The Ruthenian Alphabet - Vowels, Consonants, Cyrillic Script & more

Q: How many letters are in the Ruthenian (Rusyn) alphabet?

The Ruthenian (Rusyn) Cyrillic alphabet has 32 letters [1] . This includes 9 vowel letters (А, Е, Є, И, І, О, У, Ю, Я), 22 consonant letters, and 1 soft sign (Ь). Unlike Russian's 33 letters, Ruthenian does not use the letters Ё or Ъ (hard sign) in standard orthography.

Q: Is Ruthenian the same as Russian or Ukrainian?

Ruthenian (Rusyn) is a distinct East Slavic language [3] , though closely related to both Ukrainian and Russian: • Like Ukrainian — uses Г for /ɦ/, has Є and І letters, uses Ґ for /g/ • Different from Russian — Г is not /g/, has no Ё or Ъ, different vocabulary and grammar • Its own identity — spoken by Rusyns (Ruthenians), a distinct ethnic group in the Carpathian region Whether Ruthenian is a distinct language or a dialect of Ukrainian is a matter of ongoing linguistic and political debate [3] .

Q: Where is Ruthenian (Rusyn) spoken today?

Ruthenian is spoken across several countries in Central and Eastern Europe [2] : • Ukraine — Transcarpathian Oblast (largest concentration) • Serbia — Vojvodina region (official co-language) • Slovakia — northeastern regions • Poland — Lemko region (Łemkowie) • Hungary, Czech Republic, Croatia — smaller communities • USA and Canada — diaspora communities from historical migration Total speakers are estimated at 600,000 to 1 million [2] .

Q: What makes Ruthenian Cyrillic different from Russian Cyrillic?

Ruthenian Cyrillic has several key differences from Russian [1] : Unique letters in Ruthenian: • Є (ye) — dedicated iotated vowel letter (Russian doesn't use this) • І (i) — dotted i representing /i/ (Russian only has И) • Ґ (gaf) — plosive /g/ (Russian uses Г for /g/) Different pronunciation: • Г = /ɦ/ in Ruthenian (glottal fricative), but /g/ in Russian Not used in Ruthenian: • Ё — not part of the standard Ruthenian alphabet • Ъ — hard sign not used in modern Ruthenian orthography • Ы — not a standard Ruthenian letter

Q: Is the Ruthenian language officially recognized?

Ruthenian has varying levels of official recognition across different countries [2] : • Serbia (Vojvodina) — one of six official co-languages of the Autonomous Province • Slovakia — recognized as a minority language • Poland — Lemko Rusyn recognized as regional minority language • Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia — recognized minority language • Ukraine — officially classified as a dialect of Ukrainian by the government, though many Rusyns consider it a separate language The ISO 639-3 code for Ruthenian/Rusyn is rue .

Ruthenian (Rusyn) Alphabet at a Glance

32 letters: 9 vowels, 22 consonants, and 1 soft sign ^[1]
Spoken by approximately 600,000–1 million people across Central and Eastern Europe ^[2]
Official regional language in Vojvodina (Serbia); recognized minority language in Slovakia, Poland, and Ukraine ^[2]
East Slavic language closely related to Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Russian ^[3]
Features unique letters Є (ye), І (i with dot), and Ґ (hard g) not found in Russian ^[1]
Г represents /ɦ/ (voiced glottal fricative) like Ukrainian, not /g/ as in Russian ^[1]
Historically written using various orthographic systems; standardization ongoing in different regions ^[3]

The Ruthenian (Rusyn) alphabet consists of 32 Cyrillic letters, comprising 9 vowels, 22 consonants, and the soft sign ^[1]. An East Slavic language ^[3], Ruthenian is spoken by approximately 600,000 to 1 million people in the Transcarpathian region of Ukraine, Slovakia, Poland, Serbia's Vojvodina, Hungary, Czech Republic, and Croatia ^[2]. The language features unique Cyrillic characters that distinguish it from modern Russian: Є (ye) as a dedicated iotated vowel, І (i) as the dotted i, and Ґ (g) for the hard plosive /g/ — while Г (h) represents the softer glottal fricative /ɦ/, as in Ukrainian ^[1].

Ruthenian Vowels (Uppercase)

[AH]

[YEH]

[IH]

[EE]

[OH]

[OO]

[YU]

[YAH]

[AH]

Represents the open central unrounded vowel /a/, similar to "a" in "father"

[YEH]

Represents /je/ or /ɛ/, like "ye" in "yes" or "e" in "met"

[YEH]

Ye — represents the iotated vowel /je/, like "ye" in "yes"; characteristic of East Slavic languages

[IH]

Represents the close central unrounded vowel /ɪ/, like a short "i" sound

[EE]

I with dot — represents the close front unrounded vowel /i/, like "ee" in "see"; common in Ukrainian/Ruthenian

[OH]

Represents the close-mid back rounded vowel /o/, like "o" in "go"

[OO]

Represents the close back rounded vowel /u/, like "oo" in "moon"

[YU]

Represents the iotated vowel /ju/, like "yu" in "you"; softens preceding consonant

[YAH]

Represents the iotated vowel /ja/, like "ya" in "yard"; softens preceding consonant

Ruthenian Vowels (Lowercase)

[ah]

[yeh]

[ih]

[ee]

[oh]

[oo]

[yu]

[yah]

[ah]

Represents the open central unrounded vowel /a/, similar to "a" in "father"

[yeh]

Represents /je/ or /ɛ/, like "ye" in "yes" or "e" in "met"

[yeh]

Ye — represents the iotated vowel /je/, like "ye" in "yes"

[ih]

Represents the close central unrounded vowel /ɪ/, like a short "i" sound

[ee]

I with dot — represents the close front unrounded vowel /i/, like "ee" in "see"

[oh]

Represents the close-mid back rounded vowel /o/, like "o" in "go"

[oo]

Represents the close back rounded vowel /u/, like "oo" in "moon"

[yu]

Represents the iotated vowel /ju/, like "yu" in "you"

[yah]

Represents the iotated vowel /ja/, like "ya" in "yard"

Ruthenian Consonants (Uppercase)

[BEH]

[VEH]

[HEH]

[GEH]

[DEH]

[ZHEH]

[ZEH]

[EE-KRAHT-KOY-EH]

[KAH]

[EHL]

[EHM]

[EHN]

[PEH]

[EHR]

[EHS]

[TEH]

[EHF]

[KHAH]

[TSEH]

[CHEH]

[SHAH]

[SHCHAH]

[BEH]

Represents the voiced bilabial plosive /b/, like "b" in "bat"

[VEH]

Represents the voiced labiodental fricative /v/, like "v" in "voice"

[HEH]

Represents the voiced glottal fricative /ɦ/, like "h" in "behind" (not /g/ as in Russian)

[GEH]

Represents the voiced velar plosive /g/, like "g" in "go"; distinguishes from Г; found in Ukrainian and Ruthenian

[DEH]

Represents the voiced dental plosive /d/, like "d" in "dog"

[ZHEH]

Represents the voiced postalveolar fricative /ʒ/, like "s" in "measure"

[ZEH]

Represents the voiced alveolar fricative /z/, like "z" in "zebra"

[EE-KRAHT-KOY-EH]

Short I — represents the palatal approximant /j/, like "y" in "yes"

[KAH]

Represents the voiceless velar plosive /k/, like "k" in "kite"

[EHL]

Represents the alveolar lateral approximant /l/, like "l" in "lamp"

[EHM]

Represents the bilabial nasal /m/, like "m" in "moon"

[EHN]

Represents the alveolar nasal /n/, like "n" in "now"

[PEH]

Represents the voiceless bilabial plosive /p/, like "p" in "pen"

[EHR]

Represents the alveolar trill /r/, a rolled "r" sound

[EHS]

Represents the voiceless alveolar fricative /s/, like "s" in "sun"

[TEH]

Represents the voiceless dental plosive /t/, like "t" in "top"

[EHF]

Represents the voiceless labiodental fricative /f/, like "f" in "fun"

[KHAH]

Represents the voiceless velar fricative /x/, like "ch" in Scottish "loch"

[TSEH]

Represents the voiceless alveolar affricate /ts/, like "ts" in "cats"

[CHEH]

Represents the voiceless postalveolar affricate /tʃ/, like "ch" in "church"

[SHAH]

Represents the voiceless postalveolar fricative /ʃ/, like "sh" in "shop"

[SHCHAH]

Represents the affricate /ʃtʃ/ or /ɕ/, like "shch" in "fresh cheese"

Ruthenian Consonants (Lowercase)

[beh]

[veh]

[heh]

[geh]

[deh]

[zheh]

[zeh]

[ee-kraht-koy-eh]

[kah]

[ehl]

[ehm]

[ehn]

[peh]

[ehr]

[ehs]

[teh]

[ehf]

[khah]

[tseh]

[cheh]

[shah]

[shchah]

[beh]

Represents the voiced bilabial plosive /b/, like "b" in "bat"

[veh]

Represents the voiced labiodental fricative /v/, like "v" in "voice"

[heh]

Represents the voiced glottal fricative /ɦ/, like "h" in "behind"

[geh]

Represents the voiced velar plosive /g/, like "g" in "go"

[deh]

Represents the voiced dental plosive /d/, like "d" in "dog"

[zheh]

Represents the voiced postalveolar fricative /ʒ/, like "s" in "measure"

[zeh]

Represents the voiced alveolar fricative /z/, like "z" in "zebra"

[ee-kraht-koy-eh]

Short I — represents the palatal approximant /j/, like "y" in "yes"

[kah]

Represents the voiceless velar plosive /k/, like "k" in "kite"

[ehl]

Represents the alveolar lateral approximant /l/, like "l" in "lamp"

[ehm]

Represents the bilabial nasal /m/, like "m" in "moon"

[ehn]

Represents the alveolar nasal /n/, like "n" in "now"

[peh]

Represents the voiceless bilabial plosive /p/, like "p" in "pen"

[ehr]

Represents the alveolar trill /r/, a rolled "r" sound

[ehs]

Represents the voiceless alveolar fricative /s/, like "s" in "sun"

[teh]

Represents the voiceless dental plosive /t/, like "t" in "top"

[ehf]

Represents the voiceless labiodental fricative /f/, like "f" in "fun"

[khah]

Represents the voiceless velar fricative /x/, like "ch" in Scottish "loch"

[tseh]

Represents the voiceless alveolar affricate /ts/, like "ts" in "cats"

[cheh]

Represents the voiceless postalveolar affricate /tʃ/, like "ch" in "church"

[shah]

Represents the voiceless postalveolar fricative /ʃ/, like "sh" in "shop"

[shchah]

Represents the affricate /ʃtʃ/ or /ɕ/, like "shch" in "fresh cheese"

Ruthenian Special Signs

[MYAH-khee ZNAHK]

[myah-khee znahk]

[nul]

[oden]

[dva]

[tri]

[shtiri]

[pjats]

[shists]

[sim]

[visim]

[devjats]

[nul]

Zero (нул)

[oden]

One (один)

[dva]

Two (два)

[tri]

Three (три)

[shtiri]

Four (штири / чотири)

[pjats]

Five (пять)

[shists]

Six (шість)

[sim]

Seven (сім)

[visim]

Eight (вісім)

[devjats]

Nine (девять)

;

Complete Ruthenian Alphabet

[AH]

[BEH]

[VEH]

[HEH]

[GEH]

[DEH]

[YEH]

[ZHEH]

[ZEH]

[IH]

[EE]

[EE-KRAHT-KOY-EH]

[KAH]

[EHL]

[EHM]

[EHN]

[OH]

[PEH]

[EHR]

[EHS]

[TEH]

[OO]

[EHF]

[KHAH]

[TSEH]

[CHEH]

[SHAH]

[SHCHAH]

[MYAH-khee ZNAHK]

[YU]

[YAH]

Expand All Collapse All

How many letters are in the Ruthenian (Rusyn) alphabet?

Is Ruthenian the same as Russian or Ukrainian?

Where is Ruthenian (Rusyn) spoken today?

What makes Ruthenian Cyrillic different from Russian Cyrillic?

Is the Ruthenian language officially recognized?

References:

[1] Unicode Consortium. "Cyrillic Unicode Block (U+0400-U+04FF)". Retrieved from Unicode Cyrillic Block
[2] Eberhard, D.M., Simons, G.F., & Fennig, C.D. (Eds.). "Rusyn: A Language of Ukraine". In Ethnologue: Languages of the World. SIL International. Retrieved from https://www.ethnologue.com/language/rue/
[3] Glottolog 5.2. "Rusyn [rue]". Retrieved from Glottolog: Rusyn