The Bulgarian alphabet - Cyrillic letters
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HideA complete list of the Cyrillic letters and their pronunciation
The first thing you have to know about the Bulgarian language is that its alphabet is much more different than the English one. The Bulgarian language is a Southern Slavic language that uses the Cyrillic alphabet, similar to the Russian alphabet. At first you could be a little bit confused and it could take more time for you to learn the new letters and sounds, but it is not impossible. With some effort and desire you will achieve your goal. Here you can learn the Bulgarian alphabet free and with examples.
In the table below you will find all the Bulgarian letters. You will also see example words in both Bulgarian and English, so that you can learn how to pronounce them correctly.
| Bulgarian letter | Pronunciation | Sound in a word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. А,а | A,a -> alphabet | аз (az) | I |
| 2. Б,б | B,b -> bus | боб (bob) | beans |
| 3. В,в | V,v -> very | Варна (Varna) | Varna - city |
| 4. Г,г | G,g -> good | грах (grah) | peas |
| 5. Д,д | D,d - > day | дебел (debel) | fat |
| 6. Е,е | E,e -> egg | елен (elen) | deer |
| 7. Ж,ж | Zh, zh -> pleasure | жълт (zhult) | yellow |
| 8. З,з | Z,z -> zoo | зелен (zelen) | green |
| 9. И,и | I,i -> indoor | игла (igla) | needle |
| 10. Й,й | Y,y -> yoga | йод (yod) | iodine |
| 11. К,к | K,k -> keep | клон (klon) | branch |
| 12. Л,л | L,l -> love | любов (luibov) | love |
| 13. М,м | M,m -> many | момче (momhe) | boy |
| 14.Н,н | N,n -> no | нос (nos) | nose |
| 15. О,о | O,o -> olive | огън (ogan) | fire |
| 16. П.п | P,p -> pot | парк (park) | park |
| 17. Р, р | R,r -> red | розов (rozov) | pink |
| 18. С, с | S,s -> sit | сливи (slivi) | plums |
| 19. Т,т | T,t -> tree | този (tozi) | this |
| 20. У,у | U,u -> ultra | мазут (mazuth) | fuel oil |
| 21. Ф,ф | F,f -> far) | филм (film) | movie |
| 22. Х,х | H,h -> hot | хълм (halm) | hill |
| 23.Ц,ц | C,c -> citrus | цитрус (citrus) | citrus |
| 24. Ч,ч | Ch,ch -> church | човек (chovek) | human |
| 25 Ш,ш | Sh, sh -> shot, she | шише (shishe) | bottle |
| 26. Щ,щ | Sht, sht -> pushed, washed | щанга (shtanga) | weight bar |
| 27. Ъ,ъ | A,a -> ago | път (pat) | road |
| 28. Ь, ь | not pronounced (softens the previous consonant) | синьо (sinyo) | blue |
| 29. Ю,ю | yu (you) | приют (priyut) | shelter |
| 30. Я,я | ya (young) | пиян (piyan) | drunk |
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Practice your pronunciation with these simple words
- мама (mama) - mother
- тати (tati) - father
- дете (dete) - child
- вода (voda) - water
- цвете (cvete) - flower
- небе (nebe) - sky
- слънце (slance) - sun
There are 6 vocals:
In the Bulgarian language there are 6 vocal letters. Look at them and study them using the table. You have to be very careful when you read and write , because in some words they sound the same.
| Opened | Closed |
|---|---|
| А "a" | Ъ "a" or "u" |
| Е "e" | И "i" |
| О "o" | У "u" |
Consonants in the Bulgarian language:
It will be easier for you to understand the difference in the pronunciation of the Bulgarian letter. Some of them have a soft sound and the others - a hard sound. There are words in which the two opposite sounds are pronounced in the same way. So, be aware of that. In these cases, you have to know how to write the word correctly.
| Voiced | Silent |
|---|---|
| Б | П |
| В | Ф |
| Г | К |
| Д | Т |
| З | С |
| Ж | Ш |
| ДЖ | Ч |
| ДЗ | Ц |
| Ф | |
| Х | |
| Щ |
The Bulgarian alphabet song
You can start practicing to hear and pronounce the Bulgarian alphabet right now, just listen to the Bulgarian alphabet song. On the second video you can see and hear the pronunciation of Bulgarian words.