Yu (Cyrillic)

Ю (lower case ю) is a letter in the Cyrillic script. It represents the sound /ju/ (similar to "you" in English) or /u/ after a palatalized consonant in most Slavic languages that use the Cyrillic alphabet.

History and Origin

The letter Ю originated from the iotated version of the Cyrillic letter О (о). Specifically, it developed from the digraph ІО (io). The letter was officially adopted into the Russian alphabet in the Petrine reforms of 1708-1710.

Usage

Ю is used in the Cyrillic alphabets of several Slavic languages, including Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Serbian, and Macedonian. It is also used in some non-Slavic languages that use Cyrillic script.

In Russian, Ю generally represents the sound /ju/ at the beginning of a word or after a vowel, and the sound /u/ after a palatalized consonant. For example, "юг" (yug) meaning "south" is pronounced with /ju/, while "люк" (lyuk) meaning "hatch" is pronounced with /u/ after the palatalized /lʲ/.

Glyph Variations

While the basic shape remains consistent, there can be slight variations in the glyph design of Ю depending on the font used. These variations primarily concern the serifs and the overall proportions of the letter.