Verb + ми се

Feeling Like Doing Something

Level 3Sounds Like mi se + glagol

Спи ми се. means 'I feel sleepy'. Change the pronoun to change the person: Спи му се. (He feels sleepy.)

How It Works

1. How it works. For the singular impersonal pattern, put the verb in the той form and add a short dative pronoun and се:

  • Спи ми се. (I feel sleepy.)
  • Спи ѝ се. (She feels sleepy.)
  • Спи им се. (They feel sleepy.)

The experiencer changes the dative pronoun, not the verb. When a plural desired thing is the subject of a transitive variant, the verb can be plural: Ядат ми се ябълки.

2. Word order. When the verb starts the sentence, the pronouns follow it: Спи ми се. When something comes first, such as не or много, they move in front of the verb: Не ми се спи., Много ми се спи. In both cases the dative comes before се. See order of short forms.

3. Wanting a thing. Add what you feel like: Яде ми се нещо сладко. (I feel like eating something sweet.) Пие ми се кафе. (I feel like a coffee.)

4. In the past. Use the imperfect: Спеше ми се. (I felt sleepy.) Не ни се излизаше. (We didn't feel like going out.)

5. Иска ми се да or искам да? Искам да states a plan or a firm wish: Искам да пътувам. (I want to travel.) Иска ми се да пътувам is softer, 'I would like to' or 'I feel like travelling'.

6. Adding emphasis. To stress or contrast the person, add на with a full pronoun and keep the short one: На мен ми се спи, а на Иван му се играе. (I feel sleepy, and Ivan feels like playing.)

Examples (6)

  1. Спи ми се.

    I feel sleepy.

  2. Яде ми се нещо сладко.

    I feel like eating something sweet.

  3. Иска ми се да пътувам повече.

    I would like to travel more.

    Иска ми се да is softer than искам да.

  4. Днес не ми се излиза.

    I don't feel like going out today.

    After не, the pronouns come before the verb, in the order ми се.

  5. На мен ми се спи, а на Иван му се играе.

    I feel sleepy, and Ivan feels like playing.

  6. Снощи много ни се пиеше бира.

    Last night we really felt like having a beer.

    The imperfect пиеше places the urge in the past.

Common Mistakes

  • Conjugating the verb for the person who feels the urge.

    Аз спя ми се.
    Спи ми се.

    The verb stays in the той form. The person is shown only by the pronoun ми.

  • Putting се before the dative pronoun.

    Не се ми спи.
    Не ми се спи.

    In this pattern the dative pronoun always comes before се: ми се, ти се, му се.

  • Using the first-person verb искам with ми се.

    Искам ми се да пътувам.
    Иска ми се да пътувам.

    In this singular impersonal example, use the third-person singular form: иска ми се. A plural desired thing can trigger plural agreement in a transitive variant.

How It Connects

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

Verb + ми сеLevel 3Feeling Like Doing Something

Learn This First

Feeling like doing combines се and a dative pronoun.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

ми