Cyrillic script facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Cyrillic script
1850s Romanian text (Lord's Prayer), written with the Cyrillic script
Type	Alphabet
Spoken languages	See Languages using Cyrillic
Time period	Earliest variants exist c. 893 – c. 940
Parent systems	Egyptian hieroglyphs Proto-Sinaitic Phoenician Greek script Glagolitic also inspired by Uncial script Early Cyrillic script Cyrillic script
Child systems	Old Permic script
Sister systems	Armenian Coptic Latin
Unicode range	U+0400–U+04FF Cyrillic U+0500–U+052F Cyrillic Supplement U+2DE0–U+2DFF Cyrillic Extended-A U+A640–U+A69F Cyrillic Extended-B U+1C80–U+1C8F Cyrillic Extended-C U+1E030–U+1E08F Cyrillic Extended-D
ISO 15924	`Cyrl`
Names: Belarusian: кірыліца; Bulgarian: кирилица [ˈkirilit͡sɐ]; Macedonian: кирилица [kiˈrilit͡sɐ]; Russian: кириллица [kʲɪˈrʲilʲɪtsə]; Serbian: ћирилица [t͡ɕirǐlit͡sa]; Ukrainian: кирилиця [kɪˈrɪlɪt͡sʲɐ].
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode.

The Cyrillic script (pronounced sih-RI-lik) is a special writing system used for many languages across Europe and Asia. It is the main alphabet in several countries. These include places where people speak Slavic languages, Turkic languages, Mongolic languages, and others. You can find it used in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and even parts of East Asia.

As of 2025, about 250 million people in Europe and Asia use Cyrillic as their official alphabet. Russia alone accounts for about half of these users. When Bulgaria joined the European Union in 2007, Cyrillic became the third official alphabet of the EU. The other two are the Latin script and the Greek alphabet.

The Early Cyrillic alphabet was created in the 9th century AD. This happened in the First Bulgarian Empire during the time of Tsar Simeon I the Great. It was likely developed by students of Saints Cyril and Methodius. These two Byzantine brothers had earlier created the Glagolitic script. The Cyrillic script is named to honor Saint Cyril.

Why is it Called Cyrillic?

The Cyrillic script was developed and made popular by the students of Cyril and Methodius in Bulgaria. It was not created by Cyril and Methodius themselves. So, its name is a way to show respect to Saint Cyril, rather than saying he was the one who wrote it.

History of the Cyrillic Script

The Cyrillic script was first created in the First Bulgarian Empire. Many experts believe the Early Cyrillic alphabet was made at the Preslav Literary School. This school was a very important center for learning and culture in the First Bulgarian Empire. It was also important for all Slavs.

Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana showing the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet and linking it to Saint Cyril and Methodius, 14th century.

Scholars at Preslav used the Greek uncial script as a base. They added new letters from the older Glagolitic alphabet. These new letters were for sounds not found in Greek. Important Bulgarian writers and scholars worked at this school. They included Naum of Preslav, Constantine of Preslav, and Joan Ekzarh.

A view of the cave monastery near the village of Krepcha, Opaka Municipality in Bulgaria. The oldest Cyrillic writing, from 921, was found here.

A page from Буквар (ABC (Reader)), the first Old Slavonic textbook. It was printed by Ivan Fyodorov in 1574 in Lviv and shows the Cyrillic alphabet.

The Cyrillic script then spread to other Slavic people. It was also adopted by non-Slavic people like the Romanians. The oldest known Cyrillic writings were found in the area of Preslav in Bulgaria. The new script became the foundation for alphabets used in many languages in Eastern Europe. This included both Slavic and non-Slavic languages, like Romanian until the 1860s. For many centuries, Catholic and Muslim Slavs also used Cyrillic.

Cyrillic and Glagolitic were used for the Church Slavonic language. Cyrillic became more common than Glagolitic by the 12th century. The writings created in Old Church Slavonic spread from Bulgaria to the north. It became the common language for communication in the Balkans and Eastern Europe.

In modern-day Bosnia, a type of Cyrillic alphabet was used in the Middle Ages. The earliest signs of this script appeared between the 10th or 11th centuries. The Humac tablet is believed to be the first document using this script. It was used until the 18th century, and sometimes even into the 20th century.

In the early 1700s, Peter the Great, the Tsar of Russia, made big changes to the Cyrillic script used in Russia. He wanted the letters to look more like those in the Latin alphabet. This new style was called the Civil script. Some old letters were removed, and new ones were added. Letters also started to have both uppercase and lowercase forms.

Over time, Cyrillic changed to fit different languages. It also developed different styles in different regions. A famous change was made by Vuk Stefanović Karadžić. He updated the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet. He removed letters that were no longer used in spoken Serbian. He also added new letters specific to Serbian. Today, many languages in the Balkans, Eastern Europe, and northern Eurasia use Cyrillic alphabets.

Cyrillic Letters and Numbers

The Cyrillic script spread across East Slavic and some South Slavic areas. It was adapted to write local languages, such as Old East Slavic. This led to many different Cyrillic alphabets.

Early Cyrillic Alphabet

The early Cyrillic alphabet had many letters. Some of these letters are still used today, while others have changed or are no longer in use.

The early Cyrillic alphabet
А	Б	В	Г	Д	Є	Ж	Ꙃ	Ꙁ	И	Ї	Ꙉ	К	Л	М	Н	О	П	Ҁ	Р	С	Т	ОУ
Ф	Х	Ѡ	Ѿ	Ц	Ч	Ш	Щ	Ъ	ЪI	Ь	Ѣ	Ꙗ	Ѥ	Ю	Ѫ	Ѭ	Ѧ	Ѩ	Ѯ	Ѱ	Ѳ	Ѵ

Capital and Small Letters

In old manuscripts, there was no difference between capital (uppercase) and small (lowercase) letters. This changed over time.

A page from the Church Slavonic Grammar by Meletius Smotrytsky (1619).

Numbers in Cyrillic

The letters in early Cyrillic also had number values. These values were based on their Greek ancestors, not on their alphabetical order.

Cyrillic numerals
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
А	В	Г	Д	Є (Е)	Ѕ (Ꙃ, Ꙅ)	З (Ꙁ)	И	Ѳ

10	20	30	40	50	60	70	80	90
І (Ї)	К	Л	М	Н	Ѯ (Ч)	Ѻ (О)	П	Ч (Ҁ)

100	200	300	400	500	600	700	800	900
Р	С	Т	Ѵ (Ѵ, Оу, Ꙋ)	Ф	Х	Ѱ	Ѡ (Ѿ, Ꙍ)	Ц (Ѧ)

Currency Signs from Cyrillic

Some money symbols come from Cyrillic letters:

The Ukrainian hryvnia sign (₴) comes from the cursive Ukrainian Cyrillic letter He (г).
The Russian ruble sign (₽) comes from the capital letter Р.
The Kyrgyzstani som sign (⃀) comes from the capital letter С (es).
The Kazakhstani tenge sign (₸) comes from Т.
The Mongolian tögrög sign (₮) comes from Т.

How Cyrillic Letters Look

Cyrillic letters changed from their medieval look to a more modern style. This happened without a "Renaissance" period like in Western Europe. Old Cyrillic letters were often tall and narrow.

Peter the Great, the Tsar of Russia, made changes in the early 1700s. He wanted Cyrillic letters to look more like Western European letters. These new forms were called the Civil script. Over time, other languages using Cyrillic adopted these new styles. Today, modern Cyrillic letters look very similar to modern Latin letters in the same font family.

Lowercase Letter Shapes

Letters Ge, De, I, Short I, Em, Te, Tse, Be and Ve in printed and handwritten forms.

Cyrillic capital and lowercase letters are not as different as in Latin writing. Many lowercase Cyrillic letters are like small capital letters. However, some have adopted shapes similar to Latin lowercase letters.

Cyrillic fonts also have upright (roman) and slanted (italic) forms. In many Slavic languages, the words "roman" and "italic" are not used in the same way as in English. They use terms like "upright type" and "cursive type."

Different ways to write lowercase (cursive) Cyrillic letters: Б/б, Д/д, Г/г, И/и, П/п, Т/т, Ш/ш. Default Russian (Eastern) forms on the left. Alternate Bulgarian (Western) upright forms in the middle. Alternate Serbian/Macedonian (Southern) italic forms on the right.

Italic and Cursive Forms

Just like in Latin writing, the italic and cursive forms of many Cyrillic letters look very different from their upright printed forms. This is especially true for lowercase letters.

Differences between upright and italic Cyrillic letters of the Russian alphabet; italic forms significantly different from their upright analogues, or especially confusing to users of a Latin alphabet, are highlighted; also available as a graphical image.
upright	а	б	в	г	д	е	ё	ж	з	и	й	к	л	м	н	о	п	р	с	т	у	ф	х	ц	ч	ш	щ	ъ	ы	ь	э	ю	я
italic	а	б	в	г	д	е	ё	ж	з	и	й	к	л	м	н	о	п	р	с	т	у	ф	х	ц	ч	ш	щ	ъ	ы	ь	э	ю	я

In Standard Serbian and Macedonian, some italic and cursive letters can be different. This makes them look more like handwritten letters.

Mandatory (blue) and optional (green) italic lowercase variants, alongside unique letters (red), in South-European orthography
Russian	а	б	в	г	д	—	е	ж	з	и	й	—	к	л	—	м	н	—	о	п	р	с	т	—	у	ф	х	ц	ч	—	ш	щ	ъ	ы	ь	э	ю	я
Serbian	а	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	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Simulation	а	δ	в	ī	ɡ	ђ	е	ж	з	и	—	ј	к	л	љ	м	н	њ	о	ū	р	с	ш̄	ћ	у	ф	х	ц	ч	џ	ш̱	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

In the Bulgarian alphabet, many lowercase letters can look more like cursive writing or Latin letters. For example, they might have parts that go above or below the main line.

Differences between Russian and Bulgarian glyphs of upright Cyrillic lowercase letters; Bulgarian glyphs significantly different from their Russian analogues or different from their italic form are highlighted
default	а	б	в	г	д	е	ж	з	и	й	к	л	м	н	о	п	р	с	т	у	ф	х	ц	ч	ш	щ	ъ	ь	ю	я
Bulgarian	а	б	в	г	д	е	ж	з	и	й	к	л	м	н	о	п	р	с	т	у	ф	х	ц	ч	ш	щ	ъ	ь	ю	я
Simulation	а	б	ϐ	ƨ	ɡ	е	жl	ȝ	u	ŭ	k	ʌ	м	н	o	n	р	с	m	у	ɸ	х	u̡	ч	ɯ	ɯ̡	ъ	ƅ	lo	я

Languages Using Cyrillic

Cyrillic is the main writing system for many languages. Here are some of them:

Slavic Languages:

Belarusian
Bulgarian
Macedonian
Russian
Rusyn
Serbo-Croatian (including Bosnian, Montenegrin, and Serbian)
Ukrainian

Non-Slavic Languages in Russia:

Abaza
Adyghe
Avar
Azerbaijani (in Dagestan)
Bashkir
Buryat
Chechen
Chuvash
Erzya
Ingush
Kabardian
Kalmyk
Karachay-Balkar

Kildin Sami
Komi
Mari
Moksha
Nogai
Ossetian (in North Ossetia–Alania)
Romani
Sakha/Yakut
Tatar
Tuvan
Udmurt
Yuit (Yupik)

Non-Slavic Languages in Other Countries:

Abkhaz
Aleut (mostly in church texts now)
Dungan
Kazakh (transitioned to Latin script by 2025)
Kyrgyz

Mongolian (also uses traditional Mongolian script)
Tajik
Tlingit (only in church texts now)
Turkmen (officially uses Latin script)
Uzbek (generally uses Latin script but still officially used)
Yupik (in Alaska)

Cyrillic has also been used for languages in Alaska, parts of Europe, the Caucasus, Siberia, and the Russian Far East.

Cyrillic vs. Other Alphabets

Cyrillic Script Monument in Antarctica near the Bulgarian base St. Kliment Ohridski.

Latin Script Use

Many languages that use Cyrillic have also been written with the Latin alphabet. Examples include Azerbaijani, Uzbek, Serbian, and Romanian. After the Soviet Union broke up in 1991, some countries switched from Cyrillic to Latin. Moldova (except for Transnistria), Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan have completed this change. Uzbekistan still uses both systems. Kazakhstan completed its official transition from Cyrillic to Latin by 2025.

The Russian government has said that Cyrillic must be used for all public communication in all parts of Russia. This helps keep the country connected. This rule was debated by speakers of many languages. For some, like Chechen and Ingush speakers, it had political meaning. For example, the Chechen government that wanted to be separate used a Latin script. Many Chechens still use it.

Countries with widespread use of the Cyrillic script:

Sole official script Co-official with another script (either because the official language is biscriptal, or the state is bilingual) Being replaced with Latin, but is still in official use Legacy script for the official language, or large minority use Cyrillic is not widely used

Cyrillic Script in Europe.

Standard Serbian uses both the Cyrillic and Latin scripts. The Serbian constitution says Cyrillic is the official script for the government. However, in everyday life, both scripts are used equally. Latin is often used more in less formal situations.

The Zhuang alphabet, used in parts of China from the 1950s to 1980s, mixed Latin, phonetic, number-based, and Cyrillic letters. In 1982, the non-Latin letters, including Cyrillic, were removed. They were replaced with Latin letters that looked similar.

Romanization: Cyrillic to Latin

Romanization is a way to write Cyrillic text using Latin letters. This can be done to show how a word is spelled or how it is pronounced.

Some common ways to romanize Cyrillic include:

Scientific transliteration: Used in language studies, based on the Serbo-Croatian Latin alphabet.
United Nations systems: The UN recommends different systems for specific languages. These are widely used around the world.
ISO 9: A standard from the International Organization for Standardization.
ALA-LC Romanization: Used in North American libraries.

Cyrillization: Other Scripts to Cyrillic

Cyrillization is the opposite process. It means writing words from other writing systems using Cyrillic letters.

Summary of Cyrillic Letters

This table shows some of the Cyrillic letters used in different languages.

Slavic Cyrillic letters
А A	А́ A with acute	А̀ A with grave	А̂ A with circumflex	А̄ A with macron	Ӑ A with breve	Ӓ A with diaeresis	Б Be	В Ve	Г Ge (Ghe)	Ґ Ghe upturn	Д De
Ђ Dje	Ѓ Gje	Е Ye	Е́ Ye with acute	Ѐ Ye with grave	Е̂ Ye with circumflex	Е̄ Ye with macron	Ё Yo	Є Ukrainian Ye	Є́ Ukrainian Ye with acute	Ж Zhe	З Ze
З́ Zje	Ѕ Dze	И I	І Dotted I	І́ Dotted I with acute	Ї Yi	Ꙇ Iota	И́ I with acute	Ѝ I with grave	И̂ I with circumflex	Ӣ I with macron	Й Short I
Ӥ I with diaeresis	Ј Je	К Ka	Л El	Љ Lje	М Em	Н En	Њ Nje	О O	О́ O with acute	О̀ O with grave	О̂ O with circumflex
О̄ O with macron	Ӧ O with diaeresis	П Pe	Р Er	С Es	С́ Sje	Т Te	Ћ Tje	Ќ Kje	У U	У́ U with acute	У̀ U with grave
У̂ U with circumflex	Ӯ U with macron	Ў Short U	Ӱ U with diaeresis	Ф Ef	Х Kha	Ц Tse	Ч Che	Џ Dzhe	Ш Sha	Щ Shcha	Ꙏ Neutral Yer
Ъ Hard sign (Yer)	Ъ̀ Hard sign with grave	Ы Yery	Ы́ Yery	Ь Soft sign (Yeri)	Э E	Э́ E with acute	Ю Yu	Ю́ Yu with acute	Ю̀ Yu with grave	Я Ya
Я́ Ya with acute	Я̀ Ya with grave
Examples of non-Slavic Cyrillic letters (see List of Cyrillic letters for more)
А̊ A with ring	Ә Schwa	Ӛ Schwa with diaeresis	Ӕ Ae	Ғ Ghayn	Ҕ Ge with middle hook	Ӻ Ghayn with hook	Ӷ Ge with descender	Ӂ Zhe with breve	Ӝ Zhe with diaeresis	Ҙ Dhe	Ӡ Abkhazian Dze
Ҡ Bashkir Qa	Ҟ Ka with stroke	Ӊ En with tail	Ң En with descender	Ӈ En with hook	Ҥ En-ge	О̆ O with breve	Ө Oe	Ҩ O-hook	Ҏ Er with tick	Ҫ The	Ҭ Te with descender
Ӳ U with double acute	Ү Ue	Ұ Kazakh Short U	Ҳ Kha with descender	Ӽ Kha with hook	Ӿ Kha with stroke	Һ Shha (He)	Ҵ Te Tse	Ҷ Che with descender	Ӌ Khakassian Che	Ҹ Che with vertical stroke	Ҽ Abkhazian Che
Ҍ Semisoft sign	Ӏ Palochka
Cyrillic letters used in the past
Ѣ Yat	Ꙗ Iotated A	Ѥ Iotated E	Ѧ Small yus	Ѫ Big yus	Ѩ Iotated small yus	Ѭ Iotated big yus	Ѯ Ksi	ѰPsi	Ꙟ Yn	Ѳ Fita	Ѵ Izhitsa
Ѷ Izhitsa okovy	Ҁ Koppa	ОУ Uk	Ѡ Omega	Ѿ Ot

Cyrillic alphabets comparison table
Early/Reference scripts
Greek	Α			Β	Γ		Δ			Ε					Ζ			Η	Θ	Ι				Κ		Λ		Μ		Ν			Ξ	Ο		Π		Ϙ	Ρ		Σ		Τ				Υ			Φ	Χ			Ψ	Ω
Church Slavonic	А		Б	В	Г		Д		Ѕ	Е			Ж		З			И	Ѳ	І				К		Л		М		Н			Ѯ	О		П		Ҁ	Р		С		Т				У			Ф	Х			Ѱ	Ѡ	Ц				Ч		Ш		Щ	Ъ	Ы	Ѣ	Ь			Ю	Ꙗ			Ѥ	Ѧ	Ѩ	Ѫ	Ѭ	Ѵ
Most common shared letters
Common	А		Б	В	Г		Д			Е			Ж		З			И					Й	К		Л		М		Н				О		П			Р		С		Т				У			Ф	Х					Ц				Ч		Ш		Щ	Ъ	Ы		Ь	Э		Ю	Я
South Slavic languages
Bulgarian	А		Б	В	Г		Д		Дз	Е			Ж		З			И					Й	К		Л		М		Н				О		П			Р		С		Т				У			Ф	Х					Ц				Ч	Дж	Ш		Щ	Ъ			Ь			Ю	Я
Macedonian	А		Б	В	Г		Д	Ѓ	Ѕ	Е			Ж		З			И			Ј			К		Л	Љ	М		Н	Њ			О		П			Р		С		Т		Ќ		У			Ф	Х					Ц				Ч	Џ	Ш
Serbian	А		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
Montenegrin	А		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
East Slavic languages
Russian	А		Б	В	Г		Д			Е		Ё	Ж		З			И					Й	К		Л		М		Н				О		П			Р		С		Т				У			Ф	Х					Ц				Ч		Ш		Щ	Ъ	Ы		Ь	Э		Ю	Я
Belarusian	А		Б	В	Г	Ґ	Д	Дж	Дз	Е		Ё	Ж		З					І			Й	К		Л		М		Н				О		П			Р		С		Т				У	Ў		Ф	Х					Ц				Ч		Ш			’	Ы		Ь	Э		Ю	Я
Ukrainian	А		Б	В	Г	Ґ	Д			Е	Є	Йо	Ж		З			И		І		Ї	Й	К		Л		М		Н				О		П			Р		С		Т				У			Ф	Х					Ц				Ч		Ш		Щ	’			Ь			Ю	Я
Rusyn	А		Б	В	Г	Ґ	Д			Е	Є	Ё	Ж		З			И		І		Ї	Й	К		Л		М		Н				О		П			Р		С		Т				У			Ф	Х					Ц				Ч		Ш		Щ	Ъ	Ы		Ь	Э		Ю	Я
Iranian languages
Kurdish	А		Б	В	Г	Г'	Д			Е	Ә	Ә'	Ж		З			И					Й	К	К'	Л		М		Н				О	Ӧ	П	П'		Р	Р'	С		Т		Т'		У			Ф	Х	Һ	Һ'							Ч	Ч'	Ш		Щ				Ь	Э				Ԛ	Ԝ
Ossetian	А	Ӕ	Б	В	Г	Гъ	Д	Дж	Дз	Е		Ё	Ж		З			И					Й	К	Къ	Л		М		Н				О		П	Пъ		Р		С		Т		Тъ		У			Ф	Х	Хъ				Ц	Цъ			Ч	Чъ	Ш		Щ	Ъ	Ы		Ь	Э		Ю	Я
Tajik	А		Б	В	Г	Ғ	Д			Е		Ё	Ж		З			И			Ӣ		Й	К	Қ	Л		М		Н				О		П			Р		С		Т				У	Ӯ		Ф	Х	Ҳ								Ч	Ҷ	Ш			Ъ				Э		Ю	Я
Romance languages
Moldovan (Romanian)	А		Б	В	Г		Д			Е			Ж	Ӂ	З			И					Й	К		Л		М		Н				О		П			Р		С		Т				У			Ф	Х					Ц				Ч		Ш				Ы		Ь	Э		Ю	Я
Uralic languages
Komi-Permyak	А		Б	В	Г		Д			Е		Ё	Ж		З			И		І			Й	К		Л		М		Н				О	Ӧ	П			Р		С		Т				У			Ф	Х					Ц				Ч		Ш		Щ	Ъ	Ы		Ь	Э		Ю	Я
Meadow Mari	А		Б	В	Г		Д			Е		Ё	Ж		З			И					Й	К		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 Mari	А	Ӓ	Б	В	Г		Д			Е		Ё	Ж		З			И					Й	К		Л		М		Н				О	Ӧ	П			Р		С		Т				У	Ӱ		Ф	Х					Ц				Ч		Ш		Щ	Ъ	Ы	Ӹ	Ь	Э		Ю	Я
Kildin Sami	А	Ӓ	Б	В	Г		Д			Е		Ё	Ж		З			И			Й	Ҋ	Ј	К		Л	Ӆ	М	Ӎ	Н	Ӊ	Ӈ		О		П			Р	Ҏ	С		Т				У			Ф	Х	Һ				Ц				Ч		Ш		Щ	Ъ	Ы	Ь	Ҍ	Э	Ӭ	Ю	Я
Udmurt	А		Б	В	Г		Д			Е		Ё	Ж	Ӝ	З	Ӟ		И		Ӥ	Й			К	(К̈)	Л		М		Н				О	Ӧ	П			Р		С		Т				У			Ф	Х					Ц				Ч	Ӵ	Ш		Щ	Ъ	Ы		Ь	Э		Ю	Я
Turkic languages
Azerbaijani	А		Б	В	Г	Ғ	Д			Е	Ә	Ё	Ж		З			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
Bashkir	А		Б	В	Г	Ғ	Д		Ҙ	Е		Ё	Ж		З			И					Й	К	Ҡ	Л		М		Н	Ң			О	Ө	П			Р		С	Ҫ	Т				У		Ү	Ф	Х	Һ				Ц				Ч		Ш		Щ	Ъ	Ы		Ь	Э	Ә	Ю	Я
Chuvash	А	Ӑ	Б	В	Г		Д			Е	Ё	Ӗ	Ж		З			И					Й	К		Л		М		Н				О		П			Р		С	Ҫ	Т				У	Ӳ		Ф	Х					Ц				Ч		Ш		Щ	Ъ	Ы		Ь	Э		Ю	Я
Kazakh	А	Ә	Б	В	Г	Ғ	Д			Е		Ё	Ж		З			И		І			Й	К	Қ	Л		М		Н	Ң			О	Ө	П			Р		С		Т				У	Ұ	Ү	Ф	Х	Һ				Ц				Ч		Ш		Щ	Ъ	Ы		Ь	Э		Ю	Я
Kyrgyz	А		Б		Г		Д			Е		Ё	Ж		З			И					Й	К		Л		М		Н	Ң			О	Ө	П			Р		С		Т				У		Ү		Х									Ч		Ш				Ы			Э		Ю	Я
Tatar	А	Ә	Б	В	Г		Д			Е		Ё	Ж	Җ	З			И					Й	К		Л		М		Н	Ң			О	Ө	П			Р		С		Т				У		Ү	Ф	Х	Һ				Ц				Ч		Ш		Щ	Ъ	Ы		Ь	Э		Ю	Я
Uzbek	А		Б	В	Г	Ғ	Д			Е		Ё	Ж		З			И					Й	К	Қ	Л		М		Н				О		П			Р		С		Т				У	Ў		Ф	Х	Ҳ								Ч		Ш			Ъ				Э		Ю	Я
Mongolian languages
Buryat	А		Б	В	Г		Д			Е		Ё	Ж		З			И					Й			Л		М		Н				О	Ө	П			Р		С		Т				У		Ү		Х	Һ				Ц				Ч		Ш				Ы		Ь	Э		Ю	Я
Khalkha	А		Б	В	Г		Д			Е		Ё	Ж		З			И					Й	К		Л		М		Н				О	Ө	П			Р		С		Т				У		Ү	Ф	Х					Ц				Ч		Ш		Щ	Ъ	Ы		Ь	Э		Ю	Я
Kalmyk	А	Ә	Б	В	Г	Һ	Д			Е			Ж	Җ	З			И					Й	К		Л		М		Н	Ң			О	Ө	П			Р		С		Т				У		Ү		Х					Ц				Ч		Ш						Ь	Э		Ю	Я
Caucasian languages
Abkhaz	А		Б	В	Г	Ҕ	Д	Дә	Џ	Е	Ҽ	Ҿ	Ж	Жә	З	Ӡ	Ӡә	И				Й	К	Қ	Ҟ	Л		М		Н				О	Ҩ	П	Ҧ		Р		С		Т	Тә	Ҭ	Ҭә	У			Ф	Х	Ҳ	Ҳә			Ц	Цә	Ҵ	Ҵә	Ч	Ҷ	Ш	Шә	Щ		Ы
Sino-Tibetan languages
Dungan	А		Б	В	Г		Д			Е		Ё	Ж	Җ	З			И					Й	К		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

Ё in Russian is usually spelled as Е. Ё is typically printed in texts for learners and in dictionaries. It is also used in word pairs that are only different because of that letter.

Computer Use for Cyrillic

Unicode for Cyrillic

Unicode is a system that helps computers show text from different languages. Cyrillic letters, including those from national and older alphabets, are stored in several Unicode sections.

These sections include:

Cyrillic: U+0400–U+04FF
Cyrillic Supplement: U+0500–U+052F
Cyrillic Extended-A: U+2DE0–U+2DFF
Cyrillic Extended-B: U+A640–U+A69F
Cyrillic Extended-C: U+1C80–U+1C8F
Cyrillic Extended-D: U+1E030–U+1E08F

Unicode usually does not include Cyrillic letters with accents. However, there are a few exceptions. These include letters that are considered separate letters in their alphabets. Some common combinations in Bulgarian and Macedonian are also included.

Other Ways to Encode Cyrillic

There are other systems for encoding Cyrillic characters for computers:

CP866: An 8-bit system from Microsoft for MS-DOS.
ISO/IEC 8859-5: An 8-bit system from the International Organization for Standardization.
KOI8-R: An 8-bit Russian system. It was designed so that text would still be somewhat readable even if some computer data was lost.
Windows-1251: An 8-bit system from Microsoft for Windows.

Keyboard Layouts

Each language that uses Cyrillic has its own standard keyboard layout. These layouts come from traditional typewriters. If a Cyrillic keyboard is not available, people sometimes use a method called "transliteration" or "volapuk encoding." This lets them type Cyrillic words using a keyboard they are more familiar with, like an English QWERTY keyboard.