А а
буква:аLike a in "father". Without stress it's shorter, close to the a in "sofa".
Library
Alphabet
Bulgarian uses 30 Cyrillic letters. Many look familiar — some are traps. Tap a letter to hear it and trace it.
Start lessonБ б
буква:бLike b in "bed". At the end of a word it sounds like p: "хляб"
(bread) ends in p.
Looks a bit like the number 6 — it's B.
В в
буква:вв
в
Like v in "van" — never like English b. At the end of a word it sounds like f: "лъв"
.
Looks like B, but it's V: "вълк"
= valk.
Г г
буква:гг
г
Hard g, as in "go" — never like j.
Looks like an upside-down L — it's G, as in "go".
Д д
буква:дд
д
Like d in "dog". At the end of a word it sounds like t: "град"
.
Capital Д looks like a little house — it's D. Careful: lowercase "д" in Bulgarian fonts looks like g!
Е е
буква:еLike e in "bed". It's never read "ye".
Ж ж
буква:жж
ж
Like s in "pleasure". At the end of a word it sounds like sh: "нож"
.
Sounds like the s in "pleasure" or French j in "journal".
З з
буква:зз
з
Like z in "zoo".
Looks like the number 3 — it's Z, as in "zoo".
И и
буква:ии
и
Like ee in "see", but short.
Looks like a mirrored N — it's the vowel i ("ee").
Й й
буква:йй
й
Like y in "boy" or "yes".
"И"
with a little arc on top: a short i, like y in "boy".
К к
буква:кк
к
Like k in "sky" — without a puff of air.
Л л
буква:лл
л
Like the l in "ball"; before е and и it's lighter, like the l in "leaf".
Looks like Greek Λ (lambda) — it's L.
М м
буква:мLike m in "mum".
Н н
буква:нLike n in "no" — it's not an H!
Looks like H, but it's N: "нос"
= nos.
О о
буква:оLike o in "pot" (British), but rounder. Without stress it drifts a little towards u.
П п
буква:пп
п
Like p in "spot".
Like Greek Π — it's P. Careful: lowercase "п" looks like n!
Р р
буква:рA rolled (trilled) r, as in Spanish or Italian.
Looks like P, but it's a rolled R: "риба"
= riba.
С с
буква:сAlways s, as in "sun" — never k.
Looks like C, but it's always S: "сова"
= sova.
Т т
буква:тт
т
Like t in "stop".
In handwriting and italics lowercase "т" looks like m — it's still T.
У у
буква:уLike oo in "food", but shorter.
Looks like Y, but it's the vowel u ("oo"): "ухо"
= uho.
Ф ф
буква:фLike f in "fun".
Looks like Greek Φ — it's F.
Х х
буква:хLike ch in Scottish "loch", but softer — never silent.
Looks like X, but it sounds like ch in Scottish "loch" or German "ach".
Ц ц
буква:цц
ц
Like ts in "cats".
Looks like U with a little tail — it's ts, as in "cats" (German z).
Ч ч
буква:чLike ch in "church".
Looks like the number 4 — it's ch, as in "church".
Ш ш
буква:шш
ш
Like sh in "shop".
Looks like W, but it's sh, as in "shop".
Щ щ
буква:щщ
щ
Two sounds: sh + t, as in "ashtray": "щъркел"
, "поща"
.
Ш with a little tail = sh + t, as in "ashtray".
Ъ ъ
буква:ъъ
ъ
A real vowel, like the u in "but" or the a in "sofa".
Looks like a b with a hook, but it's a vowel, like the u in "but".
Ь ь
буква:ьь
ь
Not a sound on its own: it appears only in "ьо", softening the consonant before о — "шофьор"
sounds shof-YOR.
Looks like b, but has no sound of its own — it appears only in "ьо" (yo).
Ю ю
буква:юю
ю
Like "you": y + u. After a consonant it softens it.
Looks like IO — it's yu, as in "you".
Я я
буква:яLike "ya" in "yard"; after a consonant it softens it.
Looks like a mirrored R — it's ya, as in "yard".
