Cyrillic Small Letter Er

It represents an r sound in Cyrillic spelling. The letter is called er, and its pronunciation follows the language and surrounding letters. Its older name, рьци (rĭci), was an imperative meaning “say.”

Why was р made?

It was part of a script for writing Slavic Christian texts. Cyrillic took shape in Bulgaria in the late ninth century, drawing on Greek uncial letter forms (rounded capitals used in manuscripts) and following the earlier Glagolitic script associated with the mission of Cyril and Methodius. It became a script for Church Slavonic books.

An early Cyrillic manuscript in the formal ustav style is dated AD 933. In the tenth century, a titlo, a mark placed over letters used as numbers, could make Р/р stand for 100. Greek rho (ρ) is the model for this letter’s form; the corresponding Glagolitic Ⱃ has the same r role but a different shape.

What does a lone р mean?

Ask what word or language they meant. By itself, р might be a fragment, a character sample, or an accidental keyboard-layout switch. The letter alone does not settle the sender’s intended tone.