страх ме е

Fear and Shame with Страх Ме Е

Level 3Sounds Like strah me e

To say I am afraid, say Страх ме е, literally fear is me. The person is a short object pronoun, not the subject.

How It Works

1. The pattern. Noun + short accusative pronoun + е:

  • Страх ме е. (I am afraid.)
  • Срам ме е. (I am ashamed.)
  • Яд ме е. (I am annoyed.)

Change the pronoun for the person: Страх те е (you), Страх го е (he), Страх я е (she), Страх ни е (we), Страх ги е (they). These are the short accusative pronouns.

2. What you are afraid of. A noun follows от: Страх ме е от кучета (I am afraid of dogs). An action follows да: Страх ме е да карам през нощта (I am afraid to drive at night). A fact follows че: Срам ме е, че закъснях (I am ashamed that I was late).

3. Questions and negatives. In a question, ли comes after страх: Страх ли те е? (Are you afraid?). In the negative, the pronoun comes right after не: Не ме е страх (I am not afraid), Не те ли е страх? (Aren't you afraid?). See the question particle ли.

4. Other tenses. Change only е: Страх ме беше or Беше ме страх (I was afraid), Ще ме е страх (I will be afraid).

5. Naming the person. When a noun names the person, the short pronoun stays: Детето го е страх от тъмното (The child is afraid of the dark). This is one of the patterns where doubling is required.

6. Compare. Страхувам се is an ordinary verb with the same meaning: Страхувам се от кучета. Some other words take the dative instead: Жал ми е (I feel sorry), Студено ми е (see студено ми е). The accusative pattern matches боли ме.

Examples (6)

  1. Страх ме е от змии.

    I am afraid of snakes.

  2. Не те ли е страх да плуваш толкова навътре?

    Aren't you afraid to swim so far out?

    In the negative, те follows не.

  3. Срам ме е, че забравих рождения ти ден.

    I'm ashamed that I forgot your birthday.

  4. Детето го е страх от тъмното.

    The child is afraid of the dark.

    Word by Word: The child him is fear of the dark.

    The noun детето is repeated by го.

  5. Яд ме е, че изпуснах влака.

    I'm annoyed that I missed the train.

  6. Като малка много ме беше страх от кучета.

    As a little girl, I was very afraid of dogs.

Common Mistakes

  • Making the person the subject of съм.

    Аз съм страх.
    Страх ме е.

    Страх is a noun, so the person is expressed by the short pronoun ме. You can also use the verb: Страхувам се.

  • Using the dative pronoun ми.

    Страх ми е от кучета.
    Страх ме е от кучета.

    The standard language uses the accusative ме with страх, срам and яд. Страх ми е is heard in some regional and casual speech, but it is not standard. Ми belongs with words like жал ми е and студено ми е.

  • Putting е before the pronoun in the negative.

    Не е ме страх.
    Не ме е страх.

    The short pronoun comes right after не, and е follows it.

How It Connects

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

страх ме еLevel 3Fear and Shame with Страх Ме Е

Learn This First

Fear and shame follow боли ме.

Words in This Pattern

страхсрамме