Going to Bulgaria? Then you’ll need to learn how to order a meal, ask for directions and say ‘hello’ (zdravei) and ‘thank you’ (blagodarya) with ease. This language guide arms you with useful Bulgarian phrases, a pronunciation guide, and audio recordings from a native speaker.
This Bulgarian travel phrase guide gives you a well-rounded set of practical phrases and vocabulary which will help you have meaningful conversations and interactions with the locals. To help me create this new addition to my collection of free travel phrase guides, I asked my friend and native Bulgarian speaker, Pavel from Curious Pavel to provide accurate Bulgarian translations and pronunciation tips. He’s even provided audio clips for each phrase to make things even easier for you!
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Let’s take a closer look at the Bulgarian language. Here’s what we’ll cover:
Table of Contents
- Where is Bulgarian spoken?
- Bulgarian Alphabet
- Bulgarian Pronunciation
- Bulgarian Vocabulary
- Useful Bulgarian Phrases for Travellers
- Useful Bulgarian Phrases for Travellers [Infographic]
Where is Bulgarian spoken?
Bulgarian is the official language of Bulgaria with about 12 million speakers mainly in Bulgaria. It is also spoken by minority groups located in Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Hungary, Greece, Macedonia, Turkey, Canada, USA, Australia, Germany, and Spain.
As a Southern Slavic language, Bulgarian is mutually intelligible with Macedonian and is closely related to Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian and Slovenian. This means speakers of either language can readily understand each other without much effort.
Rila Monastery, Bulgaria
Bulgarian Alphabet
The Bulgarian alphabet is very similar to the Russian Cyrillic alphabet. This is thanks to Saints Cyril and Methodius who invented the Glagolitic alphabet in AD863 and used it to translate Greek texts in Old Church Slavonic. Using the Greek and Glagolitic alphabet, their disciples developed the Cyrillic alphabet that is still in use today. Bulgarians celebrate Saints Cyril and Methodius on the 24trh of May which is a national holiday in Bulgaria.
For ease of use, I’ve included the transliteration for each phrase which means you can read as if you were reading English, but you’ll be magically speaking Bulgarian!
Here are the letters of the Bulgarian alphabet and their pronunciation.
| Аа (a) | Кк (kuh) | Фф (fuh) |
| Бб (buh) | Лл (luh) | Хх (huh) |
| Вв (vuh) | Мм (muh) | Цц (tsuh) |
| Гг (guh) | Нн (nuh) | Чч (chuh) |
| Дд (duh) | Оо (o) | Шш (shuh) |
| Ее (e) | Пп (puh) | Щщ (shtuh) |
| Жж (zhuh) | Рр (ruh) | Ъъ (er-gol-yam) |
| Зз (zuh) | Сс (suh) | ь (er ma-luhk) |
| Ии (ee) | Тт (tuh) | Юю (yoo) |
| Йй (ee krat-ko) | Уу (oo) | Яя (ya) |
Bulgarian Pronunciation
You don’t have to learn the Cyrillic alphabet to realise that Bulgarian is actually very easy to read. Unlike languages such as French, Bulgarian is almost entirely phonetic, meaning that you pronounce it the same way it’s written. Of course, there are a couple of exceptions, but you don’t need to worry about these as the pronunciation guide will reflect these variations.
Another bonus feature of the language is that there are no nasty or complicated sounds to learn as they are similar to English.
Inside Rila Monastery, Bulgaria
Bulgarian Vocabulary
Numerous Turkish words entered into during the five centuries of Ottoman rule. In the 19th century, many of these Turkish loanwords were removed from the language and were mostly replaced with Russian words.
Other words have adopted into Bulgarian from Latin, Greek, French, Italian, German, and English.
How to Say ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ in Bulgarian (It’s not what you think!)
One of the trickiest things to adopt is how Bulgarians say ‘yes’ and ‘no’. In many countries and for English speakers, we usually say ‘no’ whilst shaking our head, and ‘nod’ when we say ‘yes’. Not in Bulgaria. Everything is reversed! Shaking your head side-to-side means ‘yes’, while moving it up and down means ‘no’. It’s an easy concept to grasp but implementing it feels like rubbing your tummy and tapping your head at the same time.
To avoid being misunderstood, be sure to accompany your answer with the words “да” (yes) or “не” (no).
Useful Bulgarian Phrases for Travellers
Want the infographic to take with you? Scroll to the bottom of the page and save it.
P.S. If you’re reading this on your phone and can’t see the pronunciation column, turn it to landscape mode. For some reason, tables aren’t mobile friendly. Sorry!
| English | Bulgarian | Pronunciation (Transliteration) |
|---|---|---|
Greetings |
||
| Hello | здравей (singular) / zdraveite (plural) |
zdravei |
| Good morning | добро утро |
dobro utro |
| Good afternoon | добър ден |
dobar den |
| Good night | лека нощ |
leka nosht |
| Goodbye | довиждане |
dovizhdane |
| How are you? | как си |
kak si |
| I’m great, and you? | аз съм страхотно, а ти? |
az sam strahotno, a ti |
| I’m well, and you? | аз съм добре, а ти? |
az sum dobre, a ti |
| Good, thanks | добре, благодаря |
dobre, blagodarya |
| What is your name? | как се казваш |
kak se kazvash |
| My name is… | името ми е… |
kazvam se |
| Nice to meet you | приятно ми е да се запознаем |
priyatno mi e da se zapoznaem |
| Nice to meet you too | на мен също |
na men sashto |
| Have a nice day! | хубав ден / Приятен ден |
hubby den / priyaten den |
Essentials |
||
| Please | моля |
molya |
| Thank you | благодаря |
blagodarya |
| Thank you very much | много благодаря |
mnogo blagodarya |
| You’re welcome | пак заповядай |
Pak zapovyaday |
| Yes | да |
da |
| No | не |
ne |
| Excuse me (getting attention) | извинете (ме) |
izvinete (me) |
| Excuse me (when asking something to repeat themselves, begging pardon) | моля? |
molya? |
| I’m sorry | извинете ме / прощавaй(те) |
izvinete me / proshtavaj(te) |
| I don’t understand | не разбирам |
ne razbiram |
| Do you speak English? | говорите ли английски |
govorite li anglijski |
| I don’t speak Bulgarian very well | не говоря български много добре |
ne govorya balgarski mnogo dobre |
| Could you please repeat that? | може ли да повторите |
moje li da povtorite |
Questions |
||
| How much does it cost? | колко струва |
kolko struva |
| How much is…? | колко е |
kolko e |
| Where is…? | къде е |
kade e |
| Where is the bathroom? | къде в тоалетната |
kade e toaletnata |
| When? | кога |
koga |
| May I please have…? | може ли… |
moje li (mozhe li) |
| Could you please repeat that? | може ли да повторите |
moje li da povtorite |
Food and Drink |
||
| Beer | бира |
bira |
| Red wine | червено вино |
cherveno vino |
| White wine | бяло вино |
byalo vino |
| Water | вода |
voda |
| I don’t eat… | аз не ям … |
az ne yam… |
| I’m a vegetarian | аз съм вегетарианец |
az sam vegetarianets |
| The bill, please | сметката, моля |
smetkata, molya |
| Restaurant | ресторант |
restorant |
| Breakfast | закуска |
zakuska |
| Lunch | обяд |
obyad |
| Dinner | вечеря |
vecherya |
| Appetizer | аперитив/мезе |
aperitiv / meze |
| Main Course | основно ядене |
osnovno yadene |
| Dessert | десерт |
desert |
| I would like… | бих искал / бих желал |
bih iskal / bih jelal |
| What do you recommend? | какво бихте препоръчали |
kakvo bihte preporachali |
| It was delicious, thank you | беше вкусно, благодаря |
beshe vkusno, blagodarya |
Getting Around |
||
| Left | ляво |
liavo |
| Right | дясно |
dyasno |
| Straight ahead | направо |
napravo |
| Turn left | завийте наляво |
zavijte nalyavo |
| Turn right | завийте на дясно |
zavijte nadyasno |
| Entrance | вход |
vhod |
| Exit | изход |
izhod |
| I’m lost | изгубих се |
izgubih se |
| How do you get to…? | как да стигна до… |
kak da stigna do |
| The bank | банката |
bankata |
| The museum | музеят |
muzeyat |
| The park | парка |
parka |
| The hospital | болницата |
bolnicata |
| The hotel | хотела |
hotela |
| The airport | летището |
letishteto |
| The church | църквата |
carkvata |
| The tourist office | туристическият офис |
turisticheskiyat ofis |
| The bus stop | автобусната спирка |
avtobusnata spirka |
| The train station | ж.п. гарата |
zhe.pe. garata |
| The shop | магазина |
magazina |
Numbers |
||
| First | първи |
parvi |
| Second | втори |
vtori |
| Third | трети |
treti |
| 1 | едно |
edno |
| 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 |
| 20 | двадесет |
dvadeset |
| 30 | тридесет |
trideset |
| 40 | четиридесет |
chetirideset |
| 50 | петдесет |
petdeset |
| 60 | шестдесет |
shestdeset |
| 70 | седемдесет |
sedemdeset |
| 80 | осемдесет |
osemdeset |
| 90 | деветдесет |
devedeset |
| 100 | сто |
sto |
| 1000 | хиляда |
hilyada |
Time |
||
| Day | ден |
den |
| Week | седмица |
sedmica |
| Month | месец |
mesec |
| Year | година |
godina |
| Today | днес |
dnes |
| Tomorrow | утре |
utre |
| Day after tomorrow | вдругиден |
vdrugiden |
| Yesterday | вчера |
vchera |
| Minute | минута |
minuta |
| Hour | час |
chas |
| Time | време |
vreme |
| Weekend | Уикенд |
uikend |
| What time is it? | колко е часът |
kolko e chasa |
| It’s 8 o’clock | осем часа |
osem chasa |
Days |
||
| Monday | понеделник |
ponedelnik |
| Tuesday | вторник |
vtornik |
| Wednesday | сряда |
sryada |
| Thursday | четвъртък |
chetvartak |
| Friday | петък |
petak |
| Saturday | събота |
sabota |
| Sunday | неделя |
nedelya |
Emergency |
||
| Help! | помощ |
pomosht |
| I need a doctor | имам нужда от доктор |
imam nujda ot doktor |
| I don’t feel well | не се чувствам добре |
ne se chuvstvam dobre |
| Call the police! | повикайте полиция |
povikajte policiya |
| Fire! | пожар |
pojar (pozhar) |
Useful Bulgarian Phrases for Travellers [Infographic]
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Sources | Curious Pavel | Lonely Planet Phrasebook
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Over to you!
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