Bulgarian Gender

Welcome to the fifth Bulgarian lesson about gender. This time we will view a list of people, feminine and masculine, followed by grammar rules, finally a list of expressions in Bulgarian to help you practice your daily phrases. To hear the pronunciation, just click on the sound icon.

man мъж [mʲʐ]

woman жена [ʐyena]

husband съпруг [sʲproogu]

wife съпруга [sʲproogua]

boy момче [momchye]

girl момиче [momichye]

father баща [bashta]

mother майка [mayka]

Gender Grammar Rules

In general, gender is used to distinguish between male and female, sometimes referred to as masculine and feminine. For example: my son and daughter are students the noun [son] is masculine, while [daughter] is feminine. The following examples use gender in different ways and places to demonstrate their behavior.

Grammar + Rules - Bulgarian + Pronunciation
my son is a student [masculine + noun] синът ми е студент [sinʲt mi ye stoodyent]
her daughter is a student [feminine + noun] нейната дъщеря е студентка [nyeynata dʲshtyerya ye stoodyentka]
he has a tall brother [adjective + masculine] той има висок брат [toy ima visok brat]
she has a tall sister [adjective + feminine] тя има висока сестра [tya ima visoka syestra]
his brothers are young [plural masculine + adjective] братята му са млади [bratyata moo sa mladi]
his sisters are young [plural feminine + adjective] сестрите му са млади [syestritye moo sa mladi]

The list below will probably provide more clarification. These are family members (males and females). I think it would be wise to memorize them as part of your important vocabulary list.

son син [sin]

daughter дъщеря [dʲshtyerya]

brother брат [brat]

sister сестра [syestra]

grandfather дядо [dyado]

grandmother баба [baba]

child дете [dyetye]

children деца [dyetza]

Expressions in Bulgarian

Now it's time to practice expressions used in daily conversations. If you're a beginner in learning Bulgarian, then the phrases below are something you would want to know.

English - Bulgarian - Pronunciation
What do you mean? Какво искаш да кажеш? [Kakvo iskash da kaʐyesh?]
I don't understand Не ви разбирам! [Nye vi razbiram!]
I don't know Не знам! [Nye znam!]
What is that called in Bulgarian? Как се казва това на български? [Kak sye kazva tova na bʲlguarski?]
What is this? Какво е това? [Kakvo ye tova?]
What does that word mean in English? Какво означава тази дума на английски? [Kakvo oznachava tazi dooma na anguliyski?]
Sorry (if you made a mistake) Извинете! [Izvinyetye!]

I hope you enjoyed this lesson about the gender in Bulgarian. Please check out our main menu here for more lessons: homepage. To see the full menu, you can also click on the "Menu" icon on the left side.