Final Devoicing

Level 1Sounds Like obezzvučavane v kraâ na dumata

At the end of a word, б в г д ж з sound like п ф к т ш с. You still write the voiced letter: хляб (said хляп), град (said грат).

How It Works

The six pairs.

  • б sounds like п: хляб [хляп] (bread), зъб [зъп] (tooth)
  • в sounds like ф: нов [ноф] (new), Иванов [ивано̀ф]
  • г sounds like к: бряг [бряк] (shore), сняг [сняк] (snow)
  • д sounds like т: град [грат] (city), обяд [обят] (lunch)
  • ж sounds like ш: нож [нош] (knife), мъж [мъш] (man)
  • з sounds like с: ориз [орис] (rice), мраз [мрас] (frost)

Why the spelling stays. Bulgarian writes a word the same way in all of its forms. Once you add an ending, the consonant is no longer last and you hear it voiced again: град [грат], but градът (the city) and градове (cities).

How to check a word. Find another form where a vowel comes right after the consonant. A plural works (зъб — зъби, нож — ножове), and so does the article form (обяд — обядът) or the feminine of an adjective (нов — нова, хубав — хубава). The sound you hear there is the letter you write.

Same sound, different words. Плод (fruit) and плот (worktop) sound the same. Their plurals show the difference: плодове, плотове.

Names too. Surnames in -ов and -ев end in a [ф] sound: Петров [петро̀ф]. The feminine form shows the в: Петрова. See surnames.

Between words. When the next word starts with a voiced consonant, the final consonant can stay voiced in connected speech. Inside a word, a voiced consonant also sounds voiceless before a voiceless one: сладко (sweet) sounds close to [слатко].

Examples (6)

  1. Искам хляб.

    I want bread.

    Word by Word: (I)-want bread.

    Хляб is said [хляп]. The form хлябът (the bread) shows the б.

  2. София е голям град.

    Sofia is a big city.

    Word by Word: Sofia is big city.

    Град is said [грат]; the plural градове shows the д.

  3. Имаш ли нож?

    Do you have a knife?

    Word by Word: (You)-have question-particle knife?

    Нож is said [нош]; the plural is ножове.

  4. Ябълката е плод.

    An apple is a fruit.

    Word by Word: Apple-the is fruit.

    Плод sounds like плот (worktop). The plural плодове shows the д.

  5. Господин Иванов е тук.

    Mr. Ivanov is here.

    Word by Word: Mister Ivanov is here.

    Иванов ends in a [ф] sound; the feminine Иванова shows the в.

  6. Обядът е готов.

    Lunch is ready.

    Word by Word: Lunch-the is ready.

    In обядът the д is before a vowel, so it is voiced. Готов ends in a [ф] sound; compare готова.

Common Mistakes

  • Spelling the word the way it sounds.

    Искам хляп.
    Искам хляб.

    The plural хлябове shows the б. Final devoicing changes the sound, not the spelling.

  • Writing т for a final д.

    София е голям грат.
    София е голям град.

    Check with градове or градът: you hear a д before the vowel, so you write д.

  • Writing ф for a final в.

    Той е готоф.
    Той е готов.

    The feminine готова shows the в, so the masculine is written готов too.

How It Connects

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

Final DevoicingLevel 1

Learn This First

Final devoicing presupposes the alphabet.