Some facts and basic knowledge
Bulgarian is part of the Slavic family of languages - one of the major language families in the modern world. Other languages from the sale family are Russian, Serbian, Croatian, Polish, Czech, Slovac, etc. Around 12 million people speak Bulgarian mainly in Bulgaria and in many countries all over the world.
Bulgarian was the first Slavic language to be written as early as the 9-th century in the Glagolitic Alphabet which was replaced by the Cyrillic Alphabet, variation of which is used up to the present day.
If you want to be able to read or write in Bulgarian, the first thing you should start with is the alphabet. Unlike the English alphabet the Bulgarian alphabet has got 30 letters which means there are a few letters which will look entirely strange and new to you.
So you can start with practising the letters by writing and pronouncing them. Once you learn the letters and the way they are pronounced, you will find out Bulgarian is not that dufficult.
So here it is, do you want to have a go? Below you will see in a row the Bulgarian letter and the corresponding English letter or sound together with an example of it's pronunciation in a word:
So, do you think it's hard? Well,it's not but you have to be patient enough and simply take a writing pad and a pen and take your time to practise. One very important thing is to pronounce every letter aloud so you can gain more confidence.
Once you have learned how to write and pronounce the letters things will start to make sense as unlike English in Bulgarian what you read is what you say!
Let's try!
Here are some most common greeting expessions:
Здравей! - Zdravey! - Hello!
Здравейте! - Zdraveyte! - Hello! (N.B. used when addressing more than one person)
Здрасти! - Zdrasti! - Hi! ( informal)
Добро утро! - Dobro utro! - Good morning!
Добър ден! - Dobur den! - Good afternoon!
Добър вечер! - Dobur vecher! - Good evening!
Now a few general conversation phrases:
Аз се казвам... - Az se kazvam... - My name is....
Аз съм от Англия. - Az sum ot Anglia. - I come from England.
Как си? - Kak si? - How are you?
Как сте? - Kak ste? - How are you (when you address more than one person)
Благодаря, добре. - Blagodaria, dobre. - Fine, thanks.
Благодаря - Blagodaria - Thank you
Мерси - Mersi - Thank you
Довиждане - Dovizhdane - Good bye
Да - Da - Yes
Не - Ne - No
You will find this strange and amusing! Bulgarians nod their heads meaning NO and shake heads for YES, which foreigners find really odd. You can find yourself in some funny situation with this difference, so be well aware of it.
Here are some most common words that could be helpful when you visit Bulgaria:
Числа - Numbers |
1 - едно - edno
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| 2- две - dve |
| 3 - три - tri |
| 4 - четири - chetiri |
| 5 - пет - pet |
| 6 - шест - shest |
| 7 - седем - sedem |
| 8 - осем - osem |
| 9 - девет - devet |
| 10- десет -deset |
|
Места - Places |
| магазин - magazin - shop |
| кино - kino - cinema |
| кръчма - kruchma - pub |
| аптека - apteka - chemist's |
| лекар - lekar - doctor |
| зъболекар- zubolekar-dentist |
| болница - bolnitsa - hospital |
| такси - taksi - taxi |
| училище-uchilishte - school |
| община-obshtina - town hall |
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| |
| хотел - hotel - hotel |
| ресторант-restorant-restaurant |
| полиция-politsia-police station |
| град - grad - town |
| село- selo - village |
| летище - letishte - airport |
| автогара - avtogara-bus station |
| гара - gara - railway station |
| банка - banka - bank |
| кафене - kafene - cafe |
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Храни и напитки-Food and drinks |
| пиле - pile - chicken |
| картофи - kartofi - potatoes |
| хляб - hliab - bread |
| захар - zahar - sugar |
| сирене - sirene - cheese |
| месо - meso - meat |
| чай - chay - tea |
| кафе - kafe - coffee |
| бира - bira - beer |
| вода - voda - water |
|
Дрехи - Clothes |
| панталон-pantalon-trousers |
| блуза - bluza - top |
| риза - riza - shirt |
| тениска - teniska - T-shirt |
| пола - pola - skirt |
| жилетка - zhiletka- cardigan |
| рокля - roklia - dress |
| чорапи - chorapi - socks |
| палто - palto - coat |
| яке - iake - jacket |
|
Цветове - Colours |
| бял - bial - white |
| черен - cheren - black |
| червен - cherven - red |
| син - sin - blue |
| жълт - zhult - yellow |
| зелен - zelen - green |
| кафяв - kafiav - brown |
| сив - siv - grey |
| розов - rozov - pink |
| оранжев - oranzhev - orange |
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| |
Посоки - Directions |
| ляво - liavo - left |
| дясно - diasno - right |
| направо-napravo-straight on |
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If you have learned all this so far, you have achieved a lot. Of course, this is just the start but at least you have made the first steps knowing that it's not that difficult and it could be fun. Also you will be able to say some things to the locals when you visit Bulgaria and you will be able to read the sign in the streets as you know now what you read is what you say. Having made the first steps, you will find yourself wanting to learn more and more as learning a foreign language can be a real challenge or as the saying is: "Learning a language has a beginning but no end".
V.Screen
If you have any questions, comments or want me to add something you are particularly interested in and want to know in Bulgarian, feel free to contact me at velina@bulgariavillasartcove.com
