Language/Bulgarian/Grammar/Vowels

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Bulgarian Grammar → Alphabet and sounds → Vowels

As your Bulgarian teacher, I'd like to share some insights into the Bulgarian language. Bulgarian is a Slavic language, which is spoken by approximately 9 million people worldwide. It is the official language of Bulgaria and is also spoken in parts of Greece, Romania, Serbia, Turkey, and Ukraine. In this lesson, we will dive deep into the vowels of the Bulgarian language.

Once you've mastered this lesson, take a look at these related pages: Pronouns & Questions.

Bulgarian Vowels

Bulgarian has eight vowel sounds, which can be divided into three groups: Front, Back, and Central. Remembering them can be challenging, but with practice, you can master them in no time. Here are the eight vowel sounds in the Bulgarian language.

Front Vowels

Front vowels are pronounced with the tongue in the front part of the mouth.

• /i/ - pronounced like the "i" in "ski"
• /ɛ/ - pronounced like the "e" in "red"
• /a/ - pronounced like the "a" in "father"

Back Vowels

Back vowels are pronounced with the back of the tongue.

• /u/ - pronounced like "oo" in "moon"
• /ɔ/ - pronounced like the "o" in "more"
• /ɤ/ - pronounced like the "u" in "hurt"

Central Vowels

Central vowels are pronounced in the center of the mouth.

• /ə/ - pronounced like the "a" in "sofa"
• /ɤ̞/ - pronounced like the "o" in "work."

It's important to note that Bulgarian vowels are pronounced very clearly, and there is no significant difference between short and long vowels.

Examples

Here are some examples to help you understand how each Bulgarian vowel sounds:

Bulgarian	Pronunciation	English
бял	byal	white
ден	den	day
хубав	hubav	beautiful
дъга	daga	rainbow
сон	son	dream
вокал	vokal	vocal
окото	okoto	the eye
говоря	govorya	I speak

Practice with these examples and with other words until you feel comfortable pronouncing each vowel.

Tips

• Listen carefully to native speakers and try to mimic their pronunciation.
• Practice reading Bulgarian texts out loud.
• Record yourself speaking to compare your pronunciation with native speakers.

With practice, recognizing and pronouncing Bulgarian vowels will become second nature to you.

Sources

• Bulgarian phonology - Wikipedia
• Just how hard is it to learn Bulgarian? (insights on Bulgarian grammar)
• 11 Incredible Facts About the Bulgarian Language
• The Bulgarian Stressed and Unstressed Vowel System. A Corpus ...

Table of Contents - Bulgarian Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

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Alphabet and sounds

• Cyrillic alphabet
• Vowels
• Consonants

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Greetings and Introductions

• Greetings
• Introducing yourself
• Numbers 0-100

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Bulgarian Traditions

• Bulgarian Folklore
• Cuisine
• Holidays and Customs

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Nouns and Adjectives

• Gender
• Cases
• Adjectives

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At the Restaurant

• Ordering Food
• Making Special Requests
• Paying the Bill

  ---

Bulgarian Cinema and Literature

• Bulgarian Cinema
• Bulgarian Literature
• Literary Translation

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Verbs and Tenses

• Present Tense
• Perfective and Imperfective Verbs
• Past Tense

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Traveling

• Transportation
• Booking a Hotel
• Asking for Directions

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Bulgarian Music

• Bulgarian Pop Music
• Traditional Bulgarian Music
• Music Festivals

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Future Tense and Modals

• Future Tense
• Modal Verbs
• Conditional Sentences

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Celebrations and Festivities

• Birthday Parties
• Weddings and Marriage Customs
• Religious Holidays

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Bulgarian Theatre and Performance Arts

• Bulgarian Theatre
• Puppet Theatre
• Dance

Other Lessons

• Nouns
• GENDER OF NOUNS – Род на съществителните
• CARDINAL NUMERALS – Бройни числителни
• Personal Pronouns
• GENERALIZING PRONOUNS – Обобщителни местоимения
• Comparatives and Superlatives
• DEFINITE ARTICLE OF NOUNS – Членуване на съществителните
• Adjectives
• NUMBER OF NOUNS – Число на съществителните
• Cyrillic alphabet

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