The definite article in Bulgarian
In this lesson I will introduce you to one very important grammar aspect called the definite article. Keep calm, though. I know that some of you might start fretting once we mention the word grammar, but I will do my best to make it simple, easy, and understandable. So, please, just give it a try and do not worry about the results. I believe that by the end of this article you will have a stable base on which you will build a solid “language house”.
Let’s start then!
In Bulgarian, when we want to say ´the table´, ´the banana´, ´the milk´, etc. we have to add an ending to the noun.
In English, this is expressed with the definite article ´the´ which is usually before the noun.
In Bulgarian, the definite article goes at the end of the noun.
For example, the word for ‘apple’ in Bulgarian is ‘ябълка’.
So when I want to say “This is the apple”, I need to add the ending “-та” to “ябълка”.
This is the correct sentence: “Това е ябълкаТА”.
There are 3 types of endings depending on the gender of the noun:
The ending for nouns that are feminine gender is “-та”.
ябълкаТА, чашаТА, масаТА, книгаТА, женаТА, чушкаТА
The ending for nouns that are neuter is “-то”.
млякоТО, сиренеТО, маслоТО
We have 4 different types of endings for nouns that are masculine.
The first two are the most common ones. So you should pay more attention to them.
The first one is: “-ът”.
This is for nouns that are masculine and are the subject in the sentence.
What does this mean? It means that this noun is the doer of the action and is the ´most important´ word in the sentence.
For example:
The banana is tasty. БананЪТ е вкусен.
The orange is big. ПортокалЪТ е голям.
The tomato is red. ДоматЪТ е червен.
–––––––––––––
The second one is: “-а”.
We use this one when the noun is the object in the sentence.
This means that this noun is not the main doer in the sentence but rather that something is ‘being done’ to it.
It sounds a bit complicated but in this example you will understand what I mean:
I love the city.
Аз обичам градА.
In this sentence the main doer of the action is “I” and the city is an object.
There are also two more endings “-я”, “-ят”.
They are quite easy to remember as only a limited number of nouns need these endings.
These are the names of professions that end in “-тел” or “-ар/-яр” as well as a few other words.
учител – учителЯТ/учителЯ
The difference between “-я” and “-ят” is the same as between “-а” and “-ът”.
For plural we have two definite articles.
When the noun in singular is masculine or feminine the ending is “-те”
жени – жениТЕ
мъже – мъжеТе
стол – столовеТЕ
чаша – чашиТЕ
When the noun in singular is neuter the ending is “-та”
дете – децаТА
масло – маслаТА
Great! Now you know how the definite article in Bulgarian works.
More exercises you can find in grammar exercises page.
From my personal experience, I can say that repeating the words after hearing them from a native speaker will make you sound as one.
To improve your level of Bulgarian quickly and efficiently, check my other articles or sign up directly for an online lesson with me.
Congratulations! You have just read something very important that will help you a lot to start speaking Bulgarian.
Now you can practise a bit on your own. If you need some help, feel free to book an online lesson with me. I would love to teach you some Bulgarian.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Have an amazing day! See you next time. And until then smile, have fun, and learn Bulgarian!