Mongolian script

This article is about the original Mongolian writing system. For later developments, see Mongolian writing systems. For the language, see Mongolian language.

The classical or traditional Mongolian script, also known as the Hudum Mongol bichig, was the first writing system created specifically for the Mongolian language, and was the most widespread until the introduction of Cyrillic in 1946. It is traditionally written in vertical lines Top-Down, right across the page. Derived from the Old Uyghur alphabet, Mongolian is a true alphabet, with separate letters for consonants and vowels. The Mongolian script has been adapted to write languages such as Oirat and Manchu. Alphabets based on this classical vertical script are used in Inner Mongolia and other parts of China to this day to write Mongolian, Xibe and experimentally, Evenki.

Mongolian script ᠮᠣᠩᠭᠣᠯ ᠪᠢᠴᠢᠭ
Example text
Type	Alphabet
Languages	Mongolian language Manchu language (obsolete) Daur language (obsolete) Evenki language (experimentally)
Creator	Tata-tonga
Time period	ca.1204 – present
Parent systems	Egyptian hieroglyphs Proto-Sinaitic alphabet Phoenician alphabet Aramaic alphabet Syriac alphabet Sogdian alphabet Old Uyghur alphabet Mongolian script
Child systems	Manchu alphabet Oirat alphabet (Clear script) Buryat alphabet Galik alphabet Evenki alphabet Xibe alphabet
Direction	Top-to-bottom
ISO 15924	Mong, 145
Unicode alias	Mongolian
Unicode range	U+1800–U+18AF Mongolian U+11660–U+1167F Mong. Supplement

Computer operating systems have been slow to adopt support for the Mongolian script, and almost all have incomplete support or other text rendering difficulties.

History

The Stele of Yisüngge, with the earliest known inscription in the Mongolian script.

The Mongolian vertical script developed as an adaptation of the Old Uyghur alphabet for the Mongolian language. From the seventh and eighth to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the Mongolian language separated into southern, eastern and western dialects. The principal documents from the period of the Middle Mongol language are: in the eastern dialect, the famous text The Secret History of the Mongols, monuments in the Square script, materials of the Chinese–Mongolian glossary of the fourteenth century, and materials of the Mongolian language of the middle period in Chinese transcription, etc.; in the western dialect, materials of the Arab–Mongolian and Persian–Mongolian dictionaries, Mongolian texts in Arabic transcription, etc. The main features of the period are that the vowels ï and i had lost their phonemic significance, creating the i phoneme (in the Chakhar dialect, the Standard Mongolian in Inner Mongolia, these vowels are still distinct); inter-vocal consonants γ/g, b/w had disappeared and the preliminary process of the formation of Mongolian long vowels had begun; the initial h was preserved in many words; grammatical categories were partially absent, etc. The development over this period explains why the Mongolian script looks like a vertical Arabic script (in particular the presence of the dot system).

Eventually, minor concessions were made to the differences between the Uyghur and Mongol languages: In the 17th and 18th centuries, smoother and more angular versions of the letter tsadi became associated with [dʒ] and [tʃ] respectively, and in the 19th century, the Manchu hooked yodh was adopted for initial [j]. Zain was dropped as it was redundant for [s]. Various schools of orthography, some using diacritics, were developed to avoid ambiguity.

Traditional Mongolian is written vertically from top to bottom, flowing in lines from left to right. The Old Uyghur script and its descendants, of which traditional Mongolian is one among Oirat Clear, Manchu, and Buryat are the only known vertical scripts written from left to right. This developed because the Uyghurs rotated their Sogdian-derived script, originally written right to left, 90 degrees counterclockwise to emulate Chinese writing, but without changing the relative orientation of the letters.

The reed pen was the writing instrument of choice until the 18th century, when the brush took its place under Chinese influence. Pens were also historically made of wood, reed, bamboo, bone, bronze, or iron. Ink used was black or cinnabar red, and written with on birch bark, paper, cloths made of silk or cotton, and wooden or silver plates.

Reed pens

Ink brushes

Writing implements of the Bogd Khan

Mongols learned their script as a syllabary, dividing the syllables into twelve different classes, based on the final phonemes of the syllables, all of which ended in vowels.

The script remained in continuous use by Mongolian speakers in Inner Mongolia in People's Republic of China. In the Mongolian People's Republic, it was largely replaced by the Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet, although the vertical script remained in limited use. In March 2020, the Mongolian government announced plans to increase the use of the traditional Mongolian script and to use both Cyrillic and Mongolian script in official documents by 2025.

Names

The traditional Mongolian script is known by a wide variety of names. Because of its similarity to the Old Uyghur alphabet, it became known as the Uigurjin Mongol script. During the communist era, when Cyrillic became the official script for the Mongolian language, the traditional script became known as the Old Mongol script, in contrast to the New script, referring to Cyrillic. The name Old Mongol script stuck, and it is still known as such among the older generation, who didn't receive education in the new script.

Overview

The traditional or classical Mongolian alphabet, sometimes called Hudum 'traditional' in Oirat in contrast to the Clear script (Todo 'exact'), is the original form of the Mongolian script used to write the Mongolian language. It does not distinguish several vowels (o/u, ö/ü, final a/e) and consonants (syllable-initial t/d and k/g, sometimes ǰ/y) that were not required for Uyghur, which was the source of the Mongol (or Uyghur-Mongol) script. The result is somewhat comparable to the situation of English, which must represent ten or more vowels with only five letters and uses the digraph th for two distinct sounds. Ambiguity is sometimes prevented by context, as the requirements of vowel harmony and syllable sequence usually indicate the correct sound. Moreover, as there are few words with an exactly identical spelling, actual ambiguities are rare for a reader who knows the orthography.

Letters have different forms depending on their position in a word: initial, medial, or final. In some cases, additional graphic variants are selected for visual harmony with the subsequent character.

The rules for writing below apply specifically for the Mongolian language, unless stated otherwise.

Sort orders

• Traditional: n, q/k, γ/g, b, p, s, š, t, d, l, m, č...
• Modern: n, b, p, q/k, γ/g, m, l, s, š, t, d, č...
• Other modern orderings that apply to specific dictionaries also exist.

Vowel harmony

Mongolian vowel harmony separates the vowels of words into three groups – two mutually exclusive and one neutral:

• The back, masculine, hard, or yang vowels a, o, and u.
• The front, feminine, soft, or yin vowels e, ö, and ü.
• The neutral vowel i, able to appear in all words.

Any Mongolian word can contain the neutral vowel i, but only vowels from either of the other two groups. The vowel qualities of visually separated vowels and suffixes must likewise harmonize with those of the preceding word stem. Such suffixes are written with front or neutral vowels when preceded by a word stem containing only neutal vowels. Any of these rules might not apply for foreign words however.

Separated final vowels

Two examples of the two kinds of letter separation: with the suffix ‑un ( ) and the final vowel ‑a ( )

A separated final form of vowels a or e is common, and can appear at the end of a word, word stem, or suffix. This form requires a final-shaped preceding consonant and an inter-word gap in between. This gap can be transliterated with a hyphen . In digital typesetting, these forms are triggered by inserting a U+180E ᠎ MONGOLIAN VOWEL SEPARATOR (HTML ᠎ · MVS) between the consonant and vowel.

The presence or lack of a separated a or e can also indicate differences in meaning between different words (compare ᠬᠠᠷ᠎ᠠ^(?) qar‑a 'black' with ᠬᠠᠷᠠ qara 'to look').

Its form could be confused with that of the identically shaped traditional dative-locative suffix ‑a/‑e exemplified further down. That form however, is more commonly found in older texts, and more commonly takes the forms of ⟨ᠲ᠋ᠤᠷ⟩ tur/tür or ⟨ᠳ᠋ᠤᠷ⟩ dur/dür instead.

Separated suffixes

1925 logo of Buryat–Mongolian newspaper ᠪᠤᠷᠢᠶᠠᠳ ᠮᠣᠩᠭᠣᠯ ᠤᠨ ᠦᠨᠡᠨ᠃ Buriyad Mongγol‑un ünen 'Buryat-Mongol truth' with the suffix  ᠤᠨ^(?) ‑un.

All case suffixes, as well as any plural suffixes consisting of one or two syllables are likewise separated by a preceding and hyphen-transliterated gap. In digital typesetting, this gap is represented by a U+202F   NARROW NO-BREAK SPACE (HTML   · NNBSP). A maximum of two case suffixes can be added to a stem.

Single-letter vowel suffixes appear with the final-shaped forms of a/e, i, or u/ü, as in ᠭᠠᠵᠠᠷ ᠠ^(?) γaǰar‑a 'to the country' and ᠡᠳᠦᠷ ᠡ^(?) edür‑e 'on the day', or ᠤᠯᠤᠰ ᠢ^(?) ulus‑i 'the state' etc. Multi-letter suffixes most often start with an initial- (consonants), medial- (vowels), or variant-shaped form (medial/variant-shaped u in the two-letter suffix  ᠤᠨ^(?) ⟨⟩ ‑un/‑ün being exemplified in the adjacent newspaper logo).

Following the graphic compound of a proper name such as that of ᠬᠥᠬᠡᠬᠣᠲᠠ Kökeqota (the city of Hohhot), the vowels of a suffix get determined based on those of the latter part of said compound.

Isolate citation forms

Isolate citation forms for syllables containing o, u, ö, and ü may in dictionaries appear without a final tail as in ⟨ᠪᠣ⟩ bo/bu or ⟨ᠮᠣ᠋⟩ mo/mu, and with a vertical tail as in ⟨ᠪᠥ᠋⟩ bö/bü or ⟨ᠮᠥ᠋⟩ mö/mü (as well as in transcriptions of Chinese syllables).

Notes on letter tables

A dash indicates a non-applicable position for that letter.

Parentheses enclose glyphs or positions whose corresponding sounds are not found in native Mongolian words.

Palatalized phonemes have been excluded. These are conditioned by a following i.

Components

Listed in the table below are script components (graphemes) that are recurring, contrasting, or both. The actual use and appearance of these may differ greatly between letterforms of different writing styles, however. For examples to compare between, see § Writing styles further down.

Graphemes (зурлага / зурлагын нэр)

Appearance		Names	May appear as / form part of
Image	Text(?)
	ᠡ‍	'Crown' / тит(и/э)м tit(i/e)m / ᠲᠢᠲᠢᠮ titim	all initial vowels (a, e, i, o, u, ö, ü, ē), and some initial consonants (n, m, l, h, etc).
	᠊ᠡ‍	'Tooth' / ацаг atsag / ᠠᠴᠤᠭ ačuγ	a, e, n, ng, q, γ, m, l, d, etc; historically also r.
		'Tooth' / шүд shüd / ᠰᠢᠳᠦ sidü
	᠊᠊	'Spine, backbone' / нуруу nuruu / ᠨᠢᠷᠤᠭᠤ niruγu	the vertical line running through words.
	‍᠊ᠠ	'Tail' / сүүл süül / ᠰᠡᠭᠦᠯ segül	a, e, n, etc. A final connected flourish/swash pointing right.
	᠎ᠠ	[...] / орхиц orkhits / ᠣᠷᠬᠢᠴᠠ orkiča	separated final a or e.
		'Sprinkling, dusting' / цацлага tsatslaga / ᠴᠠᠴᠤᠯᠭ᠎ᠠ(?) čačulγ‑a	lower part of final a or e; the lower part of final g.
	ᠵ‍	'Shin, stick' / шилбэ shilbe / ᠰᠢᠯᠪᠢ silbi	i; initial ö and ü; the upper part of final g; ǰ and y, etc.
		'Straight shin' / шулуун шилбэ shuluun shilbe / ᠰᠢᠯᠤᠭᠤᠨ ᠰᠢᠯᠪᠢ siluγun silbi
		'Long tooth' / урт шүд urt shüd / ᠤᠷᠲᠤ ᠰᠢᠳᠦ urtu sidü
	ᠶ‍	'Shin with upturn' / э(э)тгэр шилбэ e(e)tger shilbe / ᠡᠭᠡᠲᠡᠭᠡᠷ ᠰᠢᠯᠪᠢ egeteger silbi	y.
	ᠸ‍	Shin with downturn / матгар шилбэ matgar shilbe / ᠮᠠᠲᠠᠭᠠᠷ ᠰᠢᠯᠪᠢ mataγar silbi	ē and w.
	ᠷ‍	Horned shin / өргөстэй шилбэ örgöstei shilbe / ᠥᠷᠭᠡᠰᠦᠲᠡᠢ ᠰᠢᠯᠪᠢ örgesütei silbi	r, and historically also the upper part of final g and separated a.
	ᠳ᠋‍	'Looped shin' / гогцоотой шилбэ gogtsootoi shilbe / ᠭᠣᠭᠴᠤᠭᠠᠲᠠᠢ ᠰᠢᠯᠪᠢ γoγčuγatai silbi	t and d.
	ᡁ‍	'Hollow shin' / хөндий шилбэ khöndii shilbe / ᠬᠥᠨᠳᠡᠢ ᠰᠢᠯᠪᠢ köndei silbi	h and zh.
	‍ᠢ	'Bow' / нум num / ᠨᠤᠮᠤ numu	final i, o–ü, and r; ng, b, p, k, g, etc.
	‍᠊ᠣ‍ ‍᠊ᠣ	'Belly, stomach,' loop, contour / гэдэс gedes / ᠭᠡᠳᠡᠰᠦ gedesü	the enclosed part of o–ü, b, p, initial t and d, etc.
	ᠲ‍	'hind-gut' / арын гэдэс aryn gedes / ᠠᠷᠤ ᠶᠢᠨ ᠭᠡᠳᠡᠰᠦ(?) aru‑yin gedesü	initial t and d.
	‍᠊ᠹ‍ ‍ᠽ‍	Flaglet, tuft / зартиг zartig / ᠵᠠᠷᠲᠢᠭ ǰartiγ / Wylie: 'jar-thig	the left-side diacritic of f and z.
	ᠬ	[...] / ятгар зартиг yatgar zartig / [...]	initial q and γ.
	‍᠊ᠮ‍	'Braid, pigtail' / гэзэг gezeg / ᠭᠡᠵᠢᠭᠡ geǰige	m.
		'Horn' / эвэр ever / ᠡᠪᠡᠷ eber
	‍᠊ᠯ‍	'Horn' / эвэр ever / ᠡᠪᠡᠷ eber	l.
		'Braid, pigtail' / гэзэг gezeg / ᠭᠡᠵᠢᠭᠡ geǰige
	‍᠊ᠰ‍	'Corner of the mouth' / зав(и/ь)ж zavij / ᠵᠠᠪᠠᠵᠢ ǰabaǰi	s and š.
	‍ᠴ‍	[...] / сэрээ эвэр seree ever / ᠰᠡᠷᠡᠭᠡ ᠡᠪᠡᠷ serege eber	č.
		'Fork' / ац ats / ᠠᠴᠠ ača
	‍ᠵ‍	[...] / жалжгар эвэр jaljgar ever / [...]	ǰ.
		'Tusk, fang' / соёо soyoo / ᠰᠣᠶᠤᠭ᠎ᠠ(?) soyuγ‑a

Vowels

ᠠ

Letter
‑a	a	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
‑а	а	Cyrillic transliteration
—	ᠠ	Isolate
	ᠠ‍	Word-initial
	‍ᠠ‍	Medial
	‍ᠠ	Connected final
᠎ᠠ(?) ⟨⟩	—	Separated final

Ligatures
ba	pa	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
ба	па	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠪᠠ	ᠫᠠ	Isolate
ᠪᠠ‍	ᠫᠠ‍	Word-initial
‍ᠪᠠ‍	‍ᠫᠠ‍	Medial
‍ᠪᠠ	‍ᠫᠠ	Final

Separated suffixes
‑a	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
‑а	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠠ‍(?) ⟨⟩	Separated suffix-initial
ᠠ(?) ⟨⟩	Separated suffix

• Transcribes Chakhar /ɑ/; Khalkha /a/, /ə/, and /∅/.
• ‍ᠠ᠋^(?) ⟨⟩ = connected galik final.
• Medial and final forms may be distinguished from those of other tooth-shaped letters through: vowel harmony (e), the shape of adjacent consonants (see QA-q/k and GA-γ/g below), and position in syllable sequence (n, ng, q, γ, d).
• The final tail extends to the left after bow-shaped consonants (such as b, p, f, KA-g, and KHA-k), and to the right in all other cases.
• Derived from Old Uyghur aleph, written twice for isolate and initial forms.
• Produced with A using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

ᠡ

Letter
‑e	e	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
‑э	э	Cyrillic transliteration
—	ᠡ	Isolate
	ᠡ‍	Word-initial
	‍ᠡ‍	Medial
	‍ᠡ	Connected final
᠎ᠡ(?) ⟨⟩	—	Separated final

Ligatures
be	pe	ke	ge	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
бэ	пэ	хэ	гэ	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠪᠡ	ᠫᠡ	ᠬᠡ		Isolate
ᠪᠡ‍	ᠫᠡ‍	ᠬᠡ‍		Word-initial
‍ᠪᠡ‍	‍ᠫᠡ‍	‍ᠬᠡ‍		Medial
‍ᠪᠡ	‍ᠫᠡ	‍ᠬᠡ		Final

Separated suffixes
‑e	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
‑э	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠡ‍	Separated suffix-initial
ᠡ(?) ⟨⟩	Separated suffix

• Transcribes Chakhar /ə/; Khalkha /i/, /e/, /ə/, and /∅/.
• Medial and final forms may be distinguished from those of other tooth-shaped letters through: vowel harmony (a) and its effect on the shape of a words consonants (see QA-q/k and GA-γ/g below), or position in syllable sequence (n, ng, d).
• ᠡ᠋‍ = a traditional initial form.
• The final tail extends to the left after bow-shaped consonants (such as b, p, QA-k, and GA-g), and to the right in all other cases.
• Derived from Old Uyghur aleph.
• Produced with E using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

ᠢ

Letter
i	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
и	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠢ	Isolate
ᠢ‍	Word-initial
‍ᠢ‍	Medial (syllable-initial)
	Medial (syllable-final)
‍ᠢ	Final

Ligatures
bi	pi	ki	gi	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
би	пи	хи	ги	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠪᠢ	ᠫᠢ	ᠬᠢ		Isolate
ᠪᠢ‍	ᠫᠢ‍	ᠬᠢ‍		Word-initial
‍ᠪᠢ‍	‍ᠫᠢ‍	‍ᠬᠢ‍		Medial
‍ᠪᠢ	‍ᠫᠢ	‍ᠬᠢ		Final

Separated suffixes
‑i	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
‑и	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠢ‍(?) ⟨⟩	Separated suffix-initial
ᠢ(?) ⟨⟩	Separated suffix

• Transcribes Chakhar /i/ or /ɪ/; Khalkha /i/, /ə/, and /∅/.
• Today often absorbed into a preceding syllable when at the end of a word.
• Written medially with the single stroke after a consonant, and with two after a vowel (with rare exceptions like ᠨᠠ‍ᠢ‍ᠮᠠ naima 'eight' or ᠨᠠ‍ᠢ‍ᠮᠠᠨ naiman 'eight'/tribal name).
• ‍ᠢ᠋‍ = a handwritten Inner Mongolian variant on the sequence yi (as in ᠰᠠᠶ᠋ᠢᠨ / ᠰᠠᠶᠢᠨ sayin 'good' being written ᠰᠠᠢ᠋ᠨ sain).
• Derived from Old Uyghur yodh, preceded by an aleph for isolate and initial forms.
• Produced with I using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

ᠣ

Letter
o	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
о	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠣ	Isolate
ᠣ‍	Word-initial
‍ᠣ‍	Medial
‍ᠣ	Final

Ligatures
bo	po	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
бо	по	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠪᠣ	ᠫᠣ	Isolate
ᠪᠣ‍	ᠫᠣ‍	Word-initial
‍ᠪᠣ‍	‍ᠫᠣ‍	Medial
‍ᠪᠣ	‍ᠫᠣ	Final

• Transcribes Chakhar /ɔ/; Khalkha /ɔ/, /ə/, and /∅/.
• Undistinguishable from u in native words, except when inferred by its placement.
• ‍ᠣ᠋ = the final form used in loanwords (as in ᠷᠠᠳᠢᠣ᠋ radio).
• Derived from Old Uyghur waw, preceded by an aleph for isolate and initial forms.
• Produced with W using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

ᠤ

Letter
u	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
у	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠤ	Isolate
ᠤ‍	Word-initial
‍ᠤ‍	Medial
‍ᠤ	Final

Ligatures
bu	pu	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
бу	пу	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠪᠤ	ᠫᠤ	Isolate
ᠪᠤ‍	ᠫᠤ‍	Word-initial
‍ᠪᠤ‍	‍ᠫᠤ‍	Medial
‍ᠪᠤ	‍ᠫᠤ	Final

Separated suffixes
‑u	‑u	‑un	‑ud	‑uruγu	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
‑у	‑у	‑ун	‑уд	‑уругу	Cyrillic transliteration
	ᠤ(?)	—	—	—	Suffix
	—	ᠤᠨ(?)	ᠤᠳ(?)
		—	—	ᠤᠷᠤᠭᠤ(?)

• Transcribes Chakhar /ʊ/; Khalkha /ʊ/, /ə/, and /∅/.
• Undistinguishable from o in native words, except when inferred by its placement.
• Derived from Old Uyghur waw, preceded by an aleph for isolate and initial forms.
• Produced with V using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

ᠥ

Letter
ö	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
ө	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠥ	Isolate
ᠥ‍	Word-initial
‍ᠥ᠋‍	Medial (word-initial syllable)
‍ᠥ‍	Medial (subsequent syllables)
‍ᠥ	Final

Ligatures
bö	pö	kö	gö	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
бө	пө	хө	гө	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠪᠥ	ᠫᠥ	ᠭᠥ(?) (w/o tail)		Isolate
		ᠭᠥ᠋(?) (w/ tail)
ᠪᠥ‍	ᠫᠥ‍	ᠭᠥ‍		Word-initial
‍ᠪᠥ‍	‍ᠫᠥ‍	‍ᠭᠥ‍		Medial
‍ᠪᠥ	‍ᠫᠥ	‍ᠭᠥ		Final

• Transcribes Chakhar /o/; Khalkha /o/[ɵ], /ə/, and /∅/.
• Undistinguishable from ü in native words, except when inferred by its placement.
• ‍ᠥ᠋ = an alternative final form; also used in loanwords.
• The first medial form is used in the first syllable of native words, and in subsequent medial positions of loanwords.
• Derived from Old Uyghur waw, followed by a yodh in word-initial syllables, and preceded by an aleph for isolate and initial forms.
• Produced with O using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

ᠦ

Letter
ü	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
ү	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠦ	Isolate
ᠦ‍	Word-initial
‍ᠦ᠋‍	Medial (word-initial syllable)
‍ᠦ‍	Medial (subsequent syllables)
‍ᠦ	Final

Ligatures
bü	pü	kü	gü	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
бү	пү	хү	гү	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠪᠦ	ᠫᠦ	ᠭᠦ(?) (w/o tail)		Isolate
		ᠭᠦ᠋(?) (w/ tail)
ᠪᠦ‍	ᠫᠦ‍	ᠭᠦ‍		Word-initial
‍ᠪᠦ‍	‍ᠫᠦ‍	‍ᠭᠦ‍		Medial
‍ᠪᠦ	‍ᠫᠦ	‍ᠭᠦ		Final

Separated suffixes
‑ü	‑ü	‑ün	‑ügei	‑üd	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
‑ү	‑ү	‑үн	‑үгэи	‑үд	Cyrillic transliteration
	ᠦ(?)	—	—	—	Suffix
	—	ᠦᠨ(?)		ᠦᠳ(?)
		—	ᠦᠭᠡᠢ(?)	—

• Transcribes Chakhar /u/; Khalkha /u/, /ə/, and /∅/.
• Undistinguishable from ö in native words, except when inferred by its placement.
• ‍ᠦ᠋ = an alternative final form; also used in loanwords. Additionally used in native and modern Mongolian ᠰᠦ᠋^(?) sü 'milk' (Classical Mongolian ᠰᠦ^(?) sü or ᠰᠦᠨ sün).
• The first medial form is used in the first syllable of native words, and in subsequent medial positions of loanwords.
• Derived from Old Uyghur waw, followed by a yodh in word-initial syllables, and preceded by an aleph for isolate and initial forms.
• Produced with U using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

ᠧ

Letter
ē	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
е	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠧ	Isolate
ᠧ‍	Word-initial
‍ᠧ‍	Medial
‍ᠧ	Final

Example ligatures
fē	gē	kē	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
фе	ке	ке	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠹᠧ	ᠺᠧ	ᠻᠧ	Isolate
ᠹᠧ‍	ᠺᠧ‍	ᠻᠧ‍	Word-initial
‍ᠹᠧ‍	‍ᠺᠧ‍	‍ᠻᠧ‍	Medial
‍ᠹᠧ	‍ᠺᠧ	‍ᠻᠧ	Final

• Stands in for e in loanwords, as in ᠧᠦ᠋ᠷᠣᠫᠠ ēüropa / европ yevrop.
• Produced with ⇧ Shift+E using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

Consecutive vowels

Doubled vowels
ii	oo	uu	üü	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
ии	оо	уу	үү	Cyrillic transliteration
—	—	ᠤᠤ(?) ⟨⟩		Isolate
		ᠤᠤ‍	—	Word-initial
‍ᠢᠢ‍	‍ᠣᠣ‍			Medial
—	—	‍ᠤᠤ		Final

• The doubled vowels ii, uu, and üü mark these as long. Medial oo is instead both used in a few words to mark the vowel as short, and to distinguish it from u.

Diphthongs
[...]i	ai	ei	ii	oi	ui	—	üi	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
[...]и	аи	эи	ии	ои	уи	—	үи	Cyrillic transliteration
	ᠠᡳ᠌‍	ᠡᡳ᠌‍	—	ᠣᡳ᠌‍				Word-initial
	‍ᠠᡳ᠌‍		—	‍ᠣᡳ᠌‍				Medial
	‍ᠠᠢ		—	‍ᠣᠢ				Final

Diphthongs, continued
au	eü	u‑a	uu‑a	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
ау	эү	у‑а	уу‑а	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠠᠤ‍	—	—	—	Word-initial
‍ᠠᠤ‍				Medial
—		‍ᠤ᠎ᠠ(?) ⟨ ⟩	‍ᠤᠤ᠎ᠠ(?)	Final

Native consonants

ᠨ

Letter
n	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
н	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠨ‍	Word-initial
‍ᠨ᠋‍(?) ⟨⟩	Medial (syllable-initial)
‍ᠨ‍(?) ⟨⟩	Medial (syllable-final)
‍ᠨ	Final

C-V syllables
n‑a	n‑e	na	ne	ni	no	nu	nö	nü	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
н‑а	н‑э	на	нэ	ни	но	ну	нө	нү	Cyrillic transliteration
—		ᠨᠠ		ᠨᠢ	ᠨᠣ᠋		ᠨᠥ᠋		Isolate
		ᠨᠠ‍		ᠨᠢ‍	ᠨᠣ‍		ᠨᠥ‍		Word-initial
		‍ᠨᠠ‍		‍ᠨᠢ‍	‍ᠨᠣ‍				Medial
‍ᠨ᠎ᠠ(?) ⟨ ⟩		‍ᠨᠠ		‍ᠨᠢ	‍ᠨᠣ				Final

Separated suffixes
‑na	‑ne	‑nu	‑nü	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
‑на	‑нэ	‑ну	‑нү	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠨᠠ‍		ᠨᠤ‍		Suffix-initial

• Transcribes Chakhar /n/; Khalkha /n/, and /ŋ/.
• Distinction from other tooth-shaped letters by position in syllable sequence.
• Dotted before a vowel (attached or separated); undotted before a consonant (syllable-final) or a whitespace. Final dotted n is also found in modern Mongolian words.
• Derived from Old Uyghur nun.
• Produced with N using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

ᠩ

Letter
ng	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
нг	Cyrillic transliteration
—	Word-initial
—	Medial (syllable-initial)
‍ᠩ‍	Medial (syllable-final)
‍ᠩ	Final

• Transcribes Chakhar /ŋ/; Khalkha /ŋ/.
• Transcribes /ng/ in Tibetan ང /nga/; Sanskrit ङ /ṅa/.
• Derived from Old Uyghur nun-kaph digraph.
• Produced with ⇧ Shift+N using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

ᠪ

Letter
b	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
б	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠪ‍	Word-initial
‍ᠪ‍	Medial (syllable-initial)
	Medial (syllable-final)
‍ᠪ	Final

C-V syllables
ba	be	bi	bo	bu	bö	bü	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
ба	бэ	би	бо	бу	бө	бү	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠪᠠ		ᠪᠢ	ᠪᠣ		ᠪᠥ᠋		Isolate
ᠪᠠ‍		ᠪᠢ‍	ᠪᠣ‍		ᠪᠥ‍		Word-initial
‍ᠪᠠ‍		‍ᠪᠢ‍	‍ᠪᠣ‍				Medial
‍ᠪᠠ		‍ᠪᠢ	‍ᠪᠣ				Final

Separated suffixes
‑ban	‑ben	‑bar	‑ber	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
‑бан	‑бэн	‑бар	‑бэр	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠪᠠᠨ		ᠪᠠᠷ		Suffixes

• Transcribes Chakhar /b/; Khalkha /p/, /w/, and /∅/.
• For Classical Mongolian, Latin v is used only for transcribing foreign words, so most в (v) in Mongolian Cyrillic correspond to б (b) in Classical Mongolian.
• Derived from Old Uyghur pe.
• Produced with B using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

ᠫ

Letter
p	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
п	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠫ‍	Word-initial
‍ᠫ‍	Medial (syllable-initial)
—	Medial (syllable-final)
(‍ᠫ)	Final

C-V syllables
pa	pe	pi	po	pu	pö	pü	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
па	пэ	пи	по	пу	пө	пү	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠫᠠ		ᠫᠢ	ᠫᠣ		ᠫᠥ᠋		Isolate
ᠫᠠ‍		ᠫᠢ‍	ᠫᠣ‍		ᠫᠥ‍		Word-initial
‍ᠫᠠ‍		‍ᠫᠢ‍	‍ᠫᠣ‍				Medial
‍ᠫᠠ		‍ᠫᠢ	‍ᠫᠣ				Final

• Transcribes Chakhar /p/; Khalkha /pʰ/.
• Only at the beginning of Mongolian words (although words with an initial p tend to be foreign).
• Transcribes /p/ in Tibetan པ /pa/.
• Galik letter, derived from Mongolian b.
• Produced with P using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

ᠬ (1/2)

Letter
q	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
х	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠬ	Word-initial
‍ᠬ‍	Medial (syllable-initial)
—	Medial (syllable-final)
—	Final

C-V syllables
q‑a	q‑e	qa	qe	qi	qo	qu	qö	qü	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
х‑а	х‑э	ха	хэ	хи	хо	ху	хө	хү	Cyrillic transliteration
—		ᠬᠠ	—		ᠬᠣ᠋		—		Isolate
—		ᠬᠠ‍	—		ᠬᠣ‍		—		Word-initial
—		‍ᠬᠠ‍	—		‍ᠬᠣ‍		—		Medial
‍ᠬ᠎ᠠ(?) ⟨ ⟩	—				‍ᠬᠣ		—		Final

• Transcribes Chakhar /x/; Khalkha /x/.
• Distinction from other tooth-shaped letters by position in syllable sequence.
• Derived from Old Uyghur merged gimel and heth.
• Produced with H using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

ᠬ (2/2)

Letter
k	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
х	Cyrillic transliteration
	Word-initial
	Medial (syllable-initial)
—	Medial (syllable-final)
—	Final

C-V syllables
ka	ke	ki	ko	ku	kö	kü	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
ха	хэ	хи	хо	ху	хө	хү	Cyrillic transliteration
—	ᠬᠡ	ᠬᠢ	—		ᠬᠥ(?) (w/o tail)		Isolate
					ᠬᠥ᠋(?) (w/ tail)
—	ᠬᠡ‍	ᠬᠢ‍	—		ᠬᠥ‍		Word-initial
—	‍ᠬᠡ‍	‍ᠬᠢ‍	—		‍ᠬᠥ‍		Medial
—	‍ᠬᠡ	‍ᠬᠢ	—		‍ᠬᠥ		Final

Separated suffixes
‑ki	‑kin	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
‑хи	‑хин	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠬᠢ	ᠬᠢᠨ	Suffixes

• Transcribes Chakhar /x/; Khalkha /x/.
• Syllable-initially undistinguishable from g.
• Derived from Old Uyghur kaph.
• Produced with H using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

ᠭ (1/2)

Letter
γ	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
г	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠭ	Word-initial
‍ᠭ᠋‍(?) ⟨⟩	Medial (syllable-initial)
‍ᠭ‍(?) ⟨⟩	Medial (syllable-final)
‍ᠭ	Final

C-V syllables
γ‑a	γ‑e	γa	γe	γi	γo	γu	γö	γü	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
г‑а	г‑э	га	гэ	ги	го	гу	гө	гү	Cyrillic transliteration
—		ᠭᠠ	—		ᠭᠣ᠋		—		Isolate
—		ᠭᠠ‍	—		ᠭᠣ‍		—		Word-initial
—		‍ᠭᠠ‍	—		‍ᠭᠣ‍		—		Medial
‍ᠭ᠎ᠠ(?) ⟨ ⟩	—				‍ᠭᠣ		—		Final

• Transcribes Chakhar /ɣ/; Khalkha /ɢ/, and /∅/.
• Dotted before a vowel (attached or separated); undotted before a consonant (syllable-final) or a whitespace.
• May turn silent between two adjacent vowels, and merge these into a long vowel or diphthong. Qaγan (ᠬᠠᠭᠠᠨ) 'Khagan' for instance, is read as Qaan unless reading classical literary Mongolian. Some exceptions like tsa-g-aan 'white' exist.
• Derived from Old Uyghur merged gimel and heth.
• Produced with G using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

ᠭ (2/2)

Letter
g	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
г	Cyrillic transliteration
(⟨⟩)	Word-initial
‍ᠭ᠍‍(?) ⟨⟩	Medial (syllable-initial)
	Medial (syllable-final)
‍ᠭ᠋(?) ⟨⟩	Final

C-V syllables
gа	ge	gi	go	gu	gö	gü	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
га	гэ	ги	го	гу	гө	гү	Cyrillic transliteration
—	ᠭᠡ	ᠭᠢ	—		ᠭᠥ(?) (w/o tail)		Isolate
					ᠭᠥ᠋ (w/ tail)
—	ᠭᠡ‍	ᠭᠢ‍	—		ᠭᠥ‍		Word-initial
—	‍ᠭᠡ‍	‍ᠭᠢ‍	—		‍ᠭᠥ‍		Medial
—	‍ᠭᠡ	‍ᠬᠢ	—		‍ᠭᠥ		Final

• Transcribes Chakhar /g/; Khalkha /g/.
• Syllable-initially undistinguishable from k. When it must be distinguished from k medially, it can be written twice (as in ᠥᠭᠭᠦᠭᠰᠡᠨ öggügsen 'given', compared with ᠦᠬᠦᠭᠰᠡᠨ ükügsen 'dead').
• Occurs word-initially with a consonant following it in loanwords, such as ᠭᠱᠠᠨ^(?) gšan 'moment' (dotless š example), or ᠭᠷᠠᠮᠮ^(?) gramm 'gram'. The final form is also found written like the bow-shaped Manchu final ‍ᡴ᠋ k.
• May turn silent between two adjacent vowels, and merge these into a long vowel or diphthong. Deger for instance, is read as deer. Some exceptions like ügüi 'no' exist.
• Derived from Old Uyghur kaph.
• Produced with G using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

ᠮ

Letter
m	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
м	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠮ‍	Word-initial
‍ᠮ‍	Medial (syllable-initial)
	Medial (syllable-final)
‍ᠮ	Final

C-V syllables
m‑a	m‑e	ma	me	mi	mo	mu	mö	mü	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
м‑а	м‑э	ма	мэ	ми	мо	му	мө	мү	Cyrillic transliteration
—		ᠮᠠ		ᠮᠢ	ᠮᠣ᠋		ᠮᠥ᠋		Isolate
		ᠮᠠ‍		ᠮᠢ‍	ᠮᠣ‍		ᠮᠥ‍		Word-initial
		‍ᠮᠠ‍		‍ᠮᠢ‍	‍ᠮᠣ‍				Medial
‍ᠮ᠎ᠠ(?) ⟨ ⟩		‍ᠮᠠ		‍ᠮᠢ	‍ᠮᠣ				Final

• Transcribes Chakhar /m/; Khalkha /m/.
• Derived from Old Uyghur mem.
• Produced with M using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

ᠯ

Letter
l	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
л	Cyrillic transliteration
(ᠯ‍)	Word-initial
‍ᠯ‍	Medial (syllable-initial)
	Medial (syllable-final)
‍ᠯ	Final

C-V syllables
l‑a	l‑e	la	le	li	lo	lu	lö	lü	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
л‑а	л‑э	ла	лэ	ли	ло	лу	лө	лү	Cyrillic transliteration
—		ᠯᠠ		ᠯᠢ	ᠯᠣ᠋		ᠯᠥ᠋		Isolate
		ᠯᠠ‍		ᠯᠢ‍	ᠯᠣ‍		ᠯᠥ‍		Word-initial
		‍ᠯᠠ‍		‍ᠯᠢ‍	‍ᠯᠣ‍				Medial
‍ᠯ᠎ᠠ(?) ⟨ ⟩		‍ᠯᠠ		‍ᠯᠢ	‍ᠯᠣ				Final

Separated suffixes
‑lu	‑lü	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
‑лу	‑лү	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠯᠤ‍		Suffix-initial

• Transcribes Chakhar /l/; Khalkha /ɮ/.
• Not occurring word-initially in native words.
• Forms a ligature with a preceding "bow"-shaped consonant in loanwords such as ᠪᠯᠠᠮ᠎ᠠ^(?) blam-a 'lama' from Tibetan བླ་མ་ Wylie: bla-ma.
• Derived from Old Uyghur hooked resh.
• Produced with L using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

ᠰ

Letter
s	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
с	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠰ‍	Word-initial
‍ᠰ‍	Medial (syllable-initial)
	Medial (syllable-final)
‍ᠰ	Final

C-V syllables
s‑a	s‑e	sa	se	si	so	su	sö	sü	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
с‑а	с‑э	са	сэ	си	со	су	сө	сү	Cyrillic transliteration
—		ᠰᠠ		ᠰᠢ	ᠰᠣ᠋		ᠰᠥ᠋		Isolate
		ᠰᠠ‍		ᠰᠢ‍	ᠰᠣ‍		ᠰᠥ‍		Word-initial
		‍ᠰᠠ‍		‍ᠰᠢ‍	‍ᠰᠣ‍				Medial
‍ᠰ᠎ᠠ(?) ⟨ ⟩		‍ᠰᠠ		‍ᠰᠢ	‍ᠰᠣ				Final

• Transcribes Chakhar /s/, or /ʃ/ before i; Khalkha /s/, or /ʃ/ before i. Before a morpheme boundary however, there is no change of s to /ʃ/ before an i.
• Derived from Old Uyghur merged samekh and shin.
• Produced with S using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

ᠱ

Letter
š	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
ш	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠱ‍	Word-initial
‍ᠱ‍	Medial (syllable-initial)
	Medial (syllable-final)
(‍ᠱ)	Final

C-V syllables
ša	še	ši	šo	šu	šö	šü	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
ша	шэ	ши	шо	шу	шө	шү	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠱᠠ		ᠱᠢ	ᠱᠣ᠋		ᠱᠥ᠋		Isolate
ᠱᠠ‍		ᠱᠢ‍	ᠱᠣ‍		ᠱᠥ‍		Word-initial
‍ᠱᠠ‍		‍ᠱᠢ‍	‍ᠱᠣ‍				Medial
‍ᠱᠠ		‍ᠱᠢ	‍ᠱᠣ				Final

• Transcribes Chakhar /ʃ/; Khalkha /ʃ/.
• Final š is only found in modern Mongolian words.
• Derived from Old Uyghur merged samekh and shin.
• Produced with X using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

ᠲ

Letter
t	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
т	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠲ‍	Word-initial
‍ᠲ‍	Medial (syllable-initial)
—	Medial (syllable-final)
—	Final

C-V syllables
ta	te	ti	to	tu	tö	tü	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
та	тэ	ти	то	ту	тө	тү	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠲᠠ		ᠲᠢ	ᠲᠣ᠋		ᠲᠥ᠋		Isolate
ᠲᠠ‍		ᠲᠢ‍	ᠲᠣ‍		ᠲᠥ‍		Word-initial
‍ᠲᠠ‍		‍ᠲᠢ‍	‍ᠲᠣ‍				Medial
‍ᠲᠠ		‍ᠲᠢ	‍ᠲᠣ				Final

Separated suffixes
‑ta	‑te	‑tu	‑tü	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
‑та	‑тэ	‑ту	‑тү	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠲᠠ‍		ᠲᠤ‍		Suffix-initial

• Transcribes Chakhar /t/; Khalkha /t/.
• Syllable-initially undistinguishable from d in native words.
• Derived from Old Uyghur taw (initial) and lamedh (medial).
• Positional variants on taw ⟨ᠲ‍/‍ᠲ᠋‍/‍ᠲ⟩ are used consistently for t in foreign words.
• Produced with T using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

ᠳ

Letter
d	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
д	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠳ‍	Word-initial
‍ᠳ᠋‍(?) ⟨⟩	Medial (syllable-initial)
‍ᠳ‍(?) ⟨⟩	Medial (syllable-final)
‍ᠳ	Final

C-V syllables
da	de	di	do	du	dö	dü	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
да	дэ	ди	до	ду	дө	дү	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠳᠠ		ᠳᠢ	ᠳᠣ᠋		ᠳᠥ᠋		Isolate
ᠳ᠋ᠠ		ᠳ᠋ᠢ	ᠳ᠋ᠣ᠋		ᠳ᠋ᠥ᠋
ᠳᠠ‍		ᠳᠢ‍	ᠳᠣ‍		ᠳᠥ‍		Word-initial
‍ᠳᠠ‍		‍ᠳᠢ‍	‍ᠳᠣ‍				Medial
‍ᠳᠠ		‍ᠳᠢ	‍ᠳᠣ				Final

Separated suffixes
‑d	‑da	‑de	‑du	‑dü	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
‑д	‑да	‑дэ	‑ду	‑дү	Cyrillic transliteration
	ᠳᠠ‍(?)		ᠳᠤ‍(?)		Suffix-initial

• Transcribes Chakhar /d/; Khalkha /t/, and /tʰ/.
• Syllable-initially undistinguishable from t in native words. When it must be distinguished from t medially, it can be written twice, and with both medial forms (as in ᠬᠤᠳᠳᠤᠭ qudduγ 'well', compared with ᠬᠤᠲᠤᠭ qutuγ 'holy'). Alternatively, a dot can be used to the right of the letter (as in sedkil 'thought').
• The belly-tooth-shaped form is used before consonants (syllable-final), the other before vowels.
• Derived from Old Uyghur taw (initial, belly-tooth-shaped medial, and final) and lamedh (other medial form).
• Positional variants on lamedh ⟨ᠳ᠋‍/‍ᠲ‍/‍ᠳ᠋⟩ are used consistently for d in foreign words. (As in ᠳ᠋ᠧᠩ dēng / дэн den, ᠳᠡᠳ᠋ ded / дэд ded, or ᠡᠳ᠋ ed / эд ed).
• Produced with D using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

ᠴ

Letter
č	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
ч	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠴ‍	Word-initial
‍ᠴ‍	Medial (syllable-initial)
—	Medial (syllable-final)
(‍ᠴ)	Final

C-V syllables
ča	če	či	čo	ču	čö	čü	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
ча	чэ	чи	чо	чу	чө	чү	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠴᠠ		ᠴᠢ	ᠴᠣ᠋	ᠴᠤ	ᠴᠥ᠋		Isolate
ᠴᠠ‍		ᠴᠢ‍	ᠴᠣ‍		ᠴᠥ‍		Word-initial
‍ᠴᠠ‍		‍ᠴᠢ‍	‍ᠴᠣ‍				Medial
‍ᠴᠠ		‍ᠴᠢ	‍ᠴᠣ				Final

• Transcribes Chakhar /t͡ʃ/; Khalkha /t͡ʃʰ/, and /t͡sʰ/ (Mongolian Cyrillic ч, and ц, respectively).
• In Buryat, a derived letter with two dots on the right ⟨ᡸ⟩ was used in places where č was pronounced as š.
• Derived from Old Uyghur (through early Mongolian) tsade.
• Produced with Q using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

ᠵ

Letter
ǰ	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
ж	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠵ‍	Word-initial
‍ᠵ‍	Medial (syllable-initial)
—	Medial (syllable-final)
(‍ᠵ)	Final

C-V syllables
ǰ‑a	ǰ‑e	ǰa	ǰe	ǰi	ǰo	ǰu	ǰö	ǰü	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
ж‑а	ж‑э	жа	жэ	жи	жо	жу	жө	жү	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠵ᠎ᠠ(?) ⟨ ⟩		ᠵᠠ		ᠵᠢ	ᠵᠣ᠋		ᠵᠥ᠋		Isolate
—		ᠵᠠ‍		ᠵᠢ‍	ᠵᠣ‍		ᠵᠥ‍		Word-initial
		‍ᠵᠠ‍		‍ᠵᠢ‍	‍ᠵᠣ‍				Medial
		‍ᠵᠠ		‍ᠵᠢ	‍ᠵᠣ				Final

• Transcribes Chakhar /d͡ʒ/; Khalkha /d͡ʒ/, and d͡z (Mongolian Cyrillic ж, and з, respectively).
• Derived from Old Uyghur yodh (initial), and Old Uyghur (through early Mongolian) tsade (medial).
• Produced with J using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

ᠶ

Letter
y	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
й	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠶ‍(?) ⟨⟩	Word-initial
ᠶ᠋‍(?) ⟨⟩
‍ᠶ‍(?) ⟨⟩	Medial (syllable-initial)
‍ᠶ᠋‍(?) ⟨⟩
—	Medial (syllable-final)
—	Final

C-V syllables
y‑a	y‑e	ya	ye	yi	yo	yu	yö	yü	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
й‑а	й‑э	йа	йэ	йи	йо	йу	йө	йү	Cyrillic transliteration
—		ᠶᠠ		ᠶᠢ	ᠶᠣ᠋		ᠶᠥ᠋		Isolate
		ᠶᠠ‍		ᠶᠢ‍	ᠶᠣ‍		ᠶᠥ‍		Word-initial
		‍ᠶᠠ‍		‍ᠶᠢ‍	‍ᠶᠣ‍				Medial
‍ᠶ᠎ᠠ(?) ⟨ ⟩		‍ᠶᠠ		‍ᠶᠢ	‍ᠶᠣ				Final

Separated suffixes
‑y	‑yi	‑yin	‑yuγan	‑yügen	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
‑й	‑йи	‑йин	‑йуган	‑йүгэн	Cyrillic transliteration
	ᠶᠢ(?)	ᠶᠢᠨ(?)	—		Suffixes
	—		ᠶᠤᠭᠠᠨ	ᠶᠦᠭᠡᠨ(?)

• Transcribes Chakhar /j/; Khalkha /j/.
• The unhooked initial and medial forms are older ones.
• Derived from Old Uyghur yodh, through borrowed Manchu hooked yodh.
• Produced with Y using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

ᠷ

Letter
r	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
р	Cyrillic transliteration
(ᠷ‍)	Word-initial
‍ᠷ‍	Medial (syllable-initial)
	Medial (syllable-final)
‍ᠷ	Final

C-V syllables
r‑a	r‑e	ra	re	ri	ro	ru	rö	rü	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
р‑а	р‑э	ра	рэ	ри	ро	ру	рө	рү	Cyrillic transliteration
—		ᠷᠠ		ᠷᠢ	ᠷᠣ᠋		ᠷᠥ᠋		Isolate
		ᠷᠠ‍		ᠷᠢ‍	ᠷᠣ‍		ᠷᠥ‍		Word-initial
		‍ᠷᠠ‍		‍ᠷᠢ‍	‍ᠷᠣ‍				Medial
‍ᠷ᠎ᠠ(?) ⟨ ⟩		‍ᠷᠠ		‍ᠷᠢ	‍ᠷᠣ				Final

• Transcribes Chakhar /r/; Khalkha /r/.
• Not occurring word-initially except in loanwords. Transcribed foreign words usually get a vowel prepended; transcribing Русь (Russia) results in ᠣᠷᠤᠰ Oros.
• Derived from Old Uyghur resh.
• Produced with R using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

Foreign consonants

A KFC in Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia, China, with a trilingual sign in Chinese, Mongolian and English

From left to right : Phagspa, Lantsa, Tibetan, Mongolian, Chinese and Cyrillic

ᠸ

Letter
w	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
в	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠸ‍	Word-initial
‍ᠸ‍	Medial (syllable-initial)
	Medial (syllable-final)
‍ᠸ(?) ⟨‍ᠧ⟩	Final

C-V syllables
w‑a	w‑e	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
в‑а	в‑э	Cyrillic transliteration
‍ᠸ᠎ᠠ(?) ⟨ ⟩		Final

• Transcribes Chakhar /w/;
• Used to transcribe foreign words (originally for v in Sanskrit व /va/). Transcribes /w/ in Tibetan ཝ /wa/; Old Uyghur and Chinese loanwords.
• Derived from Old Uyghur bet, and "waw" (before a separated vowel).
• Produced with ⇧ Shift+W using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

ᠹ

Letter
f	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
ф	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠹ‍	Word-initial
‍ᠹ‍	Medial
‍ᠹ	Final

Ligatures
fa	fē	fi	fo	fü	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
фа	фе	фи	фо	фү	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠹᠠ	ᠹᠧ	ᠹᠢ	ᠹᠣ	ᠹᠦ᠋	Isolate
ᠹᠠ‍	ᠹᠧ‍	ᠹᠢ‍	ᠹᠣ‍	ᠹᠦ‍	Word-initial
‍ᠹᠠ‍	‍ᠹᠧ‍	‍ᠹᠢ‍	‍ᠹᠣ‍	‍ᠹᠦ᠋‍	Medial
‍ᠹᠠ	‍ᠹᠧ	‍ᠹᠢ	‍ᠹᠣ	‍ᠹᠦ᠋	Final

• Transcribes Chakhar /f/;
• Used to transcribe foreign words.
• Transcribes /pʰ/ in Tibetan ཕ /pʰa/.
• Galik letter, derived from Mongolian b.
• Produced with F using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

ᠺ

Letter
g	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
к	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠺ‍	Word-initial
‍ᠺ‍	Medial
‍ᠺ	Final

Ligatures
ga	gē	gi	go	gü	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
ка	ке	ки	ко	кү	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠺᠠ	ᠺᠧ	ᠺᠢ	ᠺᠣ	ᠺᠦ᠋(?) (w/ tail)	Isolate
ᠺᠠ‍	ᠺᠧ‍	ᠺᠢ‍	ᠺᠣ‍	ᠺᠦ‍	Word-initial
‍ᠺᠠ‍	‍ᠺᠧ‍	‍ᠺᠢ‍	‍ᠺᠣ‍	‍ᠺᠦ᠋‍(?) (w/ yodh)	Medial
‍ᠺᠠ	‍ᠺᠧ	‍ᠺᠢ	‍ᠺᠣ	‍ᠺᠦ᠋(?) (w/ tail)	Final

• Transcribes Chakhar /k/;
• Used to transcribe foreign words (originally for g in Tibetan ག /ga/; Sanskrit ग /ga/).
• Galik letter.
• Produced with K using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

ᠻ

Letter
k	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
к	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠻ‍	Word-initial
‍ᠻ‍	Medial
‍ᠻ	Final

Ligatures
ka	kē	ki	ko	kü	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
ка	ке	ки	ко	кү	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠻᠠ	ᠻᠧ	ᠻᠢ	ᠻᠣ	ᠻᠦ᠋	Isolate
ᠻᠠ‍	ᠻᠧ‍	ᠻᠢ‍	ᠻᠣ‍	ᠻᠦ‍	Word-initial
‍ᠻᠠ‍	‍ᠻᠧ‍	‍ᠻᠢ‍	‍ᠻᠣ‍	‍ᠻᠦ᠋‍	Medial
‍ᠻᠠ	‍ᠻᠧ	‍ᠻᠢ	‍ᠻᠣ	‍ᠻᠦ᠋	Final

• Used to transcribe foreign words (originally for kʰ in Tibetan ཁ /kʰa/; Sanskrit ख /kha/).
• Produced with ⇧ Shift+K using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

ᠼ

Letter
c	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
ц	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠼ‍	Word-initial
‍ᠼ‍	Medial
‍ᠼ	Final

• Transcribes Chakhar /t͡s/;
• Used to transcribe foreign words (originally for tsʰ in Tibetan ཚ /tsʰa/; Sanskrit छ /cha/).
• Galik letter, derived from Preclassical Mongolian tsade č/ǰ ⟨‍ᠴ‍~‍ᠵ‍⟩.
• Produced with C using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

ᠽ

Letter
z	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
з	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠽ‍	Word-initial
‍ᠽ‍	Medial
‍ᠽ	Final

• Transcribes Chakhar /d͡z/;
• Used to transcribe foreign words (originally for dz in Tibetan ཛ /dza/; Sanskrit ज /ja/).
• Galik letter, derived from Preclassical Mongolian tsade č/ǰ ⟨‍ᠴ‍~‍ᠵ‍⟩.
• Produced with Z using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

ᠾ

Letter
h	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
х	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠾ‍	Word-initial
‍ᠾ‍	Medial
‍ᠾ‌	Final

• Transcribes Chakhar /h/[x];
• Used to transcribe foreign words (originally for h in Tibetan ཧ /ha/, ྷ /-ha/; Sanskrit ह /ha/).
• Galik letter, borrowed from the Tibetan alphabet, and preceded by an aleph for initial form.
• Produced with ⇧ Shift+H using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

ᠿ

Letter
ž	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
ж	Cyrillic transliteration
ᠿ‍	Word-initial
—	Medial
—	Final

• Transcribes Chakhar /ʐ/;
• Transcribes Chinese r /ɻ/ ([ɻ ~ ʐ]; as in 日 Ri), and used in Inner Mongolia. Always followed by an i.
• Transliterates /ʒ/ in Tibetan ཞ /ʒa/.
• Produced with ⇧ Shift+R using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

ᡀ

Letter
lh	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
лх	Cyrillic transliteration
ᡀ‍	Word-initial
‍ᡀ‍	Medial
—	Final

• Transcribes Tibetan lh (as in ᡀᠠᠰᠠ Lhasa).
• Digraph composed of ᠯ l and ᠾ h. Transcribes /lh/ in Tibetan ལྷ /lha/.
• Produced with ⇧ Shift+L using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

ᡁ

Letter
zh	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
з	Cyrillic transliteration
ᡁ‍	Word-initial
—	Medial
—	Final

• Transcribes zh in the Chinese syllable zhi only, and used in Inner Mongolia.
• Galik letter, borrowed from the Tibetan alphabet.
• Produced with ⇧ Shift+Z using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

ᡂ

Letter
ch	Scholarly/​Scientific transliteration
ч	Cyrillic transliteration
ᡂ‍	Word-initial
—	Medial
—	Final

• Transcribes ch in the Chinese syllable chi (as in 蚩 Chī), and used in Inner Mongolia.
• Produced with ⇧ Shift+C using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.

Punctuation

Further information: Mongolian Supplement (Unicode block)

Example of word-breaking the name Oyirad 'Oirat', 1604 manuscript

Red (cinnabar) ink is used in many manuscripts, either to symbolize emphasis or respect.

Punctuation

Form(s)	Name	Function(s)
᠀	бярга byarga / ᠪᠢᠷᠭ᠎ᠠ(?) birγ‑a	Marks start of a book, chapter, passage, or first line
᠀᠋
᠀᠌
᠀᠍
[...]
᠁	Цуваа цэг tsuvaa tseg / ᠴᠤᠪᠠᠭ᠎ᠠ ᠴᠡᠭ(?) čubaγ‑a čeg	Ellipsis
᠂	'Dot' / Цэг tseg / ᠴᠡᠭ čeg	Comma
᠃	'Double-dot' / Давхар цэг davkhar tseg / ᠳᠠᠪᠬᠤᠷ ᠴᠡᠭ dabqur čeg	Period / full stop
᠄	Хос цэг	Colon
᠅	'Four-fold/quadripartite dot' / Дөрвөлжин цэг dörvöljin tseg / ᠳᠥᠷᠪᠡᠯᠵᠢᠨ ᠴᠡᠭ dörbelǰin čeg	Marks end of a passage, paragraph, or chapter
᠆		Mongolian soft hyphen
᠊	Нуруу nuruu / ᠨᠢᠷᠤᠭᠤ niruγu	Mongolian non-breaking hyphen, or stem extender
⁈
⁉

Numerals

Main article: Mongolian numerals

Examples of numbers 10 and 89: written horizontally on a stamp and vertically on a hillside, respectively

Mongolian numerals are either written from left to right, or from top to bottom.

0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
᠐	᠑	᠒	᠓	᠔	᠕	᠖	᠗	᠘	᠙

Examples

Writing styles

As exemplified in this section, the shapes of glyphs may vary widely between different styles of writing and choice of medium with which to produce them. The development of written Mongolian can be divided into the three periods of pre-classical (beginning – 17th century), classical (16/17th century – 20th century), and modern (20th century onward):

• Rounded letterforms tend to be more prevalent with handwritten styles (compare printed and handwritten arban 'ten').

Block‑printed		Pen-written form	Modern brush‑​written​ form	Trans­lit­er­a­tion(s) & 'trans­la­tion'
Uyghur Mong. form	semi-modern forms
				arban 'ten'

• Final letterforms with a right-pointing tail (such as those of a, e, n, q, γ, m, l, s, š, and d) may have the notch preceding it in printed form, written in a span between two extremes: from as a more or less tapered point, to a fully rounded curve in handwriting.
• The long final tails of a, e, n, and d in the texts of pre-classical Mongolian can become elongated vertically to fill up the remainder of a line. Such tails are used consistently for these letters in the earliest 13th to 15th century Uyghur Mongolian style of texts.

Block‑printed		Pen-written forms	Modern brush‑​written​ forms	Trans­lit­er­a­tion(s) & 'trans­la­tion'
Uyghur Mong. forms	semi-modern forms
				‑ača/​‑eče
				‑un/​‑ün
				‑ud/​‑üd
				ba 'and'

• A hooked form of yodh was borrowed from the Manchu alphabet in the 19th century to distinguish initial y from ǰ. The handwritten form of final-shaped yodh (i, ǰ, y), can be greatly shortened in comparison with its initial and medial forms.

Block‑printed		Pen-written forms	Modern brush‑​written​ forms	Trans­lit­er­a­tion(s) & 'trans­la­tion'
Uyghur Mong. forms	semi-modern forms
				‑i
				‑yi
				‑yin
				sain/sayin 'good'
				yeke 'great'

• The definite status or function of diacritics were not established prior to classical Mongolian. As such, the dotted letters n, γ, and š, can be found sporadically dotted or altogether lacking them. Additionally, both q and γ could be (double-)dotted to identify them regardless of their sound values. Final dotted n is also found in modern Mongolian words. Any diacritical dots of γ and n can be offset downward from their respective letters (as in ᠭᠣᠣᠯ γool and ᠭᠦᠨ ᠢ^(?) gün‑i).
• When a bow-shaped consonant is followed by a vowel in Uyghur style text, said bow can be found to notably overlap it (see bi). A final b has, in its final pre-modern form, a bow-less final form as opposed to the common modern one:

Block‑printed		Pen-written forms	Modern brush‑​written​ forms	Trans­lit­er­a­tion(s) & 'trans­la­tion'
Uyghur Mong. forms	semi-modern forms
				‑u/​‑ü
				bi 'I'
				ab (intensifying particle)

• As in / kü, köke, ǰüg and separated a/e, two teeth can also make up the top-left part of an kaph (k/g) or aleph (a/e) in pre-classical texts. In back-vocalic words of Uyghur Mongolian, qi was used in place of ki, and can therefore be used to identify this stage of the written language. An example of this appears in the suffix ‑taqi/‑daqi.

Block‑printed		Pen-written forms	Modern brush‑​written​ forms	Trans­lit­er­a­tion(s) & 'trans­la­tion'
Uyghur Mong. forms	semi-modern forms
				‑a/​‑e
				‑luγ‑a
				köke 'blue'
				ǰüg 'direction'

• In pre-modern Mongolian, medial ml (‍ᠮᠯ‍) forms a ligature: .
• A pre-modern variant form for final s consisted of a single tail (‍ᠰ᠋), derived from Old Uyghur zayin. It tended to be replaced by the mouth-shaped form and is no longer used. An early example of it is found in the name of Gengis Khan on the Stele of Yisüngge: ᠴᠢᠩᠭᠢᠰ᠋ Činggis.

Block‑printed		Pen-written forms	Trans­lit­er­a­tion(s) & 'trans­la­tion'
Uyghur Mong. forms	semi-modern forms
			es(‑)e 'not, no', (negation)
			ulus 'nation'

• The lamedh (t or d) may appear simply as an oval loop or looped shin, or as more angular, with an either closed or open counter (as in ‑daki/‑deki or ‑dur/‑dür). As in metü, a Uyghur style word-medial t can sometimes be written with the pre-consonantal form otherwise used for d. Taw was applied to both initial t and d from the outset of the script's adoption. This was done in imitation of Old Uyghur which, however, had lacked the phoneme d in this position.

Block‑printed		Pen-written forms	Modern brush‑​written​ forms	Trans­lit­er­a­tion(s) & 'trans­la­tion'
Uyghur Mong. forms	semi-modern forms
		[...]		toli 'mirror'
			[...]	‑daki/‑deki
			[...]	‑tur/​‑tür
				‑dur/​‑dür
			[...]	metü 'as'

• Initial taw (t/d) and final mem (m) can likewise be found written quite explicitly loopy (as in nom 'book' and toli 'mirror'):

Block-printed Uyghur Mong. form	Block-printed semi-modern form	Pen-written form	Trans­lit­er­a­tion(s) & 'trans­la­tion'
			nom 'book'

• Following the late classical Mongolian orthography of the 17th and 18th centuries, a smooth and angular tsade (‍ᠵ‍ and ᠴ) has come to represent ǰ and č respectively. The tsade before this was used for both these phonemes, regardless of graphical variants, as no ǰ had existed in Old Uyghur:

Block-printed semi-modern form	Pen-written form	Trans­lit­er­a­tion(s) & 'trans­la­tion'
		qačar/γaǰar 'cheek/place'

• As in sara and ‑dur/‑dür, a resh (of r, and sometimes of l) can appear as two teeth or crossed shins; adjacent, angled, attached to a shin and/or overlapping.

Block-printed Uyghur Mong. form	Block-printed semi-modern form	Pen-written form	Modern brush‑​written​ form	Trans­lit­er­a­tion(s) & 'trans­la­tion'
				sara 'moon'

Wikipedia slogan

Manuscript	Type	Unicode	Transliteration (first word)
		ᠸᠢᠺᠢᠫᠧᠳᠢᠶᠠ᠂ ᠴᠢᠯᠦᠭᠡᠲᠦ ᠨᠡᠪᠲᠡᠷᠬᠡᠢ ᠲᠣᠯᠢ ᠪᠢᠴᠢᠭ ᠪᠣᠯᠠᠢ᠃	ᠸᠢ‍ wi/​vi
			‍ᠺᠢ‍ gi/ki
			‍ᠫᠧ‍ pē/pé
			‍ᠲ‍ᠢ‍ di
			‍‍ᠶᠠ ya
Transliteration: Wikipēdiya čilügetü nebterkei toli bičig bolai. Cyrillic: Википедиа чөлөөт нэвтэрхий толь бичиг болой. Transcription: Vikipedia chölööt nevterkhii toli bichig boloi. Gloss: Wikipedia free omni-profound mirror scripture is. Translation: Wikipedia is the free encyclopedia.

Gallery

• 

  Folded script style on the coat of arms of Govisümber Province

• 

  Mongolian calligraphy of the 13th century work Оюун Түлхүүр (Key of Intelligence)

• 

  ''Mandukhai setsen khatan'' (film) title screen, 1988

• 

  Stele for Queen Mandukhai the Wise. See also: Mongolian inscriptions (Wikimedia Commons)

• 

  Cover page with printed hand-lettering in red, early 20th century

• 

  Postage stamp with words augmented with letters from the Manchu alphabet, 1932. See also: Stamps of Mongolia (Commons)

• 

  1 Mongolian tögrög, 1925. See also: Coins with Mongolian script (Commons)

• 

  Mongolian dollar with a long body of printed text, 1921

• 

  Imperial seal of the Bogd Khan, ca 1911. See also: Seals with Mongolian script (Commons)

• 

  Mixed Manchu–Mongolian text on a Paiza.

• 

  Poem composed and brush-written by Injinash, 19th century. See also: Mongolian calligraphy (Commons)

• 

  Mongolian Diamond Sutra manuscript, 19th century. See also: Manuscripts in Mongolian script (Commons)

• 

  Nogeoldae textbook in Korean and Mongolian, 18th century. See also: Documents in Mongolian (Commons)

• 

  Mongolian on the far left of a Yonghe Temple board in Beijing, 1722. See also: Signs in Mongolian script (Commons)

• 

  Letter from the Il-Khan Öljaitü to King Philip IV of France, 1305

• 

  Silver dirham from the reign of the Il-Khan Arghun, 1297

• 

  Imperial seal of Güyük Khan in letter to Pope Innocent IV, 1246

Child systems

The Mongol script has been the basis of alphabets for several languages. First, after overcoming the Uyghur script ductus, it was used for Mongolian itself.

Clear script (Oirat alphabet)

Main article: Clear script

In 1648, the Oirat Buddhist monk Zaya-pandita Namkhaijamco created this variation with the goals of bringing the written language closer to the actual pronunciation of Oirat and making it easier to transcribe Tibetan and Sanskrit. The script was used by the Kalmyks of Russia until 1924, when it was replaced by the Cyrillic alphabet. In Xinjiang, China, the Oirat people still use it.

Manchu alphabet

Main article: Manchu alphabet

The Manchu alphabet was developed from the Mongolian script in the early 17th century to write the Manchu language. A variant is still used to write Xibe. It is also used for Daur. Its folded variant may for example be found on Chinese Qing seals.

Vagindra alphabet

Main article: Vagindra script

Another alphabet, sometimes called Vagindra or Vaghintara, was created in 1905 by the Buryat monk Agvan Dorjiev (1854–1938). It was also meant to reduce ambiguity, and to support the Russian language in addition to Mongolian. The most significant change, however, was the elimination of the positional shape variations. All letters were based on the medial variant of the original Mongol alphabet. Fewer than a dozen books were printed using it.

Evenki alphabet

Main article: Evenki alphabet

The Qing dynasty Qianlong Emperor erroneously identified the Khitan people and their language with the Solons, leading him to use the Solon language (Evenki) to "correct" Chinese character transcriptions of Khitan names in the History of Liao in his "Imperial Liao Jin Yuan Three Histories National Language Explanation" (欽定遼金元三史國語解/钦定辽金元三史国语解 Qīndìng Liáo Jīn Yuán Sānshǐ Guóyǔjiě) project. The Evenki words were written in the Manchu script in this work.

In the 1980s, an experimental alphabet for Evenki was created.

Additional characters

Galik characters

Main article: Galik alphabet

In 1587, the translator and scholar Ayuush Güüsh (Аюуш гүүш) created the Galik alphabet (Али-гали), inspired by the third Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyatso. It primarily added extra characters for transcribing Tibetan and Sanskrit terms when translating religious texts, and later also from Chinese. Some of those characters are still in use today for writing foreign names (compare table above).

Unicode

Mongolian script was added to the Unicode standard in September 1999 with the release of version 3.0. However, there are multiple design issues in Mongolian Unicode that have not been fixed until now. The model is extremely unstable and the user group dislike the 1999 design.

• The 1999 Mongolian script Unicode codes are duplicated and not searchable.
• The 1999 Mongolian script Unicode model has multiple layers of FVS (free variation selectors), MVS, ZWJ, NNBSP, and those variation selections conflict with each other, which create incorrect results. Furthermore, different vendors understood the definition of each FVS differently, and developed multiple applications in different standards.
• The Mongolian User Group is in a panic, and over 10,000 users signed up in 10 days in 2019 April to request local authority to fundamentally review the 1999 Unicode model.

Blocks

Main articles: Mongolian (Unicode block) and Mongolian Supplement (Unicode block)

The Unicode block for Mongolian is U+1800–U+18AF. It includes letters, digits and various punctuation marks for Hudum Mongolian, Todo Mongolian, Xibe (Manchu), Manchu proper, and Ali Gali, as well as extensions for transcribing Sanskrit and Tibetan.

Mongolian Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

A

B

C

D

E

F

U+180x

᠀

᠁

᠂

᠃

᠄

᠅

᠆

᠇

᠈

᠉

᠊

FV  S1

FV  S2

FV  S3

MV  S

U+181x

᠐

᠑

᠒

᠓

᠔

᠕

᠖

᠗

᠘

᠙

U+182x

ᠠ

ᠡ

ᠢ

ᠣ

ᠤ

ᠥ

ᠦ

ᠧ

ᠨ

ᠩ

ᠪ

ᠫ

ᠬ

ᠭ

ᠮ

ᠯ

U+183x

ᠰ

ᠱ

ᠲ

ᠳ

ᠴ

ᠵ

ᠶ

ᠷ

ᠸ

ᠹ

ᠺ

ᠻ

ᠼ

ᠽ

ᠾ

ᠿ

U+184x

ᡀ

ᡁ

ᡂ

ᡃ

ᡄ

ᡅ

ᡆ

ᡇ

ᡈ

ᡉ

ᡊ

ᡋ

ᡌ

ᡍ

ᡎ

ᡏ

U+185x

ᡐ

ᡑ

ᡒ

ᡓ

ᡔ

ᡕ

ᡖ

ᡗ

ᡘ

ᡙ

ᡚ

ᡛ

ᡜ

ᡝ

ᡞ

ᡟ

U+186x

ᡠ

ᡡ

ᡢ

ᡣ

ᡤ

ᡥ

ᡦ

ᡧ

ᡨ

ᡩ

ᡪ

ᡫ

ᡬ

ᡭ

ᡮ

ᡯ

U+187x

ᡰ

ᡱ

ᡲ

ᡳ

ᡴ

ᡵ

ᡶ

ᡷ

ᡸ

U+188x

ᢀ

ᢁ

ᢂ

ᢃ

ᢄ

ᢅ

ᢆ

ᢇ

ᢈ

ᢉ

ᢊ

ᢋ

ᢌ

ᢍ

ᢎ

ᢏ

U+189x

ᢐ

ᢑ

ᢒ

ᢓ

ᢔ

ᢕ

ᢖ

ᢗ

ᢘ

ᢙ

ᢚ

ᢛ

ᢜ

ᢝ

ᢞ

ᢟ

U+18Ax

ᢠ

ᢡ

ᢢ

ᢣ

ᢤ

ᢥ

ᢦ

ᢧ

ᢨ

ᢩ

ᢪ

Notes 1.^ As of Unicode version 13.0 2.^ Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points

The Mongolian Supplement block (U+11660–U+1167F) was added to the Unicode Standard in June, 2016 with the release of version 9.0:

Mongolian Supplement Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

A

B

C

D

E

F

U+1166x

𑙠

𑙡

𑙢

𑙣

𑙤

𑙥

𑙦

𑙧

𑙨

𑙩

𑙪

𑙫

𑙬

U+1167x

Notes 1.^ As of Unicode version 13.0 2.^ Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points

Font issues

Mongolian Wikipedia preview. A representation of what mn.wiki would look like if Mongolian script support was properly implemented. Mn.wiki already exists, but support has not been implemented. Not all text is "real Mongolian" — only the text and name of the article are, the rest of the text being English written in Mongolian script.

Although the Mongolian script has been defined in Unicode since 1999, there was no native support for Unicode Mongolian from the major vendors until the release of the Windows Vista operating system in 2007 and fonts need to be installed in Windows XP and Windows 2000 to show properly, and so Unicode Mongolian is not yet widely used. In China, legacy encodings such as the Private Use Areas (PUA) Unicode mappings and GB18030 mappings of the Menksoft IMEs (espc. Menksoft Mongolian IME) are more commonly used than Unicode for writing web pages and electronic documents in Mongolian. In addition, unlike the usual vertical format, computers tend to show the script in right-to-left lines by default.

The inclusion of a Unicode Mongolian font and keyboard layout in Windows Vista has meant that Unicode Mongolian is now gradually becoming more popular, but the complexity of the Unicode Mongolian encoding model and the lack of a clear definition for the use variation selectors are still barriers to its widespread adoption, as is the lack of support for inline vertical display. As of 2015 there are no fonts that successfully display all of Mongolian correctly when written in Unicode. A report published in 2011 revealed many shortcomings with automatic rendering in all three Unicode Mongolian fonts the authors surveyed, including Microsoft's Mongolian Baiti.

Furthermore, Mongolian language support has suffered from buggy implementations: the initial version of Microsoft's Mongolian Baiti font (version 5.00) was, in the supplier's own words, "almost unusable", and as of 2011 there remain some minor bugs with the rendering of suffixes in Firefox. Other fonts, such as Monotype's Mongol Usug and Myatav Erdenechimeg's MongolianScript, suffer even more serious bugs.

bičig as it should appear (without FVS; ᠪᠢᠴᠢᠭ)

In January 2013, Menksoft released several OpenType Mongolian fonts, delivered with its Menksoft Mongolian IME 2012. These fonts strictly follow Unicode standard, i.e. bichig is no longer realized as "B+I+CH+I+G+FVS2" (incorrect) but "B+I+CH+I+G" (correct), which is not done by Microsoft and Founder's Mongolian Baiti, Monotype's Mongol Usug, or Myatav Erdenechimeg's MongolianScript. However, due to the impact of Mongolian Baiti, many still use the Microsoft defined incorrect realization "B+I+CH+I+G+FVS2", which results in an incorrect rendering in correctly-designed fonts like Menk Qagan Tig.

Mongolian script can be represented in LaTeX with the MonTeX package.

Sometimes even if a font is installed the script may display as horizontal rather than vertical depending on the operating system or font.

Samples

The text samples below should match their image counterparts. This ensures that a text in Mongolian script is being rendered somewhat properly. The specific example letters given here are:

• The separated final vowels: ‑a or ‑e.
• The initial letter(s) of separated suffixes: y in ‑yin and ü in ‑lüge.
• The vowel harmony dependent letter pairs q/k and γ/g: see bilig.
• The initial letter of the interrogative particle uu/üü.
• The particle ǰ‑a.

Note that in some browsers, letters are rotated 90° counterclockwise. If an isolate letter a (ᠠ) resembles a 'W' and not a 'Σ', rotate the letters 90° clockwise.

Image	Text	Transliteration(s)
	᠎ᠠ	‑a/‑e
	ᠶᠢᠨ	‑yin
	ᠯᠦᠭᠡ	‑lüge
	ᠪᠢᠯᠢᠭ	bilig
	ᠦᠦ	uu/üü
	ᠵ᠎ᠠ	ǰ‑a

See also

• Mongolian writing systems
  • Mongolian script
    • Galik alphabet
    • Todo alphabet
  • ʼPhags-pa script
    • Horizontal square script
  • Soyombo script
  • Mongolian Latin alphabet
    • SASM/GNC romanization § Mongolian
  • Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet
  • Mongolian transliteration of Chinese characters
    • Sino–Mongolian Transliterations
  • Mongolian Braille
• Mongolian Sign Language
• Mongolian name