студено ми е

Feeling Cold and Other States

Level 2Sounds Like studeno mi e

Bulgarian says Студено ми е, literally "it is cold to me", for "I am cold". Change the pronoun to change the person: Студено ти е (you are cold).

How It Works

1. The pattern. Adverb + short dative pronoun + е:

  • Студено ми е. (I am cold.)
  • Топло ли ти е? (Are you warm?)
  • Скучно ни е. (We are bored.)
  • Лошо му е. (He feels sick.)

2. Common states. студено (cold), топло (warm), горещо (hot), скучно (bored), лошо (sick, unwell), добре (fine), хубаво (good, nice), тъжно (sad) and мъчно (sad, missing someone): Мъчно ми е за теб. (I miss you.) Many of these words are adverbs made from adjectives.

3. Word order. A short pronoun cannot begin a sentence, so the adverb or another word comes first. In a question, ли follows the adverb: Студено ли ти е? With не, the pronoun comes right after it: Не ми е студено. An intensifier can come first too: Много ми е студено. See placement of short pronouns.

4. Past and future. Беше ми студено or Студено ми беше (I was cold). Ще ти е студено без яке. (You will be cold without a jacket.)

5. Naming the person. For contrast or emphasis, add на + a noun or full pronoun, and keep the short pronoun as well: На мен ми е студено, а на теб ти е топло. (I am cold, but you are warm.) Leaving out ми or ти here is a mistake.

6. Compare. Студено е with no pronoun describes the weather or a room: "It is cold." Аз съм студен describes you as a cold person, for example unfriendly, so it does not mean "I feel cold".

Examples (6)

  1. Студено ми е, затвори прозореца.

    I'm cold, close the window.

  2. Топло ли ти е в това яке?

    Are you warm in this jacket?

    In a question, ли comes right after the adverb.

  3. Скучно ни е, хайде да излезем.

    We're bored, let's go out.

  4. Лошо ми е от жегата.

    I feel sick from the heat.

  5. На децата им беше горещо.

    The children were hot.

    На децата is doubled by им, and беше puts the state in the past.

  6. Мъчно ми е за баба.

    I miss my grandma.

Common Mistakes

  • Making the person the subject of съм.

    Аз съм студено.
    Студено ми е.

    A feeling is expressed with the short dative pronoun and е. Аз съм студен would describe you as a cold, unfriendly person.

  • Leaving out the short pronoun after на мен.

    На мен е студено.
    На мен ми е студено.

    When you name the person with на, the short pronoun must stay in this construction.

  • Starting the sentence with the short pronoun.

    Ми е скучно.
    Скучно ми е.

    Short pronouns cannot come first in a sentence. Put the adverb, не or another word before them.

How It Connects

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

студено ми еLevel 2Feeling Cold and Other States

Learn This First

Feeling cold combines a dative pronoun with an adverb.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

ми