Russian alphabet (Cyrillic): every letter to copy
Russian is written in the Cyrillic alphabet, which is used by more than 250 million people across Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The Russian alphabet has 33 letters: 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. This page lists them in order, first as capitals and then as small letters, followed by Cyrillic letters used for other languages.
Tap any letter to copy it.
Russian letters by type
- Letters that look and sound like English: А К М О Т.
- Look familiar but sound different: В (v), Е (ye), Н (n), Р (r), С (s), У (u), Х (kh).
- New shapes: Б Г Д Ж З И Й Л П Ф Ц Ч Ш Щ Э Ю Я.
- Signs: Ъ hard sign and Ь soft sign, which change the sound of the letter before them.
- Ё: Pronounced yo. Often written as Е in everyday text.
Cyrillic for other languages
Cyrillic is not only for Russian. Ukrainian adds Є І Ї Ґ, Belarusian uses Ў, Serbian and Macedonian use Ђ Ј Љ Њ Ћ Џ, Kazakh adds Ә Ғ Қ Ң Ө Ұ Ү Һ І, and Mongolian uses Ө Ү. After the Russian letters, this page lists these extra letters so you can write names and words in many languages.
Where Cyrillic came from
Cyrillic was created in the 9th century in the First Bulgarian Empire, based on Greek letters and named after Saint Cyril, who with his brother Methodius brought writing to the Slavic peoples. That is why many Cyrillic letters, like Г, Д, Л and П, look like Greek letters.
Watch out for look-alike letters
Some Cyrillic letters look exactly like Latin letters, like А, Е, О, Р, С and Х. They are different characters, so a word that mixes them may not match in search or spell-check. If you are typing English, use your normal keyboard letters. Use Cyrillic only for Russian and other Cyrillic text.
Russian for learners
Russian learners often start with the alphabet, which most people can learn in a week. Copy letters here to make flashcards, practise writing names, or type simple words like привет (hello), спасибо (thank you) and да (yes). For full sentences, add a Russian keyboard on your device.
Typing Russian
Windows, Mac, Android and iPhone all include Russian keyboards, plus phonetic layouts that match English key positions. For a rare letter like Ё or a Cyrillic letter from another language, copying from this page is easier.
Frequently asked questions
- How many letters are in the Russian alphabet?
- The Russian alphabet has 33 letters, each with a capital and a small form.
- What do Ъ and Ь do?
- They have no sound of their own. Ь softens the letter before it and Ъ separates sounds.
- Is Ё the same as Е?
- No, Ё is pronounced yo. In everyday writing it is often replaced with Е, but it is a separate letter.
- Which languages use Cyrillic?
- Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Mongolian and others.
- How do I write hello in Russian?
- Hello is привет (privet), or здравствуйте (zdravstvuyte) to be polite.