# Kyrgyz alphabets

The Kyrgyz alphabets are the alphabets used to write the Kyrgyz language. Kyrgyz uses the following alphabets:
* The Cyrillic script is officially used in the Kyrgyz Republic (Kyrgyzstan)
* The Perso-Arabic script is officially used in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the People's Republic of China (China) in the Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture, the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
* Kyrgyz Braille
The Perso-Arabic script was traditionally used to write Kyrgyz before the introduction of the first Latin-based alphabets in 1927. In the years 1923 to 1925, Kyrgyz literaturists and liguists such as Kasym Tynystanov and Ishenali Arabayev undertook a project of reforming Kyrgyz Arabic orthography. In doing so, they took inspiration from the reformed Kazakh Arabic alphabet, one of the first Turkic Arabic scripts to be undergoing reforms as early as 1912. Today an Arabic alphabet is used in China, which slightly differs from the 1920s Soviet standard. For example, in the 1920s Arabic alphabet, the distinction between front and back vowel pairs [о][ɵ] and [u][ʏ] was to be marked with an initial hamza if it couldn't be inferred from the word itself. In the Chinese variant standardized in 1950s, each of the said four vowels have a unique letter for example, thus making the use of a hamza unnecessary.
The New Turkic Alphabet was used in the USSR in the 1930s until its replacement by a Cyrillic script. The Kyrgyz Cyrillic alphabet is the alphabet used in Kyrgyzstan. It contains 36 letters: 33 from the Russian alphabet with 3 additional letters for sounds of the Kyrgyz language: Ң, Ү, Ө.
Within the country, there have been mixed reactions to the idea of adopting the Latin alphabet for Kyrgyz. The chairman of Kyrgyzstan's National Commission for the State Language and Language Policies, Kanybek Osmonaliev, announced in September 2022 that it is considering switching to the Latin alphabet. However, several months later, Russia suspended dairy exports to Kyrgyzstan after Osmonaliev repeated his proposal to change the official script from Cyrillic to Latin to bring the country in line with other Turkic-speaking nations. Osmonaliev was reprimanded by President Sadyr Japarov who then clarified that Kyrgyzstan had no plans to replace the Cyrillic alphabet.

## Vowels

In the Kyrgyz Cyrillic alphabet, there are 15 vowels, and in Kyrgyz Arabic Alphabet, there are 13. The discrepancy is for two reasons. First, in Kyrgyz Cyrillic, both vowels Э э and Е е were imported from the Russian Cyrillic alphabet. They essentially make the same sound, and the choice comes down to a matter of orthographic rule. They are both represented in the Kyrgyz Arabic alphabet with ە / ﻪ. The second difference is that Kyrgyz Cyrillic has two letters Ы ы and И и, the former being a back vowel and the latter a front vowel.
Similar to other Turkic languages, Kyrgyz vowels are divided into front vowel and back vowel, and all words shall follow the vowel harmony rules. This means that the vowel sounds within a word can either be front vowel, or back vowel.
In Kyrgyz, vowels are also divided into short and long. Whether in Kyrgyz Cyrillic Alphabet, or in Kyrgyz Arabic Alphabet, long vowels are represented by writing the same letter twice. For example, in the word дөөлөт / دۅۅلۅت 'state', there is a long vowel and a short vowel. Of the two letters Э э and Е е, only the former also has a long vowel, Ээ ээ
The letters Ы ы and И и do not have a long vowel equivalent.
| | | Rounded | Rounded | Rounded | Rounded | Unrounded | Unrounded | Unrounded | Unrounded | Unrounded |
| | | Close | Close | Open | Open | Close | Close | Close | Open | Open |
| | | Short | Long | Short | Long | N/A | Short | Long | Short | Long |
| Back Жоон үндүүлөр جوون ۉندۉۉلۅر | Arabic | ـﯗ‎ / ﯗ | ـﯗﯗ‎ / ﯗﯗ | ـو‎ / و‎ | ـوو‎ / وو‎ | ىـ / ـى / ى‎ | | ا / ‍ـا | اا / ‍ـاا |
| Back Жоон үндүүлөр جوون ۉندۉۉلۅر | Cyrillic (Latin) | У у (U u) | Уу уу (Uu uu) | О о (O o) | Оо оо (Oo oo) | Ы ы (Y y) | | А а (A a) | Аа аа (Aa aa) |
| Back Жоон үндүүлөр جوون ۉندۉۉلۅر | IPA | [ʊ] | [uː] | [ɔ] | [ɔː] | [ɯ] | | [ɑ] | [ɑː] |
| Front Ичке үндүүлөр ىچكە ۉندۉۉلۅر | Arabic | ـۉ‎ / ۉ | ـۉۉ‎ / ۉۉ | ـۅ‎ / ۅ‎ | ـۅۅ‎ / ۅۅ | ىـ / ـى / ى‎ (ئـ / ـئ / ئ‎)$^1$ | ە / ـە | ەە / ـەە | |
| Front Ичке үндүүлөр ىچكە ۉندۉۉلۅر | Cyrillic (Latin) | Ү ү (Ü ü) | Үү үү (Üü üü) | Ө ө (Ö ö) | Өө өө (Öö öö) | И и (I i) | Е е / Э э (E e) | Ээ ээ (Ee ee) | |
| Front Ичке үндүүлөр ىچكە ۉندۉۉلۅر | IPA | [ʏ] | [yː] | [ɵ] | [ɵː] | [ɪ] | [e] | [eː] | |
    Notes
* The common and standard letter for use the vowel pair [Ы ы][И и] (back vowel and front vowel respectively) in Arabic is the letter "ىـ / ـى / ى". When it cannot be inferred from the word which of these two the letter is referring to, if the vowel is front vowel, a hamza is placed on the letter. If there exists multiple front vowels [И и] in a word, where in Arabic, the hamza is necessary for the correct inference of the pronunciation, only the initial letter is to take hamza.
    What is meant by inference, is that the consonants "قـ ق" and "عـ ع" ([q] and [ɢ~ʁ]) are only used with back vowels, and the letters "كـ ك" and "گـ‌ گ" ([k] and [g]) with front vowels. Each of the other vowels in a word are also clearly either front or back vowels. So based on vowel harmony rules, it can be inferred that an unmarked "ىـ / ـى / ى" letter is also either back or front vowel, matching the word. However, there exists words in Kyrgyz, where in a word that contains back-vowels, there exists mid-word an exceptional use of the front vowel [И и]. In these cases as well, the hamza is to be used to mark the vowel. Below a variety of examples, and their Cyrillic transliterations:
** سىر сыр ('secret')
** انىن سىرى (анын сыры) ('his secret')
** بئر бир ('one')
** بئرى бири ('one of')
** ابئيىر абийир ('conscience')
** كىردىم кирдим ('I entered')
** قىردىم кырдым ('I shaved')

## Correspondence chart

Correspondence chart of four Kyrgyz alphabets: the Kyrgyz Cyrillic and Kyrgyz Braille alphabets used in Kyrgyzstan, the Kyrgyz Latin alphabet used from 1928 to 1938 in the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic, and the Kyrgyz Arabic alphabet used in Afghanistan, Pakistan and in Xinjiang, China. In this correspondence chart, the Cyrillic alphabet is written in its official order. The Perso-Arabic and Latin equivalents are not written in their official alphabetical orders but have been listed around the Cyrillic for ease of understanding.
Comparison of Kyrgyz alphabets :
| Cyrillic | Name | Braille | Arabic | Transliteration (BGN/PCGN) | Latin (1928–⁠1938) | IPA transcription |
| А а | а (a) | ⠁ | ا | A a | A a | /ɑ~a/ |
| Б б | бе (be) | ⠃ | ب | B b | B ʙ | /b~w/ |
| В в | ве (we) | ⠺ | ۋ | V v | V v | /w~v/ |
| Г г | ге (ge) | ⠛ | گ ع* | G g | G g, Ƣ ƣ | /ɡ, ʁ~ɢ/ |
| Д д | де (de) | ⠙ | د | D d | D d | /d/ |
| Е е | е (ye) | ⠑ | ە | E e | E e | /je, e/ |
| Ё ё | ё (yo) | ⠡ | ي+و(يو) | Yo yo | Jo jo | /jɵ~jo/ |
| Ж ж | же (je) | ⠚ | ج | C c | Cc (Ƶ ƶ from 1938) | /d͡ʑ/, both /d͡ʑ/ and /ʑ/ since 1938 |
| З з | зе (ze) | ⠵ | ز | Z z | Z z | /z/ |
| И и | и (i) | ⠊ | ى (ئ) | I i | I i | /i~ɪ/ |
| Й й | ий (ii) | ⠯ | ي | Y y | J j | /j/ |
| К к | ка (ka) | ⠅ | ك ق* | K k | K k, Q q | /k, q~χ/ |
| Л л | эл (el) | ⠇ | ل | L l | L l | /l, ɫ/ |
| М м | эм (em) | ⠍ | م | M m | M m | /m/ |
| Н н | эн (en) | ⠝ | ن | N n | N n | /n/ |
| Ң ң | ың (yng) | ⠽ | ڭ | Ng ng | Ꞑ ꞑ | /ŋ~ɴ/ |
| О о | о (o) | ⠕ | و | O o | O o | /o~ɔ/ |
| Ө ө | ө (ö) | ⠌ | ۅ | Ö ö | Ɵ ɵ | /ɵ/ |
| П п | пе (pe) | ⠏ | پ | P p | P p | /p/ |
| Р р | эр (er) | ⠗ | ر | R r | R r | /r~ɾ/ |
| С с | эс (es) | ⠎ | س | S s | S s | /s/ |
| Т т | те (te) | ⠞ | ت | T t | T t | /t/ |
| У у | у (u) | ⠥ | ۇ | U u | U u | /u~ʊ/ |
| Ү ү | ү (ü) | ⠧ | ۉ | Ü ü | Y y | /y~ʏ/ |
| Ф ф | эф (ef) | ⠋ | ف | F f | F f | /ɸ~f/ |
| Х х | ха (ha) | ⠓ | ح | Kh kh | H h | /χ/ |
| Ц ц | це (ce) | ⠉ | (ت+س (تس | C c | Ts ts | /t͡s/ |
| Ч ч | че (che) | ⠟ | چ | Ch ch | Ç ç | /t͡ɕ/ |
| Ш ш | ша (sha) | ⠱ | ش | Ş ş | Ş ş | /ɕ/ |
| Щ щ | ща (shcha) | ⠭ | - | Shch shch | ŞÇ şç | /ɕː/ |
| Ъ ъ | ажыратуу белгиси (ajyratuu belgisi) | ⠷ | - | " | - | * |
| Ы ы | ы (y) | ⠮ | ى | Y y | Ь ь | /ɯ~ɤ/ |
| Ь ь | ичкертүү белгиси (ichkertüü belgisi) | ⠾ | - | ' | - | * |
| Э э | э (e) | ⠪ | ە | E e | E e | /e/ |
| Ю ю | ю (yu) | ⠳ | ي+ۇ(يۇ) | Yu yu | Ju ju | /ju~jʊ, jy~jʏ/ |
| Я я | я (ya) | ⠫ | ي+ا(يا) | Ya ya | Ja ja | /jɑ~ja/ |
* К к and Г г correspond respectively with ق and ع in back-vowel words; and in front-vowel words with ك and گ.

## Text sample

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
| Cyrillic alphabet | Perso-Arabic script | Latin alphabet | Hanyu Pinyin | International Phonetic Alphabet |
| Бардык адамдар өз беделинде жана укуктарында эркин жана тең укуктуу болуп жаралат. Алардын аң-сезими менен абийири бар жана бири-бирине бир туугандык мамиле кылууга тийиш. | باردىق ادامدار ۅز بەدەلىندە جانا ۇقۇقتارىندا ەركىن جانا تەڭ ۇقۇقتۇۇ بولۇپ جارالات. الاردىن اڭ-سەزىمى مەنەن ابئيىرى بار جانا بئری-بئرىنە بئر تۇۇعاندىق مامئلە قىلۇۇعا تئيىش.‎ | Bardyk adamdar öz bedelinde jana ukuktarynda erkin jana teng ukuktuu bolup jaralat. Alardyn ang-sezimi menen abiiri bar jana biri-birine bir tuugandyk mamile kyluuga tiish. | Bardeⱪ adamdar ɵz bêdêlindê jana uⱪuⱪtarenda êrkin jana têng uⱪuⱪtuu bolup jaralat. Alarden ang-sêzimi mênên abiyiri bar jana biri-birinê bir tuuƣandeⱪ mamilê ⱪeluuƣa tiyix. | [pɑɾtɯ́χ ɑtɑmtɑ́ɾ ɵ́s petelɪnté t͡ɕɑnɑ́ ʊχʊ̥χtʰɑɾɯntɑ́ eɾkʰɪ́n t͡ɕɑnɑ́ tʰéŋ ʊχʊ̥χtʰúː poɫʊ́p t͡ɕɑɾɑɫɑ́t ‖ ɑɫɑɾtɯ́n ɑ́ŋ‿sezɪmɪ́ menén ɑβɪjɪɾɪ́ pɑɾ t͡ɕɑnɑ́ pɪɾɪ́‿βɪɾɪné pɪ́ɾ tʰuːʁɑntɯ́χ mamɪlé qɯɫuːʁɑ́ tʰɪjɪ́ɕ ‖] |
| Common Turkic Alphabet | Old Turkic alphabet | Mongolian alphabet | Old Latin alphabet | English translation |
| Bardık adamdar öz bedelinde jana ukuktarında erkin jana teñ ukuktuu bolup jaralat. Alardın añ-sezimi menen abiyiri bar jana biri-birine bir tuugandık mamile kıluuga tiyiş. | 𐰉𐰀𐰺𐰒𐰃𐰶 𐰀𐰒𐰀𐰢𐰒𐰀𐰺 𐰇𐰕 𐰋𐰅𐰓𐰅𐰠𐰄𐰧𐰅 𐰳𐰀𐰣𐰀 𐰆𐰸𐰆𐰸𐱄𐰀𐰺𐰃𐰧𐰀 𐰅𐰼𐰚𐰄𐰤 𐰳𐰀𐰣𐰀 𐱅𐰅𐰭 𐰆𐰸𐰆𐰸𐱇𐰆𐰆 𐰉𐰆𐰞𐰆𐰯 𐰳𐰀𐰺𐰀𐰞𐰀𐱄٠ 𐰀𐰞𐰀𐰺𐰒𐰃𐰣 𐰀𐰭־𐰾𐰅𐰕𐰄𐰢𐰄 𐰢𐰅𐰤𐰅𐰤 𐰀𐰋𐰄𐰘𐰄𐰼𐰄 𐰉𐰀𐰺 𐰳𐰀𐰣𐰀 𐰋𐰄𐰼𐰄־𐰋𐰄𐰼𐰄𐰤𐰅 𐰋𐰄𐰼 𐱇𐰆𐰆𐰍𐰀𐰧𐰃𐰶 𐰢𐰀𐰢𐰄𐰠𐰅 𐰶𐰃𐰞𐰆𐰆𐰍𐰀 𐱅𐰄𐰘𐰄𐱁٠ | ᠪᠠᠷᠳ᠋ ᠍ ᠤᠺ ᠠᠳᠮᠠᠳᠠᠷ ᠥᠽ ᠪᠧᠳᠧᠯᠢᠨᠳᠧ ᠵᠠᠨᠠ ᠤᠺᠦᠶᠢᠺᠲ᠋ᠠᠷ ᠤᠨ ᠳᠤ ᠡᠷᠺᠢᠨ ᠵᠠᠨᠠ ᠲᠧᠨ ᠤᠺᠦᠶᠢᠺᠲᠤ ᠪᠣᠯᠤᠫ ᠵᠢᠷᠠᠯ ᠳᠤ᠃ ᠠᠯᠠᠷᠳ᠋ ᠍ ᠤᠨ ᠠᠨ ᠰᠧᠽᠢᠮᠢ ᠮᠧᠨᠧᠨ ᠠᠪ ᠦᠢᠷᠢ ᠪᠠᠷᠰ ᠵᠠᠨᠠ ᠪᠢᠷᠢ ᠪᠢᠷᠢᠨᠧ ᠪᠢᠷ ᠲᠤᠤᠭᠠᠨᠳ ᠤᠺ ᠮᠠᠮᠢᠯᠧ ᠺ ᠤᠯᠤᠤᠭᠠ ᠲ ᠦᠡᠰᠢ᠃ | Bardьq adamdar ɵz ʙedelinde çana uquqtarьnda erkin çana teꞑ uquqtuu ʙolup çaralat. Alardьn aꞑ-sezimi menen aʙijiri ʙar çana ʙiri-ʙirine ʙir tuuƣandьq mamile qьluuƣa tijiş. | All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. |

## Arabic

The table below illustrates the letter order for Kyrgyz as the letter order differs based on whether it's being written in Perso-Arabic, Cyrillic or Latin.
| Transliteration | Transliteration | Letter name | IPA | Isolated | Final | Medial | Initial |
| Cyrillic | Latin | Letter name | IPA | Isolated | Final | Medial | Initial |
| А а | A a | Алиф | [ɑ] | ا‎ | ﺎ‎ | ﺎ‎ | ا‎ |
| Б б | B b | Бе | [b] | ﺏ‎ | ﺐ‎ | ﺒ‎ | ﺑ‎ |
| П п | P p | Пе | [p] | پ‎ | ﭗ‎ | ﭙ‎ | ﭙ‎ |
| Т т | T t | Те | [t] | ﺕ‎ | ﺖ‎ | ﺘ‎ | ﺗ‎ |
| Ж ж | J j | Жим | [dʑ] | ﺝ‎ | ﺞ‎ | ﺠ‎ | ﺟ‎ |
| Ч ч | Ch ch | Чим | [t͡ɕ] | ﭺ‎ | ﭻ‎ | ﭽ‎ | ﭼ‎ |
| Х х | H h | Хе | [χ~q] | ﺡ‎ | ﺢ‎ | ﺤ‎ | ﺣ‎ |
| Д д | D d | Дал | [d] | ﺩ‎ | ﺪ‎ | ﺪ‎ | ﺩ‎ |
| Р р | R r | Ре | [r~ɾ] | ﺭ‎ | ﺮ‎ | ﺮ‎ | ﺭ‎ |
| З з | Z z | Зайн | [z] | ﺯ‎ | ﺰ‎ | ﺰ‎ | ﺯ‎ |
| С с | S s | Син | [s] | ﺱ‎ | ﺲ‎ | ﺴ‎ | ﺳ‎ |
| Ш ш | Sh sh | Шин | [ɕ] | ﺵ‎ | ﺶ‎ | ﺸ‎ | ﺷ‎ |
| Г г | G g | Гайн | [ɢ~ʁ] | ﻉ‎ | ﻊ‎ | ﻌ‎ | ﻋ‎ |
| Ф ф | F f | Фе | [ɸ~f] | ﻑ‎ | ﻒ‎ | ﻔ‎ | ﻓ‎ |
| К к | K k | Каф | [q] | ﻕ‎ | ﻖ‎ | ﻘ‎ | ﻗ‎ |
| К к | K k | Kе | [k] | ك‎ | ـك‎ | ـكـ‎ | كـ‎ |
| Г г | G g | Ге | [ɡ] | گ‎ | ﮓ‎ | ﮕ‎ | ﮔ‎ |
| Ң ң | Ng ng | Эң | [ŋ~ɴ] | ڭ‎ | ـڭ‎ | ـڭـ‎ | ڭـ‎ |
| Л л | L l | Лам | [l~ɫ] | ﻝ‎ | ﻞ‎ | ﻠ‎ | ﻟ‎ |
| М м | M m | Mим | [m] | ﻡ‎ | ﻢ‎ | ﻤ‎ | ﻣ‎ |
| Н н | N n | Нун | [n] | ﻥ‎ | ﻦ‎ | ﻨ‎ | ﻧ‎ |
| О о | O o | O o | [o~ɔ] | و‎ | ﻮ‎ | ﻮ‎ | و‎ |
| Ө ө | Ö ö | Ө ө | [ɵ] | ۅ‎ | ـۅ‎ | ـۅ‎ | ۅ‎ |
| У у | U u | У у | [u~ʊ] | ﯗ‎ | ـﯗ‎ | ـﯗ‎ | ﯗ‎ |
| Ү ү | Ü ü | Ү ү | [y~ʏ] | ۉ‎ | ـۉ‎ | ـۉ‎ | ۉ‎ |
| В в | W w | Ве | [v~w] | ﯞ‎ | ـﯞ‎ | ـﯞ‎ | ﯞ‎ |
| Э э | E e | Э э | [e] | ە‎ | ﻪ‎ | ﻪ‎ | ە‎ |
| Ы ы | Y y | Ы ы | [ɯ~ɤ] | ﻯ‎ | ﻯ‎ | ـىـ‎ | ىـ‎ |
| И и | I i | И и | [i~ɪ] | ئ‎ | ئ‎ | ـئـ‎ | ئـ‎ |
| Й й | I i | Эй эй | [j] | ي‎ | ي‎ | ﻴ‎ | ﻳ‎ |
| | [-] Error: {{Transliteration}}: transliteration text not Latin script (pos 1) (help) | Кыбачы | | ء‎ | | | |
In earlier versions of the alphabet, the sequence ي‎ (ییی‎) was used to represent ы/и; the sequence ې‎ (ېېې‎) was instead used to represent й. This modification was likely undone because of the historic role of ې‎ representing /e/. Although ې‎ was never a part of standardized Persian or Chagatai orthography, it possibly had precedent as a scribal variation of representing /e/ and its modern-day role in Pashto and Uyghur is also representing /e/. For this reason Kasym Tynystanov likely erred on the side of caution and settled on the modern scheme shown above.