ми/ти/му/ѝ/ни/ви/им

Short Indirect Object Pronouns

Level 2Sounds Like kratki datelni mestoimeniâ mi/ti/mu/ì/ni/vi/im

To say to me, to you, to him and so on, use ми, ти, му, ѝ, ни, ви, им: Кажи ми! (Tell me!) Пиша ѝ писмо. (I am writing her a letter.)

How It Works

1. The forms.

  • аз → ми (to me), ти → ти (to you)
  • той → му (to him), тя → ѝ (to her), то → му (to it)
  • ние → ни (to us), вие → ви (to you), те → им (to them)

Ѝ is always written with a grave accent so that it is not confused with the word и (and). See ѝ versus и.

2. Typical verbs. Verbs of giving and telling take an indirect object: давам (give), казвам (tell), пиша (write), купувам (buy), показвам (show), обаждам се (call).

3. Where they go. The rules are the same as for the direct object forms: Не ми казвай! (Don't tell me!), Какво ти каза? (What did he tell you?), Дай ми! (Give me!). With се, the indirect pronoun comes first: Ще ви се обадя. (I will call you.) See placement of short pronouns.

4. The same as на. Дадох книгата на Мария and Дадох ѝ книгата both mean "I gave Maria (her) the book". Use на нея only for emphasis. See indirect objects with на.

5. Where else you meet them. Many everyday expressions are built with these forms: Харесва ми (I like it), Студено ми е (I am cold). The same short forms also show possession after a noun (книгата ми).

Watch out: ни and ви look the same in both sets. Виждат ни means "They see us", and Казват ни means "They tell us".

Examples (6)

  1. Дай ми книгата, моля.

    Give me the book, please.

  2. Пиша ѝ писмо.

    I am writing her a letter.

  3. Какво ти каза той?

    What did he tell you?

  4. Ще ви се обадя утре.

    I will call you tomorrow.

    The indirect pronoun ви comes before се.

  5. Купих им подаръци.

    I bought them presents.

  6. Покажи ни снимките!

    Show us the photos!

Common Mistakes

  • Using the direct object form for "to me".

    Дай ме книгата.
    Дай ми книгата.

    The book is given to me, so "me" is an indirect object: ми, not ме.

  • Starting a sentence with a short indirect pronoun.

    Ми харесва.
    Харесва ми.

    Short pronouns cannot open a sentence. When the verb comes first, put the pronoun after it.

  • Using ги instead of им for "to them".

    Казах ги истината.
    Казах им истината.

    You tell the truth to them, so the indirect form им is needed. Ги means "them" as a direct object.

How It Connects

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

ми/ти/му/ѝ/ни/ви/имLevel 2Short Indirect Object Pronouns

Learn This First

Short indirect-object pronouns build on the accusative set and на.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

мимуѝнивиимВи