Crimean Tatar is unusual among Turkic languages for being actively written in two parallel alphabets: a Cyrillic alphabet adapted from Russian Cyrillic, and a Latin alphabet adopted in 1997 by the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People as the official standard for the language.
The Latin alphabet (qırımtatar elifbesi)
The official Latin alphabet has 31 letters, including diacritics specific to Crimean Tatar: â, ç, ğ, ı, ñ, ö, ş, ü. It distinguishes vowel harmony classes clearly, is closely modelled on the modern Turkish alphabet, and is the script used in academic publications, official documents from Crimean Tatar institutions, and modern diaspora media. Example: Qırımtatar tili — Qırımtatarlarnıñ ana tili.
The Cyrillic alphabet
The Cyrillic alphabet is based on Russian Cyrillic with the additional letters гъ, къ, нъ, дж (digraphs) to represent sounds that Russian does not. It is the script most readers in Crimea encounter, and the script used in much pre-1997 literature, dictionaries, and Soviet-era publications. Example: Къырымтатар тили — Къырымтатарларнынъ ана тили.
Which script should I use?
Use Latin if you are writing for an academic, international, or diaspora audience, or if you want consistency with modern Crimean Tatar publications. Use Cyrillic if your audience is primarily in Crimea or if you are working with older sources. The Ana Yurt transliterator converts text between the two scripts in one click, with automatic detection of the source alphabet.