Bulgarian Language Guide

Official language in
Bulgaria
Script
Cyrillic

Where it's spoken

Bulgarian is the official language of the Republic of Bulgaria, according to its constitution. The constitution also states that the study and use of the Bulgarian language is a right and an obligation of every Bulgarian citizen, and that citizens whose mother tongue is not Bulgarian have the right to study and use their own language alongside the compulsory study of Bulgarian.

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Script & pronunciation

Bulgarian is written in the Cyrillic alphabet. A Peace Corps primer for Bulgarian gives Н as n, Р as r, С as s, В as v and Х as h, and lists these among the letters that are written like English letters but pronounced differently. This app's card Не разбирам ("I don't understand") is romanized Ne raz-bi-ram, with Н written as n and р as r.

The same primer describes ъ as sounding like the u in "but," gives ж as zh and щ as sht, and says that the letter ь has no sound of its own and only softens the preceding consonant. This app's cards romanize ъ as a, ж as zh and щ as sht, as in Съжалявам ("Sorry"), romanized Sa-zha-lya-vam, and Нощ ("Night"), romanized Nosht.

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Grammar essentials

Bulgarian is a member of the Balkan Sprachbund and, unlike most other Slavic languages, it has no case declensions, uses a definite article that is added to the end of the word, and has no verb infinitive forms. This app's card Колко струва това? ("How much does this cost?") notes that no case changes are needed in Bulgarian, and the card Болен съм ("I'm sick") notes that Bulgarian adjectives agree in gender but not case.

The place of the definite article is one of the differences from English that the Peace Corps primer points out. In this app's card Къде е казиното? ("Where is the casino?"), the card notes that казиното is казино plus the definite -то, and in Къде е пробната? ("Where is the fitting room?") that пробната is пробна plus the definite article -та. The article has a short and a long form for masculine singular words: the card Закъснял ли е влакът? ("Is the train delayed?") notes that влакът uses the long definite suffix -ът for masculine nouns in subject position. The card Имате ли информация за алергените? ("Do you have allergen information?") notes that -те is the plural definite article.

Because Bulgarian has no infinitive, "to do" is expressed with да plus a verb: the card Искам да наема кола ("I want to rent a car") notes that да + verb replaces the infinitive and that this is shared with other Balkan languages. A survey of the Balkan languages lists Bulgarian among the Balkan Slavic languages, and reports that early scholars of the Balkan languages pointed to the postposed definite article, future formation using an auxiliary derived from "want," and the replacement of infinitives by an analytic subjunctive. This app's card Колко ще струва? ("How much will this cost?") notes that ще + verb forms the future tense in Bulgarian.

Yes/no questions use the particle ли. In the card Имате ли меню без глутен? ("Do you have a gluten-free menu?"), which notes that ли is the yes/no question particle, ли stands right after the verb Имате; in the card Вие добре ли сте? ("Are you OK?"), it stands after добре. In the Peace Corps primer's phrases, не stands directly before the verb, as in не разбирам ("I don't understand"). The card Интернетът не работи ("The internet is not working") notes that Не работи is a negation plus a third-person singular verb.

What you say about yourself can depend on whether you are a man or a woman. The Peace Corps primer gives уморен съм for a man and уморена съм for a woman, and болен съм for a man and болна съм for a woman. This app's card Уморен съм ("I'm tired") notes that a woman says Уморена съм, and the card Болен съм ("I'm sick") notes that болен is masculine and that women say болна съм. The card Аз съм вегетарианец. ("I am vegetarian.") notes that women say вегетарианка.

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Politeness & etiquette

Bulgarian has an informal ти and a polite вие for "you." The Peace Corps primer labels the ти-forms as singular or informal and the вие-forms as plural or formal, pairing Здравей (informal) with Здравейте (formal). This app's card Вие ("You (polite)") describes вие as the polite form for the person you are addressing and says to use ти only with friends and children. The card Здравейте ("Hello (formal)") is described as a formal greeting used with strangers and elders, and the card Здравей ("Hello (informal)") as a casual greeting used with friends and acquaintances. The card Как се казвате? ("What's your name?") uses the polite вие and notes that with friends you say Как се казваш?

Polite requests use the formal form as well. The card Можете ли да препоръчате местно вино или напитка? ("Can you recommend a local wine or spirit?") notes that Можете ли да is a formal polite request, and the card Колко струва това? ("How much does this cost?") notes that adding моля ("please") makes the price question extra polite.

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