отивам/отида и идвам/дойда

Going and Coming

Level 2Sounds Like otivam/otida i idvam/dojda

Bulgarian separates "go" and "come" like English does: отивам (go, away from here) and идвам (come, toward here). Each has a perfective partner: отида and дойда.

How It Works

1. The four verbs.

  • отивам (imperfective): Отивам на работа. (I'm going to work.)
  • отида (perfective): Искам да отида на море. (I want to go to the seaside.)
  • идвам (imperfective): Идвам! (I'm coming!)
  • дойда (perfective): Кога ще дойдеш? (When will you come?)

2. Direction. Отивам moves away from where the speaker is, toward another place. Идвам moves toward the speaker. As in English, you also use идвам for going to the person you are talking to: Идвам у вас довечера. (I'm coming to your place tonight.)

3. Aspect. The partners follow the usual rules of perfective and imperfective aspect. Right now or regularly: Всеки ден идва в седем. (He comes at seven every day.) One whole trip: Ще дойда в неделя. (I'll come on Sunday.) The perfective present does not stand alone for "now"; it needs да, ще, ако or когато.

4. Past forms. The simple past of the perfectives is отидох, отиде (I went, he went) and дойдох, дойде (I came, he came): Вчера баба ми дойде на гости. (Yesterday my grandmother came to visit.)

5. Commands. "Come!" is Ела!/Елате! "Go!" is Иди!/Идете! or Отиди!/Отидете! See irregular imperatives.

Good to know: for going somewhere regularly, such as a gym or classes, Bulgarian often uses ходя: Ходя на фитнес. (I go to the gym.)

Examples (6)

  1. Отивам на работа.

    I'm going to work.

    Imperfective отивам: the trip is happening now.

  2. Кога ще дойдеш?

    When will you come?

    Perfective дойдеш after ще: one complete arrival.

  3. Искам да отида на море през август.

    I want to go to the seaside in August.

    Perfective отида after да.

  4. Идвам след пет минути!

    I'll be there in five minutes!

    Идвам for moving toward the listener.

  5. Вчера баба ми дойде на гости.

    Yesterday my grandmother came to visit.

    Дойде is the simple past of дойда.

  6. Ела тук, моля те.

    Come here, please.

    Ела is the command for "come".

Common Mistakes

  • Using the perfective alone for what is happening now.

    Сега отида на пазар.
    Сега отивам на пазар.

    Отида needs да, ще, ако or когато before it. For a trip happening now, use the imperfective отивам.

  • Using the "go" command to call someone toward you.

    Иди при мен!
    Ела при мен!

    Иди sends someone away from you. To call someone toward you, say ела.

  • Answering a call with отивам.

    — Вечерята е готова! — Отивам!
    — Вечерята е готова! — Идвам!

    You are moving toward the person who called you, so Bulgarian uses идвам, just like English "I'm coming!".

How It Connects

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

отивам/отида и идвам/дойдаLevel 2Going and Coming

Learn This First

Going and coming need the idea of aspect.

Words in This Pattern

отивамотидаидвамдойда