кири́ллица
kiríllicafeminine
In Russian, the English word 'Cyrillic' is translated as кири́ллица (kiríllica). Wiktionary also lists а́збука (ázbuka).
Meaning: a script or alphabet (name)
Ways to say it
| Russian | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| кири́ллица | kiríllica | feminine |
| а́збука | ázbuka | feminine |
While it can refer to the script itself, you may also use related adjective forms like кирилли́ческий to describe things pertaining to the script, such as 'Cyrillic characters'.
Which one should you use?
The word кири́ллица is specific to the Cyrillic script. In contrast, а́збука is a general term that can refer to any alphabet, such as the Latin alphabet.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
To describe something as being related to the Cyrillic script, use the adjective form кирилли́ческий. Additionally, the adjective а́збучный can also be used to mean 'pertaining to an alphabet'.
How do you pronounce it?
kiríllica
Did you know?
- The word а́збука is a cognate of the English 'alphabet', as both are formed by combining the names of the first two letters of their respective writing systems.
- The word а́збука comes from the first two letters of the old Slavic alphabet, аз and буки, which meant 'I' and 'letters'.
- Early versions of кири́ллица included several letters that no longer exist in modern Russian, such as the 'omega' and 'psi' borrowed from Greek.
Examples in context
- Кири́ллица используется во многих славянских языках.Kirillitsa ispol'zuetsya vo mnogikh slavyanskikh yazykakh.Cyrillic is used in many Slavic languages.
- Вы знаете, как выглядит кири́ллица?Vy znayete, kak vyglyadit kirillitsa?Do you know what Cyrillic looks like?
Example conversation
Anastasia is teaching Dmitry about different writing systems.
- Анастасия AnastasiaПосмотри, это кири́ллица.Posmotri, eto kirillitsa.Look, this is Cyrillic.
- Дмитрий DmitryОна выглядит очень красиво.Ona vyglyadit ochen' krasivo.It looks very beautiful.
- Анастасия AnastasiaДа, и она довольно простая.Da, i ona dovol'no prostaya.Yes, and it is quite simple.
- Дмитрий DmitryЯ хочу её выучить.Ya khochu yeyo vyuchit'.I want to learn it.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “cyrillic” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
