Home›Slavic Languages›Script Used›Cyrillic ScriptScriptCyrillic Scriptsih-RIL-ikAlso Known As Cyrillic AlphabetAlphabetsReference and ClassificationVerifiedOrigin from 893The Cyrillic script was developed in the ninth or tenth century in the First Bulgarian Empire, in the milieu of the disciples of Cyril and Methodius, adapting the Greek alphabet and adding letters for Slavic sounds the Greek alphabet lacked, partly drawing on the earlier Glagolitic script the two missionary brothers had devised. It is used today for Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Serbian and several other Slavic and non-Slavic languages across Eastern Europe and Central Asia, with letterforms and letter inventories that differ somewhat from language to language.FactsCyrillic ScriptConnectionsIn the Other AtlasesSourcesTake a Related QuizComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsScript TypeWell-attestedAlphabet 3DirectionalityWell-attestedLeft to right 3In Use Since (Year)Well-attestedfrom 893 1Traditional date associated with the First Bulgarian Empire's adoption of the script under Tsar Simeon I; the script's actual development by Cyril and Methodius's disciples spans the preceding decades and is not fixed to this single year.Directionality (class)Well-attestedLeft-to-right 1ClassificationScript StatusWell-attestedLiving (in Current Use) 1Classified 'living' per this entity's own cited source and standard scholarly consensus on the script's current use; checked 2026-09-27.Browse and compareIn UnicodeWell-attestedEncoded 2Cyrillic ScriptFilter Results7 entriesLanguage Family (Classification)AllBalto-Slavic (1)East Slavic (3)Slavic (3)South Slavic (3)RegionAllAsia (2)Central Asia (1)Eastern Europe (2)Europe (7)Moravia (1)North America (1)The Balkans (1)The Caucasus (1)Speaker Count BandAll16,000,000 to 59,000,000 (1)430,000 to 5,500,000 (2)5,600,000 to 15,000,000 (2)60,000,000 to 1,500,000,000 (1)Official StatusAllNo Official Status (1)Official Language (6)StatusAllLiturgical / Learned Use Only (1)Living (6)Language KindAllExtinct (1)Safe (4)Vulnerable (2)TonalAllNot Tonal (2)Word OrderAllOther (1)SVO (4)Period Start YearAll863 (1)901 (1)1001 (1)1101 (1)1201 (1)1801 (1)Descends FromAllCentral Russian Dialects (1)Northern Russian dialect (1)Southern Russian dialect (1)Show ResultsBrowseCompareSelect all 7BelarusianCyrillic ScriptBulgarianCyrillic ScriptMacedonianCyrillic ScriptOld Church SlavonicCyrillic ScriptRussianCyrillic ScriptSerbianCyrillic ScriptUkrainianCyrillic ScriptConnectionsDescends FromGreek Script, Scripts Well-attested ConnectedBy way of the Byzantine Greek uncial script adapted in the ninth century, traditionally credited to Saint Cyrils circle, with some letterforms carried over from the earlier Glagolitic script rather than from Greek directly.Source The Cambridge Encyclopedia of LanguageDavid Crystal (editor)Influenced ByGlagolitic Alphabet, Scripts Well-attested ConnectedCyrillic was based mainly on Greek uncial script but retained a small number of Glagolitic-derived letters for Slavic sounds Greek lacked, so the relationship is a partial, selective inheritance rather than full descent.Source Omniglot: The Online Encyclopedia of Writing Systems and Languagestier 2Is Of Script TypeAlphabet, Scripts Well-attested Script OfBelarusian, Languages Well-attested Bulgarian, Languages Well-attested ConnectedBulgaria is the country generally credited with adopting Cyrillic first and using it continuously since.Source Omniglot: The Online Encyclopedia of Writing Systems and Languagestier 2Evenki, Languages Well-attested Source Wikipedia: Evenki LanguageKazakh, Languages Well-attested Kazakh is standardly written in the Cyrillic alphabet in Kazakhstan (a Latin transition has been announced but Cyrillic remains standard in current use).Kyrgyz, Languages Well-attested Kyrgyz is standardly written in the Cyrillic alphabet.Macedonian, Languages Well-attested Macedonian is standardly written in the Cyrillic alphabet.Mongolian, Languages Well-attested Old Church Slavonic, Languages Well-attested Russian, Languages Well-attested Source Omniglot: The Online Encyclopedia of Writing Systems and Languagestier 2Serbian, Languages Well-attested Serbian is officially digraphic: Cyrillic and Latin (Gaj Latin alphabet) are both in standard use.Tajik, Languages Well-attested Tajik is standardly written in a Cyrillic-based alphabet.Ukrainian, Languages Well-attested Uzbek, Languages Well-attested In the Other AtlasesOriginated InBulgariaAlso in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.Sources1. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of LanguageDavid Crystal (editor), Cambridge University Press, 2010Script Status: Living (in Current Use)In Use Since (Year): from 893Directionality (class): Left-to-right2. Unicode Consortium: ISO 15924 Code Lists, Table 1Unicode ConsortiumTable 1, row CyrlQuote, Table 1, row CyrlCyrl 220 Cyrillic cyrillique Cyrillic 1.1 2004-05-01View the Source3. Omniglot: The Online Encyclopedia of Writing Systems and Languagestier 2Script Type: AlphabetDirectionality: Left to rightView the SourceWikipedia: Evenki LanguageWikimedia FoundationScript Of: Evenki, Infobox, writing system field, Cyrillic listed firstView the SourceTake a Related QuizWriting Systems and Scripts: BeginnerIncludes a question about Cyrillic Script.Comments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.View At A Past YearChoose a year to see this entry's facts and connections as the atlas records them at that moment: what it held then, what it held instead, and what it had not yet adopted. Choose Present for the current record.YearPresent893Show This Year