The Mongolian Alphabet

Q: What alphabet does Mongolian use?

Modern Mongolian uses the Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet [1] , a 35-letter script adopted in 1941 during the Soviet period. It closely follows the Russian Cyrillic alphabet, with the addition of two unique letters: Ө (front rounded mid vowel) and Ү (front rounded high vowel), which represent sounds that exist in Mongolian but not in Russian. Mongolia also has its historical Classical Mongolian script [2] , a vertical script written from top to bottom, used for over 800 years. Efforts are underway in Mongolia to restore greater use of this traditional script alongside the Cyrillic alphabet.

Q: How many letters does the Mongolian alphabet have?

The Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet has 35 letters [1] : 33 letters shared with the Russian Cyrillic alphabet, plus the two Mongolian-unique letters Ө and Ү. The alphabet is ordered 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.

Q: What is vowel harmony in Mongolian?

Mongolian vowel harmony [3] is a phonological rule whereby, within a native Mongolian word, all vowels must belong to the same class. Back vowels (А, О, У, Я, Ё, Ю) and front vowels (Э, Ө, Ү, И) do not appear together in a single root word. This means that suffixes attached to Mongolian words also change their vowels depending on the vowel class of the root. The State Language Commission of Mongolia [1] standardises these rules in official orthographic guidelines, and the National University of Mongolia [2] analyses vowel harmony in its comparative Mongolic research .

Q: What language family does Mongolian belong to?

Mongolian belongs to the Mongolic branch [3] of the Altaic-related language group. Its closest relatives include Buryat, Kalmyk/Oirat and the Dagur language of China. More distantly, Mongolian is related to the other Mongolic languages such as Eastern Yugur, Tu (Monguor) and the extinct Khitan language of the Liao dynasty.

Q: What is the Classical Mongolian script?

The Classical Mongolian script (Традиционал Монгол Бичиг) [2] is a traditional vertical script derived from the Old Uyghur alphabet, used since the 13th century to write Mongolian. It is written vertically from top to bottom in columns arranged left to right. The National University of Mongolia [2] studies and teaches the Classical script alongside modern Cyrillic.

Q: Where is Mongolian spoken?

Mongolian is the official language of Mongolia [1] and is also widely spoken in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China, where it is a recognised regional language. Mongolian communities also exist in Russia (particularly Buryatia and Kalmykia, which have related Mongolic languages) and in diaspora communities worldwide.

Q: What body regulates the Mongolian language?

The State Language Commission of Mongolia [1] (Монгол Хэлний Зөвлөл) is the official body responsible for Mongolian language policy. It sets standards for spelling, vocabulary, transliteration and the use of Mongolian in government, media and education. The Commission publishes official orthographic rules and approves new terminology for scientific and technical fields entering the Mongolian language.

Q: How does Mongolian differ from Russian Cyrillic?

The Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet [1] has 35 letters compared to Russian Cyrillic's 33. The two additional letters are Ө (front rounded mid vowel /ø/) and Ү (front rounded high vowel /y/), which represent sounds found in Mongolian but not in Russian. The State Language Commission of Mongolia [1] standardises the use of all 35 letters, including these two unique characters, in official Mongolian writing.

Mongolian Alphabet at a Glance

Mongolian (монгол хэл, ISO 639-1: mn) is the official language of Mongolia ^[1] and a recognised language in Inner Mongolia, China. It belongs to the Mongolic branch of the Altaic-related language group. Mongolian has approximately 3 million native speakers in Mongolia and around 5.2 million speakers worldwide
The Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet has 35 letters ^[1], following the Russian letter set with the addition of two unique characters: Ө (representing the front rounded vowel /ø/) and Ү (representing the high front rounded vowel /y/). The alphabet was adopted in 1941 during the Soviet era and remains the official script of Mongolia
The State Language Commission of Mongolia ^[1] is the official body responsible for Mongolian language policy, orthography standards and the regulation of the Cyrillic writing system. It publishes official spelling rules, vocabulary standards and guidelines for the use of Mongolian in government and education
The National University of Mongolia ^[2] in Ulaanbaatar is the leading institution for research on the Mongolian language, its Cyrillic writing system and the Classical Mongolian script (Традиционал Монгол Бичиг), a vertical script read from top to bottom with a history of over 800 years
Mongolian is notable for its vowel harmony ^[3]: vowels are divided into back vowels (А, О, У, Я, Ё, Ю) and front vowels (Э, Ө, Ү, И), and within a native word, only vowels of the same class generally occur. The World Atlas of Language Structures documents this feature across the Mongolic language family
Before the Cyrillic script, Mongolian was written in the Classical Mongolian script ^[2], a vertical script derived from the Uyghur script and used from the 13th century. Today, efforts are underway in Mongolia to restore greater use of the Classical script alongside Cyrillic

Mongolian Vowels

The Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet has 12 vowel letters: А, Е, Ё, И, О, Ө, У, Ү, Ы, Э, Ю, Я. A defining feature of Mongolian phonology is vowel harmony ^[3]: back vowels and front vowels do not mix within native words.

The two vowels unique to Mongolian Cyrillic — Ө and Ү — represent front rounded sounds absent from Russian. The State Language Commission ^[1] standardises their use in official Mongolian orthography and education.

[AH]

[YEH]

[YO]

[EE]

[OH]

[EU]

[OO]

[UE]

[UH]

[EH]

[YOO]

[YAH]

[AH]

as in "father"

[YEH]

ye sound, as in "yet"

[YO]

yo sound, as in "yonder"

[EE]

as in "see"

[OH]

as in "more"

[EU]

front rounded vowel, as in German ö

[OO]

as in "moon"

[UE]

front rounded vowel, as in French lune

[UH]

back unrounded vowel, similar to Russian ы

[EH]

as in "bed"

[YOO]

yu sound, as in "you"

[YAH]

ya sound, as in "yard"

Mongolian Consonants

Mongolian has 21 consonant letters in Cyrillic, following the Russian consonant set. Mongolian phonology uses the letters Х for the velar fricative /x/ and Ж for the voiced postalveolar fricative /dʒ/ ^[3].

The National University of Mongolia ^[2] documents the Mongolian consonant system in the context of its broader Mongolic family, comparing it with Classical Mongolian and the other Mongolic languages. The State Language Commission ^[1] sets the rules for consonant spelling in modern written Mongolian.

[B]

[V]

[G]

[D]

[ZH]

[Z]

[Y]

[K]

[L]

[M]

[N]

[P]

[R]

[S]

[T]

[F]

[KH]

[TS]

[CH]

[SH]

[SHCH]

[B]

as in "bat"

[V]

as in "van"

[G]

as in "go"

[D]

as in "dog"

[ZH]

as in "measure"

[Z]

as in "zoo"

[Y]

as in "yes"

[K]

as in "key"

[L]

as in "lamp"

[M]

as in "man"

[N]

as in "not"

[P]

as in "pen"

[R]

rolled r

[S]

as in "sun"

[T]

as in "top"

[F]

as in "fish"

[KH]

velar fricative, as in Scottish "loch"

[TS]

as in "cats"

[CH]

as in "church"

[SH]

as in "ship"

[SHCH]

used in loanwords from Russian

[EU]

[eu]

[UE]

[ue]

Mongolian Digits

Mongolian uses Arabic numerals (0–9). Native Mongolian number words: тэг (0), нэг (1), хоёр (2), гурав (3), дөрөв (4), тав (5), зургаа (6), долоо (7), найм (8), ес (9).

The word дөрөв (four) illustrates Mongolian vowel harmony ^[3] — the front vowel Ө determines that Ө also appears in the suffix. The National University of Mongolia ^[2] documents Mongolian numeral vocabulary in its Mongolic comparative studies.

[zero]

[one]

[two]

[three]

[four]

[five]

[six]

[seven]

[eight]

[nine]

[AH]

[B]

[V]

[G]

[D]

[YEH]

[YO]

[ZH]

[Z]

[EE]

[Y]

[K]

[L]

[M]

[N]

[OH]

[EU]

[P]

[R]

[S]

[T]

[OO]

[UE]

[F]

[KH]

[TS]

[CH]

[SH]

[SHCH]

[UH]

[EH]

[YOO]

[YAH]

Expand All Collapse All

What alphabet does Mongolian use?

How many letters does the Mongolian alphabet have?

What is vowel harmony in Mongolian?

What language family does Mongolian belong to?

What is the Classical Mongolian script?

Where is Mongolian spoken?

What body regulates the Mongolian language?

How does Mongolian differ from Russian Cyrillic?

References:

[1] State Language Commission of Mongolia (Монгол Улсын Хэлний Зөвлөл). "Mongolian Cyrillic Orthography Standards" — the official state body responsible for Mongolian language policy, orthography and the standardisation of the Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet (монгол хэл, ISO 639-1: mn), including the unique characters Ө and Ү. Retrieved from State Language Commission of Mongolia.

[2] National University of Mongolia (Монгол Улсын Их Сургууль), Ulaanbaatar. "Mongolian Language and Script Studies" — the leading university of Mongolia conducts research on the Mongolian language, its Cyrillic writing system and its historical connection to the Classical Mongolian script, documenting the 35-letter alphabet used in Mongolia today. Retrieved from National University of Mongolia

[3] Dryer, Matthew S. & Haspelmath, Martin (eds.). The World Atlas of Language Structures Online. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. "Mongolian — Language Feature Data" — WALS documents the phonological and typological features of Mongolian, a Mongolic language of the Altaic-related group, including its vowel harmony and Cyrillic writing system. Retrieved from WALS Online