The fastest way to learn Bulgarian is to spend most of your study time on Bulgarian you can mostly understand. That kind of Bulgarian is called comprehensible input. What you read and listen to should change as you improve, so the plan below shows what to do at each level and how to split an hour of study.
What to Do at Each Level
Find the level that sounds like you. Its bar shows how to spend an hour of study.
- First Week
I can't read Cyrillic yet.
Learn Cyrillic 40 min. Listen 20 min.
The Bulgarian alphabet has 30 letters, including Ж, Щ and Ъ. Learn them first, and listen to easy Bulgarian while you do, so the sounds start to feel familiar.
- Level 1
I can sound out words but not much else.
Read and listen 35 min. Review 15 min. Speak 10 min.
Read short stories with audio, such as LingQ's Mini Stories, and watch Peppa Pig in Bulgarian, where the characters speak clearly and use simple words. Review the words you saved, then say a few lines out loud.
- Level 2
I can handle simple exchanges.
Read and listen 40 min. Review 10 min. Speak 10 min.
Hide the translation and look up only the words that stop you. Watch the beginner videos on Simple Bulgarian, where the host reads storybooks and comics, and retell one in a few sentences to a tutor or a friend.
- Level 3
I follow conversations on familiar topics.
Read and listen 40 min. Review 5 min. Speak 15 min.
Listen to the fairy tales on Детското БНР, where Bulgarian National Radio also tells the news in words for children. Read short news stories from Noo Speak, and talk about what you read for longer.
- Level 4
I understand most content but miss some nuance.
Read and watch 45 min. Review 5 min. Speak 10 min.
Watch Bulgarian videos on YouTube with Language Reactor, which shows the Bulgarian subtitles beside a translation and lets you replay a line when it goes too fast. Read the news on BNR's site, and listen to its live radio.
- Level 5
I read complex topics but rare words slow me down.
Read and watch 50 min. Speak 10 min.
Watch BNT, Bulgaria's public television, and series made in Bulgaria such as Под прикритие. Look up only the words that block the story.
- Level 6
I read at near-native level.
Read and watch 50 min. Speak 10 min.
Read Bulgarian novels, listen to audiobooks, and talk about them for their own sake.
Move up a level when your lessons start to feel easy, and move back down if you lose the thread by the third line.
How Long Does It Take to Learn Bulgarian?
Bulgarian takes 1,012 class hours, or about 44 weeks of full-time study, to reach professional fluency, according to the U.S. Foreign Service Institute. That puts Bulgarian in the third of its four groups for English speakers, with Russian, Macedonian and Polish.
| Language | FSI group | Full-time weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Spanish | Category I | 30 |
| German | Category II | 36 |
| Bulgarian, Russian | Category III | 44 |
| Japanese | Category IV | 88 |
Sofia University's Faculty of Slavic Studies teaches Bulgarian in courses of 90 to 120 academic hours for A1, 120 for A2 and 180 for B1. The table uses the longest A1 course, so A1 and A2 take 240 hours and A1 to B1 take 420. Here is how long those take at different amounts of study a week:
| Study per week | Sofia University A1–A2 (240 hours) | Sofia University A1–B1 (420 hours) | FSI professional fluency (1,012 hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3½ hours | About 16 months | About 2⅓ years | About 5½ years |
| 7 hours | About 8 months | About 14 months | About 2¾ years |
| 14 hours | About 4 months | About 7 months | About 17 months |
| 28 hours | About 2 months | About 3½ months | About 8 months |
These are class hours, so treat them as a rough guide. Time you spend understanding Bulgarian on your own counts too.
What Slows Learners Down
- Guessing the StressYou can't tell from the spelling which syllable of a Bulgarian word is stressed, and the stress can change the meaning: въ̀лна means “wool,” and вълна̀ means “wave.” Learn each word with its sound.
- Verb Tables AloneBulgarian verbs have nine tenses, and special forms for things you heard about but did not see. A table of them is hard to use until you have read each form in many sentences.
- Content Far Too HardA Bulgarian series where you know one word in five teaches you very little.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Bulgarian app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Bulgarian, start with Bubblegum. Poppy writes lessons at your level about things you like. Our Bulgarian app comparison covers courses, tutors and speaking apps too.
Can I learn Bulgarian in three months?
You can learn Cyrillic and enough Bulgarian to greet people and introduce yourself. At 14 hours a week, three months is about 180 hours, which is more than Sofia University's longest A1 course and less than its 240 hours for A1 and A2.
How much should I study Bulgarian each week?
Aim for three to five hours a week of Bulgarian you understand, in sessions of at least 15 to 30 minutes. A longer session lets you get lost in a story, which teaches more than five minutes a day, and steady time each week matters more than a daily streak. Our post on deep sessions over daily streaks explains why.
Is Bulgarian hard for English speakers?
Yes, by the Foreign Service Institute's measure: Bulgarian is in its third group, and its 44 weeks are about one and a half times the 30 weeks for Spanish. Bulgarian nouns have almost none of the case endings that Russian and Polish nouns have, so most of the time goes into the words and the verbs, which you pick up fastest from Bulgarian you understand.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn. It holds lessons that other learners asked Poppy for. A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons.
The Bulgarian Cyrillic course on this site is also free and needs no account.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Bulgarian alphabet (30 letters)
- U.S. Department of State, Foreign Language Training (FSI language categories)
- Sofia University, Faculty of Slavic Studies, Bulgarian as a foreign language for all levels of the CEFR (academic hours per level)
- Wikipedia, Bulgarian phonology (stress is not usually marked in writing and can change meaning)
- Wikipedia, Bulgarian verbs (nine tenses and four evidentials)
- Wikipedia, Bulgarian grammar (Bulgarian has lost the noun cases)
