Cypriot Syllabary Table
| Sign | Translit | Series | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| ๐ | a | Vowel | pure vowel sign |
| ๐ | e | Vowel | pure vowel sign |
| ๐ | i | Vowel | pure vowel sign |
| ๐ | o | Vowel | pure vowel sign |
| ๐ | u | Vowel | pure vowel sign |
| ๐ | ja | j-series (palatal) | rare palatal pair |
| ๐ | jo | j-series (palatal) | rare palatal pair |
| ๐ | ka | k-series (velar) | open syllable CV |
| ๐ | ke | k-series (velar) | open syllable CV |
| ๐ | ki | k-series (velar) | open syllable CV |
| ๐ | ko | k-series (velar) | open syllable CV |
| ๐ | ku | k-series (velar) | open syllable CV |
| ๐ | la | l-series (liquid) | distinct l-series (Linear B merges l and r) |
| ๐ | le | l-series (liquid) | distinct l-series (Linear B merges l and r) |
| ๐ | li | l-series (liquid) | distinct l-series (Linear B merges l and r) |
| ๐ | lo | l-series (liquid) | distinct l-series (Linear B merges l and r) |
| ๐ | lu | l-series (liquid) | distinct l-series (Linear B merges l and r) |
| ๐ | ma | m-series (nasal) | open syllable CV |
| ๐ | me | m-series (nasal) | open syllable CV |
| ๐ | mi | m-series (nasal) | open syllable CV |
| ๐ | mo | m-series (nasal) | open syllable CV |
| ๐ | mu | m-series (nasal) | open syllable CV |
| ๐ | na | n-series (nasal) | open syllable CV |
| ๐ | ne | n-series (nasal) | open syllable CV |
| ๐ | ni | n-series (nasal) | open syllable CV |
| ๐ | no | n-series (nasal) | open syllable CV |
| ๐ | nu | n-series (nasal) | open syllable CV |
| ๐ | pa | p-series (labial) | open syllable CV |
| ๐ | pe | p-series (labial) | open syllable CV |
| ๐ | pi | p-series (labial) | open syllable CV |
| ๐ ก | po | p-series (labial) | open syllable CV |
| ๐ ข | pu | p-series (labial) | open syllable CV |
| ๐ ฃ | ra | r-series (liquid) | distinct r-series (Linear B merges l and r) |
| ๐ ค | re | r-series (liquid) | distinct r-series (Linear B merges l and r) |
| ๐ ฅ | ri | r-series (liquid) | distinct r-series (Linear B merges l and r) |
| ๐ ฆ | ro | r-series (liquid) | distinct r-series (Linear B merges l and r) |
| ๐ ง | ru | r-series (liquid) | distinct r-series (Linear B merges l and r) |
| ๐ จ | sa | s-series (sibilant) | open syllable CV |
| ๐ ฉ | se | s-series (sibilant) | open syllable CV |
| ๐ ช | si | s-series (sibilant) | open syllable CV |
| ๐ ซ | so | s-series (sibilant) | open syllable CV |
| ๐ ฌ | su | s-series (sibilant) | open syllable CV |
| ๐ ญ | ta | t-series (dental, covers t and d) | writes both t and d - the mirror of Linear B |
| ๐ ฎ | te | t-series (dental, covers t and d) | writes both t and d - the mirror of Linear B |
| ๐ ฏ | ti | t-series (dental, covers t and d) | writes both t and d - the mirror of Linear B |
| ๐ ฐ | to | t-series (dental, covers t and d) | writes both t and d - the mirror of Linear B |
| ๐ ฑ | tu | t-series (dental, covers t and d) | writes both t and d - the mirror of Linear B |
| ๐ ฒ | wa | w-series (semivowel) | semivowel series, four signs |
| ๐ ณ | we | w-series (semivowel) | semivowel series, four signs |
| ๐ ด | wi | w-series (semivowel) | semivowel series, four signs |
| ๐ ต | wo | w-series (semivowel) | semivowel series, four signs |
| ๐ ท | xa | x-series (aspirated velar kʲ) | the aspirated velar pair, only two signs |
| ๐ ธ | xe | x-series (aspirated velar kʲ) | the aspirated velar pair, only two signs |
| ๐ ผ | za | z-series (affricate zd/dz) | for the zd/dz onset of Greek zeta, only two signs |
| ๐ ฟ | zo | z-series (affricate zd/dz) | for the zd/dz onset of Greek zeta, only two signs |
The Cypriot syllabary (its Wikipedia infobox also calls it Cypriote, Classical Cypriot Syllabary or simply Cypriot) is the script of Iron Age Cyprus: a syllabary in use from the 11th to the 4th centuries BCE, writing the Arcadocypriot dialect of Greek - and, remarkably, also Eteocypriot, the island’s pre-Greek language whose family affiliations remain unknown. The tradition recognizes two regional subtypes, the “Common” and the South-Western or “Paphian”, with minor differences in sign forms from site to site.
Its decipherment is a 19th-century triumph: the script was cracked by the Assyriologist George Smith - already famous for his work on cuneiform - using the Idalion bilingual, a bronze tablet of the 5th century BCE that sets the same text in Cypriot signs and in the familiar Phoenician alphabet. Once the key turned, the inscriptions gave up a curiosum: the transliterated example on Wikipedia, a-to-ro-po-se for anthrōpos (“human”), is explicitly annotated “read right-to-left” - the old inscriptions run against the direction modern readers expect.
Structurally each sign stands for an open syllable (CV - a consonant followed by a vowel) rather than a closed one, and the script pays for that economy with spelling workarounds: final consonants are marked by a final, silent e (n, s and r become ne, re, se), diphthongs such as ae, au, eu and ei are spelled out completely, and nasal consonants before another consonant are omitted entirely. The series split mirrors Linear B in reverse: here /d/ and /t/ are combined in one dental series, while /l/ and /r/ are distinct - so the 55-sign inventory splits into five vowels, separate l- and r-liquid series, merged dentals, and small j-, w-, x- and z-series.
How to use
- Read the sign rows right-to-left as the old inscriptions do - but the table itself lists signs left-to-right in codepoint order, so use the Translit column as your anchor and remember that a-to-ro-po-se begins at its right end.
- Spell with the CV limits in mind: a final -s becomes -se, a final -n becomes -ne, and the e you see at the end is silent, a purely orthographic pillow. Consonant clusters borrow a vowel or drop the nasal altogether, which is why anthrōpos arrives as a-to-ro-po-se with no r-plus cluster sign in sight.
- Use the filter to compare the two liquid series (l and r distinct here, unlike Linear B) against the single dental series (t and d merged, unlike Linear B) - the mirror-image pair that makes these two charts a natural study set.
Frequently asked questions
How is the Cypriot syllabary related to Linear B?
They are cousins with a shared ancestor and different mothers: both descend from Linear A, and the Cypro-Minoan syllabary stands between them in the family tree (Wikipedia’s infobox lists Linear A as parent and Cypro-Minoan as intermediate). The two scripts even make opposite economies: Linear B merges l and r but keeps d and t apart, while Cypriot merges d and t but keeps l and r distinct.
What is Eteocypriot?
The pre-Greek language of Cyprus, written in this same syllabary alongside Greek during the script’s last centuries. Its longest surviving text, the Amathus tablet, stands side by side with a Greek version - a bilingual that has let scholars read the language without yet placing it in any language family. The infobox lists it as a co-language of the script, which is why this chart serves two linguistic communities at once.
How was it deciphered?
In the 19th century, by the Assyriologist George Smith, working from the Idalion bilingual - a bronze tablet from 5th-century BCE Idalion inscribed twice, once in the Cypriot syllabary and once in the Phoenician alphabet. With one text in two scripts, the sign values fell out the way the Rosetta stone later let Champollion work - and Smith, fresh from his cuneiform breakthroughs, recognized the method at once.
Which direction does it run?
The early inscriptions read right-to-left - Wikipedia’s own example transliteration carries the annotation “read right-to-left” on a-to-ro-po-se. Later inscriptions shifted direction under the influence of the alphabet that would eventually replace the syllabary entirely.
Why do so many sign names end in -e?
Because the syllabary can only write open syllables: a final consonant gets a vowel sign after it, and the conventional vowel is e. Final n, s and r are therefore noted with the ne, re and se signs - the e is silent, a purely orthographic convention, exactly like the final vowel in Japanese kana spelling of certain words.
What ended the script?
Time: the infobox range closes in the 4th century BCE, as the Greek alphabet - more flexible for clusters and finals - spread through the island in the wake of the Koine. The syllabary had served Cyprus for some seven centuries, from the 11th century down to the rise of the alphabet, one of the longest runs of any Bronze Age writing tradition into the Iron Age.