Bashkir Typing Speed Test
Free Online Bashkir Keyboard – Type Башҡортса with All Nine Extra Letters
Welcome to the Bashkir keyboard online (башҡортса)! Our free virtual keyboard provides the Cyrillic alphabet together with the nine letters Bashkir adds to it — ә, ө, ү, ҡ, ғ, ҙ, ҫ, ң, һ — so you can write correctly without hunting for characters or substituting Russian approximations. It runs in your browser on any device, with nothing to install.
Why Bashkir needs nine extra letters. Bashkir is a Turkic language spoken by well over a million people, mainly in the Republic of Bashkortostan in the Russian Federation. Turkic sound systems do not fit the Russian alphabet: Bashkir has front rounded vowels (ө, ү), an open front vowel (ә), uvular consonants (ҡ, ғ) that are distinct from к and г, a velar nasal (ң), and — unusually among Turkic languages — the interdental fricatives ҙ and ҫ, the sounds English writes as 'th' in this and thin. Those two are the clearest marker separating Bashkir from Tatar, its close relative.
Bashkir and Tatar are not the same. The two languages are closely related and mutually intelligible to a large degree, but their alphabets differ, and mixing them up is a common error. Bashkir has ҙ and ҫ, which Tatar does not; Tatar has җ, which Bashkir does not. A keyboard built for one will quietly produce wrong text in the other, which is why the distinction is worth taking seriously rather than treating the two as interchangeable.
Getting the characters right. Every extra Bashkir letter is a genuine Cyrillic character with its own codepoint — ҡ is not к, ғ is not г, and ҫ is not с. Substituting the nearest Russian letter gives text that is legible to a sympathetic reader but wrong: it will not match in search, will not sort correctly, and will not pass a spellchecker. This keyboard produces the correct characters directly.
Perfect for: Bashkir speakers writing in their own language, schools and publishers in Bashkortostan, folklorists working with the Ural-Batyr epic and other oral traditions, Turkologists, and anyone adding Bashkir text to the web, where the language is thinly represented.
Related keyboards: Bashkir's closest relative is Tatar, and it shares most of its alphabet with Russian. Its Volga neighbour Chuvash extends Cyrillic differently again. Switch with the Layout dropdown above.
Your privacy is guaranteed – all typing happens 100% locally in your browser. Nothing you write is sent to a server, stored, or logged.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Bashkir language?
Bashkir (башҡортса) is a Turkic language spoken by well over a million people, mainly in the Republic of Bashkortostan in the Russian Federation. It is written in Cyrillic extended with nine additional letters for sounds Russian does not have.
What are the nine extra Bashkir letters?
Ә, Ө, Ү for vowels Russian lacks; Ҡ and Ғ for uvular consonants distinct from к and г; Ң for the velar nasal; Һ for the h sound; and Ҙ and Ҫ for the interdental fricatives — the sounds English spells 'th' in this and thin.
How is Bashkir different from Tatar?
They are close relatives and largely mutually intelligible, but the alphabets differ. Bashkir has ҙ and ҫ, the interdental fricatives, which Tatar does not; Tatar has җ, which Bashkir does not. A keyboard built for one produces incorrect text in the other.
Can I just use a Russian keyboard with substitutions?
Not correctly. ҡ is not к, ғ is not г, and ҫ is not с — they are separate letters with separate codepoints. Substituting the nearest Russian letter yields text a sympathetic reader can decipher but that fails search, sorting, and spellchecking.
What are ҙ and ҫ?
The interdental fricatives, equivalent to the 'th' sounds in English this and thin. They are unusual among Turkic languages and are the clearest feature separating Bashkir from Tatar, so they are essential to spelling Bashkir correctly.
Is this Bashkir keyboard free?
Yes, completely free. There is no cost, no registration, no account, and no limit on how much you type. The site is supported by advertising, which is what keeps the keyboard free to use for everyone.
Does it work on mobile phones and tablets?
Yes. The layout is fully responsive and works on Android and iOS phones, tablets, Chromebooks, Windows, and macOS. On a touchscreen you tap the letters directly, which makes it a practical way to type Bashkir on a device with no Bashkir keyboard installed.
Is my typing private?
Completely private. All processing happens locally in your browser using JavaScript. Your text is never transmitted to a server, never stored, and never logged, so it is safe for personal and sensitive writing.
Where is Bashkir spoken?
Mainly in Bashkortostan in the Russian Federation, with communities in neighbouring Tatarstan, Chelyabinsk, Orenburg, and Perm, and a diaspora further afield. It is a state language of the republic alongside Russian.
Keep Practicing
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