здравей/здравейте
Saying Hello
Say Здравей! to a friend and Здравейте! to a group or to someone you address politely.
How It Works
Choosing the form
- Здравей! — to one person you call ти: a friend, a child, a family member.
- Здравейте! — to several people, or to one person you call Вие: a teacher, a shop assistant, a stranger.
This follows the same split as Familiar Ти and Polite Вие. Здравейте is also a common neutral opening in emails.
Adding a name
Names and titles often take a special address form: Здравей, Иване! (Иван → Иване), Здравейте, госпожо Петрова! (госпожа → госпожо). See The Vocative Form.
Related greetings
- Здрасти! — Hi! Very casual, for friends.
- Добър ден! — a polite greeting that depends on the time of day.
For leaving, use довиждане or чао, not здравей. After the greeting, people often ask Как си? / Как сте?.
Examples (5)
- Здравей, Иване!
Hi, Ivan!
Word by Word: Be-healthy, Ivan!
To one friend: здравей, with the address form Иване.
- Здравейте, госпожо Петрова!
Hello, Mrs Petrova!
Word by Word: Be-healthy, madam Petrova!
Polite address to one person uses здравейте.
- Здравейте, деца!
Hello, children!
Word by Word: Be-healthy, children!
A group always gets здравейте.
- Здравей! Как си?
Hi! How are you?
Word by Word: Be-healthy! How you-are?
- Здрасти, какво правиш?
Hi, what are you doing?
Word by Word: Hi, what you-do?
Здрасти is a very casual greeting between friends.
Common Mistakes
Using the singular form for a group.
Здравей, деца!Здравейте, деца!Здравей greets one person. For more than one person, use здравейте.
Using здравей with someone you address formally (a register mismatch, not a grammar error).
Здравей, господин Петров! (to a teacher or client)Здравейте, господин Петров!Здравей goes with ти and sounds too familiar here. Use здравейте with people you call Вие.
Saying здравей when leaving (a meaning mismatch).
Здравей, до утре! (said when leaving)Чао, до утре!Здравей is a greeting for meeting someone. When you leave, say чао or довиждане.
How It Connects
Related Patterns
- ти / ВиеFamiliar Ти and Polite Вие
Здравей matches ти; здравейте matches Вие and groups.
Level 1 - The Vocative Form
Names after the greeting often take the address form: Иване, госпожо.
Level 2 - добро утро/добър ден/добър вечерTime-of-Day Greetings
The time-of-day greetings are polite alternatives to здравейте.
Level 1 - довиждане/чаоSaying Goodbye
Довиждане and чао are the matching words for leaving.
Level 1 - как си/как стеAsking How Someone Is
A greeting is often followed by Как си? or Как сте?
Level 1
Words in This Pattern
Practice здравей/здравейте in Bubblegum
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