Learn some common Bulgarian idioms
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Intro |
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| Michael: What are some common Bulgarian idioms? |
| Yana: And how are they used? |
| Michael: At BulgarianPod101.com, we hear these questions often. Imagine the following situation: Karen Lee hears an idiom she's not familiar with, so she asks her friend Tanya Kamenova: "What does "beans job" mean?" |
| Karen Lee: Карен Лий: Какво означава "фасулска работа"? (Kakvo oznachava "fasulska rabota"?) |
| Dialogue |
| Karen Lee: Какво означава "фасулска работа"? (Kakvo oznachava "fasulska rabota"?) |
| Tanya Kamenova: Означава, че нещо е много лесно. (Oznachava, che neshto e mnogo lesno.) |
| Michael: Once more but with the English translation. |
| Karen Lee: Какво означава "фасулска работа"? |
| Michael: What does "beans job" mean? |
| Tanya Kamenova: Означава, че нещо е много лесно. |
| Michael: It means something is very easy. |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: So, the topic of this lesson is idioms or, in Bulgarian: |
| Yana: идиоми (idiomi) |
| Michael: An idiom is a metaphorical expression, so it has a meaning that is not evident from the words alone. It should not be taken literally. A good example is the English idiom, "a piece of cake," which means that something is done very easily. |
| We use idioms to more clearly illustrate or to stress the message we want to give. Now, let's take a look at a few common idioms in Bulgarian. The first one is: |
| Yana: с главата надолу (s glavata nadolu) |
| Michael: Literally this means "with the head down." But, as an expression, it means "upside down." Listen once more and repeat after our native speaker, if you want. |
| Yana: [NORMAL] с главата надолу [SLOWLY] с главата надолу (s glavata nadolu) |
| Michael: Use this idiom to express that a place is messed up, literally or figuratively. Now, let's hear how it is used in a sentence. |
| Yana: Той влезе в стаята и я завари с главата надолу. (Toy vleze v stayata i ya zavari s glavata nadolu.) |
| Michael: This means: "He stepped into the room and found it upside down." |
| Michael: What is the next idiom? |
| Yana: напълни ми душата (napalni mi dushata) |
| Michael: This is a lovely expression that means "to fill up one's soul." Its meaning is the same as in English, which is that something is extremely pleasing and fulfilling. Listen again: |
| Yana: [NORMAL] напълни ми душата [SLOWLY] напълни ми душата. (napalni mi dushata) |
| Michael: We use this when we feel deeply content, pleased or joyful. What is our sample sentence? |
| Yana: Неговите думи ми напълниха душата. (Negovite dumi mi napalniha dushata.) |
| Michael: It means: "His words fill up my soul." |
| Yana: откривам Америка (otkrivam Amerika) |
| Michael: Literally, this translates as "to discover America." It is a unique expression that means to discover or to realize. Can you please repeat it, Tanya? |
| Yana: [NORMAL] откривам Америка [SLOWLY] откривам Америка (otkrivam Amerika) |
| Michael: You can use this expression when someone takes a long time to realize something. Now for the sample sentence. |
| Yana: Ей, най-сетне, откри Америка! (Ey, nay-setne, otkri Amerika!) |
| Michael: "Well, finally, you got it!" |
| Michael: The next idiom is also unique. |
| Yana: оревавам света (orevavam sveta) |
| Michael: It literally means "to cry to the world." As an expression, it means "to complain loudly." |
| Yana: [NORMAL] оревавам света [SLOWLY] оревавам света (orevavam sveta) |
| Michael: Use this idiom when you are annoyed when someone is complaining too much or without any good reason. Like in this sample sentence: |
| Yana: Той орева света колко е невинен. (Toy oreva sveta kolko e nevinen.) |
| Michael: "He complained loudly that he was innocent." |
| [Recall 1] |
| Michael: Now, let's take a closer look at the dialogue. Do you remember how Karen Lee asks: "What does "beans job" mean?" |
| Tanya as Karen Lee: Какво означава "фасулска работа"? (Kakvo oznachava "fasulska rabota"?) |
| Michael: Can you remember what Tanya Kamenova replies? She says: "It means something is very easy." |
| Tanya as Tanya Kamenova: Означава, че "нещо е много лесно," (Oznachava, che neshto e mnogo lesno.) |
| Michael: So, the idiom is: |
| Tanya as Karen Lee: фасулска работа (fasulska rabota) |
| Michael: As previously mentioned, this literally translates as "beans job," which means something is very easy. Tanya, can you repeat the idiom? |
| Yana: [NORMAL] фасулска работа [SLOWLY] фасулска работа (fasulska rabota) |
| Michael: Use this to refer to a job that's very easy to complete, almost like "easy peasy" in English. |
| [Summary] |
| Michael: Great! Today, we learned that idioms are metaphorical expressions that we use to enhance the meaning of what we say. We also looked at a few popular Bulgarian idioms. |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them! |
| Yana: До скоро! |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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