Script guide › Cyrillic
How to recognize Kazakh
Kazakh is one of 8 languages in Grafle's Cyrillic group. Here's what it looks like, where you'll see it on signs, and how to tell it apart from its lookalikes.
Spot it fast
- The most extra letters of any Cyrillic — қ, ң, ә, і and more. Bars and hooks everywhere.
What Kazakh looks like
Барлық адамдар еркін және қадір-қасиеті тең болып туады.
Сәлеметсіз бе, қалыңыз қалай?
Еңбек түбі — береке.
Cyrillic scripts: Look for reversed-looking letters like я and и, plus shapes like ж, д, б, ч.
Where you'll see it on signs
- Kazakhstan
Easy to confuse with
- Kyrgyz — Kazakh piles on қ, ә and і — bars and hooks everywhere. Kyrgyz adds only ң, ө, ү to the Russian set.
- Mongolian — Both have ө/ү-style vowels, but Kazakh adds қ, ә and і, while Mongolian's tell is doubled vowels (уу, ээ, өө).
- Russian — Kazakh text bristles with қ, ң, ә and і; pure Russian has no barred or hooked letters.