Bulgarian Alphabet History: From Glagolitic to 30 Letters

ByClara
FreeNo sign-upTimeline 863-2026
YearMilestone
863Cyril and Methodius begin their mission with the Glagolitic alphabet
886Their disciples reach Bulgaria; schools grow at Ohrid and Pliska/Preslav
893Council of Preslav: Slavic replaces Greek in church and state
921Krepcha inscription, the earliest dated Cyrillic text
1870sMarin Drinov’s 32-letter alphabet gains ground
1921-1923Omarchevski spelling reform, then repealed
1945Reform removes Ѣ and Ѫ: 30 letters
2007Bulgaria joins the EU; Cyrillic becomes an official EU script
2026Bulgaria adopts the euro (1 January)
Quick answer

Bulgarian alphabet history begins in 863, when Saint Cyril created the Glagolitic script for the Slavs. In the late 9th century, scholars in the First Bulgarian Empire developed Cyrillic from Greek letters. The alphabet lost letters over the centuries, and a 1945 spelling reform fixed the 30-letter Bulgarian alphabet used today.

Bulgarian alphabet history runs for more than 1,100 years, and Bulgaria sits at the center of it. The Cyrillic script that Bulgarians use today was developed in the First Bulgarian Empire, and it spread from there to Serbia, Kievan Rus and beyond. The modern 30-letter alphabet is the result of several reforms, the last in 1945.

Before Cyrillic: the Glagolitic alphabet (863)

The first Slavic script was not Cyrillic. In 863, the Byzantine brothers Saints Cyril and Methodius began a mission to Great Moravia, in central Europe. Cyril designed a new alphabet for it, now called the Glagolitic alphabet, and the brothers used it to translate church books into Old Church Slavonic.

The Moravian mission did not last. After Methodius died in 885, his disciples were expelled. Several of them, including Clement, Naum and Angelarius, made their way to Bulgaria.

Bulgaria adopts Slavic letters (886-893)

Prince Boris I welcomed the disciples around 886. He had converted Bulgaria to Christianity in the 860s and wanted a church that worked in the people’s own language rather than in Greek.

Two centers of learning grew up. Clement taught at Ohrid from 886 to 893, reportedly training thousands of students. Naum worked at Pliska and then at Preslav, which became the new capital.

In 893, the Council of Preslav took two decisions that mattered for writing. Boris’s son Simeon became ruler, and Old Bulgarian replaced Greek as the language of the church and the state. Some historians think Cyrillic was also systematized around this time, though no medieval source records that directly.

The birth of Cyrillic at Preslav

The Preslav Literary School moved quickly from Glagolitic to a new script built on Greek uncial capitals, with extra letters borrowed from Glagolitic for Slavic sounds such as Ж, Ш and Ц. This new script became the Cyrillic alphabet. Who designed it is still debated; our page on who invented Cyrillic covers the main views.

Physical evidence comes from northeastern Bulgaria. The Krepcha inscription, dated 921, is the earliest dated Cyrillic text, and a ceramic vessel from Preslav is dated 931. Ohrid kept using Glagolitic much longer, into the 12th century, before Cyrillic won out everywhere in Bulgaria.

Bulgarian alphabet history from the Middle Ages to the 1800s

From Bulgaria, Cyrillic books spread to Serbia and to Kievan Rus. Bulgarian scribes kept writing in the Church Slavonic tradition through the Second Bulgarian Empire and during Ottoman rule, which began in the late 14th century. Spelling was archaic and varied, and it reflected church usage more than everyday speech.

In the 19th century, the Bulgarian National Revival brought new schools, printed books and newspapers. Writers argued over how to spell the living language. In the 1870s, a 32-letter alphabet proposed by the historian Marin Drinov gained prominence. It was the modern 30 letters plus two historical ones: Ѣ (yat) and Ѫ (big yus).

Spelling reforms in the 20th century

Those two letters caused trouble. Ѣ was pronounced [ja] in eastern dialects and [ɛ] in western ones, so writers had to remember which words took it. Ѫ was by then pronounced like Ъ in standard speech.

  • 1921: Education minister Stoyan Omarchevski, in the Agrarian government, introduced a simplified spelling without these letters.
  • 1923: After the coup of 9 June 1923, the new government of Aleksandar Tsankov repealed the reform, and the old spelling returned.
  • 1945: In February 1945, the Council of Ministers adopted a decree-law on spelling reform. It removed Ѣ and Ѫ, and dropped the silent Ъ and Ь at the ends of words.

So a word like хлѣбъ became хляб (hlyab, bread), and рѫка became ръка (raka, hand). The reform was politically charged and drew strong opposition from writers at the time, but it stuck. The removed letters are covered on our Old Bulgarian alphabet page.

The modern 30-letter alphabet

Since 1945, Bulgarian has used 30 letters, from А to Я. Russian has 33, with Ё, Ы and Э that Bulgarian lacks. Bulgarian also gives some shared letters different values: Щ is [ʃt] and Ъ is a full vowel. For counts and comparisons, see how many letters in the Bulgarian alphabet.

Two small details often confuse learners. Most consonants are named with a short vowel, so Б is бъ and В is въ. And the accented ѝ (“her”) is not a 31st letter: it is И with a grave accent, used to tell it apart from и (“and”).

The Institute for Bulgarian Language at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences sets spelling norms today. Its Official Orthographic Dictionary of the Bulgarian Language was published in 2012. In 2009, Bulgaria also passed a Transliteration Act that fixed one official way to write Bulgarian in Latin letters.

Bulgarian Cyrillic in Europe: 2007 and 2026

When Bulgaria joined the European Union on 1 January 2007, Cyrillic became the EU’s third official script, after Latin and Greek. The European Central Bank later added ЕВРО (EVRO) to the Europa series of euro banknotes because Bulgaria had joined the EU.

The latest chapter came on 1 January 2026, when Bulgaria adopted the euro and became the 21st member of the euro area. EU finance ministers gave final approval on 8 July 2025.

Common mistakes about Bulgarian alphabet history

  • “Cyril and Methodius created Cyrillic.” They created Glagolitic. Cyrillic was developed by their disciples in Bulgaria.
  • “Bulgarian took its alphabet from Russian.” It was the other way around. Cyrillic reached Rus from Bulgaria.
  • “The 1945 reform was the first attempt.” A similar reform was introduced in 1921 and repealed in 1923.
  • “Bulgarian has always had 30 letters.” It had 32 until 1945, and many more in medieval times.

Frequently asked questions

When was the Bulgarian alphabet created?

Cyrillic was developed in the First Bulgarian Empire in the late 9th and early 10th centuries. The earliest dated Cyrillic inscription, from Krepcha in Bulgaria, is from 921.

What is the short version of Bulgarian alphabet history?

Glagolitic came first in 863. Cyrillic followed at Preslav around 900. Bulgarian used a 32-letter version from the 1870s, and the 1945 reform cut it to 30 letters.

Which letters were removed from the Bulgarian alphabet in 1945?

Ѣ (yat) and Ѫ (big yus). The reform also stopped writing a silent Ъ or Ь at the ends of words.

Did Russia give Bulgaria the Cyrillic alphabet?

No. Cyrillic was developed in Bulgaria and spread to Kievan Rus with Christian books. Russia later reformed its own version, including Peter the Great’s civil script in 1708 to 1710.

When did Cyrillic become an official EU script?

On 1 January 2007, when Bulgaria joined the European Union. It is the EU’s third official script, after Latin and Greek.

Sources

Keep exploring

Cyrillic AlphabetHow the Cyrillic alphabet grew out of the First Bulgarian Empire to become the script of Bulgarian, Russian, Serbian and dozens of other languages.Glagolitic AlphabetThe Glagolitic alphabet, the script Saint Cyril created around 863, with its letters, names, Cyrillic equivalents and history.Old Bulgarian AlphabetThe letters of the Old Bulgarian alphabet that modern Bulgarian no longer uses, from medieval nasal vowels to the yat and big yus removed in 1945.Who Invented Cyrillic? Cyril, His Disciples and the EvidenceSaint Cyril created Glagolitic, not Cyrillic. Here is what we know about who invented Cyrillic and what is still debated.How Many Letters in the Bulgarian Alphabet? 30, ExplainedThe Bulgarian alphabet has 30 letters; here is the list, the 1945 reform that set the count, and how it compares with Russian.Saints Cyril and MethodiusWho Saints Cyril and Methodius were, what they did in Great Moravia, and how their disciples carried Slavic writing to Bulgaria.

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