Distribution of the Cyrillic alphabet worldwide. The dark green shows the countries that use Cyrillic as the one main script; the lighter green those that use Cyrillic alongside another official script.

This is a list of national variants of the Cyrillic alphabet. Image File history File links Cyrillic_alphabet_distribution_map. ... Image File history File links Cyrillic_alphabet_distribution_map. ... The Cyrillic alphabet (pronounced also called azbuka, from the old name of the first two letters) is actually a family of alphabets, subsets of which are used by certain Slavic languages — Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Rusyn, Serbian, and Ukrainian—as well as many other languages of the former Soviet Union...

Sounds are indicated using IPA. These are only approximate indicators. While these languages by and large have phonemic orthographies, there are occasional exceptions—for example, Russian его (yego, ‘him/his’), which is pronounced [jɪˈvo] instead of [jɪˈgo]. Articles with similar titles include the NATO phonetic alphabet, which has also informally been called the “International Phonetic Alphabet”. For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words, see IPA chart for English. ... A phonemic orthography is a writing system where the written graphemes correspond to phonemes, the spoken sounds of the language. ...

Note that transliterated spellings of names may vary, especially y/j/i, but also gh/g/h and zh/j.

See also a more complete list of languages using Cyrillic. This is a list of languages that have been written in the Cyrillic alphabet at one time or another. ...

Common letters

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

The soft sign ь is not a letter representing a sound, but modifies the sound of the preceding letter, indicating palatalisation (“softening”), also separates the consonant and the following vowel. Sometimes does not have phonetical meaning, just orthographical (Russian туш, tush /tuʃ/ = ‘flourish after a toast’, тушь, tushʹ /tuʃ/ = ‘india ink’). In some languages, a hard sign ъ or apostrophe ’ just separates consonant and the following vowel (бя /bʲa/, бья /bʲja/, бъя = б’я /bja/). Articles with similar titles include the NATO phonetic alphabet, which has also informally been called the “International Phonetic Alphabet”. For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words, see IPA chart for English. ... The voiced palato-alveolar fricative or domed postalveolar fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ... The bilabial nasal is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ... The voiceless velar fricative is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. ... The voiceless alveolar affricate is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ... The voiceless palato-alveolar affricate or domed postalveolar affricate is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. ... The voiceless palato-alveolar fricative or domed postalveolar fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ... The letter (Ъ, ÑŠ) of the Cyrillic alphabet is known as the hard sign (твёрдый знак ) in the modern Russian alphabet and as er golyam (ер голям, big yer) in the Bulgarian alphabet. ... Soft Sign (Ь, ÑŒ) is a letter in the Cyrillic alphabet (Russian: мягкий знак (mÄ­ahkiy znak) [], Ukrainian: м’який знак (miakyy znak) [], Belarusian: мяккі знак (miakki znak) []). It is named so because it usually indicates softening, or palatalization, of the preceding consonant or of the group of them. ... Palatalization means pronouncing a sound nearer to the hard palate, making it more like a palatal consonant; this is towards the front of the mouth for a velar or uvular consonant, but towards the back of the mouth for a front (e. ... The letter (Ъ, ъ) of the Cyrillic alphabet is known as the hard sign (твёрдый знак ) in the modern Russian alphabet and as er golyam (ер голям, big yer) in the Bulgarian alphabet. ...

Slavic languages

Belarusian

Main article: Belarusian alphabet

The Belarusian alphabet displays the following features: The Belarusian alphabet is based on the Cyrillic script and is derived from the alphabet of the Old Church Slavonic language. ...

• Г represents a voiced glottal fricative /ɦ/.
• Yo (Ё ё) /jo/
• I resembles the Latin letter I (І, і).
• U short (Ў, ў) falls between U and Ef. It looks like U (У) with a breve and represents /w/, or like the u part of the diphthong in loud.
• A combination of sh and ch (ШЧ, шч) is used where those familiar only with Russian and or Ukrainian would expect Shcha (Щ, щ).
• Yery (Ы ы) /ɨ/
• E (Э э) /ɛ/
• An apostrophe is used to indicate de-palatalization of the preceding consonant.
• The letter combinations Дж дж and Дз дз appear after Д д in the Belarusian alphabet in some publications. These digraphs each represent a single sound: Дж /ʤ/, Дз /ʣ/.

The breathy-voiced glottal fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ... Short U (Ў, ў) is a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet, representing the short semi-vowel /u^/ in the Belarusian language. ... A breve (Latin brevis short, brief) is a diacritical mark Ë˜, shaped like a little round cup, designed to indicate a short vowel, as opposed to the macron Â¯ which indicates long vowels. ... In phonetics, a diphthong (also gliding vowel) (Greek δίφθογγος, diphthongos, literally with two sounds, or with two tones) is a monosyllabic vowel combination involving a quick but smooth movement from one vowel to another, often interpreted by listeners as a single vowel sound or phoneme. ... Note: This page or section contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ...

Bosnian

Further information: Bosnian language

The Bosnian language uses both Latin and Cyrillic alphabets^[1] but Cyrillic is seldom if ever used in today's practice. There was also a Bosnian Cyrillic script (Bosančica) used in the Middle Ages, along with other scripts, although its connection with the Bosnian language, which was only standardised in the 1990s and whose status as a language is still debated, is tenuous at best. The modern Cyrillic used to write the language is the Serbian variant. ya who cares ... Bosnian Cyrillic is an extinct Cyrillic script, that was used in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia (Dalmatia and Dubrovnik). ...

Bulgarian

Further information: Bulgarian language

The Bulgarian alphabet features: Bulgarian or chuvashi language is spoken by around 80. ...

• (Е) represents /ɛ/ and is called "е" [e].
• (Щ) represents /ʃt/ and is called "щъ" [ʃtə].
• (Ъ) represents the schwa /ə/, and is called "ер голям" [ˈer goˈlʲam] ('big er').

Тhe Bulgarian names for the consonants are [bə], [kə], [lə] etc. with stressed schwa instead of [be], [ka], [el] etc. The IPA symbol for the Schwa In linguistics, specifically phonetics and phonology, schwa can mean: An unstressed and toneless neutral vowel sound in any language, often but not necessarily a mid-central vowel. ... The IPA symbol for the Schwa In linguistics, specifically phonetics and phonology, schwa can mean: An unstressed and toneless neutral vowel sound in any language, often but not necessarily a mid-central vowel. ...

Macedonian

Main article: Macedonian alphabet

Macedonian alphabet differs from Serbian in the following ways: The modern Macedonian alphabet (as any Slavic Cyrillic alphabet) is ultimately based on the Cyrillic alphabet (кирилица) of Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius; it is an adaptation of Vuk Karadžićs (Serbian) phonetic alphabet. ...

• Between Ze and I is the letter Dze (Ѕ, ѕ), which looks like the Latin letter S and represents /ʣ/.
• Djerv is replaced by Gje (Ѓ, ѓ), which looks like Ghe with an acute accent (´) and represents /ɟ/,
• Tjerv is replaced by Kja (Ќ, ќ), which looks like Ka with an acute accent (´), represents /c/,

Russian

Main article: Russian alphabet

• Yo (Ё ё) /jo/
• The Hard Sign¹ (Ъ ъ) indicates no palatalisation²
• Ɨ (Ы ы) /ɨ/
• E (Э э) /ɛ/

Notes: Note: This page or section contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ... A (А, а) is the first letter of the Cyrillic alphabet. ... Look up Б, б in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Ve (Ð’, в) is the third letter of the Cyrillic alphabet, representing the sound . ... Look up Г, г in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... De (Д, д) is a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet. ... Ye, or E (Е, е), is a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Zhe (Ж, ж) is the letter of Cyrillic alphabet which represents the voiced postalveolar fricative (listen), similar to the s in the English word treasure. Zhe is the 7th letter of the Bulgarian and Belarusian alphabets, the 8th letter in the Macedonian, Russian and Serbian alphabets, and the 9th in the Ukrainian... Ze (З, з) is a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet, representing the consonant /z/. Its easily confusable with the number 3, for example the stages of the N1 rocket. ... I or Y (И, и) is a letter in the Cyrillic alphabet, pronounced in Russian, or in Ukrainian. ... Й, й (Short I) is a letter in the Cyrillic alphabet. ... Ka (К, к) is a letter in the Cyrillic alphabet. ... El (Л, л) is a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet. ... Em (М, м) is a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet, representing the consonant /m/. Code positions This article is a substub, the first step on the way to becoming a full article. ... Look up Н, н in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... O (О, о) is a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet, representing the vowel /o/. Categories: Cyrillic letters | Substubs ... Pe (П, п) is a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet, representing the consonant /p/. It arose directly from the Greek letter Pi (Π, Ï€). The shape of capital printed Pe can be described as a square with the bottom line missing, not to be confused with El (Cyrillic), which has a curved left. ... Er (Р, р) is the eighteenth letter of the Cyrillic alphabet. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Te (Т, т) is the letter representing the consonant /t/ in the Cyrillic alphabet. ... U (У, у) is a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet, representing the vowel /u/. Categories: Cyrillic letters | Substubs ... Ef (Ф, ф) is the twenty-first letter of the Cyrillic alphabet. ... Kha, or Ha, (Х, х) is a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet, representing the consonant /x/. Categories: Cyrillic letters | Substubs ... Tse (Ц, ц) is a letter in the Cyrillic alphabet. ... Che (Ч, ч) is a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet, representing the consonant cluster /tS/ or /tS/ (like the ch in change). Categories: Cyrillic letters | Stub ... Sha (Ш, ш) is a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet, representing the consonant sound or . ... Look up Щ, щ in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The letter (Ъ, ÑŠ) of the Cyrillic alphabet is known as the hard sign (твёрдый знак ) in the modern Russian alphabet and as er golyam (ер голям, big yer) in the Bulgarian alphabet. ... Yery (Ы, Ñ‹) is a letter in the Cyrillic alphabet. ... Soft Sign (Ь, ÑŒ) is a letter in the Cyrillic alphabet (Russian: мягкий знак (mÄ­ahkiy znak) [], Ukrainian: м’який знак (miakyy znak) [], Belarusian: мяккі знак (miakki znak) []). It is named so because it usually indicates softening, or palatalization, of the preceding consonant or of the group of them. ... E or E Oborotnoye (Э, э) is a letter of the Russian alphabet, representing the non-iotated vowel, IPA: or ). Code positions See also Glagolitic alphabet Categories: | ... Yu (Ю, ю) is a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet, representing the iotated vowel /ju/. In common with many Cyrillic letters, it was derived from a digraph, being a ligature of Izhe (then І) or Izhei (then Н, both now И) and Uk (Ѹ, no longer in the alphabet). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

1. In the pre-reform Russian orthography, in Old Russian and in Old Church Slavonic the letter is called yer. Historically, the "hard sign" takes the place of a now-absent vowel, still preserved in Bulgarian. See the notes for Bulgarian.
2. When an iotated vowel (vowel whose sound begins with /j/) follows a consonant, the consonant will become palatalised (the /j/ sound will mix with the consonant), and the vowel’s initial /j/ sound will not be heard independently. The Hard Sign will indicate that this does not happen, and the /j/ sound will appear only in front of the vowel. The Soft Sign will indicate that the consonant should be palatised, but the vowel’s /j/ sound will not mix with the palatalization of the consonant. The Soft Sign will also indicate that a consonant before another consonant or at the end of a word is palatised. Examples: та (ta); тя (tʲa); тья (tʲja); тъя (tja); т (t); ть (tʲ).

Historical letters: 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. The name Old Russian language has been applied to different things. ... Old Church Slavonic (pol. ... The letter (Ъ, ÑŠ) of the Cyrillic alphabet is known as the hard sign (твёрдый знак ) in the modern Russian alphabet and as er golyam (ер голям, big yer) in the Bulgarian alphabet. ... Note: This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ... Palatalization means pronouncing a sound nearer to the hard palate, making it more like a palatal consonant; this is towards the front of the mouth for a velar or uvular consonant, but towards the back of the mouth for a front (e. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Fita (Ѳ, ѳ) is a letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet, descended from the Greek Theta. ... Yat or Jat (, ) is the name of the thirty-second letter of the old Cyrillic alphabet, or of the sound it represents. ... Izhitsa (Ñ´, ѵ) is a letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet. ... The Old Russian language adopted the Cyrillic alphabet, approximately during the tenth century and at about the same time as the introduction of Eastern Christianity into the territories inhabited by the Eastern Slavs. ...

Rusyn

Further information: Rusyn language

The Rusyn language is spoken by the Lemko Rusyns in Transcarpathian Ukraine, Slovakia, and Poland, and the Pannonian Rusyns in Serbia. Rusyn is an East Slavic language (along with Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian to which it shares a common linguistic ancestry) that is spoken by the Rusyns. ... Rusyn is an East Slavic language (along with Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian to which it shares a common linguistic ancestry) that is spoken by the Rusyns. ... Rusyns (also referred to as Ruthenians, Ruthenes, Rusins, Carpatho-Rusyns, and Rusniaks or Rusnaks) are a modern ethnic group that speaks the Rusyn language and are descended from the minority of Ruthenians who did not adopt a Ukrainian national identity in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. ... Carpathian Ruthenia (Ukrainian Карпатська Русь, Karpatska Rus) or Carpatho-Ukraine or Carpathian Ukraine is a name for a small part of Central Europe that was part of the Kingdom of Hungary (since 1526 under Habsburg rule). ... Pannonian Rusyns or simply Rusyns (Ruthenians) is the name of a Slavic minority in Serbia and Croatia. ...

*Letters absent from Pannonian Rusyn alphabet.

Serbian

Main article: Serbian Cyrillic alphabet

The Serbian alphabet shows the following features: Note: This page or section contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ... Serbian (; ) is one of the standard versions of the Shtokavian dialect, used primarily in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, and by Serbs in the Serbian diaspora. ...

• E represents /ɛ/.
• Between Д and E is the letter Dje (Ђ, ђ), which represents /ʥ/, and looks like Tshe, except that the loop of the h curls farther and dips downwards.
• Between И and К is the letter Je (Ј, ј), represents /j/, which looks like the Latin letter J.
• Between Л and М is the letter Lje (Љ, љ), representing /ʎ/, which looks like a ligature of Л and the Soft Sign .
• Between Н and О is the letter Nje (Њ, њ), representing /ɲ/, which looks like a ligature of Н and the Soft Sign.
• Between Т and У is the letter Tshe (Ћ, ћ), representing /ʨ/ and looks like a lowercase Latin letter h with a bar. On the uppercase letter, the bar appears at the top; on the lowercase letter, the bar crosses the top at half of the vertical line.
• Between Ч and Ш is the letter Dzhe (Џ, џ), representing /ʤ/, which looks like Ts but with the downturn moved from the right side of the bottom bar to the middle of the bottom bar.
• Ш is the last letter.

Dje, or Djerv (Ђ, Ñ’) is a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet, used in the Serbian language to represent the sound , a voiced alveolo-palatal affricate. ... Tshe (Ћ, Ñ›) is 23rd letter of the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet. ... Je (Ј, ј) is a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet, used in the Serbian and Macedonian languages. ... The Cyrillic letter lje (Љ, љ) was originally a ligature of Л and Ь. It is used in the Serbian language. ... The Cyrillic letter Nje (Њ, њ) was originally a ligature of Н and Ь. It is used in the Serbian language, where it represents a voiced palatal nasal. ... Tshe (Ћ, Ñ›) is 23rd letter of the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet. ... Dzhe (Џ, ÑŸ) is a letter of Vuk Karadžićs Cyrillic alphabet reform, used in Serbian and Macedonian to represent the affricate (like the J in English jump). It replaces the digraph дж from some other Cyrillic alphabets. ...

Ukrainian

Main article: Ukrainian alphabet

The Ukrainian alphabet displays the following features: The Ukrainian Alphabet (Украї́нська абе́тка, Ukrajins′ka abetka, or алфаві́т, alfavit in Ukrainian) is used to write Ukrainian, the official language of Ukraine. ...

• Ve represents /ʋ/ (which may be pronounced [w] in a word final position and before consonants).
• He (Г, г) represents a voiced glottal fricative, (/ɦ/).
• Ge (Ґ, ґ) appears after He, represents /g/. It looks like He with an "upturn" pointing up from the right side of the top bar. (This letter was not officially used in the Soviet Union after 1933, so it is missing from older Cyrillic fonts.)
• E (Е, е) represents /ɛ// .
• Ye (Є, є) appears after E, represents /jɛ/.
• Y (И, и) represents /ɪ/.
• I (І, і) appears after Y, represents /i/.
• Yi (Ї, ї) appears after I, represents /ji/.
• Yot (Й, й) represents /j/.
• Shcha (Щ, щ) represents ʃʧ.
• An apostrophe (’) is used to mark de-palatalization of the preceding consonant.
• Like in Belarusian Cyrillic, the sounds /ʤ/, /ʣ/ are represented by digraphs Дж and Дз respectively.
• Until reforms in 1990, Soft sign (Ь, ь) appeared at the end of the alphabet, after Ju (Ю, ю) and Ja (Я, я), rather than before them, as in Russian. Many native speakers continue to ignore this reform.

Ve (Ð’, в) is the third letter of the Cyrillic alphabet, representing the sound . ... Ge or He (Г, г) is a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet, pronounced differently in different languages. ... The breathy-voiced glottal fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ... Ghe (Ґ, Ò‘, also called ge with upturn) is a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet pronounced like the G in go. Originally part of the Ukrainian and Belarusian alphabets, its function was replaced by the letter Ge (Г) in the Soviet Union after 1933. ... Ye, or E (Е, е), is a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet. ... Ye (Є, Ñ”) is a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet, used in the Ukrainian language to represent the iotated vowel sound /je/. Categories: Cyrillic letters | Writing system stubs ... I or Y (И, и) is a letter in the Cyrillic alphabet, pronounced in Russian, or in Ukrainian. ... I (І, Ñ–) (also called decimal I, or dotted I) is a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet, used in the Belarusian and Ukrainian languages. ... Yi (Ї, ї) is a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet, used in the Ukrainian language. ... Й, й (Short I) is a letter in the Cyrillic alphabet. ... Shcha or Shta (Щ, щ) is a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet, representing the consonant /ʃʲ/, /ʃʧ/, /ʃʲʧʲ/ in Russian, and the consonant /ʃt/ in Bulgarian. ... An apostrophe An apostrophe (French, from the Greek αποστροφος προσωδια, the accent of elision) ( ’ ) is a punctuation and sometimes diacritic mark in languages written in the Latin alphabet. ... Soft Sign (Ь, ÑŒ) is a letter in the Cyrillic alphabet (Russian: мягкий знак (mÄ­ahkiy znak) [], Ukrainian: м’який знак (miakyy znak) [], Belarusian: мяккі знак (miakki znak) []). It is named so because it usually indicates softening, or palatalization, of the preceding consonant or of the group of them. ...

Non-Slavic languages

These alphabets are generally modelled after Russian, but often bear striking differences, particularly when adapted for Caucasian languages. The first few of them were generated by Orthodox missionaries for the Finnic and Turkic peoples of Idel-Ural (Mari, Udmurt, Mordva, Chuvash, Kerashen Tatars) in 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 alphabets were switched to the Uniform Turkic Alphabet. All of the peoples of the former Soviet Union who had been using an Arabic or other Asian script (Mongolian script, etc.) also adopted Cyrillic alphabets, and during the Great Purge in the late 1930s, all of the Latin‐based alphabets of the peoples of the Soviet Union were switched over to Cyrillic as well (the Baltic Republics were annexed later, and weren't affected by this change). The Abkhazian alphabet was switched to Georgian script, but after the death of Stalin, Abkhaz also adopted Cyrillic. The last language to adopt Cyrillic was the Gagauz language, which had used Greek script before. The term Caucasian languages is loosely used to refer to a large and extremely varied array of languages spoken by more than 7 million people in the Caucasus region of Eastern Europe, between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Mari may refer to: Ethnic Mari El, a republic of Russian Federation Mari language, Finno-Ugric language Mari people, a Volga-Finnic people People Mari (composer), a video game music composer Mari (singer), a female vocalist Saint Mari, a Christian saint Other Mari (goddess), the main divinity of pre-Christian... The Udmurts are a people who speak the Finno-Ugric Udmurt language. ... The Mordvins (Mordva) are a people who speak languages of the Finno-Volgaic branch of the Finno-Ugric language family. ... The Chuvash (Chuvash ; Russian: Чуваши; Tatar: ÇuaÅŸlar, Чуашлар) are a Turkic people usually associated with Chuvashia. ... This article is about the people. ... This article is about Siberia as a whole. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Caucasus Mountains. ... Uniform Turkic Alphabet was a Latin based alphabet used by the most of non-Slavic peoples of USSR in 1930s, common for all peoples. ... The Arabic alphabet is the script used for writing languages such as Arabic, Persian, Urdu, and others. ... The term Mongolian alphabet may refer to any of three scripts used over the centuries to write the Mongolian language. ... The Great Purge (Russian: , transliterated Bolshaya chistka) is the name given to campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin during the late 1930s. ... The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world today. ... The fifth century example of the Asomtavruli script from Bolnisi Sioni Church The Georgian alphabet is the script currently used to write the Georgian language and other Kartvelian languages (such as Mingrelian), and occasionally other languages of the Caucasus (such as Ossetic in the 1940s). ... Iosif (usually anglicized as Joseph) Vissarionovich Stalin (Russian: Иосиф Виссарионович Сталин), original name Ioseb Jughashvili (Georgian: იოსებ ჯუღაშვი&#4314... The Gagauz language (Gagauz dili) is a Turkic language, used by Gagauz people, official language of Gagauzia, Republic of Moldova. ... Technical note: Due to technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ...

In Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, the use of Cyrillic to represent 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 other orthographies—either Roman‐based or returning to a former script. Russification is an adoption of the Russian language or some other Russian attribute (whether voluntarily or not) by non-Russian communities. ... Two versions of the Tatar alphabet are currently used for the Tatar language. ...

Unlike the Latin alphabet, which is usually adapted to different languages by using additions to existing letters such as accents, umlauts, tildes and cedillas, the Cyrillic alphabet is usually adapted by the creation of entirely new letter shapes. In some alphabets invented in the nineteenth century, such as Mari, Udmurt and Chuvash, umlauts and breves also were used. The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world today. ... The Mari language (Mari: марий йылме, Russian марийский язык), spoken by more than 600,000 people, belongs to the Finno-Ugric language group and is part of the Volgaic subgroup of the Finnic languages together with Mordvin (though this relationship is contested; see Klima 2004 for discussion). ... Udmurt (удмурт кыл, udmurt kyl) is a Finno-Ugric language spoken by the Udmurts, natives of the Russian constituent republic of Udmurtia, where it is co-official with the Russian language. ... Chuvash (Chuvash: Чăвашла, ČăvaÅ¡la, IPA: ; also known as Căvash, Chuwash, Chovash, Chavash or ÇuaÅŸ) is a Turkic language spoken to the west of the Ural Mountains in central Russia. ... The umlaut mark (or simply umlaut) and the trema or diaeresis mark (or simply diaeresis) are two diacritics consisting of a pair of dots placed over a letter. ... A breve (Latin brevis short, brief) is a diacritical mark Ë˜, shaped like a little round cup, designed to indicate a short vowel, as opposed to the macron Â¯ which indicates long vowels. ...

Bulgarian and Bosnian Sephardim lacking Hebrew typefaces occasionally printed Judeo-Spanish in Cyrillic.^[2] In the strictest sense, a Sephardi (ספרדי, Standard Hebrew Səfardi, Tiberian Hebrew Səp̄ardî; plural Sephardim: ספרדים, Standard Hebrew Səfardim, Tiberian Hebrew Səp̄ardîm) is a Jew original to the... Note: This article contains special characters. ... Ladino is a Romance language, derived mainly from Old Castilian (Spanish) and Hebrew. ...

Iranian languages

Ossetian

Further information: Ossetic language

The Ossetic language has officially used the Cyrillic alphabet since 1937. The Entholinguistic patchwork of the modern Caucasus - CIA map Ossetic or Ossetian (Ossetic: or , Persian: اوسِتی) is an Iranian language spoken in Ossetia, a region on the slopes of the Caucasus mountains on the borders of Russia and Georgia. ... The Entholinguistic patchwork of the modern Caucasus - CIA map Ossetic or Ossetian (Ossetic: or , Persian: اوسِتی) is an Iranian language spoken in Ossetia, a region on the slopes of the Caucasus mountains on the borders of Russia and Georgia. ...

Tajik

Main article: Tajik alphabet

The Tajik language is written using a Cyrillic-based alphabet. The coat of arms of the Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic circa 1929. ... Tajik or Tadjik (тоҷикӣ, تاجیکی, tojikí) is a descendant of the Persian language spoken in Central Asia. ...

Moldovan

Main article: Moldovan alphabet

The Moldovan language used the Cyrillic alphabet between 1946 and 1989. Nowadays, this alphabet is still official in the unrecognized republic of Transnistria. The Moldovan alphabet is a Cyrillic alphabet derived from the Russian alphabet and developed for the Romanian / Moldovan language in the Soviet Union in the 1930s. ... Moldovan is the official name for the Romanian language in the Republic of Moldova and in the territory of Transnistria. ... For the region during the Second World War, see Transnistria (World War II). ...

Mongolian

The Mongolic languages include Khalkha (in Mongolia), Buryat (around Lake Baikal) and Kalmyk (northwest of the Caspian Sea). Khalkha Mongolian is also written with the Mongol vertical alphabet. Mongolian is the best-known member of the Mongolic language family, and the primary language of most of the residents of Mongolia. ... The Khalkha, or Halh (Халх [χɑɬχ]) in modern Khalkha Mongolian, is a subgroup of the Mongols. ... The Buryats, numbering approximately 436,000, are the largest ethnic minority group in Siberia and are mainly concentrated in their homeland, the Buryat Republic. ... Lake Baikal (Russian: , pronounced ; Buryat and Mongol: Dalai-Nor) lies in Southern Siberia in Russia between Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and Buryatia to the southeast near the city of Irkutsk. ... The Republic of Kalmykia ( Russian: Респу́блика Калмы́кия; Kalmyk: Хальм Тангч) is a federal subject of the Russian Federation (a republic). ... The Caspian Sea (Russian: Каспийское море; Kazakh: Каспий теңізі; Turkmen: Hazar deňizi; Azeri: XÉ™zÉ™r dÉ™nizi; Persian: دریای خزر Daryā-ye Khazar) is the largest lake on Earth by area[2], with a surface area of 371,000 square kilometers (143,244 sq mi) and a volume of 78,200 cubic kilometers (18... The Mongolian language historically has four writing systems that have been used over the centuries. ...

Overview

This table contains all the characters used.

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

Khalkha

• В в = /w/
• Е е = /jɛ/, /jœ/
• Ё ё = /jo/
• Ж ж = /ʤ/
• З з = /ʣ/
• Н н = /n-/, /-ŋ/
• Ө ө = /œ/
• Ү ү = /y/
• Ы ы = /iː/ (after a hard consonant)
• Ь ь = /ĭ/ (extra short)
• Ю ю = /ju/, /jy/

The Cyrillic letters Кк, Фф and Щщ are not used in native Mongolian words, but only for Russian loans.

Buryat

The Buryat (буряад) Cyrillic alphabet is similar to the Khalkha above, but Ьь indicates palatalization as in Russian. Buryat does not use Вв, Кк, Фф, Цц, Чч, Щщ or Ъъ in its native words. The Buryat language is a Mongolic language spoken by the Buryats. ...

• Е е = /jɛ/, /jœ/
• Ё ё = /jo/
• Ж ж = /ʤ/
• Н н = /n-/, /-ŋ/
• Ө ө = /œ/
• Ү ү = /y/
• Һ һ = /h/
• Ы ы = /ei/, /iː/
• Ю ю = /ju/, /jy/

Kalmyk

The Kalmyk (хальмг) Cyrillic alphabet is similar to the Khalkha, but the letters Ээ, Юю and Яя appear only word-initially. In Kalmyk, 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 = /xaʎmag/). Kalmyk (Kalmuck, Calmouk, Oirat) is the language of the Kalmyks, spoken in Kalmykia (Russian Federation), Western China and Western Mongolia. ...

• Ә ә = /æ/
• В в = /w/
• Һ һ = /ɣ/
• Е е = /ɛ/, /jɛ-/
• Җ җ = /ʤ/
• Ң ң = /ŋ/
• Ө ө = /œ/
• Ү ү = /y/

Northwest Caucasian languages

Living Northwest Caucasian languages are generally written using adaptations of the Cyrillic alphabet. The Northwest Caucasian languages, also called Pontic or Abkhaz-Adyg/Circassian, are a group of languages spoken in Caucasian Russia, Turkey, Jordan, Kabardino-Balkaria (an autonomous republic in Russia) and Abkhazia ( de facto independent formally an autonomous republic in Georgia). ...

Abkhaz

Main article: Abkhaz alphabet

Abkhaz is a Caucasian language, spoken in the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia, Georgia. Abkhaz alphabet. ... Abkhaz is a Northwest Caucasian language spoken mainly in Abkhazia[1] and Turkey. ... The term Caucasian languages is loosely used to refer to a large and extremely varied array of languages spoken by more than 7 million people in the Caucasus region of Eastern Europe, between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. ... Capital Sokhumi Official languages Abkhaz, Georgian Government  -  Chairman, Cabinet of Ministers  -  Chairman, Supreme Council Temur Mzhavia Autonomous republic of Georgia  -  Georgian independence Declared Recognised 9 April 1991 25 December 1991  Currency Georgian lari (GEL) Anthem Aiaaira Capital Sukhumi Official languages Abkhaz, Russian1 Government  -  President Sergei Bagapsh  -  Prime Minister Alexander Ankvab...

Turkic languages

Azerbaijani

Main article: Azerbaijani alphabet

The Cyrillic alphabet was used for the Azerbaijani language from 1939 to 1991. In Azerbaijan, two alphabets are employed for writing the Azerbaijani language: variations on the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets. ... The Azerbaijani language, also called Azeri, Azari, Azeri Turkish, or Azerbaijani Turkish, is the official language of the Republic of Azerbaijan. ...

Bashkir

The Cyrillic alphabet was used for the Bashkir language after the winter of 1938. The Bashkir language is a Turkic language. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Chuvash

The Cyrillic alphabet is used for the Chuvash language since the late 19th century, with some changes in 1938. Chuvash (Chuvash: Чăвашла, Čăvašla, IPA: ; also known as Căvash, Chuwash, Chovash, Chavash or Çuaş) is a Turkic language spoken to the west of the Ural Mountains in central Russia. ...

Kazakh

Kazakh is also written with the Latin alphabet (in Turkey, but not in Kazakhstan), and modified Arabic alphabet (in the People's Republic of China, Iran and Afghanistan). Kazakh (also Qazaq and variants[2], natively , , ‎) is a Western Turkic language closely related to Nogai and Karakalpak. ... The Arabic alphabet is the script used for writing languages such as Arabic, Persian, Urdu, and others. ...

• Ә ә = /æ/
• Ғ ғ = /ʁ/ (voiced uvular fricative)
• Қ қ = /q/ (voiceless uvular plosive)
• Ң ң = /ŋ/
• Ө ө = /œ/
• У у = /uw/, /yw/,/w/
• Ұ ұ = /u/
• Ү ү = /y/
• Һ һ = /h/
• İ і = /i/

The Cyrillic letters Вв, Ёё, Цц, Чч, Щщ, Ъъ, Ьь and Ээ are not used in native Kazakh words, but only for Russian loans. The voiced uvular fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ... The voiceless uvular plosive is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ...

Kyrgyz

Kyrgyz has also been written in Latin and in Arabic. Kyrgyz or Kirghiz (Кыргыз тили) is a Northwestern Turkic language, and, together with Russian, an official language of Kyrgyzstan. ...

• Ң ң = /ŋ/ (velar nasal)
• Ү ү = /y/ (close front rounded vowel)
• Ө ө = /œ/ (open-mid front rounded vowel)

The velar nasal is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ... Vowels See also: IPA, Consonants Near‑close Close‑mid Mid Open‑mid Near‑open Open Where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the right represents a rounded vowel. ... Vowels Near-close Close-mid Mid Open-mid Near-open Open Where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the right represents a rounded vowel. ...

Tatar

Main article: 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 in the Internet. Two versions of the Tatar alphabet are currently used for the Tatar language. ... Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Uzbek

The Cyrillic alphabet is still used most often for the Uzbek language, although the government has adopted a version of the Latin alphabet to replace it. The deadline for making this transition has however been repeatedly changed. The latest deadline was supposed to be 2005, but was shifted once again a few more years. Some scholars are not convinced that the transition will be made at all. Uzbek (O‘zbek tili in Latin script, Ўзбек тили in Cyrillic script) is an Eastern Turkic language and the official language of Uzbekistan. ...

• В в = /w/
• Ж ж = /ʤ/
• Ф ф = /ɸ/
• Х х = /χ/
• Ъ ъ = /ʔ/
• Ў ў = /ø/
• Қ қ = /q/
• Ғ ғ = /ʁ/
• Ҳ ҳ = /h/

Sino-Tibetan

Dungan language

The Dungan language (Dungan: Хуэйзў йүян Huejzw jyian, Russian: tr. ...

See also

• List of Cyrillic letters
• Category:Cyrillic alphabet