The 100 most common Bulgarian words

Bulgarian looks intimidating in Cyrillic, but its most common words are surprisingly manageable once you see them written out. These hundred cover the pronouns, verbs, and connecting words that show up in nearly every Bulgarian sentence. Learn them first and everything else you study will click into place faster.

How to use this list

Do not work through this list top to bottom. Read down it and mark only the words you could not have produced yourself. Those are your list. The rest are already yours, and reviewing them is wasted effort better spent on words you actually meet in reading, conversation, or subtitles.

The 100 words

#	Bulgarian	English	In use
1	аз	I	Аз обичам да чета книги.I love reading books.
2	ти	you (sg.)	Ти си много добър приятел.You are a very good friend.
3	той	he	Той работи в болница.He works at a hospital.
4	тя	she	Тя живее в София.She lives in Sofia.
5	то	it	Детето плаче, защото то е гладно.The child is crying because it is hungry.
6	ние	we	Ние отиваме на море всяко лято.We go to the seaside every summer.
7	вие	you (pl. / formal)	Вие сте добре дошли у нас.You are welcome at our home.
8	те	they	Те гледат филм заедно.They are watching a movie together.
9	съм	to be	Аз съм лекар.I am a doctor.
10	имам	to have	Имам две сестри.I have two sisters.
11	и	and	Купих хляб и мляко.I bought bread and milk.
12	а	and / but	Аз обичам кафе, а той обича чай.I like coffee, and he likes tea.
13	но	but	Искам да дойда, но нямам време.I want to come, but I don't have time.
14	или	or	Искаш ли чай или кафе?Do you want tea or coffee?
15	че	that	Знам, че си зает.I know that you are busy.
16	ако	if	Ако вали, ще останем вкъщи.If it rains, we will stay home.
17	когато	when	Когато бях малък, живеех в село.When I was little, I lived in a village.
18	защото	because	Не дойдох, защото бях болен.I didn't come because I was sick.
19	в	in	Книгата е в чантата.The book is in the bag.
20	на	on / to / of	Ключовете са на масата.The keys are on the table.
21	с	with	Отидох на кино с приятели.I went to the movies with friends.
22	за	for	Този подарък е за теб.This gift is for you.
23	от	from	Той е от Пловдив.He is from Plovdiv.
24	до	to / until	Ще работя до пет часа.I will work until five o'clock.
25	по	along / on	Вървяхме по улицата бавно.We walked along the street slowly.
26	при	at / to	Отидох при лекаря вчера.I went to the doctor yesterday.
27	без	without	Не мога да живея без музика.I cannot live without music.
28	след	after	Ще се видим след работа.We will see each other after work.
29	добър	good	Той е много добър човек.He is a very good person.
30	голям	big	Живеят в голяма къща.They live in a big house.
31	какво	what	Какво правиш сега?What are you doing now?
32	кой	who	Кой е този мъж?Who is this man?
33	къде	where	Къде е гарата?Where is the train station?
34	нов	new	Купих нов телефон.I bought a new phone.
35	защо	why	Защо закъсня?Why are you late?
36	как	how	Как си днес?How are you today?
37	колко	how much / many	Колко струва тази книга?How much does this book cost?
38	не	not	Не разбирам този въпрос.I don't understand this question.
39	да	yes	Да, съгласен съм.Yes, I agree.
40	тук	here	Ела тук, моля те.Come here, please.
41	там	there	Магазинът е точно там.The shop is right there.
42	сега	now	Трябва да тръгвам сега.I have to leave now.
43	винаги	always	Тя винаги идва навреме.She always arrives on time.
44	никога	never	Никога не съм бил в Япония.I have never been to Japan.
45	много	a lot / very	Обичам те много.I love you very much.
46	малко	a little	Остана малко хляб.There is a little bread left.
47	днес	today	Днес времето е слънчево.Today the weather is sunny.
48	утре	tomorrow	Утре имаме изпит.Tomorrow we have an exam.
49	вчера	yesterday	Вчера валя дъжд цял ден.Yesterday it rained all day.
50	само	only	Той говори само истината.He speaks only the truth.
51	малък	small	Имат малко куче.They have a small dog.
52	правя	to do / make	Какво правиш в неделя?What do you do on Sundays?
53	казвам	to say	Винаги казвам истината.I always tell the truth.
54	отивам	to go	Всеки ден отивам на работа пеша.Every day I go to work on foot.
55	идвам	to come	Идвам веднага.I'm coming right away.
56	искам	to want	Искам чаша вода, моля.I want a glass of water, please.
57	мога	can / to be able	Мога да плувам добре.I can swim well.
58	трябва	must	Трябва да учим за изпита.We have to study for the exam.
59	знам	to know	Не знам отговора.I don't know the answer.
60	мисля	to think	Мисля, че си прав.I think you are right.
61	виждам	to see	Виждам планината от прозореца.I can see the mountain from the window.
62	давам	to give	Давам ти този подарък с радост.I give you this gift with joy.
63	вземам	to take	Вземам автобуса всяка сутрин.I take the bus every morning.
64	работя	to work	Работя в банка от пет години.I have worked at a bank for five years.
65	живея	to live	Живея близо до парка.I live close to the park.
66	обичам	to love / like	Обичам семейството си.I love my family.
67	ям	to eat	Обичам да ям плодове.I like to eat fruit.
68	пия	to drink	Пия кафе всяка сутрин.I drink coffee every morning.
69	спя	to sleep	Обикновено спя осем часа.I usually sleep eight hours.
70	говоря	to speak	Говоря три езика.I speak three languages.
71	чета	to read	Чета книга преди сън.I read a book before sleep.
72	пиша	to write	Пиша писмо на баба ми.I am writing a letter to my grandmother.
73	чувам	to hear	Не те чувам добре.I can't hear you well.
74	намирам	to find	Не мога да намеря ключовете си.I cannot find my keys.
75	стоя	to stand	Стоя на опашка от час.I have been standing in line for an hour.
76	седя	to sit	Обичам да седя до прозореца.I like to sit by the window.
77	ходя	to walk / go	Ходя на училище пеша.I walk to school.
78	човек	person	Всеки човек има право на мнение.Every person has the right to an opinion.
79	мъж	man	Мъжът чете вестник в парка.The man is reading a newspaper in the park.
80	жена	woman	Жената работи като учителка.The woman works as a teacher.
81	дете	child	Детето играе в градината.The child is playing in the garden.
82	къща	house	Купихме нова къща миналата година.We bought a new house last year.
83	ден	day	Днес е хубав ден.Today is a nice day.
84	година	year	Тази година е много важна за мен.This year is very important to me.
85	време	time / weather	Нямам достатъчно време.I don't have enough time.
86	място	place	Това е тихо място.This is a quiet place.
87	свят	world	Светът се променя бързо.The world is changing fast.
88	вода	water	Пий повече вода всеки ден.Drink more water every day.
89	пари	money	Спестих малко пари за пътуване.I saved a little money for a trip.
90	училище	school	Децата отиват на училище в осем.The children go to school at eight.
91	книга	book	Тази книга е много интересна.This book is very interesting.
92	име	name	Името ми е Мария.My name is Maria.
93	ръка	hand	Той държеше книга в ръка.He held a book in his hand.
94	око	eye	Имаше нещо в окото ми.There was something in my eye.
95	град	city	Пловдив е стар и красив град.Plovdiv is an old and beautiful city.
96	държава	country	България е малка държава на Балканите.Bulgaria is a small country in the Balkans.
97	храна	food	Храната в този ресторант е вкусна.The food in this restaurant is delicious.
98	кола	car	Той си купи нова кола миналия месец.He bought a new car last month.
99	куче	dog	Кучето ни лае през нощта.Our dog barks at night.
100	котка	cat	Котката спи на дивана.The cat is sleeping on the couch.

The ones English speakers get wrong

the definite article attaches to the end

Bulgarian has no separate word for 'the'. Instead, the article is added onto the end of the noun: мъж (a man) becomes мъжът (the man), and къща (a house) becomes къщата (the house). Which ending you use depends on the noun's gender.

no infinitive

Modern Bulgarian lost the infinitive verb form entirely, so dictionaries and word lists cite verbs in the first person singular present instead. 'правя' literally means 'I do / make', but it functions as the citation form you would translate as 'to do'.

ти vs. Вие

'ти' is the informal 'you', used with friends, family, and children. 'Вие' (capitalized when addressing one person politely) is the form used with strangers, elders, or in professional settings, much like French 'vous'. Using 'ти' with the wrong person can come across as rude.

verb aspect pairs

Bulgarian verbs come in perfective and imperfective pairs, similar to Russian. 'чета' means 'to read' as an ongoing or repeated action, while 'прочета' means to read something through to completion. English speakers often need two different Bulgarian verbs to cover what one English verb does.

unpredictable stress

Bulgarian spelling doesn't mark word stress, and there is no reliable rule for where it falls. You simply learn the stress of each word along with the word itself, since getting it wrong can make you hard to understand even when every letter is right.

What to do next

A list this size is about two weeks of light daily review, and it is the difference between decoding Bulgarian and following it.