ParrotBack / Belarusian / Alphabet
32 letters · Cyrillic The Belarusian alphabet
Belarusian uses a 32-letter Cyrillic alphabet. Compared with Russian it adds і and ў and drops щ and ъ. Belarusian spelling follows how words sound, so unstressed о is written а. Below are all 32 letters with an English pronunciation hint and an example word with audio from a real native speaker.
The letter г sounds like an English h, and ў is a short u, like the w in now.
| Letter | Latin letters | Sounds like | Example word |
|---|---|---|---|
| А а | a | a in father | акно akno Window |
| Б б | b | b in boy | бацькі bats'ki Parents |
| В в | v | v in van | вуха vuha Ear |
| Г г | h | h in house | галава galava Head |
| Д д | d | d in dog | дзяўчына dzyaučyyna Girl |
| Е е | ye | ye in yes | — |
| Ё ё | yo | yo in yonder | — |
| Ж ж | zh | s in measure | жанчына žančyyna Woman |
| З з | z | z in zoo | запясце zapyastse Wrist |
| І і | i | ee in see | імбрык imbryyk Teapot |
| Й й | y | y in boy (short) | — |
| К к | k | k in sky | кулак kulak Fist |
| Л л | l | l in lamp | лоб lob Forehead |
| М м | m | m in man | мужчына mužčyyna Man |
| Н н | n | n in net | народзіны narodzinyy Birthday |
| О о | o | o in more | — |
| П п | p | p in spot | прозвішча prozvišča Surname |
| Р р | r | rolled r | рот rot Mouth |
| С с | s | s in sun | спадар spadar Mr. |
| Т т | t | t in stop | тэлефон telefon Telephone |
| У у | u | oo in moon | указальнік ukazal'nik Index finger |
| Ў ў | w | short u, like w in now | — |
| Ф ф | f | f in fan | фіранка firanka Curtain |
| Х х | kh | ch in Scottish loch | хлопец hlopets Boy |
| Ц ц | ts | ts in cats | цётка tsyotka Aunt |
| Ч ч | ch | ch in cheese | чалавек čalavek Person |
| Ш ш | sh | sh in ship | шчака ščaka Cheek |
| Ы ы | y | like i in ill, said further back in the mouth | — |
| Ь ь | (soft sign) | no sound; softens the consonant before it | — |
| Э э | e | e in met | эканаміст ekanamist Economist |
| Ю ю | yu | u in use | юрыст yuryyst Lawyer |
| Я я | ya | ya in yard | язык yazyyk Tongue |
Next steps
Listen to every word by topic in the free Belarusian vocabulary (473 words), then hear real Belarusian phrases at two speeds. Want to read Cyrillic text in Latin letters? Try the Cyrillic to Latin transliterator.