The Romanian Cyrillic alphabet is the Cyrillic alphabet that was used to write the Romanian language and Church Slavonic from the 14th century until the 1830s, when it began to be gradually replaced by a Latin-based Romanian alphabet. Cyrillic remained in occasional use until the 1920s, mostly in Russian-ruled Bessarabia.
| Romanian Cyrillic | |
|---|---|
| Script type | |
Period | 14th–19th centuries |
| Languages | Romanian |
| Related scripts | |
Parent systems | Phoenician alphabet
|
Sister systems | Early Cyrillic alphabet |
| This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters. | |
From the 1830s until the full adoption of the Latin alphabet, the Romanian transitional alphabet was in place, combining Cyrillic and Latin letters, and including some of the Latin letters with diacritics that remain in the modern Romanian alphabet. The Romanian Orthodox Church continued using the alphabet in its publications until 1881.
The Romanian Cyrillic alphabet is not the same as the Moldovan Cyrillic alphabet (which is based on the modern Russian alphabet) that was used in the Moldavian SSR for most of the Soviet era and that is still used in Transnistria.
Rules
The orthographic rules for the Romanian Cyrilic script were relatively inconsistent, especially differing from region to region.
Some of the more common (especially in the late 18th century) standards include:
1. 'ь' is placed at the end of words ending in a consonant. It represents the archaic Romanian "short asyllabic final u sound", which was denoted with 'ꙋ' or 'ꙋ꙼' in some older texts. 'ь' was eventually dropped to reduce printing cost.
2. The breve mark is used to mark a vowel as short, such as with 'й' and 'Ꙋ꙼' which are not considered separate from 'и' and 'ꙋ' respectively.
3. Є, Ѻ, Оу and Ꙗ are the initial variants of Е, О, Ꙋ, Ѧ respectively.
4. Ї is the equivalent of И before a vowel. It is also used in Greek loanwords and proper names.
5. Ꙟ serves as the word initial equivalent of ѫ. It can represent the sounds /ɨn/ and /ɨm/ as well.
6. Ѯ Ѱ Ѳ Ѵ are only used in Greek loanwords.
7. Ѵ usually represents the sounds /i/ when proceeding a consonant and /v/ when proceeding a vowel. Although educated speakers likely pronounced it as /y/.
8. 'їꙋ' or iotated ꙋ may be used in place of 'ю' in proper names.
9. 'ꙍ' can be used as a variation of 'ѻ' as well as replacing 'o' when stressed. It also appears in the endings of words in the genitive and dative. It rarely represents the diphthong /o̯a/ more often representing the diphthong /ŭə/.
Table of correspondence
The Romanian Cyrillic alphabet was close to the contemporary version of the Early Cyrillic alphabet of the Church Slavonic liturgical language.
| Letter | Numerical value | Romanian Latin equivalent | Transitional alphabet | Moldovan Cyrillic equivalent | Phoneme | Romanian name | Slavonic equiv. name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| А а | 1 | a | A a | а | /a/ | az | азъ (azŭ) |
| Б Б | b | Б Б | б | /b/ | buche | бꙋкꙑ (buky) | |
| В в | 2 | v | В в | в | /v/ | vede | вѣдѣ (vĕdĕ) |
| Г г | 3 | gh (before e, i) g (elsewhere) | G g | г | /ɡ/ | glagol | глаголи (glagoli) |
| Д д | 4 | d | D d | д | /d/ | dobru | добро (dobro) |
| Є є, Е е | 5 | e | E e | е | /e/ | est | єстъ (estŭ) |
| Ж ж | j | Ж ж | ж | /ʒ/ | juvete | живѣтє (živěte) | |
| Ѕ ѕ | 6 | dz | Ḑ ḑ | дз | /d͡z/ | zalu | ꙃѣло (dzělo) |
| З з | 7 | z | Z z | з | /z/ | zemle | зємл҄ꙗ (zemlja) |
| И и | 8 | i | I i | и | /i/ | ije | ижє (iže) |
| Й й | i | Ĭ ĭ | й | /j/, /ʲ/ | |||
| І і | 10 | i | I i | и | /i/ | i | и (i) |
| К к | 20 | ch (before e, i) c (elsewhere) | К к or K k | к | /k/ | kaku | како (kako) |
| Л л | 30 | l | Л л | л | /l/ | liude | людиѥ (ljudije) |
| М м | 40 | m | M m | м | /m/ | mislete | мꙑслитє (myslite) |
| Н н | 50 | n | N n | н | /n/ | naș | нашь (našĭ) |
| Ѻ ѻ, О о | 70 | o | O o | о | /o̯/ | on | онъ (onŭ) |
| П п | 80 | p | П п | п | /p/ | pocoi | покои (pokoi) |
| Р р | 100 | r | Р р | р | /r/ | râță | рьци (rĭci) |
| С с | 200 | s | S s | с | /s/ | slovă | слово (slovo) |
| Т т | 300 | t | T t | т | /t/ | tferdu | тврьдо (tvrĭdo) |
| ОУ оу | 400 | u | Ꙋ ꙋ (Ȣ, ȣ, ɣ) | у | /u/ | upsilon | ꙋкъ (ukŭ) |
| Оу Ȣ, У Ȣ | ucu | ||||||
| Ф ф | 500 | f | F f | ф | /f/ | fârta | фрьтъ (frĭtŭ) |
| Х х | 600 | h | Х х | х | /h/ | heru | хѣръ (xěrŭ) |
| Ѡ ѡ | 800 | o | O o | о | /o/ | omega | отъ (otŭ) |
| Щ щ | șt | Щ щ | шт | /ʃt/ | ștea | ща (šta) | |
| Ц ц | 900 | ț | Ц ц | ц | /t͡s/ | ți | ци |
| Ч ч | 90 | c (before e, i) ci (elsewhere) | Ч ч | ч | /t͡ʃ/ | cervu | чрьвь (črĭvĭ) |
| Ш ш | ș | Ш ш | ш | /ʃ/ | șa | ша (ša) | |
| Ъ ъ | ă, ŭ | Ъ ъ | э | /ə/ | ier | ѥръ (jerŭ) | |
| Ы ы, Ꙑ ꙑ | â, î | Î î | ы | /ɨ/ | ierî | ѥрꙑ (jery) | |
| Ь ь | ă, ŭ, ĭ | Ꙋ̆ ꙋ̆ | ь | — | ieri | ѥрь (jerĭ) | |
| Ѣ ѣ | ea | Ea ea | я | /e̯a/ | eati(u) | ѣть (ětĭ) | |
| Ю ю | iu | Ĭꙋ ĭꙋ | ю | /ju/ | io / iu | ю (ju) | |
| Ꙗ ꙗ | ia | Ĭa ĭa | я | /ja/ | ia | ꙗ (ja) | |
| Ѥ ѥ | ie | Ĭe ĭe | ие | /je/ | ѥ (je) | ||
| Ѧ ѧ | ĭa, ea | Ĭa ĭa, Ea ea | я | /ja/ | ia | ѧсъ (ęsŭ) | |
| Ѫ ѫ | î | Î î | ы | /ɨ/ | ius | ѫсъ (ǫsŭ) | |
| Ѯ ѯ | 60 | x | Ks ks | кс | /ks/ | csi | ѯи (ksi) |
| Ѱ ѱ | 700 | ps | Пs пs | пс | /ps/ | psi | ѱи (psi) |
| Ѳ ѳ | 9 | th, ft | T t, Ft ft | т, фт | /t/ and approx. /θ/ or /f/ | thita | фита (fita) |
| Ѵ ѵ | 400 | i, u | I i; Ꙋ ꙋ | и, у | /i/, /y/, /v/ | ijița | ижица (ižica) |
| Ꙟ ꙟ, ↑ ↑ | în îm | În în Îm îm | ын, ым | /ɨn/, /ɨm/ | în | ||
| Џ џ | g (before e, i) gi (elsewhere) | Џ џ | ӂ | /d͡ʒ/ | gea |
Unregulated transitional alphabets
Starting with the 1830s and ending with the official adoption of the Latin alphabet, there were no regulations for writing Romanian, and various alphabets using Cyrillic and Latin letters, besides the mid-transitional version in the table above, were used, sometimes two or more of them in a single book. The following table shows some of the many alphabets used in print.
| Pre-1830 | 1833 | 1838 | 1846 (1) | 1846 (2) | 1848 | 1858 | 1860 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| А а | А а | А а | А а | А а | А а | A a | A a |
| Б Б | Б Б | Б Б | Б Б | Б Б | Б Б | B b | Б Б |
| В в | В в | В в | В в | В в | В в | V v | В в |
| Г г | Г г | Г г | Г г | Г г | Г г | G g | Г г |
| Д д | Д д | Д д | D d | Д д | D d | D d | D d |
| Є є, Е e | Є є | Є є | E e | E ɛ | E e | E e | E e |
| Ж ж | Ж ж | Ж ж | Ж ж | Ж ж | Ж ж | J j | Ж ж |
| Ѕ ѕ | Ѕ ѕ | Дз дз | Ḑ ḑ | Дз дз | Dz dz | Dz dz | Dz dz |
| З з | З з | З з | Z z | З з | Z z | Z z | Z z |
| И и | И и | I i | I i | І і | I i | I i | I i |
| І і | Ї ї | I i | I i | І і | I i | I i | I i |
| К к | К к | К к | K k | К к | К к | K k | K k |
| Л л | Л л | Л л | Л л | Л л | Л л | L l | L l |
| М м | М м | М м | M m | М м | M m | M m | M m |
| Н н | Н н | Н н | N n | N ɴ | N n | N n | N n |
| Ѻ ѻ, О o | О о | О о | O o | О о | О о | О о | O о |
| П п | П п | П п | П п | П п | П п | П п | П п |
| Р р | Р р | Р р | Р р | Р р | Р р | R r | Р р |
| С с | С с | С с | S s | С с | С с | S s | S s |
| Т т | Т т | Т т | T t | Т т | Т т | T t | T t |
| Оу оу | У у (initial) Ꙋ ꙋ (mid and final) | Ȣ ȣ | Ȣ ȣ | Ȣ ȣ | Ȣ ȣ | Ȣ ȣ | Ȣ ȣ |
| Ꙋ, ȣ | |||||||
| Ф ф | Ф ф | Ф ф | Ф ф | Ф ф | Ф ф | F f | Ф ф |
| Х х | Х х | Х х | Х х | Х х | Х х | Х х | Х х |
| Ѡ ѡ | Ѡ ѡ | О о | O o | О о | O o | О о | О о |
| Щ щ | Щ щ | Щ щ | Щ щ | Шт шт | Щ щ | Шt шt | Шt шt |
| Ц ц | Ц ц | Ц ц | Ц ц | Ц ц | Ц ц | Ц ц | Ц ц |
| Ч ч | Ч ч | Ч ч | Ч ч | Ч ч | Ч ч | Ч ч | Ч ч |
| Ш ш | Ш ш | Ш ш | Ш ш | Ш ш | Ш ш | Ш ш | Ш ш |
| Ъ ъ | Ъ ъ | Ъ ъ | Ъ ъ | Ъ ъ | Ъ ъ | Ъ ъ | Ъ ъ |
| Ы ы | Ꙟ ꙟ (initial) Ѫ ѫ (mid and final) | Ꙟ ꙟ (initial) Ѫ ѫ (mid and final) | Ꙟ ꙟ | Ꙟ ꙟ / Î î (transitional form) | Ꙟ ꙟ (initial) Ѫ ѫ (mid and final) | Î î | Î î |
| Ѣ ѣ | Ѣ ѣ | Ѣ ѣ | Ea ea | Eа εа (ligature, small letter only) | Ea ea | Ea ea | Ea ea |
| Ю ю | Ю ю | IꙊ iꙋ (ligature) | IȢ Iȣ iȣ (ligature) | IȢ Iȣ іȣ (ligature, small letter only) | IȢ iȣ | IȢ iȣ (ligature) | ĬȢ ĭȣ |
| Ꙗ ꙗ | Ꙗ ꙗ (initial) Ѧ ѧ (mid and final) | Ꙗ ꙗ | Ꙗ Iа (ligature) ꙗ | IА Iа ꙗ | Ia ia | Ĭa ĭa | Ĭa ĭa |
| Ѥ ѥ | Йє йє | Ĭe ĭe | Ĭe ĭe | Ĭε ĭε | Ie ie | Ĭe ĭe | Ĭe ĭe |
| Ѧ ѧ | Ꙗ ꙗ (initial) Ѧ ѧ (mid and final) | Ꙗ ꙗ | Ꙗ Iа (ligature) ꙗ | IА Iа ꙗ | Ia ia | Ĭa ĭa | Ĭa ĭa |
| Ѫ ѫ | Ꙟ ꙟ (initial) Ѫ ѫ (mid and final) | Ꙟ ꙟ (initial) Ѫ ѫ (mid and final) | Ꙟ ꙟ | Ꙟ ꙟ / Î î (transitional form) | Ꙟ ꙟ (initial) Ѫ ѫ (mid and final) | Î î | Î î |
| Ѯ ѯ | Кс кс | Кс кс | Ks ks | Кс кс | Кс кс | Ks ks | Ks ks |
| Ѱ ѱ | Пс пс | Пс пс | Пs пs | Пс пс | Пс пс | Пs пs | Пs пs |
| Ѳ ѳ | Т т | Т т | T t | Ѳ ѳ | Т т | T t | T t |
| Ѵ ѵ | И, Ꙋ | I, Ꙋ | I, ȣ | І, ȣ | І, ȣ | I, ȣ | I, ȣ |
| Ꙟ ꙟ | Ꙟн ꙟн Ꙟм ꙟм | Ꙟн ꙟн Ꙟм ꙟм | Ꙟн ꙟн Ꙟм ꙟм | Ꙟɴ ꙟɴ Ꙟм ꙟм | Ꙟn ꙟn Ꙟm ꙟm | În în Îm îm | În în Îm îm |
| Џ џ | Џ џ | Џ џ | Џ џ | Џ џ | Џ џ | Џ џ | Џ џ |
Example of Romanian Cyrillic text
According to a document from the 1850s, this is how the Romanian Lord's Prayer looked in Cyrillic script. Transcriptional values correspond to the above table.
| Та́тъль нѡ́стрꙋ | Tatăl nostru |
|---|---|
| Та́тъль но́стрꙋ ка́реле є҆́щй ꙟ҆ че́рюрй: сфн҃цѣ́скъсе нꙋ́меле тъ́ꙋ: | Tatăl nostru, carele ești în ceriuri, sfințească-se numele tău: |
- Early 19th century Romanian Cyrillic alphabet (Alecsandri, 1863)
- One of the oldest surviving documents in Romanian: Neacșu's Letter, a trader from Câmpulung, sent to the mayor of Brașov (1521)
- Title page of Carte Romănească de Învățătură (Varlaam Moțoc, 1643)
- A page of the Gospel Book printed in Bucharest (1723)
- The Lord's Prayer, in a 1786 religious document
- Title page of Legiuirea lui Caragea, a legal code of Wallachia (1818)
- First edition of Gazeta de Transilvania (1838)
- Title page of The Theoretical and Practical Basis of Church music or the Melodic Grammar (Anton Pann, 1845)
- Transitional alphabet (fragment of Dimitrie Bolintineanu's Călătorii pe Dunăre și în Bulgaria, 1858)
- The title page of the Cantacuzino Bible, the first complete translation of the Bible into Romanian (1688).
See also
- Early Cyrillic alphabet
- Moldovan Cyrillic alphabet
- Romanian alphabet
Notes
- Earlist known usage dated back to 1521 Neacșu's letter.
- Initial vs. non-initial shapes: Є/Е, Ѻ/О, Оу/Ꙋ, Ꙗ/Ѧ.
- Й is hardly a separate letter of the alphabet; the letters І, Ю, Ȣ and Ѡ also accept a brevity sign.
- In loanwords of Greek origin (or ones adopted through the Greek language), letters И and І correspond to eta and iota, respectively. In the words of Romanian origin and in Slavic loanwords, their usage follows Bulgarian alphabet, namely, І before vowels, otherwise И.
- In earlier documents, Ї was preferred if no any other diacritic accepted.
- The distinction of Ѡ and О is present not only in loanwords, but in Romanian words as well.
- Letters ĭ and ŭ represent a barely spoken/heard i or u.
- Letters Ѯ, Ѱ, Ѳ and Ѵ are used for copying Greek spelling of loanwords (especially for names and toponyms).
- -лѡр only
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