What is transliteration — Cyrillic to Latin
Russian translit to Latin: how it differs from translation, GOST and passport tables, online tool.
Transliteration maps letters of one script onto another by a table. It does not translate meaning. Москва becomes Moskva, not Moscow.
There are several tables: GOST 7.79, ICAO for passports, casual web translit for slugs. They disagree on й, ы, ъ, ь, щ. ToolsHelper uses a practical mapping for a nickname and a page address: й→j, ы→y, signs are kept.
The reverse path is unique only inside the same table. Someone else’s translit that mapped both й and ы to y cannot be reversed.
Transliteration maps letters, not meanings. Russian х may become kh or h depending on the system, and the reverse map is lossy when two Cyrillic letters share one Latin spelling. Passport, GOST, and casual chat maps disagree on щ and on the soft sign. This page names the idea. The converter runs one practical map on a string you paste.
FAQ
Is this translation?
No. Translation changes the language. Translit changes the alphabet.
Can I use it for a passport?
Check the ICAO/agency table. Web translit for a nickname does not have to match it.