How it works
The Azerbaijani alphabet to copy: the 32 Latin letters as capitals, then as small letters. X follows H, Q follows K, and I and İ are two different letters.
Read the full guide
Two letters I
One I has a dot and one has none, and each keeps its form in both cases: İ and i are a pair, I and dotless ı, the vowel /ɯ/, another. Software that changes case by the default rules turns I into i and breaks the pair; the case converter has rules for Turkish and Azerbaijani.
Ə, the letter that came back
The Latin alphabet of 1991 wrote the sound /æ/ with Ä. In 1992 Ə took its place: it had stood for the same vowel in the earlier Latin alphabet and in the Cyrillic one. Small ə is also the schwa sign of the phonetic alphabet.
- In loanwords a hard g is written Q and a k sound K: qrafika, graphics.
- Q, the letter for /ɡ/, was Г in Cyrillic, and G, which is /ɟ/, was Ҝ.
Questions and answers
How many letters are in the Azerbaijan alphabet?
32: the letters of the English alphabet without W, and seven more: Ç, Ə, Ğ, a second I, Ö, Ş and Ü.
What script is Azerbaijani written in?
Three today. Azerbaijani writing uses Latin letters in the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Arabic script in Iran and Cyrillic in Dagestan. Cyrillic was the script of Azerbaijan from 1939; both alphabets were accepted from 1991 to 2001, and Latin has been the official one since.
Is the Azeri alphabet the same as the Turkish alphabet?
Almost. Every Turkish letter is in it, and it adds three that Turkish does not have: Ə, X and Q.
How are the Azeri letters pronounced?
C is the j of jive, Ç the ch of catch, Ş the sh of shy, J the s of pleasure and X the ch of loch. Q is /ɡ/, Ə /æ/, G /ɟ/, Ğ /ɣ/, I /ɯ/, Ö /œ/ and Ü /y/.