бе / ма

The Familiar Particles Бе and Ма

Level 5Sounds Like častici be i ma

Бе and ма work like a very casual man or hey: Какво правиш, бе? (What are you doing, man?) Ела, ма! (Come here!, to a woman). Ма is only for a woman; бе is mainly for a man but can address anyone.

How It Works

1. Who they are for.

  • бе: to a man, and in very casual talk to anyone: Ти луд ли си, бе? (Are you crazy, man?)
  • ма: only to a woman or girl: Къде отиваш, ма? (Where are you going?)

2. What they add. Closeness, impatience, surprise or protest: Стига, бе! Наистина ли? (No way! Really?)

3. Placement and commas. They follow the verb or the phrase, and after a name they come right after the vocative: Иване бе, ела тук! In careful writing a comma sets them off like any other form of address: Ела, ма! In casual messages the comma is often left out.

4. Register. These particles belong to very informal speech between people who are close. With strangers, older people, colleagues or anyone you address with Вие, they sound rude. Many speakers find ма coarser than бе. As a learner, learn to recognise them first and use them only when your friends do.

5. Related words. Абе opens a sentence in the same relaxed tone, and частица де adds urging after a command.

Examples (6)

  1. Какво правиш, бе?

    What are you doing, man?

  2. Ела, ма!

    Come here!

    Addressed to a woman or girl.

  3. Стига, бе! Наистина ли?

    No way! Really?

  4. Иване бе, ела тук!

    Ivan, come here!

    Бе follows the vocative name Иване.

  5. Къде отиваш, ма?

    Where are you going?

    Said to a woman.

  6. Ти луд ли си, бе?

    Are you crazy, man?

Common Mistakes

  • Using ма to address a man.

    Иване ма, ела тук!
    Иване бе, ела тук!

    Ма addresses only a woman or girl. For a man, use бе.

  • Adding бе to a polite request.

    Извинете, бе, къде е гарата?
    Извинете, къде е гарата?

    Бе clashes with the polite Извинете: it turns a polite question to a stranger into a rude one. Leave it out whenever you speak politely.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

бе / маLevel 5The Familiar Particles Бе and Ма

Learn This First

Бе and ма follow the vocative.

Words in This Pattern

бемамабре