Ye (Cyrillic) facts for kids

Cyrillic letter Yeh
Cyrillic alphabet
А	Б	В	Г	Ґ	Д	Ђ
Ѓ	Е	Ѐ	Ё	Є	Ж	З
Ѕ	И	Ѝ	І	Ї	Й	Ј
К	Л	Љ	М	Н	Њ	О
П	Р	С	Т	Ћ	Ќ	У
Ў	Ф	Х	Ц	Ч	Џ	Ш
Щ	Ъ	Ы	Ь	Э	Ю	Я
Non-Slavic letters
Ӑ	Ӓ	Ә	Ӛ	Ӕ	Ғ	Ҕ
Ӻ	Ӷ	Ԁ	Ԃ	Ӗ	Ӂ	Җ
Ӝ	Ԅ	Ҙ	Ӟ	Ԑ	Ӡ	Ԇ
Ӣ	Ҋ	Ӥ	Қ	Ӄ	Ҡ	Ҟ
Ҝ	Ԟ	Ԛ	Ӆ	Ԓ	Ԡ	Ԉ
Ԕ	Ӎ	Ӊ	Ң	Ӈ	Ҥ	Ԣ
Ԋ	Ӧ	Ө	Ӫ	Ҩ	Ҧ	Ҏ
Ԗ	Ҫ	Ԍ	Ҭ	Ԏ	Ӯ	Ӱ
Ӳ	Ү	Ұ	Ҳ	Ӽ	Ӿ	Һ
Ҵ	Ҷ	Ӵ	Ӌ	Ҹ	Ҽ	Ҿ
Ӹ	Ҍ	Ӭ	Ԙ	Ԝ	Ӏ
Old letters
Ҁ	Ѻ	ОУ	Ѡ	Ѿ	Ѣ	Ꙗ
Ѥ	Ѧ	Ѫ	Ѩ	Ѭ	Ѯ	Ѱ
Ѳ	Ѵ	Ꙟ
List of Cyrillic letters
Cyrillic digraphs

The letter Yeh (Е, е) is an important part of the Cyrillic alphabet. It is the sixth letter in this alphabet. You will find it in many languages that use Cyrillic, such as Russian, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian, and Ukrainian.

This letter is similar to the letter "E" in the Roman alphabet (which English uses). It originally came from the Greek letter called Epsilon.

What Does Yeh Sound Like?

The sound of the letter Yeh can be a little different depending on the language and its position in a word.

Sounds in Russian and Belarusian

In Russian and Belarusian, the letter Yeh (Е) often sounds like "yeh" at the beginning of a word. For example, in the word "Европа" (Europe), it sounds like the "ye" in "yes."

When it's in the middle or at the end of a word, especially after another letter, it can make the previous letter sound "soft" or "palatised." This means your tongue touches the roof of your mouth when you say the sound. It still sounds like "yeh," but it has a softer quality.

Sounds in Other Languages

In languages like Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian, and Ukrainian, the letter Yeh (Е) usually has a simpler sound. It often sounds like the "e" in the English word "bed" or "egg." It does not typically change the sound of the letters before it in these languages.

Where Did Yeh Come From?

The Cyrillic letter Yeh has a long history. It was created based on the Greek letter Epsilon. The Greek alphabet was one of the earliest alphabets used in Europe.

Over time, as different languages developed, they adapted letters from older alphabets. The Cyrillic alphabet was created to write the languages of the Slavic people, and it borrowed many letters from the Greek alphabet, including Yeh. This is why it looks so much like the Latin letter "E," which also came from Epsilon.

Related Letters

• Epsilon (letter): This is the Greek letter that the Cyrillic Yeh came from.
• E: This is the Latin alphabet letter that looks very similar to Yeh.