Basic Greetings and Introductions

Welcome to Lesson 3! In this lesson you will learn how to greet people, introduce yourself, and ask someone for their name in Bulgarian. These phrases are the foundation of every conversation, so mastering them early will make the rest of the course much easier.

Bulgarian uses the Cyrillic alphabet, which you have already started to learn in earlier lessons. Most Bulgarian letters are pronounced close to their English counterparts, though a few sounds are new. In this lesson, pay special attention to the letter "ъ," which sounds like the "u" in the English word "cup," and the letter "ж," which sounds like the "s" in "measure." Each vocabulary item below shows a phonetic guide in parentheses to help you pronounce it correctly. Read the guide as if it were English, stressing the capitalized syllable.

The most common greeting in Bulgarian is the word for hello. Here is the informal version, used with friends, family, children, and people your own age:

[[pronounce:Здравей:bg]]

(ZDRAH-vey) means "Hello" in an informal way. When you address more than one person, or when you want to be polite to someone you do not know well, use the plural or formal form:

[[pronounce:Здравейте:bg]]

(zdrah-VEY-te) also means "Hello," but it carries a respectful tone. When in doubt, the formal form is always the safer choice.

Bulgarians also greet people differently depending on the time of day. These time-based greetings are very common in everyday speech and are often more natural than a generic "hello."

[[pronounce:Добро утро:bg]]

(DOH-bro OO-tro) means "Good morning." It is used from early morning until around noon.

[[pronounce:Добър ден:bg]]

(DOH-bur den) means "Good day" or "Good afternoon." It is used during the middle of the day.

[[pronounce:Добър вечер:bg]]

(DOH-bur VEH-cher) means "Good evening." It is used from the late afternoon into the night.

[[pronounce:Лека нощ:bg]]

(LEH-ka nosht) means "Good night." Unlike the other greetings, it is said when someone is leaving for sleep or when the day is ending, not as a way of saying hello.

When it is time to part ways, Bulgarians have several common expressions. The most standard one is:

[[pronounce:Довиждане:bg]]

(dov-EEZH-dah-neh) means "Goodbye." Among friends, many people also use the short and cheerful:

[[pronounce:Чао:bg]]

(CHAH-oh) which is borrowed from Italian and is used in informal settings. Notice that "Чао" can mean both "hello" and "goodbye," just as in English-speaking countries it can be used both ways in casual conversation.

Once you have greeted someone, the next natural step is to ask how they are doing. The standard question is:

[[pronounce:Как си?:bg]]

(kahk see) which means "How are you?" in the informal style. The answer most people give is:

[[pronounce:Добре съм:bg]]

(DOH-breh sum) meaning "I am fine." If you want to ask a formal or plural question, you would say "Как сте?" (kahk steh). A common reply to "Как си?" is also to return the question with "А ти?" (ah tee), meaning "And you?"

To introduce yourself, you need the verb that means "to be" and the verb that means "to be called." Bulgarian introductions usually combine these two verbs. The most important phrase is:

[[pronounce:Казвам се:bg]]

(KAHZ-vahm seh) which literally means "I call myself" and is the equivalent of "My name is." To say your name, you add it after the phrase, for example:

[[pronounce:Казвам се Иван:bg]]

(KAHZ-vahm seh ee-VAHN) meaning "My name is Ivan." The word "се" is a reflexive particle, and it stays in the same position in almost every sentence of this kind.

Here is a grammar point that will appear again and again throughout the course. The verb "съм" (sum), meaning "to be," changes its form depending on the subject. Learning the full conjugation now will help you build sentences like "I am a student" or "She is from Sofia." Study the table below carefully:

Notice that Bulgarian often omits the subject pronoun, because the verb ending already shows who is speaking. So "Съм студент" (sum stoo-DENT) means "I am a student" just as clearly as "Аз съм студент."

The verb "казвам се" (KAHZ-vahm seh), used to say your name, also changes with the subject. Pay attention to how the reflexive "се" stays attached to the verb and how the ending shifts. Here is the conjugation:

In practice, you will mostly use "Казвам се" with "аз" and "Как се казваш?" with "ти," so focus on these two forms first.

To ask someone for their name, use the question below. It uses the informal "ти" form, which is appropriate with most people your age:

[[pronounce:Как се казваш?:bg]]

(kahk seh KAHZ-vash) meaning "What is your name?" If you are speaking formally to an older person or a stranger, you would switch to the formal form:

[[pronounce:Как се казвате?:bg]]

(kahk seh KAHZ-vah-teh) meaning "What is your name?" in a polite way.

Now that you know the key phrases, here is a short dialogue showing how they fit together in a natural conversation between two people meeting for the first time in Sofia:

Maria: [[pronounce:Здравей!:bg]]

Ivan: [[pronounce:Здравей! Как си?:bg]]

Maria: [[pronounce:Добре съм. А ти?:bg]]

Ivan: [[pronounce:Добре съм, благодаря. Казвам се Иван. Как се казваш?:bg]]

Maria: [[pronounce:Казвам се Мария. Приятно ми е!:bg]]

Ivan: [[pronounce:Приятно ми е и на мен!:bg]]

The phrase "Приятно ми е" (PREE-yat-no mee eh) means "Nice to meet you," and the reply "Приятно ми е и на мен" means "Nice to meet you too." Both are used constantly when meeting new people.

Here are a few more useful expressions to keep in your conversational toolkit. You will hear and use these almost every day:

[[pronounce:Благодаря:bg]]

(blah-goh-DAR-yah) means "Thank you."

[[pronounce:Моля:bg]]

(MOH-lyah) means "Please" or "You're welcome," depending on context.

[[pronounce:Извинете:bg]]

(iz-vee-NEH-teh) means "Excuse me" or "I'm sorry," and is a polite way to get someone's attention.

Culturally, Bulgarians are known for being warm but somewhat reserved with strangers. Greetings are important, and it is considered polite to greet shopkeepers, neighbors, and colleagues when you enter a space. In shops and offices, people often say "Добър ден" as they walk in, even if they are only buying bread. A common custom is to shake hands when meeting someone for the first time, particularly in business or formal settings. Among friends and family, a kiss on both cheeks is a warm and normal greeting, especially between women or between a woman and a man who know each other well. Men typically greet each other with a handshake, and a hug is common among close friends.

One cultural note deserves special attention: the head movements that accompany speech. In Bulgaria, nodding your head up and down generally means "no," and shaking your head from side to side generally means "yes." This is the reverse of what most English speakers expect. When you greet someone and they nod, do not assume they are declining your greeting. Pay attention to context and to what they say aloud. Learning this custom early will help you avoid confusion in your first real conversations.

Finally, remember that pronunciation practice matters a great deal in your first lessons. Say each phrase aloud several times, paying attention to stress. Bulgarian stress can fall on different syllables, and it is not always marked in writing, so listen carefully to native recordings whenever possible. Try introducing yourself to an imaginary new friend using the dialogue from this lesson. In the next lesson, you will build on these phrases to talk about where you come from and what you do for a living.