The Khmer alphabet has the largest number of letters in the Guinness Book of Records. It has 72 letters. This language is spoken in Cambodia.
However greatest number letters contains the Ubykh alphabet - 91 letters. The Ubykh language (the language of one of the Caucasian peoples) is considered one of the record holders for sound diversity: according to experts, it has up to 80 consonant phonemes.
Under Soviet rule, serious changes were made to the alphabets of all peoples living on the territory of the USSR: in the Russian language towards reducing the number of letters, and in other languages, mainly towards increasing them. After perestroika, the number of letters in the alphabets of many peoples living on the territory of the former Soviet republics decreased.
In modern Russian there are 33 letters. According to official sources, before the reform of Cyril and Methodius, the Russian language had 43 letters, and according to unofficial sources - 49.
The first 5 letters were thrown out by Cyril and Methodius, because they were not in Greek corresponding sounds, and four were given Greek names. Yaroslav the Wise removed one more letter, leaving 43. Peter I reduced it to 38. Nicholas II to 35. As part of Lunacharsky’s reform, the letters “yat”, “fita” and “and decimal” were excluded from the alphabet (E, F should be used instead , И), and also the hard sign (Ъ) at the end of words and parts of complex words would be excluded, but retained as separator(rise, adjutant).
In addition, Lunacharsky removed images from the Initial Letter, leaving only phonemes, i.e. the language has become unimaginative = ugly. So instead of the Primer, the Alphabet appeared.
Until 1942, it was officially believed that there were 32 letters in the Russian alphabet, since E and E were considered to be variants of the same letter.
The Ukrainian alphabet includes 33 letters: compared to Russian, Ёё, Ъъ, ыы, Ее are not used, but Ґґ, Єє, Іі and Її are present.
The Belarusian alphabet currently has 32 letters. Compared with Russian alphabet i, ь, ъ are not used, but the letters i and ў are added, and the digraphs j and d are also sometimes considered to have the status of letters.
The Yakut language uses an alphabet based on Cyrillic, which contains the entire Russian alphabet, plus five additional letters and two combinations. 4 diphthongs are also used.
The Kazakh and Bashkir Cyrillic alphabet contains 42 letters.
The current Chechen alphabet contains 49 letters (compiled on a graphical basis Russian alphabet in 1938). In 1992, the Chechen leadership decided to introduce an alphabet based on the Latin script of 41 letters. This alphabet was used to a limited extent in parallel with the Cyrillic alphabet in the period from 1992 to 2000.
The Armenian alphabet contains 38 letters, however, after the reform in 1940, the ligature "
և “undeservedly received the status of a letter that does not have a capital letter - thus the number of letters became, as it were, “thirty-eight and a half.”Tatar alphabet after translation in 1939 Tatar writing With Latinized alphabet on alphabet based on Russian graphics contained 38 letters, and after 1999 an alphabet based on the Latin script of 34 letters was widely used.
The Kyrgyz Cyrillic alphabet, adopted in 1940, contains 36 letters.
The modern Mongolian alphabet contains 35 letters and differs from Russian by two additional letters: Ө and Ү.
In 1940, the Uzbek alphabet, like the alphabets of other peoples of the USSR, was translated into Cyrillic and contained 35 letters. In the 90s of the last century, the Uzbek authorities decided to translate the Uzbek language into the Latin alphabet and the alphabet became 28 letters.
The modern Georgian alphabet consists of 33 letters.
There are 31 letters in the Macedonian and Moldovan Cyrillic alphabet. The Finnish alphabet also consists of 31 letters.
The Bulgarian Cyrillic alphabet includes 30 letters - compared to Russian, it lacks the letters Y, E and E.
The Tibetan alphabet consists of 30 letter-syllables, which are considered consonants. Each of them, constituting the initial letter of a syllable and not having another vowel sign, is accompanied by the sound “a” when pronounced.
The Swedish and Norwegian alphabet has 29 letters.
The Arabic alphabet contains 28 letters. The Spanish alphabet has 27 letters.
There are 26 letters in the Latin, English, German and French alphabet.
The Italian alphabet “officially” consists of 21 letters, but actually has 26 letters.
The Greek alphabet has 24 letters, and the standard Portuguese alphabet has 23 letters.
There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet; there is no difference between uppercase and lowercase letters.
The least number of letters in the alphabet is the Rotokas tribe from the island of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. There are only eleven of them (a, b, e, g, i, k, o, p, t, u) - 6 of them are consonants.
Considering how many letters there are in the language of one of the Papuan tribes, it is interesting that in all alphabets the number of letters gradually changes, usually downward.
A change in the number of letters in the alphabet in all countries of the world, as a rule, occurs with the advent of new government so that the younger generation finds itself cut off from the language, literature, culture and traditions of their ancestors, and after a while speaks a completely different language.
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The modern Russian alphabet consists of 33 letters. The alphabet in its current form has existed since 1942. In fact, the year 1918 can be considered the year of the formation of the modern Russian alphabet - then it consisted of 32 letters (without the letter ё). The origin of the alphabet, according to historical documents, is associated with the names Cyril and Methodius and dates back to the 9th century AD. From its origin until 1918, the alphabet changed several times, adding and excluding characters. At one time it consisted of more than 40 letters. The Russian alphabet is also sometimes called the Russian alphabet.
Russian alphabet with letter names
On our website for each letter of the Russian alphabet there is a separate page with detailed description, examples of words, pictures, poems, riddles. They can be printed or downloaded. Click on the desired letter to go to her page.
A a B b C c D d E d e e e f f g h h i i j j K k L l M m N n O o P p R r S s T t U u F f X x C t H h Sh sh sch q y y b ee y y I
Often in written speech the letter e is used instead of the letter е. In most cases, the replacement does not cause difficulties for the reader, but in some contexts it is necessary to use the letter ё to avoid ambiguity. Russian letters are a neuter noun. It is worth considering that the style of letters depends on the font.
Numbering of letters
In some logical problems to determine the next element in a series, in games when solving comic ciphers, in competitions for knowledge of the alphabet and in other similar cases, you need to know the serial numbers of the letters of the Russian alphabet, including numbers when counting from the end to the beginning of the alphabet. Our visual “strip” will help you quickly determine the number of a letter in the alphabet.
- A
1
33 - B
2
32 - IN
3
31 - G
4
30 - D
5
29 - E
6
28 - Yo
7
27 - AND
8
26 - Z
9
25 - AND
10
24 - Y
11
23 - TO
12
22 - L
13
21 - M
14
20 - N
15
19 - ABOUT
16
18 - P
17
17
- R
18
16 - WITH
19
15 - T
20
14 - U
21
13 - F
22
12 - X
23
11 - C
24
10 - H
25
9 - Sh
26
8 - SCH
27
7 - Kommersant
28
6 - Y
29
5 - b
30
4 - E
31
3 - YU
32
2 - I
33
1
Letters of the Russian alphabet
Frequent questions about the letters of the Russian alphabet are: how many letters are in the alphabet, which of them are vowels and consonants, which are called uppercase and which are lowercase? Basic information about letters is often found in popular questions for students primary classes, in tests of erudition and determination of IQ level, in questionnaires for foreigners on knowledge of the Russian language and other similar tasks.
Number of letters
How many letters are in the Russian alphabet?
There are 33 letters in the Russian alphabet.
To remember the number of letters in the Russian alphabet, some people associate them with popular phrases: “33 pleasures”, “33 misfortunes”, “33 cows”. Other people associate it with facts from their lives: I live in apartment number 33, I live in region 33 (Vladimir region), I play in team number 33 and the like. And if the number of letters of the alphabet is forgotten again, then associated phrases help to remember it. It will probably help you too?!
Vowels and consonants
How many vowels and consonants are there in the Russian alphabet?
10 vowels + 21 consonants + 2 do not mean sound
Among the letters of the Russian alphabet are:
- 10 vowels: a, o, u, s, e, i, e, e, yu, and;
- 21 consonant letters: b, v, g, d, j, g, z, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, f, x, c, h, w, sch;
- 2 letters that do not mean sounds: ь, ъ.
The letter means sound. Compare: “ka”, “el” - names of letters, [k], [l] - sounds.
Uppercase and lowercase
Which letters are uppercase and which are lowercase?
Letters can be uppercase (or capital) and lowercase:
- A, B, V... E, Yu, Z - capital letters,
- a, b, c... e, yu, i - lowercase letters.
Sometimes they say: large and small letters. But this formulation is incorrect, since it means the size of the letter, and not its style. Compare:
B is a large capital letter, B is a small capital letter, b is a large lowercase letter, b is a small lowercase letter.
Proper names, the beginning of sentences, and “you” are written with a capital letter as an expression of deep respect. In computer programs, the term "letter case" is used. Capital letters Typed in uppercase, lowercase letters in lowercase.
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The alphabet of the Russian language contains centuries-old history. And although this is a well-known truth, few know who invented it and when.
Where did the Russian alphabet come from?
The history of the Russian alphabet goes back to ancient times, during the pagan times. Kievan Rus.
The order to create the Russian alphabet came from the Emperor of Byzantium, Michael III, who instructed the brother monks to develop the letters of the Russian alphabet, later called the Cyrillic alphabet. This happened in 863.
The Cyrillic alphabet had its roots in the Greek script, but since Cyril and Methodius came from Bulgaria, this land became a center for the spread of literacy and writing. Church Greek and Latin books began to be translated into Old Slavonic language. After several centuries it became exclusively the language of the church, but played an important role in the development of the modern Russian language. Many consonants and vowels have not survived to this day, since this Russian alphabet has undergone many changes. The main transformations affected the alphabet during the time of Peter and during the period October revolution.
How many letters are in the alphabet?
However, it is interesting not only who invented the Russian alphabet, but also how many letters it contains. Most people, even as adults, doubt how many there are: 32 or 33. And what can we say about children! There is every reason for this. Let's dive into history.
IN Old Church Slavonic alphabet(in the form in which it came to us in written sources) there were 43 letters. Subsequently, 4 more letters were added, and 14 were removed, since the sounds they denoted ceased to be pronounced or merged with similar sounds. In the 19th century, Russian historian and writer N. Karamzin introduced the letter “ё” into the alphabet.
For a long time, “E” and “E” were considered one letter, so it was common to think that there are 32 letters in the alphabet.
Only after 1942 they were separated, and the alphabet became 33 letters.
The alphabet of the Russian language in its current form is divided into vowels and consonants.
We pronounce vowels freely: the sound passes through the vocal cords without obstacles.
Consonant sounds require an obstacle in the way to be created. In modern Russian, these letters and sounds are in the following relationship, while the number of sounds and letters will be different:
- - sounds: vowels – 6, consonants – 37;
- - letters: vowels - 10, consonants - 21.
If we don’t go into details and say briefly, this is explained by the fact that some vowel letters (e, ё, yu, ya) can denote two sounds, and consonants have pairs of hardness and softness.
By spelling, letters are distinguished between uppercase and lowercase letters:
Their writing is associated with the need to highlight proper and common nouns in the text (capitals are used for the latter, as well as for writing words in general).
Learning the order of letters
Even if your baby knows what the letters are called, closer to school age The problem arises in that you need to remember the letters in order in the alphabet. Most children confuse letters for a long time and cannot put them in the right order. Although it is very easy to help a child. There are several ways to do this.
Photos and pictures for kids
Pictures and photos with letters can help you learn the alphabet. You can download them on our website, print them, stick them on thick cardboard and practice with your child.
How can pictures and photos attached to letter symbols be useful?
Beautiful design, the bright colors are sure to attract the attention of little ones. Children become interested in everything unusual and colorful - and learning goes faster and more exciting. The Russian alphabet and pictures will become best friends in lessons for kids.
Russian alphabet in pictures for children. 
Table with cards of the Russian alphabet. Another option is a table of letters with numbers, numbers
You can also easily download and print it on the website. A numbered letter list for children can make learning the alphabet order much easier for those who can count. This is how the children firmly remember how many letters are in the alphabet, and the accompanying photos and pictures that the table includes help build an associative series. So someone came up with a great idea - to teach the alphabet with pictures and photos.
Russian alphabet with numbering of letters. Educational cartoons
No one will argue with the fact that all children love cartoons. But this love can be put to good use and you can learn the alphabet with the help of specially created educational cartoons. They include excerpts from Soviet cartoons, bright letter symbols, pictures, and songs. Musical accompaniment forces children to hum and rhyme the alphabet, and this way they remember it much faster.
— “The alphabet in cartoons”
This cartoon can be viewed here:
This is an excellent video tutorial for children. There is not only writing and reading letters, but also excerpts from cartoons, images of what words with a particular letter mean, etc. The baby will have no choice but to remember the song and the order of the letters.
— “Learning letters: the alphabet in verse”
You can watch this cartoon here:
In addition to colorful cartoons and melodic music, the cartoon “Learning Letters: The ABC in Poems” offers simple verses that are easy to remember and tell the child which letter is next in the alphabet.
— “ABC for Kids” by Berg Sound Studio
This is a great cartoon for those children who are already familiar with the alphabet and are trying to read. Here we learn the alphabet and rules for writing words with the Computer and its assistant File. Using words as an example, they tell kids how to read, and what place the letters occupy in the alphabet, as well as how many letters there are in the Russian alphabet. This fascinating cartoon lasts 30-40 minutes, so you will have to be patient. But children won’t need it: the material is presented in a playful way, and the kids won’t get bored.
You can view the cartoon here
— “Learning letters with the cat Busya”
You can download the cartoon here
The main character is the cat Busya, who emerged from an illustrated primer to show children how letters look and are read. The cartoon has not only colorful drawings, but also musical accompaniment. Busya the cat reads short poems dedicated to a specific letter.
— “Learning the Russian alphabet”
It’s easy to watch this cartoon here
It consists of viewing an illustrated primer, and a male voice pleasantly and leisurely reads short poems dedicated to letters.
Thus, learning the alphabet should be interesting for children, then they will quickly and easily master the material. We teach in a fun and unobtrusive way
(alphabet) - a set of graphic signs - letters in a prescribed sequence, which create the written and printed form of the national Russian language. Includes 33 letters: a, b, c, d, d, f, e, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, u, f, x, ts, ch, sh, sch, ъ, s, ь, e, yu, i. Most letters in written form are graphically different from printed ones. Except ъ, ы, ь, all letters are used in two versions: uppercase and lowercase. In printed form, the variants of most letters are graphically identical (they differ only in size; cf., however, B and b); in written form, in many cases, the spelling of uppercase and lowercase letters differs from each other (A and a, T, etc.).
The Russian alphabet conveys the phonemic and sound composition of Russian speech: 20 letters convey consonant sounds (b, p, v, f, d, t, z, s, zh, sh, ch, ts, shch, g, k, x, m, n, l, p), 10 letters - vowels, of which a, e, o, s, i, u - only vowels, i, e, e, yu - softness of the preceding consonant + a, e, o, u or combinations j + vowel (“five”, “forest”, “ice”, “hatch”; “pit”, “ride”, “tree”, “young”); the letter "y" conveys "and non-syllabic" ("fight") and in some cases the consonant j ("yog"). Two letters: “ъ” ( solid sign) and “ь” (soft sign) do not denote separate independent sounds. The letter “b” serves to indicate the softness of the preceding consonants, paired in hardness - softness (“mol” - “mol”), after the hissing letters “b” it is an indicator in writing of some grammatical forms (3rd declension nouns - “daughter”, but “brick”, imperative mood - “cut”, etc.). The letters “ь” and “ъ” also act as a dividing sign (“rise”, “beat”).
The modern Russian alphabet in its composition and basic letter styles goes back to the ancient Cyrillic alphabet, the alphabet of which dates back to the 11th century. changed in form and composition. Russian alphabet in modern form was introduced by the reforms of Peter I (1708-1710) and the Academy of Sciences (1735, 1738 and 1758), the result of which was to simplify the letterforms and exclude some outdated characters from the alphabet. Thus, the letters Ѡ (“omega”), Ꙋ (“uk”), Ꙗ, Ѥ (iotized a, e), Ѯ (“xi”), Ѱ (“psi”), digraphs Ѿ (“from”) were excluded , OU (“y”), accent and aspiration signs (strength), abbreviation signs (titles), etc. New letters were introduced: i (instead of Ꙗ and Ѧ), e, y. Later N.M. Karamzin introduced the letter “е” (1797). These changes served to transform the old Church Slavonic print for secular publications (hence the subsequent name of the printed font - “civil”). Some excluded letters were later restored and excluded, some of the extra letters continued to be used in Russian writing and printing until 1917, when by decree of the People's Commissariat of Education of December 23, 1917, confirmed by the decree of the Council of People's Commissars of October 10, 1918, letters were excluded from the alphabet Ѣ, Ѳ, І (“yat”, “fita”, “і decimal”). The use of the letter “е” in print is not strictly mandatory; it is used mainly in dictionaries and educational literature.
The Russian “civil” alphabet served as the basis for most of the writing systems of the peoples of the USSR, as well as for some other languages that have a written language based on the Cyrillic alphabet.
| Ahh | [A] | Kk | [ka] | Xx | [Ha] |
| BB | [bae] | Ll | [el] | Tsts | [tse] |
| Vv | [ve] | Mm | [Em] | Hh | [che] |
| GG | [ge] | Nn | [en] | Shh | [sha] |
| Dd | [de] | Ooh | [O] | Shch | [sha] |
| Her | [e] | pp | [pe] | Kommersant | [hard sign, old. er] |
| Her | [ё] | RR | [er] | Yyy | [s] |
| LJ | [zhe] | Ss | [es] | bb | [soft sign, old. er] |
| Zz | [ze] | Tt | [te] | Uh | [er reverse] |
| Ii | [And] | Ooh | [y] | Yuyu | [Yu] |
| Yikes | [and short] | Ff | [ef] | Yaya | [I] |
- Bylinsky K.I., Kryuchkov S.E., Svetlaev M.V., Use of the letter e. Directory, M., 1943;
- Dieringer D., Alphabet, translation from English, M., 1963;
- Istrin V. A., The emergence and development of writing, M., 1965;
- Musaev K. M., Alphabets of the languages of the peoples of the USSR, M., 1965;
- Ivanova V.F., Modern Russian language. Graphics and spelling, 2nd ed., M., 1976;
- Moiseev A.I., Modern Russian alphabet and alphabets of other peoples of the USSR, RYASh, 1982, No. 6;
- see also the literature under the article