Section 1
Formal vs informal address — the most important rule in Bulgarian social life
Get this right and Bulgarians will immediately respect you. Get it wrong and you may cause offence without knowing it.
Bulgarian, like most European languages, has two distinct registers for addressing people. The choice between them is not just grammar — it carries real social weight.
| Pronoun | Use for | Greeting example | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|
| ти (ti) | Informal — friends, family members, children, close peers your own age | Здравей! | |
| Вие (Vie) | Formal — strangers, elders, anyone in a professional role, any group of two or more people | Здравейте! |
⚠️ The golden rule
When in doubt, always use Вие. Bulgarians will switch to ти themselves when they feel comfortable with you. Switching to informal without invitation is one of the most common — and noticeable — mistakes a foreigner can make.
How context changes the rules
The formal/informal distinction is real but it is not rigid. Several factors affect how strictly it is observed — and knowing these will save you from unnecessary awkwardness.
Rural villages
In smaller towns and villages, formality is observed much more strictly. Jumping to ти with an elder would be considered rude and presumptuous. Use Вие as default with anyone you have not been specifically introduced to on informal terms.
Older generations
Anyone noticeably older than you should receive Вие regardless of location. In Bulgarian culture, age commands respect through language. This applies whether you are in Sofia or a rural village — the age rule is universal.
Sofia & large cities
In Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna and other major cities, the younger urban population is significantly more relaxed about formality. In a trendy café or co-working space, Здравей with a stranger of similar age is often fine. But the safest rule still applies: wait to be invited to switch.
Young people (similar age)
Among Bulgarians in their 20s and 30s, especially in urban settings, ти between peers of similar age is common even on first meeting. If someone greets you with Здравей rather than Здравейте, that is your signal that they are comfortable with informal.
Children
You always use ти with children. Children will also use ти with you — do not be surprised or offended by this. It is the expected and correct register from a child to any adult they encounter.
Service & professional roles
Shopkeepers, waiters, hotel staff, doctors, officials — always Вие. This applies even if they look young. The professional context creates a formal register regardless of age or location.
🗺️ A practical guide for learners
Start every new interaction with Вие. Watch and listen: if the Bulgarian person uses Здравей, speaks informally, or explicitly says 'можем на ти' (we can use ти), you can switch. If they continue with Вие, so should you. This approach works everywhere in Bulgaria, city or village, young or old.
Section 2
Greetings by time of day
Three phrases cover the whole day. Learn exactly when each one is used.
Unlike English where "hello" is used at any hour, Bulgarians almost always use a time-based greeting in any formal or semi-formal context — entering a shop, a restaurant, an office, or someone's home. Learn all three and use the right one for the time.
| Bulgarian | Romanised | English | When to use | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Добро утро | Dobro utro | Good morning | Until about 10–11am. Bakeries, cafes, early meetings. | |
| Добър ден | Dobar den | Good day / afternoon | Mid-morning until sunset. The most commonly used greeting. | |
| Добър вечер | Dobar vecher | Good evening | After sunset. Restaurants, evening events, night arrivals. |
📖 Grammar note — adjective agreement
Добро is neuter (matches утро — morning, a neuter noun). Добър is masculine (matches ден and вечер). You will study adjective agreement fully on Day 10. For now, learn each greeting as a fixed phrase — don't try to construct them yet.
Section 3
Hello and goodbye
The formal and informal forms — and why they are not interchangeable.
| Bulgarian | Romanised | English | Register | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Здравей | Zdravey | Hello (one person) | Informal only — friends, family, children | |
| Здравейте | Zdraveyte | Hello (formal / group) | Formal or plural — always safe | |
| Довиждане | Dovizhdane | Goodbye (formal) | Standard farewell anywhere | |
| Чао | Chao | Bye (very informal) | Friends only — borrowed from Italian | |
| До скоро | Do skoro | See you soon | Informal — when expecting to meet again | |
| Лека нощ | Leka nosht | Good night | At bedtime or late-evening parting |
💡 Memory tip — Здравей
The root of Здравей is здраве — meaning health. The greeting literally wishes good health. The -те ending makes it formal or plural — you will see this same suffix across Bulgarian verbs and pronouns. Здравей → Здравейте follows the same logic as Извини → Извинете.
Section 4
The -те ending — your formality switch
One suffix that transforms informal expressions into formal ones. Understand it once and it applies everywhere.
The -те ending is one of Bulgarian's most useful patterns. It appears in verbs (commands and polite requests) and transforms informal greetings into formal ones. Once you recognise it, you will see it everywhere.
| Informal | Formal (add -те) | Audio — informal | Audio — formal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Здравей | → | Здравейте | ||
| Извини | → | Извинете | ||
| Чакай | → | Чакайте | ||
| Говори | → | Говорете |
💡 Why this matters
When you learn a new imperative verb, you automatically know both its informal and formal versions. Add -те for formal/plural, remove it for informal. You don't need to memorise two separate words for each.
Section 5
The essential polite phrases
Eight expressions that will get you through almost any social situation.
| Bulgarian | Romanised | English | Notes | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Моля | Molya | Please / You're welcome / Pardon? | Three uses — see note below | |
| Благодаря | Blagodarya | Thank you | Always appropriate, never too formal | |
| Много благодаря | Mnogo blagodarya | Thank you very much | Stronger — use when genuinely grateful | |
| Извинете | Izvinete | Excuse me / Sorry (formal) | Getting attention, apologising, asking to pass | |
| Извини | Izvini | Sorry (informal) | Friends and family only | |
| Няма нищо | Nyama nishto | No problem / It's nothing | Response to thanks or apology | |
| Заповядайте | Zapovyadayte | Here you are / Please (offering) | When handing something over or inviting someone in | |
| Наздраве | Nazdrave | Cheers / Bless you | Toasting drinks OR response to a sneeze |
💡 Моля — the most versatile word in Bulgarian
Three situations, one word: (1) Кафе, моля — A coffee, please. (2) After someone thanks you: Моля = You're welcome. (3) When you did not hear something: Моля? = Pardon? / Could you repeat that? Memorise all three uses from the start.
Section 6
Survival phrases for your first weeks
What to say when you are lost, confused, or need someone to slow down.
| Bulgarian | Romanised | English | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Не разбирам | Ne razbiram | I don't understand | |
| Не говоря добре български | Ne govorya dobre balgarski | I don't speak Bulgarian well | |
| Говорите ли английски? | Govorite li angliyski? | Do you speak English? (formal) | |
| Моля, говорете по-бавно | Molya, govorete po-bavno | Please speak more slowly (formal) | |
| Как се казва това? | Kak se kazva tova? | What is this called? | |
| Разбрах | Razbrah | I understood / Got it | |
| Уча български | Ucha balgarski | I am learning Bulgarian | |
| Моля, повторете | Molya, povtorete | Please repeat (formal) |
💡 The most useful phrase you can learn today
Уча български — I am learning Bulgarian. Say this early in any interaction where you are struggling. Bulgarians respond with enormous warmth when a foreigner makes the effort to learn their language. This phrase unlocks patience, slower speech, and often a complete change in tone.
Section 7
Reading the room — choosing your register in real situations
Before the roleplays, practise deciding which register to use in different contexts.
You now know both registers. The skill is deciding which one to use. Work through these scenarios and decide: formal (Вие) or informal (ти)?
Scenario 1 — ✅ Use formal (Вие)
You walk into a hardware shop in a small village in the Rhodope mountains. The owner is a man in his 60s you have never met. You need to ask for something.
Why formal? Rural setting, stranger, significant age difference — all three factors point strongly to formal. Opening with Здравейте and Вие forms would be expected and respected.
Scenario 2 — 🟡 Either, but watch carefully
You are at a co-working space in Sofia. Someone your age sits down next to you and smiles. They say "Здравей!" to you.
Why either? They have already signalled informal with Здравей. You can reply with Здравей. Urban, young, peer — all factors make informal acceptable. They opened the register, not you.
Scenario 3 — ✅ Use formal (Вие)
You are introduced to your Bulgarian colleague's grandmother at a family dinner. She is 75 years old.
Why formal? Age is the decisive factor here, regardless of setting. Even in a relaxed family home, a 75-year-old elder receives Вие. Using ти would cause visible surprise and possible offence to older family members present.
Scenario 4 — 🔵 Interesting edge case
You are in a Varna beach bar in summer. The bartender looks about 25. Other customers are chatting casually.
Why it depends: Tourist-focused coastal cities in summer have a very relaxed social atmosphere. The bartender may well use ти with you. But they are still in a service role, so starting with Вие is safest. Let them set the tone.
Section 8
Roleplay 1 — Entering a shop (formal, any setting)
The most common scenario you will face. Master this first.
Read through the exchange, then press the audio button on each line to practise your pronunciation. Your target: read your lines aloud before pressing play.
💡 What to notice
Notice that both speakers use formal register throughout. The owner says Заповядайте (formal) not Заповядай. Довиждане is used by both at the end — it is universal formal farewell. Your phrase Уча български is your most powerful opener: it explains everything and triggers warmth.
Section 9
Roleplay 2 — Meeting a friend's grandmother
A delicate situation: a family home, an elder, and learning when formal stays formal even among family.
⚠️ Key point — age overrides everything
Notice that Grandma uses Здравейте with you — formal, because you are a stranger. You must use Здравейте and Вие forms with her, always, even though you are in Ivan's home and he uses ти with you. Ivan (your peer) uses ти. His grandmother (an elder) receives Вие. Two different registers in the same room.
Section 10
Roleplay 3 — City café: when informal opens early
In Sofia's urban café culture, younger Bulgarians often set an informal tone from the first word.
🏙️ Setting the scene
You are at a trendy café in Sofia's centre. The barista is roughly your age (late 20s). She opens with Здравей — not Здравейте. This is your signal. She has set the tone as informal. In this urban context, matching her register is natural and correct.
💡 What changed in this roleplay
Compare with Roleplay 1: the barista says Заповядай (informal, no -те), Извини (you use it too, no -те), Учиш ли (informal you-form). Every verb lost the -те suffix. Notice you still ended with Довиждане — it works in both registers as a farewell.
Section 11
Writing task
Write by hand to lock in the vocabulary.
✍️ Day 2 writing task — do all five
- You enter a butcher's shop in a village at 9am. Write the correct greeting.
- An older woman drops her shopping. You help her. Write the formal apology/excuse me phrase.
- She thanks you warmly. Write two things you could say back (both options).
- You didn't understand something she said. Write the phrase asking her to speak more slowly (formal).
- You are leaving. Write both the formal farewell and the informal farewell.
▶ Show answers
1. Добро утро! (still morning — before ~10-11am)
2. Извинете! (formal — she is an elder and a stranger)
3. Моля OR Няма нищо (both work)
4. Моля, говорете по-бавно.
5. Formal: Довиждане · Informal: Чао or До скоро
Day 2 Quiz — Greetings & Politeness
20 questions · score 14+ (70%) to mark Day 2 complete
Question 1 of 20
Which greeting is ALWAYS safe to use with anyone in Bulgaria?
Question 2 of 20
You arrive at a restaurant at 7:30pm. What do you say?
Question 3 of 20
You enter a village shop at 9am. The correct greeting is:
Question 4 of 20
Моля can mean ALL of the following EXCEPT:
Question 5 of 20
You bump into a stranger on the street. The correct apology is:
Question 6 of 20
How do you say 'I don't understand'?
Question 7 of 20
Довиждане means:
Question 8 of 20
Someone thanks you. You respond with:
Question 9 of 20
How do you ask someone to speak more slowly (formal)?
Question 10 of 20
The -те ending on Bulgarian verbs and greetings indicates:
Question 11 of 20
In a rural village, you should use formal register with:
Question 12 of 20
A young barista in Sofia opens with Здравей. You should:
Question 13 of 20
Заповядайте means:
Question 14 of 20
Наздраве is used when:
Question 15 of 20
Your Bulgarian friend's 75-year-old grandmother greets you. You should use:
Question 16 of 20
How do you say 'I am learning Bulgarian'?
Question 17 of 20
Лека нощ is used:
Question 18 of 20
The informal form of Извинете is:
Question 19 of 20
You are in a service role context (waiter, shopkeeper, doctor). You should use:
Question 20 of 20
Чао is borrowed from which language and is used:
Day 2 Recap — What you learned today
Review these before Day 3.
| Topic | Key rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Formal vs informal | Use Вие with strangers, elders, professionals, groups. Use ти only with friends or by invitation. | Здравейте (safe) vs Здравей (friends only) |
| City vs rural | Rural and older generations observe formality more strictly. Urban young adults are more relaxed — but wait for their lead. | Sofia café: Здравей may be fine. Village shop: Здравейте always. |
| Age rule | Anyone noticeably older than you receives Вие regardless of setting. | Friend's grandmother → Вие always |
| Time greetings | Добро утро / Добър ден / Добър вечер. Use the right one for the time. | Добро (neuter) vs Добър (masculine) — grammar covered Day 10 |
| The -те ending | Adds formality/plurality to verbs and greetings. | Здравей → Здравейте · Извини → Извинете |
| Моля | Please AND you're welcome AND pardon? | Кафе, моля / Благодаря → Моля / Моля? (pardon) |
| Уча български | Your most powerful opener. Say it early — it unlocks patience and warmth. | Уча български. Не говоря добре още. |
| Заповядайте | Offering something to someone. Formal version of Заповядай. | When handing over a drink, item, or inviting someone to sit |