ъ
Translingual
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Cyrillic_Hard_Sign.png/220px-Cyrillic_Hard_Sign.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/29/28-Russian_alphabet-%D1%8A.svg/220px-28-Russian_alphabet-%D1%8A.svg.png)
Alternative forms
- (italics) Ъ, ъ
Etymology
![Glagolitic letter yer’, the source for ъ (ŭ)](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/GlagolitsaJer.gif)
Modification of Glagolitic letter yer’ (Ⱏ).
Letter
ъ (lower case, upper case Ъ)
- A letter of the Cyrillic script.
See also
- Wikipedia article on the Cyrillic alphabet
- Search the English Wiktionary for articles beginning with Ъ
- Search the English Wiktionary for articles beginning with ъ
Bulgarian
Pronunciation
Letter
ъ • (ǎ) (lower case, upper case Ъ)
See also
Kazakh
Letter
ъ • () (lower case, upper case Ъ)
See also
- (Cyrillic-script letters) А а, Ә ә, Б б, В в, Г г, Ғ ғ, Д д, Е е, Ё ё, Ж ж, З з, И и, Й й, К к, Қ қ, Л л, М м, Н н, Ң ң, О о, Ө ө, П п, Р р, С с, Т т, У у, Ұ ұ, Ү ү, Ф ф, Х х, Һ һ, Ц ц, Ч ч, Ш ш, Щ щ, Ъ ъ, Ы ы, І і, Ь ь, Э э, Ю ю, Я я
Russian
Pronunciation
This letter has no pronunciation of its own. It instead functions as a graphic sign.
Letter
ъ (lower case, upper case Ъ)
- The letter твёрдый знак (tvjórdyj znak, “hard sign”), the twenty-eighth letter of the Russian alphabet
Usage notes
In Russian, this letter has no sound of its own, but modifies that of the preceding consonant, causing it to be pronounced hard (i.e., unpalatalized). Some writers use ' (apostrophe) instead of ъ, e.g. съезд (sʺjezd) — с'езд (s’ezd), which is considered non-standard or obsolete. After the 1918 spelling reform when the usage of ъ was heavily reduced, some typewriters did not have the letter at all, forcing people to use ' (apostrophe).