"не"
goes before the verb; a short pronoun may intervene: "Не го виждам."
"Не разбирам."
(I don't understand.)"Не говоря български."
"Не съм от София."
— now"съм"
isn't first, so this is fine.
"Имам"
and "има"
are special:
"имам → нямам"
:"Нямам време."
(not"не имам"
)"има → няма"
:"Няма хляб."
(There's no bread.)
Future: "няма да"
+ verb: "Утре няма да работя."
(I won't work tomorrow.)
Double negatives are normal: "Никой не знае."
(Nobody knows.), "Нищо не виждам."
Without "не"
the sentence is wrong.
For a short answer, just say "Не."
— and mind the head gestures, that's another story!
| Да | Не |
|---|---|
| разбирам | не разбирам |
| студент съм | не съм студент |
| имам време | нямам време |
| има хляб | няма хляб |
| ще дойда | няма да дойда |
| някой знае | никой не знае |
Examples
Извинете, не разбирам.
Sorry, I don't understand.
Не говоря български добре.
I don't speak Bulgarian well.
Не съм от София.
I'm not from Sofia.
Нямам деца.
I don't have children.
В хладилника няма мляко.
There's no milk in the fridge.
Никой не знае.
Nobody knows.
For speakers of your language
English says nobody knows, but Bulgarian needs "не"
too: "Никой не знае."
German kein is usually "нямам / няма"
: "Нямам кола."
(Ich habe kein Auto.)
Quick quiz
How do you say I don't have?
нямам
The negative of"имам"is one word:
"нямам".
Say that there's no water:
Няма вода.
"има"(there is) →
"няма"(there isn't).
Никой ___ знае.
не
With"никой"you still need
"не"before the verb.
"Нищо не виждам"
(I see nothing) is wrong because it has two negatives.
False
Double negatives are normal in Bulgarian.Утре ___ да работя.
няма
Negative future:"няма да"+ verb.
"Няма"never changes.