The Bulgarian Cyrillic Alphabet
30 letters: А Б В Г Д Е Ж З И Й К Л М Н О П Р С Т У Ф Х Ц Ч Ш Щ Ъ Ь Ю Я. Most letters stand for one sound, so words are read as they are written.
How It Works
The alphabet in order:
А Б В Г Д Е Ж З И Й К Л М Н О П Р С Т У Ф Х Ц Ч Ш Щ Ъ Ь Ю Я
- Ъ is a full vowel, close to the "a" in English "about": път (road). It is not a silent sign. See гласната ъ.
- Щ is read "sht": нощ (night). See буквата щ.
- Ю and я are read "yu" and "ya", or they soften the consonant before them: ябълка (apple), люк (hatch). See я и ю.
- Ь has no sound of its own. It appears only before о, to soften a consonant: шофьор (driver). At the start of a syllable the same sound is written йо: йога (yoga). See йо и ьо.
- Дж and дз are single sounds written with two letters and are not counted separately. See дж и дз.
Letter names add ъ to consonants: бъ, въ, гъ. Й is called "и кратко", ъ is "ер голям" and ь is "ер малък".
If you know Russian, watch for these differences: Bulgarian writes риба (fish) with и, поет (poet) with е, and шофьор with ьо where Russian uses ы, э and ё.
Letters are read as written, but stress is not marked and unstressed vowels are weakened in speech. See ударение.
Examples (5)
- Българската азбука има тридесет букви.
The Bulgarian alphabet has thirty letters.
Word by Word: Bulgarian-the alphabet has thirty letters.
- Шофьорът чака пред хотела.
The driver is waiting in front of the hotel.
Word by Word: Driver-the waits in-front-of hotel-the.
Шофьор is spelled with ьо; Bulgarian has no ё.
- Рибата е прясна.
The fish is fresh.
Word by Word: Fish-the is fresh.
Риба is spelled with и; Bulgarian has no ы.
- Той е известен поет.
He is a famous poet.
Word by Word: He is famous poet.
Поет is spelled with е; Bulgarian has no э.
- Пътят до морето е дълъг.
The road to the sea is long.
Word by Word: Road-the to sea-the is long.
Ъ in път and дълъг is a real vowel sound.
Common Mistakes
Writing the Russian letter ё.
Шофёрът чака пред хотела.Шофьорът чака пред хотела.Bulgarian has no ё. After a consonant write ьо; at the start of a syllable write йо.
Writing the Russian letter ы.
Рыбата е прясна.Рибата е прясна.Bulgarian has no ы. The vowel is written и.
Writing the Russian letter э.
Той е известен поэт.Той е известен поет.Bulgarian has no э. The vowel is written е.
How It Connects
Related Patterns
- ъThe Vowel Ъ
Explains the vowel ъ, which works differently from Russian.
Level 1 - щThe Letter Щ
Explains the letter щ and its "sht" sound.
Level 1 - я / юThe Letters Я and Ю
Explains two letters that stand for a y-sound plus a vowel.
Level 1 - йо / ьоWriting Йо and Ьо
Explains how Bulgarian writes the sound that Russian writes with ё.
Level 1 - дж / дзThe Letter Pairs ДЖ and ДЗ
Two single sounds, each written with two letters.
Level 1 - Word Stress
Stress is not written, but it changes how words sound.
Level 1
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice The Bulgarian Cyrillic Alphabet in Bubblegum
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