42 letters
Kazakh Cyrillic · 42 letters
Recorded
Modern Kazakh Cyrillic alphabet inventory of exactly 42 letters, adopted in 1940 and still widely used during the Latin transition.
The modern Kazakh Cyrillic alphabet has exactly 42 letters: the 33 shared with Russian, plus nine Kazakh letters, Ә Ғ Қ Ң Ө Ұ Ү Һ І. Later Latin-based reform decrees are a different count.
What it supports
An exact orthographic inventory of 42 letters in a living national language. A writing-system count, not gematria.
What it does not
Not the Latin-transition letter counts, which change from decree to decree. Not a Deep Thought homage. Not the Burkina Faso 1979 42-symbol hold, which is another orthography and needs its own primary.
ExactnessExact
Form42
Unitletters
Strengthattested
When1940
Hung26 September 2026