Grafle

Script guide › Cyrillic

Bulgarian vs Ukrainian

Bulgarian and Ukrainian 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

Ukrainian has the dotted і/ї; Bulgarian has neither but uses ъ as a vowel constantly.

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

Full guide to recognizing Bulgarian →

Ukrainian

Всі люди народжуються вільними і рівними.

Київ — столиця України.

Борітеся — поборете!

Ukrainian's own tells

  • Has і, ї, є and ґ — a dotted i in Cyrillic text means Ukrainian.
  • If you see ы, ъ or э instead, it's Russian.

On signs in:

  • Ukraine

Full guide to recognizing Ukrainian →

More lookalike pairs