Learning to speak a new language is exciting; learning to write a new language is even more exciting! It will open new worlds for you. So, dig into these tips and advice for learning how to master the Bulgarian alphabet easily - at BulgarianPod101 we make it easy, fun and relevant for you!
Starting anything from scratch can be challenging, especially if you learn how to write in a language completely different from your own. It is really like navigating through a territory that is completely unknown to you.
However, this need not be a big hurdle or a problem! At BulgarianPod101, we introduce you to Bulgarian writing in simple, easy-to-follow steps, and you can ask for advice or help anywhere along the way. It is important to master the Bulgarian alphabet completely from the start.
If you want to master the Bulgarian language and become fluent, you must learn the Bulgarian alphabet letters first. And you need physical worksheets to practice on.
This eBook is a MUST-HAVE for all Bulgarian learning beginners!
Download your Free Bulgarian practice sheets PDF today and learn the Bulgarian language in no time!
This is a must-have guide for absolute beginners
The Bulgarian alphabet is a Cyrillic alphabet. If it uses romanization to match the English, Bulgarian can be very easy to learn.
Knowing the basics of the Bulgarian alphabet is a huge step in learning Bulgarian because most letters in the Bulgarian alphabet stand for just one specific sound. That means if you know the letters and use the romanization, then you can read the words and people will understand you. In fact, the writing system is so exact that when you ask someone to spell a word, they usually just say it slower. We’ll go over the pronunciation of each letter and the rules for spelling in our pronunciation series.
The Bulgarian alphabet consists of six vowels; one semi-vowel, “й,” being equivalent to “y” in English as in “yes;” and thirty-five consonants. Bulgarian consonants may be divided into twelve pairs (voiced or voiceless).
You also form words the same as in English, by putting letters together in certain orders. Bulgarian is a Cyrillic-based language but it also shares many words with English, French, and Italian. Cognates are similar-looking words with similar meanings. For example, “electricity” (elektrichestvo) and “traditional” (tradicionen) are English-Bulgarian cognates.
Bulgarian word stress is dynamic.
Stressed syllables are louder and longer than unstressed ones. Stress, as in Russian and other East Slavic languages, is also lexical, rather than fixed as in French, Latin, or the West Slavic languages.
Bulgarian stress is also distinctive. There are words differentiated only by stress. For example, в’ълна (”wool”) and вълн’а (”wave”), and п’ара (”steam”) and пар’а (coin).
Stress usually isn’t signified in written text, except for the case of the vowel ѝ, meaning “to her,” which is different from the unstressed и, meaning “and.”
If you know Bulgarian, then Macedonian, Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Slovene, and even Russian will be easier to understand and learn because they share common roots.
Bulgarian is a Southern Slavic language that is spoken fluently by about 12 million people, with most speakers residing in Bulgaria and nearby countries such as Serbia, Macedonia, Turkey, Romania, Ukraine, and Greece. When Bulgaria joined the European Union in 2007, the Bulgarian alphabet became the EU’s third official alphabet.
The Bulgarian alphabet consists of 30 letters, and will appear very different to people who are not familiar with Slavic languages. With practice, you will be able to familiarize yourself with the building blocks of the language—the alphabet—which is based on Cyrillic script.
| Upper case | Lower case | Romanization | Sounds like | Sample word | Sample word Romanization |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| А | а | a | a in “adorable” | азбука | azbuka |
| Б | б | b | b in “bug” | България | Balgariya |
| В | в | v | v in “vet” | влак | vlak |
| Г | г | g | g in “god” | градина | gradina |
| Д | д | d | d in “dog” | дете | dete |
| Е | е | e | e in “best” | елен | elen |
| Ж | ж | zh | s in “treasure” | жираф | zhiraf |
| З | з | z | z in “zoo” | здраве | zdrave |
| И | и | i | i in “igloo” | игла | igla |
| Й | й | y | y in “yes” | йога | yoga |
| К | к | k | c in “cat” | коса | kosa |
| Л | л | l | l in “call” | лед | led |
| М | м | m | m in “man” | мъж | mazh |
| Н | н | n | n in “normal” | нос | nos |
| О | о | o | o in “order” | оранжево | oranzhevo |
| П | п | p | p in “pet” | праскова | praskova |
| Р | р | r | r in “restaurant” | роза | roza |
| С | с | s | s in “sound” | сметка | smetka |
| Т | т | t | t in “top” | търговия | targoviya |
| У | у | u | oo in “tool” | ухо | uho |
| Ф | ф | f | f in “food” | фокус | fokus |
| Х | х | h | h in “helmet” | халка | halka |
| Ц | ц | ts | ts in “fits” | цар | tsar |
| Ч | ч | ch | ch in “chip” | череша | cheresha |
| Ш | ш | sh | sh in “shot” | шамандура | shamandura |
| Щ | щ | sht | sht in “shtick” | щепсел | shtepsel |
| Ъ | ъ | a | u in “turn” | ъгъл | agal |
| Ь | ь | y | y in “canyon” | фризьор | frizyor |
| Ю | ю | yu | u in “menu” | ютия | yutiya |
| Я | я | ya | ya in “yarn” | ябълка | yabalka |
Most of the letters in the Bulgarian alphabet represent one specific sound. There are three letters that represent a combination of sounds. These include щ (sht), ю (yu), and я (ya). There are two sounds in the Bulgarian language that are not represented by two separate letters, but rather by a combination of two letters: дж (/dʒ/) and дз (/dz/).
To understand the pronunciation of Bulgarian letters in the alphabet and when used in combination to form Bulgarian words, it is important to listen to the language being spoken by native speakers. In particular, lessons that are designed for students who are new to the language will provide clear instruction on pronunciation and how letters are used to form words.
In addition to observing Bulgarian writing during your language lessons, it is important for students to take advantage of modern techniques for learning new languages. Podcast lessons, for example, are ideal for learning proper pronunciation and comprehension. By listening to the language as much as possible, you will be able to speed up the process of learning Bulgarian and develop a more thorough understanding of Bulgarian accents.
Learning a Slavic language may seem like a daunting challenge at first, but with comprehensive and highly effective Bulgarian lessons, you will make quick progress. The key is to be consistent by studying for at least 5-10 minutes a day. As you learn Bulgarian and expand on your conversational skills, you will be ready for your trip to Eastern Europe or to simply enjoy understanding a second language!
A language’s alphabet is its building blocks. Trying to learn how to write in Bulgarian without first learning its alphabet is a bit like trying to build a brick house without touching the individual bricks! It is impossible to do a good job that way. So don’t believe language schools and methods that try to teach you otherwise. You will regret it later.
Also, once you start recognizing symbols and words, you will be encouraged by your own progress and motivated to learn even faster. Even just learning the basics of the alphabet will allow you to start recognizing simple Bulgarian words, and it will feel great!
Furthermore, knowing the alphabet even helps with pronunciation, as learning the individual letters of any language will start uncovering nuances and intricacies that are not always apparent when you’re simply listening to the words.
Completely mastering the Bulgarian alphabet, no matter how long it takes, will give you an excellent head start in learning how to write and read the language. It will offer you a solid foundation on which to build the other language skills, so set a goal to learn the alphabet so well that you’re able to recite it in your sleep!
Read on for helpful tips and secrets to learning the Bulgarian alphabet quickly and effectively.
If you want to master the Bulgarian language and become fluent, you must learn the Bulgarian alphabet letters first. And you need physical worksheets to practice on.
This eBook is a MUST-HAVE for all Bulgarian learning beginners!
Download your Free Bulgarian practice sheets PDF today and learn the Bulgarian language in no time!
This is a must-have guide for absolute beginners
Log in with Your Free Lifetime Account and we’ll give you a bundle of PDF cheat sheet including Survival Phrases, Romantic Lines, Learning Tips… — absolutely Free!
Let’s now take a closer look at how studying Bulgarian lessons in PDF format can help you reach your dream in up to half the time of normal video or audio lessons!
Learning Bulgarian through PDF lessons can dramatically reduce your data use. Once a lesson or tool is downloaded, you can then access it offline via your computer or smartphone any time or place regardless of Internet access. And once you’ve download the Bulgarian lessons in PDF format, you can actually access them faster than logging in and trying to do so via a live site. So not only will learning Bulgarian using PDF lessons save minutes on your data plan—it will save you some significant time as well as the lessons add up!
Sometimes, a tiny smartphone screen just isn’t adequate, especially when you are trying to learn something new. The great thing about PDF lessons, tools or files is that they can be quickly printed and taken anywhere after you download them. In fact, printing out Bulgarian lessons in PDF format can actually save you time when compared to going through the material on a smartphone with a small screen—even with the extra printing time!
Studying video or audio lessons online is a great way to learn a language because students can play and rewind sections as many times as needed until the lesson is mastered. But when you review the same Bulgarian lessons again in PDF format, an incredible thing happens: your retention dramatically improves! Thanks to Time Spaced Repetition, seeing the information again in written format helps reinforce the information in your mind and improves both retention and recall. The benefits of learning Bulgarian using PDF lessons quickly add up to significant time savings for you, your data plan, and your dream of learning a new language!
Learning to read and write is a must for all beginners. Although you get video lessons on how to write in Bulgarian at BulgarianPod101, you’ll still need physical worksheets to practice on. That’s why you’re getting this printable tutorial PDFs as a gift.
With a language, like with anything you have to learn from scratch, having a few mnemonic devices handy are key to learning it fast. A mnemonic device is basically any method or technique that helps you to retain or commit something to memory more easily.
Here are a few mnemonic devices to memorize the Bulgarian alphabet so you can speed up learning how to write in Bulgarian.
Can you still remember your childhood alphabet song in your own language? The best way to commit it to memory so you can recite it is still your mom or first teacher’s way - with music, a song and/or a poem! Find a recording and learn to sing the song, or recite the poem along as best as you can. Ask your BulgarianPod101 teacher to help you understand exactly what you are singing or saying, and soon you’ll have reciting the alphabet under your belt! Repeat it out loud as often as possible.
However, you still need to learn how to write it.
Remember when you were young and learning to write for the first time? You didn’t start with words or sentences; you started with letters, one at a time!
Decide on tackling only a few letters each week, and then don’t move on from these till you are completely familiar with them. Don’t take on too many at once, or you may become discouraged. Also, remember to ask your teacher at BulgarianPod101 if you have questions!
Learn to incidentally spot the letters in books, road signs (If you’re living in the country), magazines, on TV, anywhere you encounter written Bulgarian. Remember to write them out!
Make it a goal to write out your week’s letters at least once a day, and commit to this goal. You can also do it every time you have a free moment. Get yourself a special notebook for this purpose that you can carry with you anywhere you go. Sitting on the train or bus? Waiting for someone somewhere? Whip out your notebook and write the Bulgarian alphabet, or the letters you are learning. Aim for about 20 repetitions, while silently saying the letter in your head as you write it out. This way, you will soon be able to form and write words all by yourself! Exciting, isn’t it?
Writing something down with a pen also seems to engrave it in the brain in a way that nothing else does. As an added benefit, it gives you the satisfaction of seeing a new language in your own writing!
Once you’ve mastered the whole alphabet, commit to writing it out in its entirety at least once a day, for at least one month. More repetitions are obviously better.
Research has shown that the more senses and actions we use to learn something, the quicker the new information sticks in the memory and becomes habitual. To apply this principle while learning the Bulgarian alphabet, write out huge letters by tracing them in the soil, or with chalk on the floor. Now, while saying the letter out loud, walk on the lines you have just traced. In this way, you ‘write’ the letter by moving your whole body!
Having fun just makes it even easier to learn something, so why not ‘write’ the letters out with dance steps while moving to your favorite Bulgarian music!
This is a simple trick that seems silly, but you’ll be surprised how quickly you will commit intricate letters to memory this way. It really works!
This technique would involve saying the Bulgarian letter out loud, and then thinking of a word in your own language that sounds the same as the letter. That would then create a phonic association that should make it easier for you to remember the letter. Better even if the association is something you can draw or picture.
If the script of the new alphabet is very different from your own, look at it closely, and see if you can find an image that the letter reminds you of
Try to write words from your own language in Bulgarian, and ask your friendly BulgarianPod101 teachers for feedback! Or post them on the forum and see if anyone can read them. You will be so pleased with yourself when you start writing words that are readable and recognizable by native speakers.
Is there an audio to help to pronounce these letters?
Hello Heather!
Thank you for showing interest in the Bulgarian language. This course doesn’t deal with handwriting if that is what you mean. Nowadays, people use a mix of print script and handwriting.
The direction of writing is from top to bottom, font slanted to the right (however, some people have it font slanted to the left.)
I hope this helps. Let us know if you have any questions.
Kind regards,
Viktoria
Team BulgarianPod101.com
On writing the crylic letters, it would be helpful to see which strokes to make and in which direction the pen moves. Are there any videos which show the penmanship aspect of the alphabet?
Hi Lukas,
Unfortunately, our classes are in English, we do not currently teach Bulgarian in Spanish 😞
For our students who have difficulties with the English language, we have Lesson Transcripts attached to the lessons to make it easier for them to follow the English speech.
Kind regards,
Levente
Team BulgarianPod101.com
I am interested in the course, but my language is Spanish. I can't see if there is any way to see the classes in that language.
Hi, Kitti!
Currently, there is no such option. However, it is a good idea, so thank you for bringing this to our attention. I’ll report it to the responsible people.
In the meantime, you can ask your teacher if you are using this function.
Keep up the great work and enjoy your studies!
Cheers,
Viktoria
Team BulgarianPod101.com