който/която/което/които
Relative Clauses with Който
To describe a noun with a clause, use който (who, which, that) in the form that matches the noun: човекът, който говори (the man who is talking), книгата, която чета (the book that I am reading).
How It Works
1. The forms. The relative pronoun agrees in gender and number with the noun it describes:
- човекът, който говори (the man who is talking)
- книгата, която чета (the book that I am reading)
- детето, което плаче (the child who is crying)
- хората, които чакат (the people who are waiting)
2. One word for who, which and that. Bulgarian uses the same word for people and things. The form changes for role only in one case: когото, used for a man who is the object or comes after a preposition: мъжът, когото видях (the man I saw).
3. Never leave it out. English can drop that: the book I am reading. Bulgarian cannot: книгата, която чета. Also do not use че here: че introduces what someone says or thinks, not a description of a noun.
4. Prepositions come first. A preposition goes before the relative pronoun, never at the end of the clause: къщата, в която живеем (the house we live in), приятелят, с когото пътувах (the friend I travelled with).
5. Commas. The relative clause is set off by a comma. If the sentence continues after it, close it with a second comma: Човекът, който говори, е моят учител. (The man who is speaking is my teacher.) See commas before subordinate clauses.
Related relative words: чийто (whose), където and когато (where, when), and каквото and колкото, which need no noun before them.
Examples (6)
- Човекът, който говори, е моят учител.
The man who is speaking is my teacher.
Който agrees with the masculine noun човекът; the clause is closed by a second comma.
- Това е книгата, която чета сега.
This is the book that I am reading now.
Която agrees with the feminine noun книгата.
- Детето, което плаче, е много уморено.
The child who is crying is very tired.
Детето is neuter, so the form is което, even for a person.
- Приятелите, които ни посетиха, са от Варна.
The friends who visited us are from Varna.
Plural noun, plural form които.
- Къщата, в която живеем, е стара.
The house we live in is old.
The preposition в comes before която.
- Имам колега, който говори пет езика.
I have a colleague who speaks five languages.
Common Mistakes
Leaving out the relative pronoun.
Това е книгата чета.Това е книгата, която чета.Bulgarian cannot drop the relative pronoun the way English drops that. Use the form that matches the noun.
Using че instead of който.
Това е колата, че купих.Това е колата, която купих.Че introduces what someone says or thinks. A clause that describes a noun needs който in the matching form.
Choosing a form that does not match the noun.
Жената, който дойде, е лекарка.Жената, която дойде, е лекарка.Жената is feminine singular, so the relative pronoun must be която.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Relative clauses need кой and agreement.
Related Patterns
- кого/когото/комутоObject Forms Кого, Когото and Комуто
The special object forms of който for a man.
Level 3 - Commas Before Subordinate Clauses
The comma rules that set off every relative clause.
Level 3 - чийто/чиято/чието/чиитоRelative Whose
The relative word for whose.
Level 4 - Place or Time + където/когатоRelative Където and Когато
Relative clauses about places and times.
Level 3 - Clause + коетоWhich Referring to a Whole Clause
Което can also refer to a whole previous clause.
Level 4 - каквото / колкотоFree Relatives with Каквото and Колкото
Relative clauses that have no noun before them.
Level 3
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice който/която/което/които in Bubblegum
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