Script guide › Cyrillic
Bulgarian vs Russian
Bulgarian and Russian sit in the same corner of the writing-system map — Grafle's Cyrillic group — and players mix them up constantly. Here's the fastest way to tell them apart.
The tell
Bulgarian uses ъ as an everyday vowel (България, съм); in Russian ъ is rare and silent.
Side by side
Bulgarian
Всички човешки същества се раждат свободни и равни по достойнство.
Добър ден! Как сте? Благодаря, добре съм.
България е красива страна.
Bulgarian's own tells
- Uses ъ as an everyday vowel (България, съм) — mid-word ъ everywhere is Bulgarian.
- No і, ї or ј.
On signs in:
- Bulgaria
Russian
Все люди рождаются свободными и равными.
Здравствуйте! Это Москва — столица России.
Старый друг лучше новых двух.
Russian's own tells
- Has ы and э (plus rarer ъ, ё); uses и but never the dotted і.
- The 'default' Cyrillic — no extra bars, hooks or accents.
On signs in:
- Russia
- Belarus
- Kazakhstan
- Kyrgyzstan
- Tajikistan