Try to write article The meaning of the names of cyrillic or glagolic letters.
Characteristics
editThe values of many of the letters are thought to have been displaced under Cyrillic influence, or to have become confused through the early spread to different dialects, so that the original values are not always clear. For instance, the letter yu Ⱓ is thought to have perhaps originally had the sound /u/, but was displaced by the adoption of an ow ligature Ⱆ under the influence of later Cyrillic. Other letters were late creations after a Cyrillic model.
The following table lists each letter in its modern order, showing an image of the letter (round variant), the corresponding modern Cyrillic letter, the approximate sound transcribed with the IPA, the name, and suggestions for its origin. Several letters have no modern counterpart.
| Letter | Cyrillic | Sound | OCS name | CS name | Meaning | Equivalent or transltation in modern Russian | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ⰰ | 
|
А | /ɑ/ | Azъ | Az | I | Translated as ya/я. Az exists in modern Bulgarian and means I |
| Ⰱ | 
|
Б | /b/ | Buky | Buky | letters | bookvy/буквы |
| Ⰲ | 
|
В | /ʋ/ | Vědě | Vedi | to know | znaju/знаю |
| Ⰳ | 
|
Г | /ɡ/ | Glagoli | Glagoli | to do/to speak | translated as tvoree твори, delai делай or as govoree говори |
| Ⰴ | 
|
Д | /d/ | Dobro | Dobro | kindness/goodness | dobro добро |
| Ⰵ | 
|
Є, Е, Э | /ɛ/ | Estъ, jestъ, yestъ | Jest | is/exists | est' есть |
| Ⰶ | 
|
Ж | /ʒ/ | Živěte | Zhivete | life/live | zhiveete живите |
| Ⰷ | 
|
Ѕ | /dz/ | Dzělo | Dzelo | very | translated as ochen' очень |
| Ⰸ | 
|
З | /z/ | Zemlja | Zemlja | Earth/ground/soil | zemlja земля |
| Ⰹ, Ⰺ |  , 
|
И, Й | /i, j/ | Iže | Izhe | which is/the | kotoryi который or tot samyi тот самый |
| Ⰻ | 
|
І, Ї | /i, j/ | I | I | and (&) | ee и |
| Ⰼ | 
|
Ћ, Ђ | /dʑ/ | Djervь, ǵervь | tree/wood | derevo дерево | |
| Ⰽ | 
|
К | /k/ | Kako | Kako | how/as | kak как |
| Ⰾ | 
|
Л | /l, ʎ/ | Ljudie | Ljudi | people | ljudee люди |
| Ⰿ | 
|
М | /m/ | Myslite | Mislete | think | mysleete мыслите |
| Ⱀ | 
|
Н | /n, ɲ/ | Našь | Nash | ours | nash наш |
| Ⱁ | 
|
О | /ɔ/ | Onъ | On | he | on он |
| Ⱂ | 
|
П | /p/ | Pokoi | Pokoj | calmness/peace | pokoj покой |
| Ⱃ | 
|
Р | /r/ | Rьci, rьtsi | Rtsi | Speak!/Pronounce! | same root as in "rech'" "речь" speach, but translated as govori говори |
| Ⱄ | 
|
С | /s/ | Slovo | Slovo | word/speech | Unknown,[1] Christian symbols circle and triangle |
| Ⱅ | 
|
Т | /t/ | Tvrьdo | Tverdo | solid/hard/surely | Perhaps from crossbar of Greek tau τ[1] |
| Ⱆ | 
|
У | /u/ | Ukъ | Uk | Knowledgeable/Enlightened | Ligature of onъ and izhitsa[1] |
| Ⱇ | 
|
Ф | /f/ | Frьtъ | Fert | Variant of Greek phi φ[1] | |
| Ⱈ | 
|
Х | /x/ | Xěrъ, Khěrъ | Kher | Unknown, similar to glagoli and Latin h[1] | |
| Ⱉ | 
|
Ѡ | /ɔ/ | Otъ | Oht, Omega | Ligature of onъ and its mirror image[1] | |
| Ⱋ | 
|
Щ | /tʲ, ʃt/ | Šta | Shta | what | Ligature of sha over tvrьdo[1] |
| Ⱌ | 
|
Ц | /ts/ | Ci, tsi | Tsi | Final form of Hebrew tsade ץ[1] | |
| Ⱍ | 
|
Ч | /tʃ/ | Črьvъ | Cherv | worm | Unknown, similar to shta[1] perhaps non-final form of Hebrew tsade צ |
| Ⱎ | 
|
Ш | /ʃ/ | Ša | Sha | Hebrew shin ש[1] | |
| Ⱏ | 
|
Ъ | /ɯ/ | Erъ, jerъ, yerъ | Yer | Possibly modification of onъ[1] | |
| ⰟⰉ | 
|
Ы | /ɨ/ | Ery, jery, yery | Yery | Ligature, see the note under the table | |
| Ⱐ | 
|
Ь | /ə/ | Erь, jerь, yerь | Yerj | Possibly modification of onъ[1] | |
| Ⱑ | 
|
Ѣ | /æ, jɑ/ | Jatь, Yatь | Yat | Possibly epigraphic Greek alpha Α[1] | |
| Ⱖ | 
|
Ё | */jo/ | Unknown:[1] Hypothetical component of jonsь below; /jo/ was not possible at the time | |||
| Ⱓ | 
|
Ю | /ju/ | Ju, yu | Yu | Unknown[1] | |
| Ⱔ | 
|
Ѧ, Я | /ɛ̃/ | [Ensь] | Ya, Small yus | Greek epsilon ε, also used to denote nasality[1] | |
| Ⱗ | 
|
Ѩ | /jɛ̃/ | [Jensь, Yensь] | [Small iotated yus] | Ligature of jestъ and ensь for nasality[1] | |
| Ⱘ | 
|
Ѫ | /ɔ̃/ | [Onsь] | [Big yus] | Ligature of onъ and ensь for nasality[1] | |
| Ⱙ | 
|
Ѭ | /jɔ̃/ | [Jonsь, Yonsь] | [Big iotated yus] | Ligature of unknown letter and ensь for nasality[1] | |
| Ⱚ | 
|
Ѳ | /θ/ | [Thita] | Fita | Greek theta θ | |
| Ⱛ | 
|
Ѵ | /ʏ, i/ | Ižica, Izhitsa | Izhitsa | Unknown | |
Note that yery is a digraph of either yerъ or yerь and izhe or i.
In older texts, ukъ and three out of four yuses also can be written as digraphs, in two separate parts.
The order of izhe and i varies from source to source, as does the order of the various forms of Yus. Correspondence between Glagolitic izhe and i with Cyrillic И and I is unknown – textbooks and dictionaries often mention one of two possible versions and keep silence about the existence of the opposite one.