Ukrainian vs Bulgarian Alphabet: 33 vs 30 Letters

The Ukrainian vs Bulgarian alphabet comparison looks simple on paper: Ukrainian has 33 letters, Bulgarian has 30, and 29 are shared. Ukrainian adds Ґ, Є, І and Ї; Bulgarian has one letter Ukrainian lacks, Ъ. The catch is that several shared letters are pronounced differently, which matters more for reading than the extra letters.

Ukrainian is an East Slavic language, close to Belarusian and Russian. Bulgarian is South Slavic. Both use Cyrillic, but each language shaped the alphabet to its own sounds.

Ukrainian vs Bulgarian alphabet: what is shared

The 29 shared letters are: А Б В Г Д Е Ж З И Й К Л М Н О П Р С Т У Ф Х Ц Ч Ш Щ Ь Ю Я. Compared with Russian, both alphabets also lack ы, э and ё, so Ukrainian and Bulgarian text can look surprisingly similar at first glance.

Most shared letters sound the same or close: б, д, м, с, ш and many others need no relearning. Five deserve attention.

Same letter, different sound

Letter	In Bulgarian	In Ukrainian
Г г	[ɡ], “g” in “go”	[ɦ], a voiced “h”
И и	[i], “ee” in “see”	[ɪ], “i” in “sit”
Щ щ	[ʃt], “sht”	[ʃtʃ], “shch”
Ь ь	Only before о: шофьор	Common soft sign: день
Е е	[ɛ], “e” in “bet”	[ɛ], “e” in “bet”

Г is the classic trap. A Bulgarian reads it as a hard “g”; a Ukrainian reads it as a breathy “h”. That is why Ukrainian names such as Чернігів (Chernihiv) are written with h in Latin. Ukrainian uses the separate letter Ґ for the hard “g” sound, mostly in loanwords and a small number of native words.

И is the second. In Bulgarian it is a clear “ee”. In Ukrainian it is a shorter, more relaxed vowel, close to the “i” in “sit”. Ukrainian writes the “ee” sound with І.

Щ differs too: Bulgarian “sht”, Ukrainian “shch”. Compare Bulgarian щастие (shtastie) with Ukrainian щастя (both mean happiness).

The four letters only Ukrainian has

Ukrainian letter	IPA	Close English sound	Official Latin
Ґ ґ	[ɡ]	“g” in “go”	g
Є є	[jɛ]	“ye” in “yes”	ye / ie
І і	[i]	“ee” in “see”	i
Ї ї	[ji]	“yee” in “yeast”	yi / i

The Latin column shows the Ukrainian national transliteration system, approved by Resolution No. 55 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on 27 January 2010. Where a value has two forms, the first is used at the start of a word. It is a different system from Bulgaria’s: Ukrainian г is h and х is kh, while in Bulgarian transliteration г is g and х is h. Both national systems were later adopted by BGN/PCGN (Bulgarian in 2013, Ukrainian in 2019).

Ґ has an eventful history of its own. It was removed from the Ukrainian alphabet in 1933 during Soviet spelling reforms and restored in 1990, which is why older Ukrainian texts have 32 letters and modern ones 33. The Bulgarian alphabet, by contrast, has been stable at 30 letters since its 1945 reform.

Ъ and the apostrophe

The only Bulgarian letter missing from Ukrainian is ъ. In Bulgarian it is a full vowel, close to the “u” in “but” ([ɤ]), in words like път (pat) (road) and България (Bulgaria). Ukrainian has no such vowel.

Ukrainian does need a separator in some words, to show that a consonant stays hard before я, ю, є or ї. Russian uses ъ for that job. Ukrainian uses an apostrophe instead, as in м’ясо (meat) and ім’я (name). The apostrophe is not counted as a letter. Bulgarian needs neither.

Ukrainian vs Bulgarian alphabet in real words

These related words show the letter and sound differences side by side. The play buttons read the Bulgarian words.

English	Bulgarian	Ukrainian
night	нощ ▶	ніч
bread	хляб ▶	хліб
apple	ябълка ▶	яблуко
good day	добър ден ▶	добрий день
Ukraine	Украйна ▶	Україна

Watch for false friends as well. Гора means “forest” in Bulgarian but “mountain” in Ukrainian (гора), and the first sound differs too.

Reading one alphabet when you know the other

A Ukrainian reader learning Bulgarian has very little to add: one new letter (ъ), a hard г, a clear и and щ as “sht”. Bulgarian stress is not marked, so the pronunciation guide helps with the rest. A Bulgarian reader learning Ukrainian has four new letters and needs to retrain the same three sounds in reverse.

English speakers starting from scratch should learn one alphabet at a time, since the Ukrainian vs Bulgarian alphabet differences are easiest to see once one system feels familiar. Begin with the Bulgarian letters, then come back to this table. For other neighbors, compare the Russian and Serbian alphabets.

Common mistakes

• Reading Bulgarian г as h. In Bulgarian, г is always a “g” (or “k” at the end of a word). Град (city) starts with “g”.
• Reading Bulgarian и as the “i” in “sit”. It is a full “ee”: мир is “meer”.
• Using і or ї in Bulgarian. Bulgarian has no dotted i. Write и or й: Украйна, not “Україна”.
• Saying shch for Bulgarian щ. Bulgarian щ is “sht”.
• Using an apostrophe in Bulgarian words. Bulgarian spelling does not use one inside words.
• Transliterating Bulgarian with Ukrainian rules. Хасково is Haskovo, not Khaskovo.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference in the Ukrainian vs Bulgarian alphabet?

Ukrainian has 33 letters including Ґ, Є, І and Ї; Bulgarian has 30, including Ъ, which Ukrainian lacks. Letters such as Г, И and Щ are pronounced differently.

Does Bulgarian have the letter І?

No. Bulgarian writes the “ee” sound with И, the letter Ukrainian uses for a shorter vowel.

Is Г pronounced the same in Ukrainian and Bulgarian?

No. In Bulgarian it is a hard g; in Ukrainian it is a voiced h. Ukrainian writes the hard g with Ґ.

Why does Ukrainian use an apostrophe?

It keeps a consonant hard before я, ю, є or ї, the job ъ does in Russian. Bulgarian does not need it.

Can Ukrainians read Bulgarian?

They can read it aloud easily after learning ъ and the different values of г, и and щ. Understanding the language takes longer, as Bulgarian grammar differs a lot.

Sources

• Ukrainian alphabet (Wikipedia)
• Romanization of Ukrainian (Wikipedia)
• Romanization of Bulgarian, BGN/PCGN 2013 (UK government)
• Ghe with upturn (Wikipedia)

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