The Bulgarian alphabet has 30 letters. Reading is fairly regular, but a letter does not always represent one sound.
- Ъ is a real vowel — like the a in about:
"ъгъл"
,"добър"
. - Щ = sht:
"нощ"
,"лека нощ"
. - Ю and Я at the start of a word are two sounds, yu and ya:
"юни"
,"ябълка"
. - Й is a short y:
"чай"
,"здравей"
. - Ь only appears before
"о"
:"асансьор"
.
Watch the look-alikes: В = v, Н = n, Р = r, С = s, У = u, Х = kh (German ch in Bach). Read slowly, letter by letter — soon you'll recognise signs like "ИЗХОД"
and "АПТЕКА"
.
| Bulgarian letters | Examples |
|---|---|
| Ж ж | жена, мъж |
| Ц ц | център, сърце |
| Ч ч | чай, чаша |
| Ш ш | шест, шапка |
| Щ щ | нощ, ще |
| Ъ ъ | ъгъл, добър |
| Ю ю | юни, меню |
| Я я | ябълка, стая |
| Й й | здравей, мой |
| Ь ь | асансьор |
Examples
Къде е изходът?
Where is the exit?
Аптеката е отворена.
The pharmacy is open.
Чета думата буква по буква.
I read the word letter by letter.
Пиша на кирилица.
I write in Cyrillic.
Говорите ли български?
Do you speak Bulgarian?
For speakers of your language
"В"
, "Н", "Р" are v, n, r. "С"
is s; "Х" is like German ch in Bach, rather than English h.
Quick quiz
Which letter is read as sht?
щ
"Щ" = sht, as in"нощ"(night).
Лека но___!
щ
"Нощ"(night) ends in "щ", read sht.
"Ъ"
is a silent letter and isn't pronounced.
False
"Ъ"is a real vowel:
"ъгъл",
"добър".
Which sign means exit?
ИЗХОД
"ИЗХОД"is the way out;
"ВХОД"is the way in.
At the start of a word, "я"
is two sounds: "ябълка"
sounds like yabalka.
True
Yes —"я"= y + a, "ю" = y + u.