# Ye (Е е) (Cyrillic)
**Ye** (Е е; italics: *Е*, *е*) is a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet, named *ye* in Russian and Belarusian and *Eh* in Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian, and Ukrainian.[1](https://en.alegsaonline.com/art/109717) In all its forms it looks exactly like the Latin letter E, but it is a distinct character with its own code points, names and sound values.[2](https://www.textus-receptus.com/wiki/Ye_%28Cyrillic%29) Its pronunciation varies across the languages that use it, from a plain [e] or [ɛ] to the iotated sequence [je] that gives the letter its Russian name.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Unicode encoding | U+0415 CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER IE and U+0435 cyrillic small letter ie; Ё is a separate code point (U+0401) built from Е plus a diaeresis[3](https://www.unicode.org/Public/UCD/latest/charts/nameslist/0400/) |
| Russian values | [je] at the start of a word, after vowels, and after ъ or ь; after a consonant, the vowel [e] or [ɛ] with palatalization of the preceding consonant[2](https://www.textus-receptus.com/wiki/Ye_%28Cyrillic%29) |
| Ukrainian counterpart | The separate letter Є (U+0404, CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER UKRAINIAN IE) covers the iotated sound[3](https://www.unicode.org/Public/UCD/latest/charts/nameslist/0400/) |
| Origin | Descends from the old Cyrillic letter є (yest, "есть"), whose form came from the Greek uncial letter e[4](https://www.booksite.ru/fulltext/1/001/008/036/146.htm) |
| Romanization | The Library of Congress 2012 Russian table renders Е е as E e and Э э as Ė ė[5](https://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/romanization/russian.pdf) |
| Related letter | Russian Э began as a Glagolitic-shaped variant (allograph) of е and gained independent graphic status only in the 14th century[6](https://www.nkj.ru/archive/articles/42392/) |
## Sound values in Russian
The letter's behavior in Russian depends on its position in the word. At the beginning of a word (*ель*, spruce), after a vowel (*поехал*), and after the signs ъ or ь (*съезд*, *пьеса*), Е stands for the combination [je], a [j] glide followed by the vowel.[4](https://www.booksite.ru/fulltext/1/001/008/036/146.htm) Following a consonant, the letter indicates that the consonant is palatalized and represents the vowel /e/ or /ɛ/.[2](https://www.textus-receptus.com/wiki/Ye_%28Cyrillic%29)
Spelling and pronunciation diverge in loanwords. In the roots of borrowed words after hard consonants, е is written even though the vowel may be pronounced either [e] or [ɛ]: *бизнес*, *бренд*, *инерция*, *дэнди*.[7](https://gramota.ru/journal/rekomenduem/tridtsat-pervaya-litera-550) Later twentieth-century borrowings such as *кашне*, *портмоне* and *карате* are also written with е but pronounced with [э].[7](https://gramota.ru/journal/rekomenduem/tridtsat-pervaya-litera-550)
## Ё and the letter pair Е and Э
**The relationship with Ё.** The change of stressed [э] to [о] after soft consonants appears in East Slavic texts from the 12th century, but no special letter existed for the resulting sound until the very end of the 18th century, when [Nikolai Karamzin](https://www.edgepedia.org/nikolai-karamzin) proposed the letter ё.[8](https://gramota.ru/journal/stati/pravila-i-normy/istiny-7-jo) Earlier, at a meeting of the [Russian Academy](https://www.edgepedia.org/russian-academy), Yekaterina Dashkova had proposed the notation "io" rather than the modern ё.[9](https://www.culture.ru/materials/258034/samaya-molodaya-v-russkoi-azbuke-istoriya-bukvy-yo) By long-standing tradition, printed literature not intended for young children or for reading instruction uses е instead of ё wherever this does not obscure the meaning of the word.[10](https://gramota.ru/biblioteka/spravochniki/pravila-russkoy-orfografii-i-punktuatsii/bukvy-e-e) In ordinary Russian print, then, Е can stand for [e] and, in place of ё, for [o] after soft consonants.
**The relationship with Э.** In the Cyrillic alphabet up to the 14th century the single letter е (yest) was sufficient, because the iotated reading was signaled by the ligature ІЄ; the letter э, which came into Cyrillic from Glagolitic as a variant form of е, acquired its modern graphic shape only in the 14th century.[6](https://www.nkj.ru/archive/articles/42392/) Today Э marks the vowel after hard consonants, while е remains the default spelling in loanword roots even where the consonant stays hard.[7](https://gramota.ru/journal/rekomenduem/tridtsat-pervaya-litera-550)
## History and origin
The letter descends from the old Cyrillic letter є, called *yest* ("есть"), whose rounded shape goes back to the Greek uncial letter e.[4](https://www.booksite.ru/fulltext/1/001/008/036/146.htm) The Cyrillic script itself was developed in the ninth century and is based on Greek.[11](https://unicode.org/versions/Unicode18.0.0/core-spec/chapter-7/) In the old Slavic alphabet, separate letters existed for related sounds, including the iotated Е for the combination [je] and the yat (Ѣ) for a long vowel.[12](https://znanierussia.ru/articles/%D0%95%2C_%D0%B5)
## Encoding and romanization
In the Unicode Cyrillic block (U+0400–U+04FF), Ye is U+0415 for the capital and U+0435 for the lowercase, under the name CYRILLIC (SMALL) LETTER IE.[3](https://www.unicode.org/Public/UCD/latest/charts/nameslist/0400/) The block also contains derived letters built on it: Ѐ (Е with grave, U+0400), Ё (Е with diaeresis, U+0401), and Є, the Ukrainian IE, at U+0404.[3](https://www.unicode.org/Public/UCD/latest/charts/nameslist/0400/) Although some Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic letters look alike, the scripts have been separately encoded rather than merged, a decision documented in Unicode Technical Note #26; look-alike letters across scripts remain a recognized source of confusion.[13](https://www.unicode.org/notes/tn26/) • [14](https://www.unicode.org/faq/latin_cyrillic.html)
Standard romanization is stable: the Library of Congress's 2012 Russian table renders Е е as E e, Ё ё as Ë ë, and Э э as Ė ė.[5](https://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/romanization/russian.pdf) The same table notes that the letters І, Ѣ, Ѳ and Ѵ were eliminated in the orthographic reform of 1918, which left Е in its modern role.[5](https://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/romanization/russian.pdf)
## Ye in pan-Slavic orthography
The constructed language [Interslavic](https://www.edgepedia.org/interslavic), which aims to be intelligible across Slavic-language speakers, uses Cyrillic е for the ordinary vowel [ɛ]~[e] and the Ukrainian letter є as the counterpart of Latin ě, the traditional yat vowel.[15](https://irbiskronos.github.io/interslavic-fun/docs/orthography) The distinction matters because ě softens (palatalizes) a preceding consonant in all [Slavic languages](https://www.edgepedia.org/slavic-languages) except Slovene, Serbian and Macedonian, a distinction covering about 96% of speakers; є was chosen for its visual similarity to е and for the lack of any other good Cyrillic alternative.[15](https://irbiskronos.github.io/interslavic-fun/docs/orthography) The historically more correct archaic letter ѣ, last abolished by Bulgarian and Rusyn in 1945, is avoided because few readers recognize it.[15](https://irbiskronos.github.io/interslavic-fun/docs/orthography) Interslavic likewise recommends avoiding Russian ё, whose usage patterns may not be clear to readers who do not know Russian.[15](https://irbiskronos.github.io/interslavic-fun/docs/orthography)
## References
1. [Ye (Cyrillic letter Е) — overview of form, names and pronunciation](https://en.alegsaonline.com/art/109717)
2. [Ye (Cyrillic), Textus Receptus](https://www.textus-receptus.com/wiki/Ye_%28Cyrillic%29)
3. [Cyrillic code chart, Unicode NamesList (U+0400–U+04FF)](https://www.unicode.org/Public/UCD/latest/charts/nameslist/0400/)
4. [Entry "Е", Большая советская энциклопедия (booksite.ru mirror)](https://www.booksite.ru/fulltext/1/001/008/036/146.htm)
5. [Russian Romanization Table, 2012 version, Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/romanization/russian.pdf)
6. [«Тридцать первая литера»: история буквы «э», Наука и жизнь](https://www.nkj.ru/archive/articles/42392/)
7. [Об истории появления буквы «э» в русском алфавите, журнал Грамоты](https://gramota.ru/journal/rekomenduem/tridtsat-pervaya-litera-550)
8. [Буква Ё: нужно ли расставить над ней все точки?, журнал Грамоты](https://gramota.ru/journal/stati/pravila-i-normy/istiny-7-jo)
9. [Самая молодая в русской азбуке: история буквы «ё», Культура.РФ](https://www.culture.ru/materials/258034/samaya-molodaya-v-russkoi-azbuke-istoriya-bukvy-yo)
10. [Буквы э — е, Правила русской орфографии и пунктуации, Грамота.ру](https://gramota.ru/biblioteka/spravochniki/pravila-russkoy-orfografii-i-punktuatsii/bukvy-e-e)
11. [The Unicode Standard, Version 18.0.0, Chapter 7: Europe-I](https://unicode.org/versions/Unicode18.0.0/core-spec/chapter-7/)
12. [Е (кириллица), энциклопедия «Знание.Вики»](https://znanierussia.ru/articles/%D0%95%2C_%D0%B5)
13. [UTN #26: On the Encoding of Latin, Greek, Cyrillic, and Han, Unicode Consortium](https://www.unicode.org/notes/tn26/)
14. [FAQ: Latin and Cyrillic Scripts, Unicode Consortium](https://www.unicode.org/faq/latin_cyrillic.html)
15. [Orthography, Interslavic documentation](https://irbiskronos.github.io/interslavic-fun/docs/orthography)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Languages and linguistics › Writing and notation systems › Cyrillic script*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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