diff --git a/libmscore/lyrics.cpp b/libmscore/lyrics.cpp
index ca7da99753ac4..84bf0fca226bd 100644
--- a/libmscore/lyrics.cpp
+++ b/libmscore/lyrics.cpp
@@ -224,13 +224,30 @@ void Lyrics::layout1()
       int line = ll->indexOf(this);
       qreal y  = lh * line + point(score()->styleS(StyleIdx::lyricsDistance));
       qreal x  = 0.0;
+
       //
-      // left align if syllable has a number or is a melisma
+      // left align if syllable has a number or is a melisma or is first syllable of hyphenated word
       //
-      if (_ticks == 0 && (textStyle().align() & AlignmentFlags::HCENTER) && !_verseNumber)
-            x += symWidth(SymId::noteheadBlack) * .5;
-      else if (_ticks || ((textStyle().align() & AlignmentFlags::HCENTER) && _verseNumber))
-            x += width() * .5;
+      ChordRest* cr = chordRest();
+      qreal maxWidth;
+      if (cr->type() == Element::Type::CHORD)
+            maxWidth = static_cast<Chord*>(cr)->maxHeadWidth();
+      else
+            maxWidth = cr->width();       // TODO: exclude ledger line for multivoice rest?
+      qreal nominalWidth = symWidth(SymId::noteheadBlack);
+      bool hyphenatedMelisma = false;
+      if (_syllabic == Syllabic::BEGIN || _syllabic == Syllabic::MIDDLE) {
+            // hyphenated syllables representing melismas need to be left aligned
+            // detecting this means finding next CR on same track and checking for existence of lyric in same verse
+            Segment* s = cr->segment()->next1();
+            ChordRest* ncr = s ? s->nextChordRest(cr->track()) : nullptr;
+            if (ncr && !ncr->lyrics(_no))
+                  hyphenatedMelisma = true;
+            }
+      if (_ticks == 0 && !hyphenatedMelisma && (textStyle().align() & AlignmentFlags::HCENTER) && !_verseNumber)
+            x +=  nominalWidth * .5 - cr->x();
+      else if (_ticks || hyphenatedMelisma || ((textStyle().align() & AlignmentFlags::HCENTER) && _verseNumber))
+            x += (width() + nominalWidth - maxWidth) * .5 - cr->x();
       rxpos() += x;
       rypos() += y;
       if (_verseNumber) {
diff --git a/vtest/gen b/vtest/gen
index 94a955ca7d59c..fc0e597e61145 100755
--- a/vtest/gen
+++ b/vtest/gen
@@ -35,7 +35,8 @@ else
        accidental-1 accidental-2 accidental-3 accidental-4 accidental-5\
        accidental-6 accidental-7 accidental-8 accidental-9\
        tie-1 tie-2 grace-1 grace-2 grace-3 harmony-1 harmony-2 harmony-3 harmony-4 beams-1 beams-2\
-       user-offset-1 user-offset-2 chord-space-1 tablature-1 image-1"
+       user-offset-1 user-offset-2 chord-space-1 tablature-1 image-1\
+       lyrics-1 lyrics-2"
 fi
 
 DPI=130
diff --git a/vtest/gen.bat b/vtest/gen.bat
index 9115bd573603a..11e4c82b66f63 100644
--- a/vtest/gen.bat
+++ b/vtest/gen.bat
@@ -16,7 +16,8 @@ set SRC=mmrest-1,bravura-mmrest,gonville-mmrest,mmrest-2,mmrest-4,mmrest-5,mmres
  accidental-1,accidental-2,accidental-3,accidental-4,accidental-5, ^
  accidental-6,accidental-7,accidental-8,accidental-9, ^
  tie-1,tie-2,grace-1,grace-2,grace-3,harmony-1,harmony-2,harmony-3,harmony-4,beams-1,beams-2, ^
- user-offset-1,user-offset-2,chord-space-1,tablature-1,image-1
+ user-offset-1,user-offset-2,chord-space-1,tablature-1,image-1, ^
+ lyrics-1,lyrics-2
 
 set MSCORE=..\win32install\bin\mscore.exe
 set DPI=130
diff --git a/vtest/lyrics-1-ref.png b/vtest/lyrics-1-ref.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..3bab73994a27d
Binary files /dev/null and b/vtest/lyrics-1-ref.png differ
diff --git a/vtest/lyrics-1.mscz b/vtest/lyrics-1.mscz
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..0e6195d1ae8d8
Binary files /dev/null and b/vtest/lyrics-1.mscz differ
diff --git a/vtest/lyrics-2-ref.png b/vtest/lyrics-2-ref.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..521da07bdeeac
Binary files /dev/null and b/vtest/lyrics-2-ref.png differ
diff --git a/vtest/lyrics-2.mscz b/vtest/lyrics-2.mscz
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..47e4339453d1b
Binary files /dev/null and b/vtest/lyrics-2.mscz differ