The English alphabet contains 26 letters from A to Z. However, throughout history, that number has shifted — once reaching 27 when the ampersand was taught as a letter. Today, English uses the standard 26-letter Latin alphabet, but global writing systems range from modest 26-letter sets to massive 72-character systems.
Quick snapshot: English alphabet: 26 letters · Historically included 27th (ampersand) · Vowels: 5 · Largest in current use: Cambodian (72)
- 26 letters (A–Z)
- Standard Latin script
- Uppercase and lowercase pairs
- 27 letters in 19th century
- Included ampersand (&) after Z
- Removed by end of 19th century
- 72 letters — largest in current use
- Derived from Brahmi script
- Origin traced to 7th century
- Tamil: 247+ characters (12 vowels, 18 consonants, compound forms)
- Arabic: 28 letters
- Russian (Cyrillic): 33 letters
| Attribute | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Letter count (modern) | 26 | English alphabet – Wikipedia |
| Letter count (19th c.) | 27 (including ampersand) | Merriam-Webster |
| 27th letter name | Ampersand (&) | Britannica |
| Amperand term origin | 1835 (from “and per se and”) | Britannica |
| Amperand symbol origin | 1st century AD (Latin ‘et’ ligature) | Scribendi |
| Oldest ampersand | Pre-79 AD (Pompeii graffiti) | Merriam-Webster |
How many letters are there in the alphabet?
The English alphabet contains 26 letters: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z. Each letter has an uppercase and lowercase form, giving 52 distinct characters in total when writing.
According to Worldometers, “The English alphabet consists of 26 letters: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, and Z.” This standard has been in place since the 16th century, though the alphabet itself traces its roots to ancient Near Eastern scripts.
Editor’s note: The 26-letter count includes only core Latin characters. English also uses the long s (ſ), which appeared in printed texts until the early 19th century, and ligatures like æ and œ in formal writing.
English alphabet A to Z
The alphabet in order consists of five vowels (A, E, I, O, U) and twenty-one consonants. The sequence has remained unchanged since the 16th century when J, U, and W were distinguished from I, V, and the double-V.
Letters in order
The alphabetical sequence from A to Z covers all 26 letters in a specific order that forms the foundation of dictionary organization, sorting systems, and educational instruction worldwide.
Bottom line: The modern English alphabet settled on 26 letters by the 16th century, replacing earlier systems that included more characters.
Are there 26 or 27 letters in the alphabet?
Today, the standard English alphabet contains 26 letters. However, historically it included 27 letters when the ampersand (&) was taught as part of the sequence after Z.
Modern standard
Modern English uses exactly 26 letters: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z. This count became standard in the 16th century when letters U and J were distinguished from V and I, and W became independent from double-U.
Historical context
In the 19th century, schoolchildren in the United States and Britain recited the alphabet including the ampersand. The sequence ran “X, Y, Z, and per se and” — meaning “& by itself is ‘and’” — which over time slurred into “ampersand.” According to Merriam-Webster, “In the 19th century, ampersand was the 27th letter, from ‘& per se and’.”
“‘X, Y, Z, and per se and,’ since per se means ‘by itself’.”
— Traditional schoolchildren recitation, Scribendi
Historical note: The Old English alphabet listed by monk Byrhtferð in 1011 contained 28 characters — 23 Latin letters, the ampersand, and four additional characters including the Tironian note ‘ond’ (⁊).
Bottom line: The transition from 27 to 26 letters occurred gradually through the 19th century as education shifted away from teaching the ampersand as a letter.
What was the 27th letter in the alphabet?
The 27th letter was the ampersand (&) — a symbol representing the Latin word “et” meaning “and.” This character held letter status in English for centuries before being demoted to a symbol.
The ampersand (&)
The ampersand originated as a ligature of the Latin letters E and T, forming the word “et” (and). This typographic shorthand appeared in Roman cursive writing as early as the 1st century AD. The oldest known ampersand exists as graffiti in Pompeii, pre-dating 79 AD.
According to Britannica, “The term ampersand first appeared in the English language in 1835, taught as the 27th letter to 19th-century British students.” The symbol gained popularity during the Renaissance, when Claude Garamond gave it its modern form in the 16th century.
“‘And per se, and,’ or, muttered quickly by a disinterested student, ‘ampersand.’”
— Now I Know, And, the 27th Letter of the Alphabet
Recitation history
Schoolchildren traditionally recited the alphabet through Z, then said “and per se and” — meaning “the symbol & by itself means ‘and’.” This phrase gradually merged into the single word “ampersand” by 1837, when the term entered common usage.
The famous nursery rhyme “X, Y, Z, and ampersand, All wished for a piece in hand” reflects how the ampersand was integrated into alphabet instruction in both Britain and America during the 19th century.
Bottom line: The ampersand held letter status for over a millennium, originating in Roman times and remaining in English alphabet instruction until the 19th century.
Why was the 27th letter removed?
The ampersand was removed from alphabet instruction as educational standards evolved and printing practices standardized. By the end of the 19th century, most English-speaking schools had dropped the ampersand from alphabet recitation.
Shift in education
As formal education standardized in the late 1800s, the alphabet instruction narrowed to the 26 letters that matched dictionary ordering and printing conventions. The ampersand, though widely used in writing, no longer fit the alphabetical sequence taught to children.
By end of 19th century
By the late 1800s, the ampersand was relegated to symbol status rather than letter status. However, it retained its position at the end of the ASCII character set and continued appearing in alphabetical lists in some contexts well into the 20th century.
Editor’s tip: The demotion of the ampersand reflects how writing systems evolve — symbols can become letters and letters can become symbols based on usage patterns and standardization efforts.
Bottom line: The ampersand’s removal from alphabet teaching was part of the 19th-century standardization of English education and printing conventions.
Which alphabet has 72 letters?
The Cambodian (Khmer) alphabet holds the title for the largest alphabet in current use, containing 72 letters. This writing system traces its origins to the Brahmi script and developed into its current form around the 7th century.
Cambodian (Khmer) alphabet
The Khmer alphabet serves the Cambodian language and is notable for its complexity. According to the Wikipedia article on the Khmer alphabet, the script contains 33 consonants and 24 vowels, though the total character count reaches 72 when combining independent vowel forms and diacritical marks.
Largest in current use
No other writing system in active use today matches the Khmer alphabet’s size. The Armenian alphabet has 38 letters, the Georgian alphabet has 33, and the Cyrillic script (used for Russian and other languages) contains 33 letters — all significantly smaller than Cambodia’s 72-character system.
“The Khmer script… contains a large number of letters, with a total of 72 characters in the full alphabet.”
Clarification: Some writing systems like Tamil use more than 247 characters, but these include compound ligatures and diacritical marks rather than single alphabet letters. Tamil’s 12 vowels and 18 consonants form hundreds of combinations.
Bottom line: The Cambodian alphabet’s 72 characters make it the largest standard alphabet in current global use, reflecting the complexity of the Khmer language’s phonology.
Alphabet Evolution Timeline
The path from ancient scripts to the modern 26-letter English alphabet spans millennia:
| Period | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1800–1900 BC | Proto-Sinaitic alphabetic writing develops in Egypt | Day Translations |
| 1100 BC | Phoenicians develop 22-consonant alphabet | Day Translations |
| 750 BC | Greeks add vowels to create first true alphabet | Day Translations |
| 1st century AD | Ampersand ligature appears in Roman cursive | Wikipedia: Ampersand |
| 1011 | Monk Byrhtferð lists Old English alphabet with ampersand | Wikipedia: English alphabet |
| 16th century | J, U, W distinguish from I, V; 26 letters stabilize | Wikipedia: English alphabet |
| 16th century | Claude Garamond develops modern ampersand form | Print Industry News |
| 1835 | Term “ampersand” first appears in English | Britannica |
The implication: Each transition in alphabet history involved both addition and subtraction — letters entering, symbols becoming letters, and eventually some characters being relegated to secondary status.
Bottom line: The alphabet’s evolution from Proto-Sinaitic to modern English involved thousands of years of refinement, with the 26-letter standard only settling in the 1500s.
Global Alphabet Sizes Compared
Writing systems worldwide vary dramatically in size:
| Writing System | Character Count | Language(s) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cambodian (Khmer) | 72 | Cambodian | Wikipedia |
| Tamil | 247+ (12 vowels, 18 consonants + compounds) | Tamil | Wikipedia |
| English | 26 | English | Wikipedia |
| Russian (Cyrillic) | 33 | Russian, others | Wikipedia |
| Arabic | 28 | Arabic, others | Wikipedia |
The pattern: Alphabet size correlates with language complexity — phonetically richer languages often require more characters to represent their sounds.
Bottom line: English’s 26-letter alphabet ranks among the smaller writing systems globally, while the Cambodian alphabet’s 72 characters reflect the Khmer language’s extensive phonological inventory.
Related reading: What Is an Adjective? Definition, Types & Examples · Longest Place Name in the World – Taumata Hill Facts and History
While the English alphabet comprises 26 letters from A to Z, a random letter generator provides an unbiased way to pick random ones for games or practice.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many vowels are in the alphabet?
There are five vowels in the English alphabet: A, E, I, O, and U. The letter Y sometimes functions as a vowel in words like “rhythm” and “sky,” but it is classified as a consonant in the alphabet itself.
What is the 13th letter of the alphabet?
The 13th letter of the alphabet is M. Counting from A as position 1, the sequence runs A (1), B (2), C (3), D (4), E (5), F (6), G (7), H (8), I (9), J (10), K (11), L (12), M (13).
What letter of the alphabet is N?
N is the 14th letter of the alphabet, following M (13) and preceding O (15).
What letter of the alphabet is O?
O is the 15th letter of the alphabet, following N (14) and preceding P (16).
How many letters in the alphabet A to Z?
There are exactly 26 letters from A to Z. This covers the complete modern English alphabet, from the first letter (A) to the last (Z).
How many letters in the alphabet in order?
The alphabet in order contains 26 letters arranged as: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z.
What 5 words use all 25 letters?
Five words that contain exactly 25 unique letters (missing one from the full alphabet) include: “subdermatoglyphic,” “uncopyrightable,” “dermatoglyphics,” “ambidextrously,” and “Malayalam” (a language name that is itself a palindrome using all letters except F).
Additional Sources
- English alphabet – Wikipedia
- Ampersand – Wikipedia
- Ampersand – Britannica
- The History of ‘Ampersand’ – Merriam-Webster
- The History and Usage of Common Symbols – Scribendi
- And, the 27th Letter of the Alphabet – Now I Know
- The Origin of the English Alphabet – Day Translations
- Where Did the Ampersand Originate? – YouTube (Comma Queen)
