Reference
New alphabet rules
What the reform changes and what it leaves alone — letter by letter, with examples.
The reform moves the script closer to one sound, one letter: 26 letters plus 3 letter combinations become 28 letters plus a single tutuq belgisi. In practice four letters change shape and the other twenty-four stay exactly as they are.
The four letters that change
Each row shows the old spelling, the new spelling and an example word.
| Old (1995) | New (2026) | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Sh sh | Ş ş | shaharşahar |
| Ch ch | Ç ç | chiroqçiroq |
| Oʻ oʻ | Ö ö | koʻchaköça |
| Gʻ gʻ | Ğ ğ | togʻtoğ |
“ng” leaves the alphabet, not the page
In the current alphabet “ng” counts as a separate letter combination. After the reform it is no longer listed in the alphabet, but words still spell it with “n” and “g” exactly as before: “tong”, “keng”. Because nothing changes in writing, the converter does not touch “ng” at all.
“sh” is not always “ş”
In a small group of Arabic loanwords, “s” and “h” are separate letters and do not form a single sh sound. Current orthography separates them with the tutuq belgisi: “isʼhoq”, “asʼhob”, “musʼhaf”. In practice the tutuq is often dropped and the word is written “ishoq” — and that very ambiguity was cited as one of the reasons for the reform. The converter recognises these words, does not turn them into “ş”, and flags the decision separately.
The tutuq belgisi (ʼ) stays
The new alphabet keeps a single tutuq belgisi: “maʼno”, “sanʼat”, “taʼlim”. It is a different character from the turned-comma mark in the old letters “oʻ” and “gʻ” — that second mark disappears from the alphabet entirely, because “Ö” and “Ğ” have taken its place.
The full alphabet — 28 letters
The four new letters are marked. The other twenty-four keep both their shape and their reading, and the converter leaves them untouched.
- A a
- B b
- D d
- E e
- F f
- G g
- H h
- I i
- J j
- K k
- L l
- M m
- N n
- O o
- P p
- Q q
- R r
- S s
- T t
- U u
- V v
- X x
- Y y
- Z z
- Ö ö — new letter
- Ğ ğ — new letter
- Ş ş — new letter
- Ç ç — new letter
The official letter order will be published together with the new spelling rules. The list below follows the order of the current alphabet, with the new letters shown in the positions of the ones they replace.
How the reform progressed
7 July 2026
The Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis passed the law amending the alphabet in three readings.
10 September 2026
The Senate approved the law and sent it to the president for signature.
September 2026
The law was signed by the president. The staged transition period began.
2027
First-grade textbooks are prepared in the new alphabet, with later grades following in stages.
2031
School textbooks are planned to be fully renewed.
What happens to existing documents
Under the law, documents issued in the current alphabet, the national currency and securities all stay in circulation until the new norms take effect. Signage, place-name markers and similar objects may stay in use until they physically wear out. In other words, an existing diploma, passport or contract does not need to be replaced.
Try it on your own text
You do not need to memorise the rules — paste your text or drop a .docx file into the converter and the letters change themselves.