Bulgarian Numbers & Age
Numbers are the most instantly useful grammar there is: prices, ages, bus lines, phone numbers. Bulgarian's system is regular, and by the end of this page you can build anything up to a hundred.
One to Ten
| # | Bulgarian | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | нула | NU-la |
| 1 | едно | ed-NO |
| 2 | две | dve |
| 3 | три | tri |
| 4 | четири | CHE-ti-ri |
| 5 | пет | pet |
| 6 | шест | shest |
| 7 | седем | SE-dem |
| 8 | осем | O-sem |
| 9 | девет | DE-vet |
| 10 | десет | DE-set |
Teens & Tens
The teens add -найсет, the tens end in -йсет or -десет, and compounds just say "and" (и):
| # | Bulgarian | Built from |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | единайсет | one + -найсет |
| 12 | дванайсет | two + -найсет |
| 20 | двайсет | two tens |
| 21 | двайсет и едно | twenty AND one |
| 30 | трийсет | three tens |
| 40 | четирийсет | four tens |
| 50 | петдесет | five tens |
| 100 | сто | one word, no glue |
двайсет и пет
twenty-five
Note: In formal writing you'll also meet the longer forms — единадесет, двадесет — same numbers in their Sunday best.
One and Two Agree
The first two numbers watch the noun's gender (a preview of the gender lesson):
| Gender | one | two |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | един лев | два лева |
| feminine | една маса | две маси |
| neuter | едно кафе | две кафета |
Едно кафе и две води, моля.
One coffee and two waters, please.
Note: кафе is neuter → едно; вода is feminine → две. From три upward, numbers stop caring about gender.
Saying Your Age
Bulgarian says you are at an age: на + the number + години (years), with съм in its usual second position:
| Bulgarian | English |
|---|---|
| На колко години си? | How old are you? (informal) |
| На колко години сте? | How old are you? (formal) |
| На двайсет и пет години съм. | I'm twenty-five. |
| Тя е на трийсет години. | She is thirty. |
Money: the Лев
Bulgaria's currency is the лев (plural лева), divided into 100 стотинки. The word comes from an old word for lion — the animal on the coat of arms.
💬 At the market
Колко струва баницата?
How much is the banitsa?
Два лева и петдесет стотинки.
Two levs and fifty stotinki.
Заповядайте. Благодаря!
Here you are. Thank you!
Колко струва?
How much does it cost?
Note: Point at anything and ask. The answer will come back in лева — and now you can catch it.
Common Mistakes
- Saying «имам … години» for your age. That's the neighbours' pattern. Bulgarian: На … години съм.
- Forgetting и in compounds. It's двайсет и пет, never двайсетпет.
- Using два with feminine or neuter nouns. Два лева but две маси, две кафета.
- Panicking at единадесет. It's just единайсет in formal dress — same number.
- Mixing up девет (9) and десет (10). One letter apart and both start prices. Listen for the в.
What You Can Do Now
You can count to a hundred, build any compound with и, order едно кафе and две води with the right gender, answer На колко години си? about yourself, and survive a price at the market. Practice below — numbers only stick at speed.