| Romanian Cyrillic | |
| Type: | Alphabet |
| Time: | 14th–19th centuries |
| Languages: | Romanian |
| Fam1: | Phoenician alphabet |
| Fam2: | Greek alphabet |
| Fam3: | Glagolitic alphabet |
| Fam4: | Cyrillic |
| Sisters: | Early Cyrillic alphabet |
| Sample: | File:Romanian Cyrillic alphabet chart.svg |
The Romanian Cyrillic alphabet is the Cyrillic alphabet that was used to write the Romanian language & Church Slavonic until the 1860s, when it was officially replaced by a Latin-based Romanian alphabet. Cyrillic remained in occasional use until the 1920s, mostly in Russian-ruled Bessarabia.[1]
From the 1830s until the full adoption of the Latin alphabet, the Romanian transitional alphabet was in place, combining Cyrillic and Latin letters, and including some of the Latin letters with diacritics that remain in the modern Romanian alphabet.[2] The Romanian Orthodox Church continued using the alphabet in its publications until 1881.[3]
The Romanian Cyrillic alphabet is not the same as the Moldovan Cyrillic alphabet (which is based on the modern Russian alphabet) that was used in the Moldavian SSR for most of the Soviet era and that is still used in Transnistria.
The Romanian Cyrillic alphabet was close to the contemporary version of the Early Cyrillic alphabet of the Church Slavonic liturgical language.
| Letter | Numerical value | Romanian Latin equivalent | Transitional alphabet | Moldovan Cyrillic equivalent | Phoneme | Romanian name[4] | Slavonic equiv. name | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | a | A a | а | pronounced as //a// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: az | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: азъ (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: azŭ) | ||
| b | Б | б | pronounced as //b// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: buche | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: бꙋкꙑ (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: buky) | |||
| 2 | v | В в | в | pronounced as //v// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: vede | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: вѣдѣ (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: vĕdĕ) | ||
| 3 | gh (before e, i)g (elsewhere) | G g | г | pronounced as //ɡ// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: glagol | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: глаголи (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: glagoli) | ||
| 4 | d | D d | д | pronounced as //d// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: dobru | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: добро (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: dobro) | ||
| 5 | e | E e | е | pronounced as //e// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: est | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: єстъ (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: estŭ) | ||
| j | Ж ж | ж | pronounced as //ʒ// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: juvete | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: живѣтє (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: živěte) | |||
| 6 | dz | Ḑ ḑ | дз | pronounced as //d͡z// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: zalu | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: ꙃѣло (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: dzělo) | ||
| 7 | z | Z z | з | pronounced as //z// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: zemle | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: зємл҄ꙗ (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: zemlja) | ||
| 8 | i | I i | и | pronounced as //i// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: ije | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: ижє (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: iže) | ||
| i | Ĭ ĭ | й | pronounced as //j/, /ʲ// | |||||
| 10 | i | I i | и | pronounced as //i// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: i | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: и (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: i) | ||
| 20 | ch (before e, i)c (elsewhere) | К к or K k | к | pronounced as //k// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: kaku | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: како (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: kako) | ||
| 30 | l | Л л | л | pronounced as //l// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: liude | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: людиѥ (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: ljudije) | ||
| 40 | m | M m | м | pronounced as //m// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: mislete | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: мꙑслитє (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: myslite) | ||
| 50 | n | N n | н | pronounced as //n// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: naș | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: нашь (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: našĭ) | ||
| 70 | o | O o | о | pronounced as //o̯// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: on | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: онъ (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: onŭ) | ||
| 80 | p | П п | п | pronounced as //p// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: pocoi | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: покои (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: pokoi) | ||
| 100 | r | Р р | р | pronounced as //r// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: râță | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: рьци (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: rĭci) | ||
| 200 | s | S s | с | pronounced as //s// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: slovă | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: слово (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: slovo) | ||
| 300 | t | T t | т | pronounced as //t// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: tferdu | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: тврьдо (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: tvrĭdo) | ||
| 400 | u | Ꙋ ꙋ[5] (Ȣ, ȣ, ɣ) | у | pronounced as //u// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: upsilon | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: ꙋкъ (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: ukŭ) | ||
| Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: ucu | ||||||||
| 500 | f | F f | ф | pronounced as //f// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: fârta | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: фрьтъ (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: frĭtŭ) | ||
| 600 | h | Х х | х | pronounced as //h// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: heru | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: хѣръ (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: xěrŭ) | ||
| 800 | o | O o | о | pronounced as //o// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: omega | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: отъ (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: otŭ) | ||
| șt | Щ щ | шт | pronounced as //ʃt// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: ștea | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: ща (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: šta) | |||
| 900 | ț | Ц ц | ц | pronounced as //t͡s// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: ți | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: ци | ||
| 90 | c (before e, i)ci (elsewhere) | Ч ч | ч | pronounced as //t͡ʃ// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: cervu | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: чрьвь (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: črĭvĭ) | ||
| ș | Ш ш | ш | pronounced as //ʃ// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: șa | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: ша (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: ša) | |||
| ă, ŭ | Ъ ъ | э | pronounced as //ə// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: ier | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: ѥръ (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: jerŭ) | |||
| â, î | Î î | ы | pronounced as //ɨ// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: ierî | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: ѥрꙑ (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: jery) | |||
| ă, ŭ, ĭ | Ꙋ̆ ꙋ̆ | ь | — | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: ieri | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: ѥрь (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: jerĭ) | |||
| ea | Ea ea | я | pronounced as //e̯a// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: eati(u) | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: ѣть (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: ětĭ) | |||
| iu | Ĭꙋ ĭꙋ | ю | pronounced as //ju// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: io / Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: iu | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: ю (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: ju) | |||
| ia | Ĭa ĭa | я | pronounced as //ja// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: ia | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: ꙗ (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: ja) | |||
| ie | Ĭe ĭe | ие | pronounced as //je// | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: ѥ (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: je) | ||||
| ĭa, ea | Ĭa ĭa, Ea ea | я | pronounced as //ja// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: ia | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: ѧсъ (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: ęsŭ) | |||
| î | Î î | ы | pronounced as //ɨ// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: ius | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: ѫсъ (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: ǫsŭ) | |||
| 60 | x | Ks ks | кс | pronounced as //ks// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: csi | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: ѯи (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: ksi) | ||
| 700 | ps | Пs пs | пс | pronounced as //ps// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: psi | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: ѱи (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: psi) | ||
| 9 | th, ft | T t, Ft ft | т, фт | pronounced as //t// and approx. pronounced as //θ// or pronounced as //f// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: thita | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: фита (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: fita) | ||
| 400 | i, u | I i; Ꙋ ꙋ | и, у | pronounced as //i/, /y/, /v// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: ijița | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: ижица (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: ižica) | ||
| în îm | În în Îm îm | ын, ым | pronounced as //ɨn//, pronounced as //ɨm// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: în | ||||
| g (before e, i)gi (elsewhere) | Џ џ | ӂ | pronounced as //d͡ʒ// | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: gea |
Starting with the 1830s and ending with the official adoption of the Latin alphabet, there were no regulations for writing Romanian, and various alphabets using Cyrillic and Latin letters, besides the mid-transitional version in the table above, were used, sometimes two or more of them in a single book. The following table shows some of the many alphabets used in print.
| Pre-1830 | 1833[6] | 1838[7] | 1846 (1)[8] | 1846 (2)[9] | 1848[10] | 1858[11] | 1860[12] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| А а | А а | А а | А а | А а | A a | A a | ||
| Б | Б | Б | Б | Б | Б | B b | Б | |
| В в | В в | В в | В в | В в | V v | В в | ||
| Г г | Г г | Г г | Г г | Г г | G g | Г г | ||
| Д д | Д д | D d | Д д | D d | D d | D d | ||
| Є є | Є є | E e | E ɛ | E e | E e | E e | ||
| Ж ж | Ж ж | Ж ж | Ж ж | Ж ж | J j | Ж ж | ||
| Ѕ ѕ | Дз дз | Ḑ ḑ | Дз дз | Dz dz | Dz dz | Dz dz | ||
| З з | З з | Z z | З з | Z z | Z z | Z z | ||
| И и | I i | I i | І і | I i | I i | I i | ||
| Ї ї | I i | I i | І і | I i | I i | I i | ||
| К к | К к | K k | К к | К к | K k | K k | ||
| Л л | Л л | Л л | Л л | Л л | L l | L l | ||
| М м | М м | M m | М м | M m | M m | M m | ||
| Н н | Н н | N n | N ɴ | N n | N n | N n | ||
| О о | О о | O o | О о | О о | О о | O о | ||
| П п | П п | П п | П п | П п | П п | П п | ||
| Р р | Р р | Р р | Р р | Р р | R r | Р р | ||
| С с | С с | S s | С с | С с | S s | S s | ||
| Т т | Т т | T t | Т т | Т т | T t | T t | ||
| Оу оу | У у (initial) Ꙋ ꙋ (mid and final) | Ꙋ ꙋ | Ꙋ ꙋ | Ꙋ ꙋ | Ꙋ ꙋ | Ꙋ ꙋ | Ꙋ ꙋ | |
| Ꙋ, ȣ | ||||||||
| Ф ф | Ф ф | Ф ф | Ф ф | Ф ф | F f | Ф ф | ||
| Х х | Х х | Х х | Х х | Х х | Х х | Х х | ||
| Ѡ ѡ | Ѡ ѡ | О о | O o | О о | O o | О о | О о | |
| Щ щ | Щ щ | Щ щ | Шт шт | Щ щ | Шt шt | Шt шt | ||
| Ц ц | Ц ц | Ц ц | Ц ц | Ц ц | Ц ц | Ц ц | ||
| Ч ч | Ч ч | Ч ч | Ч ч | Ч ч | Ч ч | Ч ч | ||
| Ш ш | Ш ш | Ш ш | Ш ш | Ш ш | Ш ш | Ш ш | ||
| Ъ ъ | Ъ ъ | Ъ ъ | Ъ ъ | Ъ ъ | Ъ ъ | Ъ ъ | ||
| Ы ы | Ꙟ ꙟ (initial) Ѫ ѫ (mid and final) | Ꙟ ꙟ (initial) Ѫ ѫ (mid and final) | Ꙟ ꙟ | Ꙟ ꙟ / Î î (transitional form) | Ꙟ ꙟ (initial) Ѫ ѫ (mid and final) | Î î | Î î | |
| Ѣ ѣ | Ѣ ѣ | Ѣ ѣ | Ea ea | Eа εа (ligature, small letter only) | Ea ea | Ea ea | Ea ea | |
| Ю ю | Ю ю | IꙊ iꙋ (ligature) | IꙊ Iꙋ iꙋ (ligature) | IꙊ Iꙋ іꙋ (ligature, small letter only) | Iꙋ iꙋ | IꙊ iꙋ (ligature) | Ĭꙋ ĭꙋ | |
| Ꙗ ꙗ | Ꙗ ꙗ (initial) Ѧ ѧ (mid and final) | Ꙗ ꙗ | Ꙗ Iа (ligature) ꙗ | IА Iа ꙗ | Ia ia | Ĭa ĭa | Ĭa ĭa | |
| Йє йє | Ĭe ĭe | Ĭe ĭe | Ĭε ĭε | Ie ie | Ĭe ĭe | Ĭe ĭe | ||
| Ѧ ѧ | Ꙗ ꙗ (initial) Ѧ ѧ (mid and final) | Ꙗ ꙗ | Ꙗ Iа (ligature) ꙗ | IА Iа ꙗ | Ia ia | Ĭa ĭa | Ĭa ĭa | |
| Ѫ ѫ | Ꙟ ꙟ (initial) Ѫ ѫ (mid and final) | Ꙟ ꙟ (initial) Ѫ ѫ (mid and final) | Ꙟ ꙟ | Ꙟ ꙟ / Î î (transitional form) | Ꙟ ꙟ (initial) Ѫ ѫ (mid and final) | Î î | Î î | |
| Кс кс | Кс кс | Ks ks | Кс кс | Кс кс | Ks ks | Ks ks | ||
| Пс пс | Пс пс | Пs пs | Пс пс | Пс пс | Пs пs | Пs пs | ||
| Т т | Т т | T t | Ѳ ѳ | Т т | T t | T t | ||
| И, Ꙋ | I, Ꙋ | I, Ꙋ | І, Ꙋ | І, Ꙋ | I, Ꙋ | I, Ꙋ | ||
| Ꙟн ꙟн Ꙟм ꙟм | Ꙟн ꙟн Ꙟм ꙟм | Ꙟн ꙟн Ꙟм ꙟм | Ꙟɴ ꙟɴ Ꙟм ꙟм | Ꙟn ꙟn Ꙟm ꙟm | În în Îm îm | În în Îm îm | ||
| Џ џ | Џ џ | Џ џ | Џ џ | Џ џ | Џ џ | Џ џ |
According to a document from the 1850s,[13] this is how the Romanian Lord's Prayer looked in Cyrillic script. Transcriptional values correspond to the above table.