Cyrillic to Latin transliteration and back
A tool for transliterating text between Cyrillic and Latin.
Transliteration is performed character by character in real time as you type.
Transliteration standard:
а→a, б→b, в→v, г→g, д→d, е→e, ё→yo, ж→zh, з→z, и→i, й→y, к→k, л→l, м→m, н→n, о→o, п→p, р→r, с→s, т→t, у→u, ф→f, х→kh, ц→ts, ч→ch, ш→sh, щ→shch, ы→y, э→e, ю→yu, я→ya
Characters ъ and ь are omitted during transliteration to Latin.
Reverse transliteration uses the longest match method: multi-character combinations (shch, zh, ch, etc.) are checked first, then single letters.
Online Transliteration: Cyrillic to Latin by Multiple Standards
Convert Russian text to Latin characters using GOST, passport, or SEO-slug standards. The tool supports reverse transliteration and instantly processes text of any length.
What is transliteration
Transliteration is the conversion of characters from one script to another. In the context of Russian-language internet, this typically means representing Cyrillic characters using Latin letters. Unlike transcription, transliteration preserves spelling rather than pronunciation.
Used for: names in passports, Latin URL creation, technical identifiers, international correspondence, and SEO slug generation.
Transliteration standards
| Standard | Ж | Ш | Щ | Ю | Я | Used for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GOST 7.79-2000 | zh | sh | shch | yu | ya | Russian library standard |
| Russian passport | ZH | SH | SHCH | IU | IA | Passports since 2010 |
| SEO/URL | zh | sh | shch | yu | ya | URL slugs |
| ICAO | ZH | SH | SHCH | IU | IA | International travel documents |
Use cases
- Passports and visas — Russian names must be transliterated per ICAO/passport rules for international travel documents
- SEO-friendly URLs — transliterated slugs are easier to share and don't encode as %XX in browsers
- International correspondence — Latin-only email and messaging systems require transliteration of Cyrillic text
- Database identifiers — many systems use ASCII-only keys derived from transliterated names
- Domain names — registering .com/.org domains requires Latin characters
URL slugs
For SEO-optimized URL slugs from Cyrillic text:
- Transliterate Cyrillic to Latin
- Convert to lowercase
- Replace spaces and special characters with hyphens
- Remove duplicate hyphens
- Trim leading/trailing hyphens
Example: «Как выбрать ноутбук» → kak-vybrat-noutbuk
FAQ
Cyrillic URLs or transliterated URLs — which is better for SEO?
Google and Yandex index Cyrillic URLs (punycode) equally well. But for usability and link sharing, transliterated URLs are more practical — they don't encode as %XX strings when copied from browsers to messengers.
See also: text case converter, URL encoder.