Cyrillic Alphabet: Origins, Letters and Who Uses It
| Cyrillic at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Created | Late 9th to early 10th century |
| Where | First Bulgarian Empire (Preslav Literary School) |
| Based on | Greek uncial letters, plus letters for Slavic sounds |
| Named after | Saint Cyril (Constantine the Philosopher) |
| Languages today | More than 50 (Britannica) |
| Bulgarian version | 30 letters |
| EU status | Third official EU script since 1 January 2007 |
The Cyrillic alphabet is a writing system created in the First Bulgarian Empire in the late 9th and early 10th centuries, built mainly on Greek letters with added signs for Slavic sounds. It is named after Saint Cyril, though his disciples developed it. Today it writes Bulgarian, Russian, Serbian, Ukrainian and more than 50 other languages.
The Cyrillic alphabet is the script of Bulgarian, Russian, Ukrainian, Serbian and many other languages, and it began in medieval Bulgaria. Disciples of the missionaries Cyril and Methodius developed it at the Preslav Literary School in the First Bulgarian Empire, around the end of the 9th century. Bulgarians call it кирилица (kirilitsa).
This page covers where the Cyrillic alphabet came from, how it relates to Greek and to the older Glagolitic script, who uses it now, and why it appears on euro banknotes.
Where the Cyrillic alphabet came from
The story starts in 863, when the Byzantine brothers Saints Cyril and Methodius began a mission to Great Moravia. For that mission Cyril created a new script, the Glagolitic alphabet, to write the Slavic speech of the time. It was not Cyrillic.
After Methodius died in 885, his followers were expelled from Moravia. Several found refuge in Bulgaria under Prince Boris I. Two learning centers grew up there: one in Ohrid, led by Clement, and one in the capital, Preslav. The Preslav school soon moved away from Glagolitic toward a script based on Greek uncial letters, the rounded capitals used in Greek books of the period. That script is what we now call Cyrillic.
The earliest dated Cyrillic inscriptions come from northeastern Bulgaria, near Preslav. The Krepcha inscription is dated 921, and a ceramic vessel from Preslav is dated 931. Who exactly designed the letters is debated, and we cover the main views in who invented Cyrillic.
How the Cyrillic alphabet relates to Greek and Glagolitic
Most early Cyrillic letters are Greek letters. А, В, Г, Д, Е, К, Л, М, Н, О, П, Р, С, Т and Ф all have Greek models. They also kept the Greek number values, so А could mean 1 and В could mean 2.
Greek had no letters for several Slavic sounds. For these, the Preslav scribes borrowed or adapted Glagolitic shapes. Letters such as Ж [ʒ], Ц [ts], Ч [tʃ], Ш [ʃ] and Щ are usually traced to Glagolitic. Britannica also notes possible Hebrew influence on the letters for ts, sh and ch.
Britannica counts 43 letters in the original Cyrillic alphabet. Later alphabets dropped letters that no longer matched any sound. Modern Bulgarian keeps 30, after a reform in 1945 removed the last two historical letters. You can read about those letters on our Old Bulgarian alphabet page.
Languages that use Cyrillic today
According to Britannica, more than 50 languages use the Cyrillic alphabet, either alone or alongside another script. They fall into two broad groups.
- Slavic languages: Bulgarian, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Serbian, Macedonian and Montenegrin. Serbian and Montenegrin also use Latin script.
- Non-Slavic languages: Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Mongolian and many languages of Russia, often with extra letters added for their own sounds.
Wikipedia estimates that around 250 million people in Eurasia use Cyrillic as the official script for their national language, with Russia accounting for about half.
One script, many alphabets
“Cyrillic” is the script. Each language has its own alphabet drawn from it. Bulgarian has no Ы, Э or Ё, which Russian uses. Serbian has Ј, Љ, Њ, Ћ and Ђ, which Bulgarian lacks. Ukrainian has Є, І, Ї and Ґ.
The same letter can also sound different. Bulgarian Щ is [ʃt] (sht), while Russian Щ is a long soft sh. Bulgarian Ъ is a full vowel, as in България (Bulgaria), while in Russian it is a silent “hard sign.” See Bulgarian vs Russian alphabet for a side-by-side comparison.
Even the letter shapes vary. Many Bulgarian fonts use lowercase forms closer to handwriting, such as a д that looks like a Latin g and a т that looks like m. Russian fonts default to forms that look like small capitals. Our Bulgarian Cyrillic guide shows the differences.
Russian reform and the modern look of Cyrillic
The modern printed look of the Cyrillic alphabet owes a lot to Peter the Great. In 1708 to 1710 he introduced the “civil script” in Russia, with letterforms closer to Latin type. It also dropped several old letters and introduced separate upper and lower case. Other Cyrillic alphabets, including Bulgarian, later adopted printed forms descended from it.
The Cyrillic alphabet in the EU and on the euro
When Bulgaria joined the European Union on 1 January 2007, Cyrillic became the EU’s third official script, after Latin and Greek. EU treaties and laws now appear in Bulgarian Cyrillic, and the Bulgarian name of the Union is Европейски съюз (Evropeyski sayuz).
Euro banknotes show it too. According to the European Central Bank, the second (Europa) series prints the currency name in Cyrillic, ЕВРО (EVRO), alongside the Latin and Greek forms, as a result of Bulgaria joining the EU. The first series showed only Latin and Greek.
Bulgaria then adopted the euro itself on 1 January 2026, becoming the 21st member of the euro area. The Council of the EU gave final approval on 8 July 2025.
Cyrillic in Unicode
For computers, the main Cyrillic block runs from U+0400 to U+04FF. Supplementary blocks hold historical and minority-language letters, including Cyrillic Extended-A, B, C and D. Unicode 5.1, released in 2008, greatly improved support for early Cyrillic and Church Slavonic text. To type Cyrillic yourself, try our Cyrillic keyboard.
Common mistakes about the Cyrillic alphabet
- “Cyrillic is the Russian alphabet.” Cyrillic began in Bulgaria and is shared by many languages. Russian is the largest user, not the origin.
- “Saint Cyril invented Cyrillic.” Cyril created Glagolitic. Cyrillic was developed by his disciples and named in his honor.
- “All Cyrillic alphabets are the same.” Letter sets, sounds and even preferred letterforms differ between languages.
- “Cyrillic letters that look Latin sound Latin.” Not always. Cyrillic В is [v], Н is [n], Р is [r] and С is [s].
Ready to start reading? Our guide to learn the Bulgarian alphabet takes you through all 30 letters in a few steps.
Frequently asked questions
Where did the Cyrillic alphabet originate?
It originated in the First Bulgarian Empire in the late 9th and early 10th centuries, most likely at the Preslav Literary School. The earliest dated Cyrillic inscriptions come from northeastern Bulgaria.
Is the Cyrillic alphabet Russian or Bulgarian?
Cyrillic is Bulgarian in origin. Russia adopted it later, along with Christianity and Church Slavonic books, and is now its largest user.
How many letters does the Cyrillic alphabet have?
It depends on the language. Bulgarian uses 30 letters, Russian 33 and Serbian 30. Britannica counts 43 letters in the original Cyrillic alphabet.
Why is it called Cyrillic?
It is named after Saint Cyril, who created the earlier Glagolitic script for the Slavs. His disciples developed Cyrillic, so the name honors him rather than recording his authorship.
Is Cyrillic an official script of the European Union?
Yes. Cyrillic became the third official EU script, after Latin and Greek, when Bulgaria joined the EU on 1 January 2007. The Europa series of euro banknotes also shows the word ЕВРО.
Sources
- Britannica: Cyrillic alphabet
- Wikipedia: Cyrillic script
- Wikipedia: Early Cyrillic alphabet
- European Central Bank: Euro banknote design elements
- European Parliament Legislative Observatory: Adoption by Bulgaria of the euro on 1 January 2026