Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

Intro

Jonathan: Hello and welcome to the Absolute Beginner series at BulgarianPod101.com. This is season 1, lesson 1, First Encounters in Bulgarian. I’m Jonathan.
Iva: And I’m Iva!
Jonathan: Together we will guide you through the first steps in Bulgarian.
Iva: That’s right. So get ready and … enjoy!
Jonathan: Yes, because it is fun to learn Bulgarian.
Iva: And we’re here to make your absolute beginner experience easy and productive! Okay, Jonathan, what do we have first?
Jonathan: In this lesson you'll learn how to say "hello" in Bulgarian in the daytime.
Iva: This conversation takes place on the street.
Jonathan: The conversation is between two people.
Iva: The speakers know each other but their relationship is formal, so they’ll be speaking formal Bulgarian.
Jonathan: Let’s listen to the conversation.
DIALOGUES
[during the day]
Jonathan: Добър ден.
Iva: Добър ден.
Jonathan: Как сте?
Iva: Добре съм, благодаря.
Jonathan: Now let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. (slow speed, broken down by syllable)
[during the day]
Jonathan: Добър ден.
Iva: Добър ден.
Jonathan: Как сте?
Iva: Добре съм, благодаря.
Jonathan: And Now with the English translation.
Iva: Добър ден.
Jonathan: Hello.
Iva: Добър ден.
Jonathan: Hello.
Iva: Как сте?
Jonathan: How are you?
Iva: Добре съм, благодаря.
Jonathan: Fine, thanks.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Jonathan: OK, so now it is time for some more information about Bulgarian culture.
Iva: Yes. Bulgarians like to greet each other on the street when they are close acquaintances or friends.
Jonathan: It is also a very typical thing to see in the countryside, right Iva?
Iva: Yep! People would stop by to talk to their friends and ask them how they feel, or just to say politely hello and have short conversation.
Jonathan: So what would you say in this situation?
Iva: In this case we usually use the expression “Как сте?/Как си?”.
Jonathan: Remember that when talking to elderly people, it is considered polite to use the second person plural form of the phrase.
Iva: ...and other phrases like “Добър ден” and “благодаря” instead of their informal versions “Здравей/Здрасти” and “мерси”.
Jonathan: In our formal situation the speakers use the second person plural to express their respect for each other. Okay, now onto the vocab.
VOCAB
Jonathan: Now let’s take a look at the vocabulary in this lesson. The first word we shall see is...
Iva: Добър ден
Jonathan: Hello
Iva: Добър ден (slow, broken down by syllable)
Iva: Добър ден
Iva: Как сте
Jonathan: How are you?
Iva: Как сте (slow, broken down by syllable)
Iva: Как сте
Iva: Добре съм
Jonathan: I’m fine
Iva: Добре съм (slow, broken down by syllable)
Iva: Добре съм
Iva: Благодаря
Jonathan: Thank you
Iva: Благодаря (slow, broken down by syllable)
Iva: Благодаря
Iva: съм
Jonathan: I am
Iva: съм (slow, broken down by syllable)
Iva: съм
Iva: добре
Jonathan: fine
Iva: добре (slow, broken down by syllable)
Iva: добре
Iva: как
Jonathan: how
Iva: как (slow, broken down by syllable)
Iva: как
Iva: ден
Jonathan: day
Iva: ден (slow, broken down by syllable)
Iva: ден
KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES
Jonathan: Let’s take a closer look at some of the words and phrases from this lesson.
Iva: Yes, in addition to their meaning, we will explain some information about their forms and usage.
Jonathan: The first word from this dialogue is…
Iva: "Добър ден"!
Jonathan: This is one of the most important phrases in Bulgarian.
Iva: Yes, you will hear this every day.
Jonathan: It can be used both with people you know or people you are meeting for the first time.
Iva: Literally it means "Good day" so that’s why it’s used in the daytime.
Jonathan: There are other expressions used to greet people in the morning and in the evening...
Iva: But for now, just remember “Добър ден”.
Jonathan: It’s the most common way to greet people in Bulgaria. What’s next, Iva?
Iva: “Добре съм” which means “I am fine” or "I am well".
Jonathan: This phrase naturally follows the question “How are you” in Bulgarian.
Iva: In Bulgarian, “how are you” is “Как сте?” for the formal and “Как си?” for the informal question. Как сте? for formal and Как си? for informal.
Jonathan: Ok, so make sure you listen out for this question! Can you tell us more about the phrase “I am fine”?
Iva: The adverb "добре" means “fine”, “well”, “OK” and sometimes can be the only answer to the question “How are you?”.
Jonathan: So how does that sound?
Iva: For example, you answer the informal question “Как си?” with just one word- “Добре!”
Jonathan: It can be used among friends, right?
Iva: Yes, it can be used in conversation as an affirmative “OK”, like in English.
Jonathan: That’s right! And the last one we’ll talk about is…
Iva: “Благодаря” meaning “thank you”.
Jonathan: Another very useful Bulgarian word!
Iva: Indeed, do not forget to use it often.
Jonathan: Yes, it will help you in so many ways.
Iva: Bulgarians never forget to say “Thank you.”
Jonathan: And this one is mostly used in formal speech but can be used in the informal too.
Iva: That’s right. Its informal substitute is “Мерси”.
Jonathan: Oh, that sounds familiar!
Iva: I know, but we are going to talk about it in detail in our next lesson!
Jonathan: Ok, let’s move on to the grammar!
GRAMMAR POINT
Jonathan: The focus of this lesson is how to greet people in the daytime in Bulgaria.
Iva: And ask them how they are feeling.
Jonathan: Yes, so “How are you” in Bulgarian is…
Iva: “Как сте?”
Jonathan: "How are you" or "How you are feeling"? There are several phrases used to ask how someone is feeling in Bulgarian, just as in English.
Iva: But let's just focus on the usage of “Как сте” in this lesson.
Jonathan: Okay, (name). Give us an example.
Iva: Here it is – “Как сте днес?” It means...
Jonathan: How are you today?
Iva: And it is formal.
Jonathan: Because the verb is in its polite form.
Iva: “Как си, мило?”
Jonathan: Means “How are you, dear?” There's no difference in the meaning of the phrase. Just remember that the verb changes its form from “сте” to “си”.
Iva: The first one “сте” is the second person plural and the second one, “си” is the second person singular of the auxiliary verb.
Jonathan: OK. Here's a question for you. If you were visiting a friend in the hospital after he’d had an accident, what would you say?
Iva: “Как си след злополуката?”
Jonathan: Which means “How are you after the accident?”
Iva: I hope I won’t have to ask any of my friends this question though!
Jonathan: OK, OK, sorry! Next you'll learn how to ask how someone is (feeling) in a formal situation. Let’s say you are asking Mr. Petrov.
Iva: That will be “Как сте, господин Петров?” It is formed using a phrase you already know plus the name of the person.
Jonathan: It means “How are you, Mr. Petrov?” right?
Iva: Yes, Petrov is one of the common family names in Bulgarian.
Jonathan: So what is the usual way to reply to this question?
Iva: Quite often the answer is “Добре съм”. x2
Jonathan: It used in the same way as the English because it means “I’m fine/I’m OK.”
Iva: Still, when the partner in the conversation is not feeling well other expressions can be used to replace the otherwise typical answer “Добре съм.”
Jonathan: Can you just mention some of them?
Iva: “Горе-долу”, meaning “So-so.”
Jonathan: In that case the verb can be omitted.
Iva: Yes, that’s right.
Jonathan: Let's recap this lesson. You want ask someone “How he/she is?” What would you say?
Iva: If he or she is your friend?
Jonathan: Yes.
Iva: “Как си?”
Jonathan: And how about if this is your boss, for example.
Iva: “Как сте?”

Outro

Jonathan: OK. That's all for this lesson. In the lesson notes, you can find more details about this expression. So be sure to read them.
Iva: Yes, please! OK, see you next time!
Jonathan: Bye everyone!

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