(І, і) (also called '''''decimal I''''', or '''''dotted I''''') is a letter of the
Cyrillic Alphabet , used in the orthographies of the
Belarusian ,
Kazakh and
Ukrainian Language s. It represents the vowel sound , and is the equivalent of the
Russian ''и'' . It is derived from the
Greek letter
Iota (''Ι, ι'', pronounced ).
In the
Early Cyrillic Alphabet there was little or no distinction between the letters ''(izhe)'' and '''і''' ''(i)'', descended from the Greek letters ''η (eta)'' and ''ι (iota)''. They both remained in the alphabetical repertoire because they represented different numbers in the
Cyrillic Numeral System , eight and ten, and are therefore sometimes referred to as ''octal I'' and ''decimal I''.
''I'' (''decimal I'', ''dotted I'') also used to be in the
Russian Alphabet before 1918, when a significant
Reform Of The Russian Orthography came into effect. For the rules governing the usage of it in the "old" Russian orthography, see
Russian Alphabet#Letters Eliminated In 1918 .
