Learn the Bulgarian pronunciation
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Sign up for freeThe Bulgarian is a South Slavic language which is very close to Russian and Serbian. It is spoken by almost 9 million people all over the world and it is the national langage of Republic of Bulgaria. It is relatively easy to speak, but there are some sounds that are a little bit harder to pronounce. However, nothing is impossible, with a little bit of practice you will strart pronouncing it perfectly!
Lesson outline
HideBulgarian pronunciation guide
Don't be scared or worried, the good news is that there are pronunciation patterns which are really close to the English language.
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Didi B.
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Olga D. 
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Krasimira I.
Monika K.
Valya T.
Yordanka A.
Where to put the stress?
The stress in Bulgarian usually is not written and it could be anywhere in the word. So, you would have to memorize the right pronunciation of the word. So, listen carefully to native speakers and try to repeat them! In case that you wonder for a specific word, you can always check the dictionary.
The Bulgarian alphabet pronunciation
Vowels
There are 6 vowels in the Bulgarian language: а, ъ, о, у, е, и. When they are unstressed, they tend to be shorter and weaker. When they are stressed the sound is larger and stronger.
| Vowel | Stressed | Unstressed | Bulgarian word |
|---|---|---|---|
| А | a: father or car | uh stud | мравка (mravkuh) |
| Ъ | uh stud | a about | ъгъл (ugal) |
| О | more and score | weak "oo" | розов (rozov) |
| У | rule and moon | weak "oh" | пушка (pushka) |
| Е | pen and attend | weak "ee" | пепел (pepel) |
| И | machine and be | weak "eh" | мирише (mirishe) |
Consonants
When voiced consonants are in the end of the word they are pronounced as voiceless.
| Consonant | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Б (voiced) | boy / pop (in the end of the word) | боб |
| В (voiced) | voice / half | вагон / красив |
| Г (voiced) | good / cook | глог |
| Д (voiced) | deer / part | добър |
| Ж (voiced) | pleasure / push | жираф |
| З (voiced) | zoo / plus | зелен |
| К | cactus | котка |
| Л | love | лилав |
| М | mother | майка |
| Н | nothing | нов |
| П | popular | популярен |
| Р | race | рана |
| С | start | сутрин |
| Т | trick | този |
| Ф | free | филм |
| Х | horn | храна |
| Ц | tsunami | царевица |
| Ч | cheap | чорап |
| Ш | sheep | широк |
| Щ | pushed | щипка |
| ь | doesn't have sound. Softens the pronunciation. | шофьор |
Some Bulgarian words with pronunciation
| Bulgarian | Transcription | English |
|---|---|---|
| Здравей | Zdravei | Hello |
| Град | Grad | City |
| Държава | Darzhava | Country |
| Добре дошъл | Dobre doshul! | Welcome! |
| Човек | Chovek | Human |
| Младост | Mladost | Youth |
Some Bulgarian phrases with pronunciation
| Bulgarian | Transcription | English |
|---|---|---|
| Слънцето пече! | Slunceto peche! | The sun is shining! |
| Страхотно си изкарахме! | Strahotno si izkarahme! | We had so much fun! |
| Обичам да ям лютеница! | Obicham da yam lyutenitza! | I love eating lyutenitza! |
| Приятен ден! | Priyaten den! | Have a great day! |
| Бъди жив и здрав! | Budi zhiv i zdrav! | Be healthy and happy! |
| Наздраве! | Nazdrave! | Cheers! |
You can find even more words and expressions in Bulgarian in each lesson of our course. All lessons have transcriptions and audio.