Аа а б в г д е ж з и к л м н о п р с т у ф х ц ч ш щ

Cyrillic

The Greek alphabet extended for Slavic sound — now the script of a quarter-billion people across the Slavic Orthodox world and Eurasia.

ISO 15924Cyrl · 220

TypologyAlphabet

LineagePhoenician → Greek → Cyrillic · Proto-Sinaitic Wing, Floor 2

Devised bydisciples of Saints Cyril & Methodius (the Preslav/Ohrid literary schools), c. 900 CE

Ancestor ofthe orthographies of Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Serbian, and many languages of Eurasia

Datesc. 900 CE, First Bulgarian Empire

Regionthe Slavic Orthodox world; Russia, the Balkans, Central Asia

DirectionLeft to right →

Users (est.)≈ 250 M+

Status Living

Noto fontNoto Sans · Noto Serif

Curatorial note

Cyrillic is, for the most part, Greek. Its creators took the Greek uncial letters of the ninth century and, for the Slavic sounds Greek had no signs for — the sh, zh, ts, ch — added new letters, several of them borrowed from the older Glagolitic alphabet. The bones of the script are Byzantine; the additions are Slavic.

There is a naming irony worth stating plainly: the script is named for Saint Cyril, but Cyril's own invention was Glagolitic. Cyrillic was assembled a generation later by his followers — the literary schools at Preslav and Ohrid — and given his name. So the letters carry the memory of two inventions, not one.

Named for a man who invented a different alphabet.

It spread with Orthodox Christianity through the Slavic world, and later with empire across Eurasia. The route of descent, and Cyrillic's debt to Glagolitic, are recorded here and treated at length in the descent diagram in the Hall of Lineages.

Greek, plus the sounds Greek lacked

Borrowed letters and new ones

Аa · from Greek Alphataken straight from Greek

Вv · from Greek BetaGreek beta, but read as /v/, as in medieval Greek

Жzh · newa Slavic sound Greek had no letter for

Шsh · from Glagoliticshape borrowed from the older Glagolitic alphabet

Цts · new/Glagoliticfor the Slavic affricate

Α → А · Β → В · Ш Ж Ц Ч (new) Most Cyrillic letters are Greek, carried over in shape and often in order. A handful — for the Slavic sh, zh, ts and ch — were invented outright or taken from Glagolitic, the sounds Greek could not write.

The thirty-three letters

The modern Russian alphabet

А аa← Greek Alpha

Б бb← Greek Beta (split from В)

В вv← Greek Beta, read /v/

Г гg← Greek Gamma

Д дd← Greek Delta

Е еye← Greek Epsilon

Ё ёyolater addition (Е + diaeresis)

Ж жzhSlavic addition

З зz← Greek Zeta

И иi← Greek Eta

Й йy (short i)И with breve

К кk← Greek Kappa

Л лl← Greek Lambda

М мm← Greek Mu

Н нn← Greek Nu

О оo← Greek Omicron

П пp← Greek Pi

Р рr← Greek Rho

С сs← Greek Sigma (lunate)

Т тt← Greek Tau

У уu← Greek Upsilon (via ou)

Ф фf← Greek Phi

Х хkh← Greek Chi

Ц цtsSlavic addition

Ч чchSlavic addition

Ш шshSlavic addition (from Glagolitic)

Щ щshchSlavic addition

Ъ ъhard signSlavic addition

Ы ыy (back vowel)Slavic addition

Ь ьsoft signSlavic addition

Э эelater addition

Ю юyuligature (І + О / оу)

Я яyafrom the little yus

Other Cyrillic-using languages add or drop letters — e.g. Ukrainian Ї Є, Serbian Ј Љ Њ. The thirty-three shown are the modern Russian set.

Specimen — Noto Serif

Waterfall on baseline grid

56Кириллица

40А Б В Г Д Е Ё Ж З И Й К Л М Н О П

26Р С Т У Ф Х Ц Ч Ш Щ Ъ Ы Ь Э Ю Я

18а 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 the building

F1Alphabet Hall F2Proto-Sinaitic Wing F3Living Collection F4Specimen Press — set this script live

In the Reading Room

WI·INV · Paper · Forthcoming

Two Alphabets, One Saint

Cyril invented Glagolitic; his followers built the script that bears his name. How Cyrillic borrowed from Greek and from Glagolitic both.

Plaque sources: The Unicode Standard (Cyrillic block) · ISO 15924 (Cyrl · 220) · standard histories of the Slavic alphabets and the Cyril–Methodius mission · ScriptSource (SIL). Attributions to the Preslav/Ohrid schools follow the mainstream account. User figures are estimates. Compiled 2026-07.