Fita facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cyrillic letter Fita
Numeric value:	9
The Cyrillic script
Slavic letters
А Б В Г Ґ Д Ђ Ѓ Е Ѐ Ё Є Ж З З́ Ѕ И Ѝ І Ї Й Ј К Л Љ М Н Њ О П Р С С́ Т Ћ Ќ У Ў Ф Х Ц Ч Џ Ш Щ Ъ Ы Ь Э Ю Я
Non-Slavic letters
А́ А̀ Ӑ А̄ А̊ А̃ Ӓ Ӓ̄ В̌ Ә Ә́ Ә̃ Ӛ Ӕ Ғ Г̧ Г̑ Г̄ Г̣ Г̌ Ҕ Ӻ     Ғ̌ Ӷ Ԁ Ԃ Ꚃ Ꚁ Ꚉ     Д̆ Д̣ Ԫ Ԭ Д̆ Ӗ Е̄ Е̃ Ё̄ Є̈ Ӂ Җ Ꚅ Ӝ Ԅ Ҙ Ӟ З̌ З̱ З̣ Ԑ Ԑ̈ Ӡ Ԇ Ӣ И̃ Ҋ Ӥ И́ Қ Ӄ Ҡ Ҟ Ҝ Ԟ К̣ Ԛ Ӆ Ԯ Ԓ Ԡ Ԉ Ԕ Ӎ Ӊ Ң Ԩ Ӈ Ҥ Ԣ Ԋ О́ О̀ О̆ О̂ О̃ О̄ Ӧ Ӧ̄ Ө Ө̄ Ө́ Ө̆ Ӫ Ҩ Ԥ Ҧ Р̌ Ҏ Ԗ Ҫ С̣ С̱ Ԍ Т̌ Т̣ Ꚑ Ҭ Ꚋ Ꚍ Ԏ У̃ Ӯ Ӱ Ӱ́ Ӳ Ү Ү́ Ұ     Х̣     Х̱     Х̮ Х̑ Ҳ Ӽ Ӿ Һ Һ̈ Ԧ Ꚕ Ҵ Ꚏ Ҷ Ӵ Ӌ Ҹ Ꚓ Ꚗ Ꚇ Ҽ Ҿ Ы̆ Ы̄ Ӹ Ҍ Э̆ Э̄ Э̇ Ӭ Ӭ́ Ӭ̄ Ю̆ Ю̈ Ю̈́ Ю̄ Я̆ Я̄ Я̈ Ԙ Ԝ Ӏ
Archaic letters
Ꙁ Ꙃ Ꙅ Ꙇ Ꙉ Ҁ Ѻ Ѹ Ꙋ Ѡ Ѽ Ꙍ Ѿ Ꙏ Ѣ Ꙑ Ꙓ Ꙕ Ꙗ Ѥ Ѧ Ꙙ Ѫ Ꙛ Ѩ Ꙝ Ѭ Ѯ Ѱ Ѳ Ѵ Ѷ Ꙟ Ꙡ Ꙣ Ꙥ Ꙧ Ꙩ Ꙫ Ꙭ ꙮ Ꚙ Ꚛ
List of Cyrillic letters Cyrillic digraphs
v t e

Fita (Ѳ ѳ) is a special letter from the Cyrillic alphabet. It looks a lot like the Greek letter theta (Θ θ), which is where it originally came from. In the old system of Cyrillic numerals, Fita was used to represent the number nine.

What is Fita?

Fita is a letter that was once part of the Cyrillic alphabet, which is used for writing languages like Russian, Ukrainian, and Serbian. It was mostly used in Old Church Slavonic, an ancient language important for religious texts.

Where Did Fita Come From?

Fita came directly from the Greek alphabet. The Greek letter theta (Θ θ) was used in many Greek words. When the Cyrillic alphabet was created, they borrowed some letters from Greek to write Slavic languages. Fita was one of these borrowed letters.

How Was Fita Pronounced?

In ancient times, Fita was pronounced like the "th" sound in the English word "thin" or "think." This sound is called a "voiceless dental fricative." However, over time, the pronunciation of Fita changed in many Slavic languages.

Fita's Sound Changes

In Russian, for example, the "th" sound of Fita eventually changed to an "f" sound, like in the English word "fan." This change happened because the original "th" sound was not common in Slavic languages. So, Fita started to sound just like the letter Ef (Ф ф), which already made the "f" sound.

Fita in History

Fita was used in the Cyrillic alphabet for many centuries. It appeared in old books, documents, and religious texts. However, its use became less and less common as languages evolved.

Why Did Fita Disappear?

The main reason Fita disappeared was because its pronunciation became the same as another letter, Ef (Ф ф). Having two letters that sound exactly alike can be confusing and unnecessary. So, many language reforms decided to remove Fita.

The Russian Language Reform of 1918

One of the most important changes happened in Russia in 1918. After the Russian Revolution, the new government decided to simplify the Russian alphabet. They removed several letters that were no longer needed, including Fita. From then on, all words that used to be spelled with Fita were spelled with Ef (Ф ф) instead.

Fita in Other Languages

While Fita was removed from Russian, it is still sometimes seen in older texts in other languages that use Cyrillic. For example, in Bulgarian and Serbian, Fita was also used historically but is no longer part of their modern alphabets.

Fita Today

Today, Fita is not used in the modern alphabets of most Slavic languages. You will only find it if you are reading very old books or documents. It is a reminder of how languages change and adapt over time.

Where Can You Still See Fita?

You might still see Fita in:

• Old Church Slavonic texts, especially religious books.
• Historical documents from before the 20th century.
• Specialized studies about the history of the Cyrillic alphabet.

Fita is a fascinating example of how letters can evolve and sometimes even disappear from an alphabet. It shows us the journey of language through history.

Images for kids

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  The Cyrillic letter Fita, both uppercase (Ѳ) and lowercase (ѳ).