Master 10 Essential Bulgarian Pronouns With These Tips

Are you struggling to understand Bulgarian pronouns like “аз” (I), “ти” (you), and “той” (he)? Don’t worry, I’ve got you! As a Bulgarian native speaker, I’m going to share with you ten essential types of Bulgarian pronouns, along with their usage and examples. By the end of this lesson, you’ll feel more confident and will enhance your ability to communicate effectively. Let’s take a closer look at the essential concepts of Bulgarian grammar!

What Are Pronouns?

Their very name suggests their meaning – pronoun, i.e., “instead of the name.” A pronoun is any word that can replace names (nouns, adjectives, numerals), indicate various objects and their attributes, or ask about them. In short, a pronoun is a substitute word.

In Bulgarian, pronouns are really important for making sentences flow better and sound less repetitive. There are several types of pronouns, each with a different grammatical function. They also vary in form and change according to gender, number, and case.

It’s important to understand these variants if you want to use Bulgarian correctly. We’ll cover all the categories, from personal to reflexive pronouns. This will give you a solid understanding of Bulgarian grammar. I’ve also included some examples and explanations to help you understand better. Let’s dive into it!

Grammatical Signs

Firstly, let’s note that the Bulgarian pronouns change according to:

• Gender – “he”- toĭ (той) /m.g./, “she”- tya (тя) /f.g./, “it”- to (то) /n.g./, “who”- коĭto (който) /m.r./, “which”- koyato (която) /j.r./, “which”- koeto (което) /sr.r./
• Number – “I”- Az (аз) /unit/, “we”- nie (ние) /pl./
• Person – I”- Az (аз) /1st p./, “you”- ti (ти) /2nd p./, “he”- toĭ (той), “she”- tya (тя), “it”- to (то) /3rd p./

A pronoun takes on the grammatical features of the word (noun) it replaces.

For example, if you understand everything in this lesson, I’ll say, “He/She (instead of your name) learned the material quickly!” -“Toĭ/Tya nauchi materiala burzo!” – “Той/Тя научи материала бързо!”

1. Personal Pronouns In Bulgarian

As mentioned earlier, personal pronouns in Bulgarian are used to refer to specific people or things. They change their form based on the nominative (subject), accusative (direct object), and dative (indirect object) cases. Here’s a breakdown of the personal pronouns in Bulgarian:

Subject Pronouns (Nominative Case)

English	Bulgarian	Pronunciation
I	Аз	Az
You	Ти	Ti
He	Той	Toĭ
She	Тя	Tya
It	То	To
We	Ние	Nie
You(formal/plural)	Вие	Vie
They	Те	Te

Object Pronouns (Accusative Case And Dative Case)

English	Bulgarian (Accusative)	Bulgarian (Dative)
Me	Ме / Me	Ми / Mi
You	Те / Te	Ти / Ti
Him / It	Го / Go	Му / Mu
Her	Я / Ya	Ѝ / Ì
Us	Ни / Ni	Ни / Ni
You	Ви / Vi	Ви / Vi
Them	Ги / Gi	Им / Im

Example Sentences:

• “They gave us fresh fruit.” – Dadoha ni presni plodove. (Дадоха ни пресни плодове.)
• “I saw him at the subway.” – Vidyakh go v metroto. (Видях го в метрото.)

Note that in Bulgarian, there are three equivalents to the English pronoun “you”:

• We use “you”- ti (ти) when addressing a single person in an informal situation (e.g., a close friend or a member of your family): “You are my friend.” – “Ti si moĭ priyatel.” (Ти си мой приятел.”);
• “You” – Vie (Вие) *written with a capital В* is used when addressing a single person in a formal situation: “You are very clever.” – Vie ste mnogo umen. (Вие сте много умен.);
• “You” – vie (вие) when addressing more than one person (both in informal and formal situations): “You are very funny!”- Vie ste mnogo zabavni! (Вие сте много забвни!).

2. Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns indicate ownership and correspond to the English pronouns “my” – moĭ (мой), “your” – tvoĭ (твой), etc. They agree with the Bulgarian noun they modify in terms of gender, number, and definiteness.

English	Bulgarian Masculine	Bulgarian Feminine	Bulgarian Neuter	Bulgarian Plural
My	Мой / Moĭ	Моя / Moya	Мое / Moe	Мои / Moi
Your	Твой / Tvoĭ	Твоя / Tvoya	Твое / Tvoe	Твои / Tvoi
His/Its	Негов / Negov	Негова / Negova	Негово / Negovo	Негови / Negovi
Her	Нейн / Neĭn	Нейна / Neĭna	Нейно / Neĭno	Нейни / Neĭni
Our	Наш / Nash	Наша / Nasha	Нашо / Nasho	Наши / Nashi
Your	Ваш / Vash	Ваша / Vasha	Вашо / Vasho	Ваши / Vashi
Their	Техен / Tehen	Тяхна / Tyahna	Тяхно / Tyahno	Техни / Tehni

Example Sentences:

• “Is that your dog?” – Tova tvoeto kuche li e? (Това твоето куче ли е?)
• “They bought a new house.” – Te kupiha nowa kushta. (Те купиха нова къща.)
• къща.)

3. Reflexive Personal Pronouns

In Bulgarian reflexive pronouns are used when the subject and the object of the sentence are the same. These pronouns are essential for indicating actions that the subject performs on itself.

English	Bulgarian	Pronunciation
Myself	Себе си	Sebe si
Youself	Себе си	Sebe si
Himself	Себе си	Sebe si
Herself	Себе си	Sebe si
Itself	Себе си	Sebe si
Ourselves	Себе си	Sebe si
Yourselves	Себе си	Sebe si
Themselves	Себе си	Sebe si

Example Sentences:

• “He takes care of himself.” – Toĭ se grizhi za sebe si. (Той се грижи за себе си.)
• “They preparing themselves for the competition.” – Te se podgotyat za sustezanieto. (Те се подготвят за състезанието.)

4. Reflexive Possessive Pronouns

This type of pronoun also comes from the reflexive pronoun “myself”—sebe si (себе си), but this time, they indicate the ownership between the subject and the object of the sentence. Reflexive pronouns take on forms that match the noun they modify in terms of gender, number, and case.

Here’s a breakdown of the reflexive possessive Bulgarian pronouns:

English	Bulgarian Masculine	Bulgarian Feminine	Bulgarian Neuter	Bulgarian Plural
My own	Svoĭ / Свой	Svoya / Своя	Svoe / Свое	Svoi / Свои
Your own	Svoĭ / Свой	Svoya / Своя	Svoe / Свое	Svoi / Свои
His own	Svoĭ / Свой	Svoya / Своя	Svoe / Свое	Svoi / Свои
Her own	Svoĭ / Свой	Svoya / Своя	Svoe / Свое	Svoi / Свои
Its own	Svoĭ / Свой	Svoya / Своя	Svoe / Свое	Svoi / Свои
Our own	Svoĭ / Свой	Svoya / Своя	Svoe / Свое	Svoi / Свои
Your (formal/plural) own	Svoĭ / Свой	Svoya / Своя	Svoe / Свое	Svoi / Свои
Their own	Svoĭ / Свой	Svoya / Своя	Svoe / Свое	Svoi / Свои

Example Sentences:

• “I invented my own language.” – Izmislih svoĭ *sobstven* ezik. (Измислих свой *собствен* език.)
• “She brushes her teeth with her own toothbrush.” – Tya si mie zubite sus svoya *sobstveena* chetka za zubi. (Тя си мие зъбите със своя *собствена* четка за зъби.)

5. Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns in Bulgarian indicate a specific object or group. They are used to point out specific things and can be translated like this:

English	Bulgarian Singular (Masculine)	Bulgarian Singular (Feminine)	Bulgarian Singular (Neuter)	Bulgarian Plural
This	Tozi / Този	Tazi / Тази	Tova / Това	Tezi / Тези
That	Onzi / Онзи	Onzi / Онази	Onova / Онова	Onezi / Онези

Example Sentences:

• “This person is clever.” – Tozi chovek e umen. (Този човек е умен.)
• “Those textbooks are complicated.” – Onezi uchebnitsi sa slozhni. (Онези учебници са сложни.)

6. Interrogative Pronouns

Interrogative Bulgarian pronouns are useful when we’re looking for information. They’re the same as English:

English	Bulgarian	Pronunciation
Who	Кой, Коя	Koĭ, Koya
What	Какъв, Каква, Какво	Kakuv, Kakva, Kakvo
Which	Кой, Коя, Кое	Koĭ, Koya, Koe
Whose	Чии	Chii
How many	Колко	Kolko
Where	Къде	Kude
How	Как	Kak

Example Sentences:

• “Where is this place?” – Kude e tova myasto? (Къде е това място?)
• “How many seats does this restaurant have?” – Kolko mesta ima tozi restorant? (Колко места има този ресторант?)

7. Relative Pronouns

In Bulgaria, we use relative pronouns to connect clauses or phrases. Let’s see their equivalent in English!

English	Bulgarian	Pronunciation
Who/Which (m.g)	Който	Koĭto
Whom	Когото	Kogoto
Which (f.g, n.g)	Което, Която	Koeto , Koyato
That	Който	Koĭto

Example Sentences:

• “‘This is the person who I asked.” – Tova e chovekut, kogoto popitah. (Това е човекът, когото попитах.)
• “The lesson that I am taking is interesting.” – Urokut, koĭto vzemam e interesen. (Урокът, който вземам е интересен.)

8. Direct And Indirect Object (Indefinite) Pronouns

We use indefinite pronouns to refer to people or things that aren’t specific. They’re usually used for generalizations, to express uncertainty, or to refer to unknown or unspecified entities.

Here’s a breakdown of some examples:

• For persons: “someone” – nyakoĭ (някой), “someone”– nyakogo (някого), “to someone” – nyakomu (някому), “any” – nyakoya (някоя), “some” – nyakoe (някое), “some” – nyakoi (някои);
• For objects: “someone” – nyakoĭ (някой), “something” – neshto (нещо), “some” – nyakoe (някое), “any” – nyakoya (някоя), “some” nyakoi (някои);
• For signs: “some” – nyakakuv (някакъв), “some” – nyakakva (някаква), “some” – nyakakvo (някакво), “some” – nyakakvi (някакви);
• For possession: “someone’s” – nechiĭ (нечий), “someone’s” – nechiya (нечия), “someone’s” – nechie (нечие), “someone’s” – nechii (нечии);
• For quantity: “a few” – nyakolko (няколко).

Example Sentences:

• “Someone said my name” – Nyakoĭ kaza imeto mi. (Някой каза името ми.)
• “Do you have any idea?” – Imash li nyakoya idea? (Имаш ли някоя идея?)

9. Negative Pronouns

In Bulgarian, negative pronouns are used to indicate that something doesn’t exist, whether it’s a person, object, or thing. They’re key for building negative sentences.

Here’s a breakdown with examples:

• For persons: “no one” – nikoĭ (никой), “no one” – nikogo (никого), “no one”- nikomu (никому), “no one” – nikoya (никоя), “no one”- nikoe (никое), “no one” – nikoi (никои);
• For objects: “no one” – nikoĭ (никой), “nothing” – nishto (нищо), “no one” – nikoya (никоя), “no one” – nikoe (никое), “no one” – nikoi (никои);
• For signs: “none” – nikakuv (никакъв), “no one” – nikakva (никаква), “no one” – nikakvo (никакво) , “no one” – nikakvi (никакви);
• For possession: “no one” – nichiĭ (ничий), “no one” – nichiya (ничия), “none” – nichie (ничие), “none” – nichii (ничии);
• For quantity: “none” – nikolko (николко)

10. General Pronouns

General Bulgarian pronouns apply to everyone in a particular group or category.

Here’s a breakdown with examples:

• For persons: “everyone” – vseki (всеки), “everyone” – vsekigo (всекиго), “everyone” – vsekimu (всекиму), “every” – vsyaka (всяка), “every” – vsyako (всяко), “all” – vsichki (всички), “each” – vseki (всеки);
• For objects: “every” – vseki (всеки), “any” – vsyakа (всяка), “every” – vsyako (всяко), “all” – vsicki (всчки), “everything” – vsichko (всичко);
• For signs: “any” – vsyakakuv (всякакъв), “any” – vsyakakva (всякаква) , “any” – vsqkakvo (всякакво), “any” – vsyakakvi (всякакви);
• For quantity: “all” – vsickiq (всичкия), “all” – vsichkata (всичката), “all” – vsichkoto (всичкото), “all” – vsichkite (всичките).

Using Pronouns In Sentence Construction – How To Say “Everyone Was So Nice To Me!” In Bulgarian?

Knowing how to use personal pronouns is key to getting the sentence structure and clarity right in Bulgarian grammar. How you use personal pronouns can change the meaning and tone of a sentence. You’ll find examples of personal pronouns in everyday speech and writing, so let’s see how to say: “Everyone was so nice to me!”

The sentence starts with a general pronoun for people and ends with a personal accusative pronoun. We can translate it like this: “Vsichki bqha mnogo mili s men!” (Всички бяха много мили с мен!)

Bonus: Practical Tips For Learning Pronouns

Learning pronouns can be a bit challenging, but don’t worry! With the right tips and tricks, you can make significant progress. Here are some practical tips to help you out with Bulgarian pronouns:

1. Practice Regularly: It’s so important to make it a habit! Use flashcards and language apps like the Ling app, and engage in conversations.
2. Mastering Pronouns in Context: Get a feel for how Bulgarian pronouns are used in everyday language by watching movies, TV shows, or listening to music.
3. Engage with Native Speakers: It’s always a great idea to practice speaking with native speakers whenever you can. If you don’t have anyone around you who speaks Bulgarian, don’t worry! Just take a look at these other tips from some lovely native speakers.
4. Be Patient: It’s totally normal to feel like learning a new language takes a while. Be kind to yourself and enjoy the learning process!

We’d love to help you out! Just check out the Ling blog for detailed articles/lessons on Bulgarian verbs, nouns, adjectives, and much more.

How Do You Say Pronouns In Bulgarian?

In Bulgarian, the word for “pronouns” is местоимения (mestoimenia).

FAQ’s About Bulgarian Pronouns

1. What Is A Gender-Neutral Pronoun In Bulgarian?

There are a few neutral Bulgarian pronouns, which include:

• “They” – te (те)/”them” – tyah (тях)/”their” – tehen (техен)/”them” – im (им). They are used for a group of people and could be used as a singular and plural form.
• “It” – to (то)/”it” – nego (него)/”its” -negovo (негово)/”it” – mu (му). This is the one we use most often, and it’s great for an informal context.

2. What Are The Grammatical Genders In Bulgarian?

There are three grammatical genders in Bulgarian: masculine, feminine, and neuter. It can largely be inferred from its ending: nouns ending in a consonant are generally masculine; those ending in -a (–а)/ -ya (–я) are normally feminine; and nouns ending in -e (–е)/-o (–о) are almost always neuter.

3. What Is The Grammar Structure Of Bulgarian?

Bulgarian is a pretty flexible language, which is one of the things I love about it! It has a Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) structure, but it also allows for variations to show emphasis and style.

Wrapping Up

The Bulgarian language is really colorful but definitely not that difficult, believe me! Just take your time to understand the basic rules (which are not that many at all) and make sure you’ve found the right way to practice. As I mentioned, there are many ways to do it (feel free to look back). So don’t be discouraged; with effort and dedication, you will learn Bulgarian faster than you think!