Cyrillic · Four languages · Four profiles
Transliterate Cyrillic with a named standard
Convert Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, or Serbian Cyrillic into Roman letters with an explicit standard. ISO 9 is designed for rigorous character-level exchange, ALA-LC supports library cataloging, and BGN/PCGN is intended principally for geographic names. Simplified ASCII provides a practical fallback when diacritics and modifier letters are unavailable.
Choose the language yourself because the languages share many Cyrillic letters and short text often cannot be identified reliably. The converter normalizes Unicode, applies a local versioned mapping, keeps case and punctuation when requested, and can show the exact source sequence used for each output fragment.
These profiles transliterate spelling; they do not translate meaning or guarantee pronunciation. Catalog records, passports, legal names, and established place-name spellings may follow a specific authority or retain a conventional form, so consequential results still need human verification.
Mixed Latin text, numbers, spacing, and emoji stay unchanged. Cyrillic letters outside the selected language alphabet also remain visible and are flagged instead of being guessed or silently discarded.
Compare the standards, limitations, and tested examples in the profile guide.
Character mapping
Source sequences and output fragments
Context-sensitive rows may contain more than one source character.
| Position | Source | Code point | Romanization | Rule | Count |
|---|
How to choose a Cyrillic transliteration profile
ISO 9
ISO 9:1995 assigns distinctive Latin forms to Cyrillic characters across Slavic and non-Slavic alphabets. Its purpose is rigorous information exchange, not familiar English spelling or a pronunciation guide. View the ISO record.
ALA-LC
ALA-LC tables support bibliographic description and library access. The selected language matters because Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, and Serbian have separate tables and notes. Browse the Library of Congress tables.
BGN/PCGN
BGN/PCGN profiles are designed chiefly for geographic names. They favor practical Roman-script forms, but existing official or conventional place names can still take precedence over a mechanical conversion. Read the official collection.
Simplified ASCII
The local ASCII profile uses unaccented ASCII letter replacements. Source punctuation, emoji, and existing Latin text stay unchanged when preservation is enabled, so choose the punctuation option to suit the receiving field. Merged letter distinctions mean that the original Cyrillic cannot be reconstructed reliably.
Profiles at a glance
Shared letters can look deceptively similar: Москва commonly becomes Moskva and Србија becomes Srbija. Distinctive letters reveal the purpose of each profile—for example, Russian Ж is Ž in ISO 9 but Zh in ALA-LC, BGN/PCGN, and simplified ASCII.
| Profile | Primary purpose | Special marks | Reversibility |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISO 9 | Rigorous character exchange | Frequent | High within covered letters |
| ALA-LC | Library cataloging | Language-specific | Generally high |
| BGN/PCGN | Geographic names | Limited or language-specific | Not guaranteed |
| Simplified ASCII | Plain-text compatibility | None | No |
Static conversion examples
| Language | Cyrillic | Profile | Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| Russian | Щука | ISO 9 | Ŝuka |
| Ukrainian | Київ | BGN/PCGN | Kyiv |
| Bulgarian | София | ALA-LC | Sofii͡a |
| Serbian | Ђорђе | BGN/PCGN | Đorđe |
Cyrillic transliteration converter FAQ
Can the converter detect the language automatically?
It detects Cyrillic script, but it asks you to choose the language. Many short strings use only letters shared by several Cyrillic alphabets, so automatic language claims would often be unreliable.
Which profile should I use?
Use ISO 9 for character-level exchange, the applicable ALA-LC table for library cataloging, and BGN/PCGN when working with geographic names. Use simplified ASCII only when the receiving system cannot preserve standard marks.
Is simplified ASCII the same as ISO 9 without accents?
No. Removing marks can create ambiguous or awkward results, so the ASCII profile uses readable language-aware replacements. It is an explicitly lossy local convenience profile, not ISO 9 compliance.
Can I use the result for a passport or official name?
Treat it as a reference only. A person’s registered spelling, national document rules, and established geographic-name decisions can override a general character mapping.