What is ы?

ы (Yerı) in the Cyrillic Alphabet

ы (Yerı), is a letter in the Cyrillic script. It is primarily used in the East Slavic languages like Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian, as well as several other languages influenced by or using the Cyrillic script such as some Turkic languages.

Pronunciation: It generally represents a close central unrounded vowel ([ɨ]). This sound is not common in many Western European languages, which is often difficult for non-native speakers to pronounce correctly. In some languages like Russian, it can also be an allophone of other sounds depending on the surrounding phonetic context.

Origin and History: The letter's origin is debated, but one common theory is that it is a combination of the letters ъ (hard sign) and і (І). It was first used in Old East Slavic and retained in modern Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian orthography.

Usage:

• Russian: ы is a common vowel, often appearing after hard consonants. A key rule is that Russian words generally do not start with ы, although some loanwords and proper nouns may be exceptions. For more information about its usage, you can check this link: Russian Usage.
• Belarusian: The usage is very similar to Russian.
• Ukrainian: The letter и usually corresponds to the sound of ы in Russian. ы exists but is rare and only used in some specific cases, mostly after consonants in loanwords. For more information about its usage, you can check this link: Ukrainian Usage.
• Other Languages: Some Turkic languages, such as Kyrgyz and Kazakh, also use ы to represent a similar vowel sound.

Typographical Variants: The glyph for ы is usually consistent across different fonts, though minor stylistic variations can exist.