Belarusian Alphabet
Belarusian Cyrillic alphabet: 32 letters, unique ў, і, apostrophe
I can read and write Belarusian Cyrillic.
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
Добры дзень! Я з Беларусі.
Good day! I am from Belarus.
Мая сям'я жыве ў Мінску.
My family lives in Minsk.
Ён вучыцца ва ўніверсітэце.
He studies at university.
Гэта кніга вельмі цікавая.
This book is very interesting.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
Belarusian Alphabet
Belarusian uses Cyrillic with 32 letters. Three features make it unique:
- Ў ў (short u / w-sound) — exists ONLY in Belarusian! Like English 'w' in 'wow'. Example: ўнук (grandson), воўк (wolf).
- І і (soft i) — replaces Russian И. Беларуская мова uses І, not И!
- Apostrophe ' — replaces Russian ъ (hard sign): аб'ява (announcement), сям'я (family).
Key Differences from Russian
| Russian | Belarusian | Example |
|---|---|---|
| И | І | кніга (book) |
| Щ | не існуе! | шч замест: шчасце |
| Ъ | ' (apostrophe) | сям'я |
| — | Ў | ўсё (everything) |
Pronunciation
Belarusian is phonetic — you read what you write! Key sounds: дз (like 'dz'), дж (like English 'j'), г (fricative h, not Russian g!).
RU speakers: using И instead of І, pronouncing г as [g] instead of [ɣ]. EN speakers: confusing Cyrillic letters with Latin lookalikes. All: forgetting Ў in words like ўсё.
Common Error Patterns
Using Russian И instead of Belarusian І
Belarusian ALWAYS uses І: кніга, not книга.
Pronouncing г as hard [g] (Russian style)
Belarusian г = fricative [ɣ], like Ukrainian г. Not Russian [g]!
Добры дзень! Я з Беларусі.
Good day! I am from Belarus.
Добры дзень = Good day. Note: дз is one sound (like 'dz'). Беларусь = Belarus.
Мая сям'я жыве ў Мінску.
My family lives in Minsk.
сям'я (syam'ya) = family. The apostrophe ' replaces Russian ъ. Мінск = Minsk.
Ён вучыцца ва ўніверсітэце.
He studies at university.
Ў in ўніверсітэт! The unique Belarusian letter Ў sounds like English 'w'.
Гэта кніга вельмі цікавая.
This book is very interesting.
кніга (kniga) with І not И! Belarusian always uses І where Russian uses И.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises