ф ф Х х Һ һ Ц ц
Ч ч Ш ш Щ щ Ъ ъ Ы ы Ь ь Э э Ю ю Я я

The Cyrillic letters Ёё, Цц, Щщ are not used in native Tatar words, but only for Russian loans.

Turkmen

See main article: article and Turkmen alphabet. Turkmen, written 1940–1994 exclusively in Cyrillic, since 1994 officially in Roman, but in everyday communication Cyrillic is still used along with Roman script.

The Turkmen Cyrillic alphabet
А а Б б В в Г г Д д Е е Ё ё Ж ж Җ җ З з И и Й й
К к Л л М м Н н Ң ң О о Ө ө П п Р р С с Т т У у
Ү ү Ф ф Х х (Ц ц) Ч ч Ш ш (Щ щ) (Ъ ъ) Ы ы (Ь ь) Э э Ә ә
Ю ю Я я

Uzbek

See main article: article and Uzbek alphabet. From 1941 the Cyrillic script was used exclusively. In 1998 the government has adopted a Latin alphabet to replace it. The deadline for making this transition has however been repeatedly changed, and Cyrillic is still more common. It is not clear that the transition will be made at all.

The Uzbek Cyrillic alphabet
А а Б б В в Г г Д д Е е Ё ё Ж ж З з И и Й й К к
Л л М м Н н О о П п Р р С с Т т У у Ф ф Х х Ц ц
Ч ч Ш ш Ъ ъ Ь ь Э э Ю ю Я я Ў ў Қ қ Ғ ғ Ҳ ҳ

In addition to the letters from the Russian alphabet, А–Я, except for Щ and Ы, the Uzbek Cyrillic alphabet includes Ў, Қ, Ғ and Ҳ at the end. They are distinct letters in the Uzbek Cyrillic alphabet and are sorted after Я as shown above.

Other

Caucasian languages

Northwest Caucasian languages

Living Northwest Caucasian languages are generally written using Cyrillic alphabets.

Abaza

See main article: article and Abaza language.

Abaza is a Caucasian language, spoken by Abazins in the Karachay-Cherkessia Republic, Russia.

The Abaza Cyrillic alphabet
А а Б б В в Г г Гв гв Гъ гъ Гъв гъв Гъь гъь Гь гь
Гӏ гӏ Гӏв гӏв Д д Дж дж Джв джв Джь джь Дз дз Е е Ё ё
Ж ж Жв жв Жь жь З з И и Й й К к Кв кв Къ къ
Къв къв Къь къь Кь кь Кӏ кӏ Кӏв кӏв Кӏь кӏь Л л Ль ль (Лӏ лӏ)
М м Н н О о П п Пӏ пӏ Р р С с Т т Тл тл
Тш тш Тӏ тӏ У у Ф ф (Фӏ фӏ) Х х Хв хв Хъ хъ Хъв хъв
Хь хь Хӏ хӏ Хӏв хӏв Ц ц Цӏ цӏ Ч ч Чв чв Чӏ чӏ Чӏв чӏв
Ш ш Шв шв Шӏ шӏ Щ щ Ъ ъ Ы ы Э э Ю ю Я я

Abkhaz

See main article: article and Abkhaz alphabet.

Abkhaz is a Caucasian language, spoken in the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia, Georgia.

The Abkhaz Cyrillic alphabet
А а Б б В в Г г Гь гь Гә гә Ӷ ӷ Ӷь ӷь Ӷә ӷә
Д д Дә дә Е е Ж ж Жь жь Жә жә З з Ӡ ӡ Ӡә ӡә
И и К к Кь кь Кә кә Қ қ Қь қь Қә қә Ҟ ҟ Ҟь ҟь
Ҟә ҟә Л л М м Н н О о П п Ԥ ԥ Р р С с
Т т Тә тә Ҭ ҭ Ҭә ҭә У у Ф ф Х х Хь хь Хә хә
Ҳ ҳ Ҳә ҳә Ц ц Цә цә Ҵ ҵ Ҵә ҵә Ч ч Ҷ ҷ Ҽ ҽ
Ҿ ҿ Ш ш Шь шь Шә шә Ы ы Ҩ ҩ Џ џ Џь џь

Adyghe

See main article: article and Adyghe language.

Adyghe is a Caucasian language, spoken in the Republic of Adygea, Russia.

The Adyghe Cyrillic alphabet
А а Б б В в Г г Гу гу Гъ гъ Гъу гъу Д д Дж дж Дз дз Дзу дзу
Е е Ё ё Ж ж Жъ жъ Жъу жъу Жь жь З з И и Й й К к Ку ку
Къ къ Къу къу Кӏ кӏ Кӏу кӏу Л л Лъ лъ Лӏ лӏ М м Н н О о П п
Пӏ пӏ Пӏу пӏу Р р С с Т т Тӏ тӏ Тӏу тӏу У у Ф ф Х х Хъ хъ
Хъу хъу Хь хь Ц ц Цу цу Цӏ цӏ Ч ч Чъ чъ Чӏ чӏ Ш ш Шъ шъ Шъу шъу
Шӏ шӏ Шӏу шӏу Щ щ (Ъ ъ) Ы ы (Ь ь) Э э Ю ю Я я Ӏ ӏ Ӏу ӏу

Kabardian

See main article: article and Kabardian language.

Kabardian is a Caucasian language, spoken in the Republics of Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia, Russia.

The Kabardian Cyrillic alphabet
А а Б б В в Г г Гу гу Гъ гъ Гъу гъу Д д Дж дж Дз дз
Е е Ё ё Ж ж Жь жь З з И и Й й К к Ку ку Кӏ кӏ
Кӏу кӏу Къ къ Къу къу Кхъ кхъ Кхъу кхъу Л л Лъ лъ Лӏ лӏ М м Н н
О о П п Пӏ пӏ Р р С с Т т Тӏ тӏ У у Ф ф Фӏ фӏ
Х х Ху ху Хъ хъ Хъу хъу Хь хь Ц ц Цӏ цӏ Ч ч Ш ш Щ щ
Щӏ щӏ Ъ ъ Ы ы Ь ь Э э Ю ю Я я Ӏ ӏ Ӏу ӏу

Northeast Caucasian languages

Northeast Caucasian languages are generally written using Cyrillic alphabets.

Avar

See main article: article and Avar language.

Avar is a Caucasian language, spoken in the Republic of Dagestan, of the Russian Federation, where it is co-official together with other Caucasian languages like Dargwa, Lak, Lezgian and Tabassaran. All these alphabets, and other ones (Abaza, Adyghe, Chechen, Ingush, Kabardian) have an extra sign: palochka (Ӏ), which gives voiceless occlusive consonants its particular ejective sound.

The Avar Cyrillic alphabet
А а Б б В в Г г Гъ гъ Гь гь Гӏ гӏ Д д
Е е Ё ё Ж ж З з И и Й й К к Къ къ
Кь кь Кӏ кӏ Кӏкӏ кӏкӏ Кк кк Л л М м Н н О о
П п Р р С с Т т Тӏ тӏ У у Ф ф Х х
Хх хх Хъ хъ Хь хь Хӏ хӏ Ц ц Цц цц Цӏ цӏ Цӏцӏ цӏцӏ
Ч ч Чӏ чӏ Чӏчӏ чӏчӏ Ш ш Щ щ Ъ ъ Ы ы Ь ь
Э э Ю ю Я я Ӏ

Lezgian

See main article: article and Lezgin alphabet. Lezgian is spoken by the Lezgins, who live in southern Dagestan and northern Azerbaijan. Lezgian is a literary language and an official language of Dagestan.

Other

Mongolian

See main article: article and Mongolian language. The Mongolic languages include Khalkha (in Mongolia; Cyrillic is official since 1941, in practice from 1946), Buryat (around Lake Baikal; Cyrillic is used since the 1930s) and Kalmyk (northwest of the Caspian Sea; Cyrillic is used in various forms since the 1920-30s). Khalkha Mongolian is also written with the Mongol vertical alphabet, which was the official script before 1941.[8] Since the beginning of the 1990s Mongolia has been making attempts to extend the rather limited use of Mongol script and the most recent National Plan for Mongol Script aims to bring its use to the same level as Cyrillic by 2025 and maintain a dual-script system (digraphia).[9]

Overview

See main article: article and Mongolian Cyrillic script.

This table contains all the characters used.

Һһ is shown twice as it appears at two different locations in Buryat and Kalmyk

Mongolian Cyrillic alphabets!+ style="font-size:smaller;"
KhalkhaАа Бб Вв Гг Дд Ее Ёё Жж Зз Ии Йй Кк Лл Мм Нн Оо
+ style="font-size:smaller;" BuryatАа Бб Вв Гг Дд Ее Ёё Жж Зз Ии Йй КкЛл Мм Нн Оо
+ style="font-size:smaller;" KalmykАа Әә Бб Вв Гг Һһ Дд Ее ЁёЖж Җҗ Зз Ии Йй Кк Лл Мм Нн Ңң Оо
+ style="font-size:smaller;" KhalkhaӨө Пп Рр Сс Тт Уу Үү Фф Хх Цц Чч Шш Щщ Ъъ Ыы Ьь Ээ Юю Яя
+ style="font-size:smaller;" BuryatӨө Пп Рр Сс Тт Уу Үү ФфХх Һһ Цц Чч Шш ЩщЪъЫы Ьь Ээ Юю Яя
+ style="font-size:smaller;" KalmykӨө Пп Рр Сс Тт Уу Үү ФфХх Цц Чч Шш ЩщЪъЫЫ Ьь Ээ Юю Яя

Khalkha

The Khalkha Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet
А а Б б В в Г г Д д Е е Ё ё Ж ж З з И и Й й К к
Л л М м Н н О о П п Р р С с Т т У у Ф ф
Х х Ц ц Ч ч Ш ш Щ щ Ъ ъ Ы ы Ь ь Э э Ю ю Я я

Long vowels are indicated with double letters. The Cyrillic letters Кк, Пп, Фф and Щщ are not used in native Mongolian words, but only for Russian or other loans (Пп may occur in native onomatopoeic words).

Buryat

The Buryat (буряад) Cyrillic script is similar to the Khalkha above, but Ьь indicates palatalization as in Russian. Buryat does not use Вв, Кк, Пп, Фф, Цц, Чч, Щщ or Ъъ in its native words (Пп may occur in native onomatopoeic words).

The Buryat Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet
А а Б б В в Г г Д д Е е Ё ё Ж ж З з И и Й й К к
Л л М м Н н О о Ө ө П п Р р С с Т т У у Ү ү Ф ф
Х х Һ һ Ц ц Ч ч Ш ш Щ щ Ъ ъ Ы ы Ь ь Э э Ю ю Я я

Kalmyk

The Kalmyk (хальмг) Cyrillic script differs from Khalkha in some respects: there are additional letters (Әә, Җҗ, Ңң, Һһ), letters Ээ, Юю and Яя appear only word-initially, long vowels are written double in the first syllable (нөөрин), but single in syllables after the first. Short vowels are omitted altogether in syllables after the first syllable (хальмг = pronounced as //xaʎmaɡ//). Жж and Пп are used in loanwords only (Russian, Tibetan, etc.), but Пп may occur in native onomatopoeic words.

The Kalmyk Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet
А а Ә ә Б б В в Г г Һ һ Д д Е е Ж ж Җ җ З з И и
Й й К к Л л М м Н н Ң ң О о Ө ө П п Р р С с Т т
У у Ү ү Х х Ц ц Ч ч Ш ш Ь ь Э э Ю ю Я я

Sino-Tibetan

Dungan language

See also: Dungan language. Since 1953.

The modern Dungan Cyrillic alphabet
А а Б б В в Г г Д д Е е Ё ё Ә ә Ж ж Җ җ З з И и
Й й К к Л л М м Н н Ң ң О о П п Р р С с Т т У у
Ў ў Ү ү Ф ф Х х Ц ц Ч ч Ш ш Щ щ Ъ ъ Ы ы Ь ь Э э
Ю ю Я я

Tungusic languages

Chukotko-Kamchatkan languages

Chukchi language

See also: Chukchi language. Since 1936.

The Chukchi Cyrillic alphabet
А а Б б В в Г г Д д Е е Ё ё Ж ж З з И и Й й К к
Ӄ ӄ Л л Ԓ ԓ М м Н н Ӈ ӈ О о П п Р р С с Т т У у
Ф ф Х х Ц ц Ч ч Ш ш Щ щ Ъ ъ Ы ы Ь ь Э э Ю ю Я я
ʼ

Koryak language

See also: Koryak language. Since 1936.

The Koryak Cyrillic alphabet
А а Б б В в Вʼ вʼ Г г Гʼ гʼ Д д Е е Ё ё Ж ж З з И и
Й й К к Ӄ ӄ Л л М м Н н Ӈ ӈ О о П п Р р С с Т т
У у Ф ф Х х Ц ц Ч ч Ш ш Щ щ Ъ ъ Ы ы Ь ь Э э Ю ю
Я я

Itelmen language

See also: Itelmen language. Since late 1980s.

The Itelmen Cyrillic alphabet
А а Ӑ ӑ Б б В в Г г Д д Е е Ё ё Ж ж З з И и Й й
К к Кʼ кʼ Ӄ ӄ Ӄʼ ӄʼ Л л Љ љ Ԓ ԓ М м Н н Њ њ Ӈ ӈ О о
О̆ о̆ П п Пʼ пʼ Р р С с Т т Тʼ тʼ У у Ў ў Ф ф Х х Ӽ ӽ
Ц ц Ч ч Чʼ чʼ Ш ш Щ щ Ъ ъ Ы ы Ь ь Ә ә Э э Ю ю Я я

Alyutor language

See also: Alyutor language.

The Alyutor Cyrillic alphabet
А а Б б В в Вʼ вʼ Г г Гʼ гʼ Ғ ғ Д д Е е Ә ә Ё ё Ж ж
З з И и Й й К к Ӄ ӄ Л л М м Н н Ӈ ӈ О о П п Р р
С с Т т У у Ф ф Х х Ц ц Ч ч Ш ш Щ щ Ъ ъ Ы ы Ь ь
Э э Ю ю Я я

Languages of North America

Aleut language

See also: Aleut language.

The Aleut Cyrillic alphabet (Bering dialect)
А а А̄ а̄ Б б В в Г г Ӷ ӷ Гў гў Д д
Д̆ д̆ Е е Е̄ е̄ Ё ё Ж ж З з И и Ӣ ӣ
Й й ʼЙ ʼй К к Ӄ ӄ Л л ʼЛ ʼл М м ʼМ ʼм
Н н ʼН ʼн Ӈ ӈ ʼӇ ʼӈ О о О̄ о̄ П п Р р
С с Т т У у Ӯ ӯ Ў ў Ф ф Х х Ӽ ӽ
Ц ц Ч ч Ш ш Щ щ Ъ ъ Ы ы Ы̄ ы̄ Ь ь
Э э Э̄ э̄ Ю ю Ю̄ ю̄ Я я Я̄ я̄ ʼ ’Ў ’ў

Central Siberian Yupik language

See also: Central Siberian Yupik language.

The Central Siberian Yupik Cyrillic alphabet
А а Б б В в Г г Ӷ ӷ Ђ ђ Д д Е е Ё ё
Ж ж З з И и Й й К к Кʼ кʼ Қ қ Л л Лъ лъ
М м Н н Нъ нъ Нʼ нʼ Ң ң О о П п Р р С с
Т т У у Ў ў Ф ф Х х Хʼ хʼ Ҳ ҳ Ц ц Ч ч
Ш ш Щ щ Ъ ъ Ы ы Ь ь Э э Ю ю Я я ʼ

Chaplino dialect

See also: Chaplino dialect.

The Central Siberian Yupik Cyrillic alphabet (Chaplino dialect)
А а Б б В в Г г Ӷ ӷ Д д Е е Ё ё
Ж ж З з И и Й й К к Ӄ ӄ Л л Лъ лъ
М м Н н Нъ нъ Ӈ ӈ О о П п Р р С с
Т т У у Ў ў Ф ф Х х Ӽ ӽ Ц ц Ч ч
Ш ш Щ щ Ъ ъ Ы ы Ь ь Э э Ю ю Я я

Sirenik language

See also: Sirenik language.

The Sirenik Cyrillic alphabet
А а А̄ а̄ Б б В в Ԝ ԝ Г г Ӷ ӷ Д д
Е е Ё ё Ж ж З з И и Ӣ ӣ Й й Йь йь
К к Ӄ ӄ Л л Лъ лъ М м Н н Нъ нъ Ӈ ӈ
О о П п Р р С с Т т У у Ӯ ӯ Ф ф
Х х Ӽ ӽ Ц ц Ч ч Ш ш Щ щ Ъ ъ Ы ы
Ь ь Э э Ю ю Ю̄ ю̄ Я я Я̄ я̄

Other

Other languages

Constructed languages

International auxiliary languages

Fictional languages

Summary table

Cyrillic Letters:

Early scripts
Church SlavonicАБВГД(Ѕ)ЕЖЅ/ЗИІКЛМНОП(Ҁ)РСТОуФХ(Ѡ)ЦЧШЩЪЫЬѢЮѤѦѨѪѬѮѰѲѴҀ
Most common shared letters
CommonА   Б В Г   Д     Е     Ж   З  И       ЙК   Л   М   Н     О   П  Р   С   Т   У     Ф Х  Ц   Ч   Ш Щ     Ь       Ю Я
South Slavic languages
BulgarianА   Б В Г   Д Е     Ж   З  И       ЙК   Л   М   Н     О   П  Р   С   Т   У     Ф Х  Ц   Ч   Ш Щ Ъ   Ь       Ю Я
SerbianА   Б В Г   Д Ђ   Е     Ж   З  И   Ј    К   Л Љ М   Н Њ   О   П  Р   С   Т Ћ У     Ф Х  Ц   Ч Џ Ш
MontenegrinА   Б В Г   Д Ђ   Е     Ж   З З́   И   Ј    К   Л Љ М   Н Њ   О   П  Р   С С́ Т Ћ У     Ф Х  Ц   Ч Џ Ш
MacedonianА   Б В Г   Д Ѓ   Е    Ж   ЗЅ И   Ј    К   Л Љ М   Н Њ   О   П  Р   С   Т Ќ У     Ф Х  Ц   Ч Џ Ш
East Slavic languages
RussianА   Б В Г   Д     Е   Ё Ж   З  И       ЙК   Л   М   Н     О   П  Р   С   Т   У     Ф Х  Ц   Ч   Ш Щ Ъ Ы Ь   Э   Ю Я
BelarusianА   Б В Г Ґ Д     Е   Ё Ж   З    І     ЙК   Л   М   Н     О   П  Р   С   Т   У Ў   Ф Х  Ц   Ч   Ш   Ы Ь   Э   Ю Я
UkrainianА   Б В Г Ґ Д     Е Є   Ж   З  И І   Ї ЙК   Л   М   Н     О   П  Р   С   Т   У     Ф Х  Ц   Ч   Ш Щ   Ь       Ю Я
RusynА   Б В Г Ґ Д     Е Є Ё Ж   З І Ї И   Ы   ЙК   Л   М   Н     О   П  Р   С   Т   У     Ф Х  Ц   Ч   Ш Щ Ъ   Ь Ѣ     Ю Я
Iranian languages
KurdishА   Б В Г Г' Д     Е Ә Ә' Ж   З  И       ЙК К' Л   М   Н     О Ö П П'Р Р' С   Т Т' У     Ф Х ҺҺ'   Ч Ч' Ш Щ     Ь   Э Ԛ Ԝ
OssetianА Ӕ Б В Г Д Е   Ё Ж   З  И       ЙК Л   М   Н     О   П Р   С   Т У     Ф Х Ц Ч Ш Щ Ъ Ы Ь   Э   Ю Я
TajikА   Б В Г Ғ Д     Е   Ё Ж   З  И   Ӣ   ЙК Қ Л   М   Н     О   П  Р   С   Т   У Ӯ   Ф Х Ҳ    Ч Ҷ Ш   Ъ       Э   Ю Я
Romance languages
MoldovanА   Б В Г   Д     Е     Ж Ӂ З  И       ЙК   Л   М   Н     О   П  Р   С   Т   У     Ф Х  Ц   Ч   Ш     Ы Ь   Э   Ю Я
Uralic languages
Komi-PermyakА   Б В Г   Д     Е   Ё Ж   З  И І     ЙК   Л   М   Н     О Ӧ П  Р   С   Т   У     Ф Х  Ц   Ч   Ш Щ Ъ Ы Ь   Э   Ю Я
Meadow MariА   Б В Г   Д     Е   Ё Ж   З  И       ЙК   Л   М   Н Ҥ   О Ӧ П  Р   С   Т   У Ӱ   Ф Х  Ц   Ч   Ш Щ Ъ Ы Ь   Э   Ю Я
Hill MariА Ӓ Б В Г   Д     Е   Ё Ж   З  И       ЙК   Л   М   Н     О Ӧ П  Р   С   Т   У Ӱ   Ф Х  Ц   Ч   Ш Щ Ъ Ы Ь Ӹ Э   Ю Я
Kildin SamiА Ӓ Б В Г   Д     Е   Ё Ж   З  И   Й Ҋ ЈК   Л Ӆ М Ӎ Н Ӊ Ӈ О   П  Р Ҏ С   Т   У     Ф Х ҺЦ   Ч   Ш Щ Ъ Ы ҌЬ Э Ӭ Ю Я
Turkic languages
AzerbaijaniА   Б В Г Ғ Д     Е Ә Ё Ж   З Ы И Ј     Й К Ҝ Л   М   Н     О Ө П   Р   С   Т   У   Ү Ф Х Һ Ц   Ч Ҹ Ш Щ Ъ Ы Ь   Э   Ю Я
BashkirА Ә Б В Г Ғ Д   Ҙ Е   Ё Ж   З  И       ЙК Ҡ Л   М   Н Ң   О Ө П  Р   С Ҫ Т   У   Ү Ф Х ҺЦ   Ч   Ш Щ Ъ Ы Ь   Э Ә Ю Я
ChuvashА Ӑ Б В Г   Д     Е Ё Ӗ Ж   З  И       ЙК   Л   М   Н     О   П  Р   С Ҫ Т   У Ӳ   Ф Х  Ц   Ч   Ш Щ Ъ Ы Ь   Э   Ю Я
KazakhА Ә Б В Г Ғ Д     Е   Ё Ж   З  И І     ЙК Қ Л   М   Н Ң   О Ө П  Р   С   Т   У Ұ Ү Ф Х ҺЦ   Ч   Ш Щ Ъ Ы Ь   Э   Ю Я
KyrgyzА   Б В Г   Д     Е   Ё Ж   З  И       ЙК   Л   М   Н Ң   О Ө П  Р   С   Т   У   Ү Ф Х  Ц   Ч   Ш Щ Ъ Ы Ь   Э   Ю Я
TatarА Ә Б В Г   Д     Е   Ё Ж Җ З  И       ЙК   Л   М   Н Ң   О Ө П  Р   С   Т   У   Ү Ф Х ҺЦ   Ч   Ш Щ Ъ Ы Ь   Э   Ю Я
UzbekА   Б В Г Ғ Д     Е   Ё Ж   З  И       ЙК Қ Л   М   Н     О   П  Р   С   Т   У Ў   Ф Х Ҳ    Ч   Ш   Ъ       Э   Ю Я
Caucasian languages
AbkhazА   Б В Г Ӷ(Ҕ) Д Е    Ж   З Ӡ И        К Қ(Ӄ) Ҟ Л   М   Н    О П Ԥ(Ҧ) Р   С   Т Ҭ У     Ф Х Ҳ Ц Ҵ Ч Ҷ ҼҾШ Ы         Ҩ Џ
Mongolian languages
KhalkhaА   Б В Г   Д     Е   Ё Ж   З  И       ЙК   Л   М   Н    О Ө П  Р   С   Т   У   Ү Ф Х  Ц   Ч   Ш Щ Ъ Ы Ь   Э   Ю Я
BuryatА   Б В Г   Д     Е   Ё Ж   З  И       ЙК   Л   М   Н    О Ө П  Р   С   Т   У   Ү Ф Х ҺЦ   Ч   Ш Щ Ъ Ы Ь   Э   Ю Я
KalmykА Ә Б В Г Һ Д     Е     Ж Җ З  И       ЙК   Л   М   Н Ң  О Ө П  Р   С   Т   У   Ү Ф Х  Ц   Ч   Ш       Ь   Э   Ю Я
Sino-Tibetan languages
DunganА   Б В Г   Д     Е   Ё Ж Җ З  И       ЙК   Л   М   Н Ң Ә О   П  Р   С   Т   У Ў Ү Ф Х  Ц   Ч   Ш Щ Ъ Ы Ь   Э   Ю Я

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Šmid (2002), pp. 113–24: "Es interesante el hecho que en Bulgaria se imprimieron unas pocas publicaciones en alfabeto cirílico búlgaro y en Grecia en alfabeto griego... Nezirović (1992: 128) anota que también en Bosnia se ha encontrado un documento en que la lengua sefardí está escrita en alfabeto cirilico." Translation: "It is an interesting fact that in Bulgaria a few [Sephardic] publications are printed in the Bulgarian Cyrillic alphabet and in Greece in the Greek alphabet... Nezirović (1992:128) writes that in Bosnia a document has also been found in which the Sephardic language is written in the Cyrillic alphabet."
  2. https://books.google.com/books?id=YIAYMNOOe0YC&q=Cyrillic+preslav&pg=PR1 Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500–1250, Cambridge Medieval Textbooks, Florin Curta, Cambridge University Press, 2006
  3. https://books.google.com/books?id=J-H9BTVHKRMC&q=+preslav+eastern&pg=PR3-IA34 The Orthodox Church in the Byzantine Empire, Oxford History of the Christian Church, J. M. Hussey, Andrew Louth, Oxford University Press, 2010
  4. Book: Peshikan . Mitar . Jerković . Jovan . Pižurica . Mato . Pravopis srpskoga jezika . 1994 . Matica Srpska . Beograd . 86-363-0296-X . 42 . PravopisSrpskog.
  5. Book: Pravopis na makedonskiot jazik . 2017 . Institut za makedonski jazik Krste Misirkov . Skopje . 978-608-220-042-2 . 3 . MakedonskiPravopis.
  6. Web site: Croats Revive Forgotten Cyrillic Through Stone . January 8, 2013 .
  7. Rießler, Michael. Towards a digital infrastructure for Kildin Saami. In: Sustaining Indigenous Knowledge, ed. by Erich Kasten, Erich and Tjeerd de Graaf. Fürstenberg, 2013, 195–218.
  8. Veronika. Kapišovská. 2005. Language Planning in Mongolia I. Mongolica Pragensia. 2005. 55–83. academia.edu.
  9. Web site: 2020. Монгол бичгийн үндэсний хөтөлбөр III (National Plan for Mongol Script III). live. 8 May 2021. Эрх Зүйн Мэдээллийн Нэгдсэн Систем. https://web.archive.org/web/20210508141329/https://www.legalinfo.mn/annex/details/10927?lawid=15248 . May 8, 2021 .