You step off the plane in Sofia, and every sign looks like a code. “РЕСТОРАНТ” reads like nonsense, “PECTOPAHT” in your head. The good news: the Bulgarian alphabet looks much harder than it is. With the right order, most English speakers read their first words after a weekend. Here are all 30 letters with pronunciation, the false friends that trip everyone up and a simple plan to learn Cyrillic in a week.
Short answer: what is the Bulgarian alphabet?
Bulgarian is written in the Cyrillic alphabet, which has 30 letters in Bulgarian. Six letters look and sound almost like English (А, Е, К, М, О, Т), six look familiar but sound different (В, Н, Р, С, У, Х), and the rest are new shapes. Spelling is largely phonetic, so once you know the letters, you can read almost any word aloud. Most learners manage that within a week.
When I learn a new language, I always start with the sounds, because everything else builds on them. With Bulgarian, that means Cyrillic. It’s the one step you can’t skip, and it’s also the step where you see progress fastest: after a few days, menus, street names and shop signs suddenly make sense. If you want the bigger picture first, read our guide on how to learn Bulgarian.
The Bulgarian alphabet: all 30 letters with pronunciation
The Bulgarian alphabet has 30 letters, written in capital and small form. The “Example” column gives you a real everyday word for each letter, with transliteration and meaning.
| Letter | IPA | Sounds like | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| А а | /a/ | like the “a” in “father” | баба (baba, grandma) |
| Б б | /b/ | like English “b” | благодаря (blagodarya, thank you) |
| В в | /v/ | like English “v” (not a “b”!) | вода (voda, water) |
| Г г | /ɡ/ | always a hard “g” as in “go” | град (grad, town) |
| Д д | /d/ | like English “d” | да (da, yes) |
| Е е | /ɛ/ | like the “e” in “bed” | есен (esen, autumn) |
| Ж ж | /ʒ/ | like the “s” in “measure” | жена (zhena, woman) |
| З з | /z/ | like English “z” | здравей (zdravey, hello) |
| И и | /i/ | like the “ee” in “see” | име (ime, name) |
| Й й | /j/ | like the “y” in “boy” | май (may, May) |
| К к | /k/ | like English “k” | кафе (kafe, coffee) |
| Л л | /l/ | like English “l” | лято (lyato, summer) |
| М м | /m/ | like English “m” | море (more, sea) |
| Н н | /n/ | an “n” (not an “h”!) | не (ne, no) |
| О о | /ɔ/ | like the “o” in “hot” (British English) | обяд (obyad, lunch) |
| П п | /p/ | like English “p” | планина (planina, mountain) |
| Р р | /r/ | a rolled “r” (not a “p”!) | роза (roza, rose) |
| С с | /s/ | an “s” (not a “c”!) | село (selo, village) |
| Т т | /t/ | like English “t” | такси (taksi, taxi) |
| У у | /u/ | like the “oo” in “food” (not a “y”!) | утро (utro, morning) |
| Ф ф | /f/ | like English “f” | фурна (furna, bakery) |
| Х х | /x/ | like the “ch” in Scottish “loch” (not an “x”!) | хляб (hlyab, bread) |
| Ц ц | /t͡s/ | like the “ts” in “cats” | цвете (tsvete, flower) |
| Ч ч | /t͡ʃ/ | like the “ch” in “church” | чай (chay, tea) |
| Ш ш | /ʃ/ | like the “sh” in “shop” | шопска салата (shopska salata, Shopska salad) |
| Щ щ | /ʃt/ | like the “sht” in “ashtray” | щастие (shtastie, happiness) |
| Ъ ъ | /ɤ/ | like the “a” in “about” | ъгъл (agal, corner) |
| Ь ь | /ʲ/ | no sound of its own; only before “о”, softens the consonant before it | шофьор (shofyor, driver) |
| Ю ю | /ju/ | like the “u” in “use” | юни (yuni, June) |
| Я я | /ja/ | like the “ya” in “yard” | ябълка (yabalka, apple) |
Learn the Bulgarian alphabet in 3 groups
Don’t learn the 30 letters from А to Я. Sort them by how familiar they are, and Cyrillic stops being a wall of strange signs.
Group 1: the easy ones (look and sound like English)
А, Е, К, М, О, Т. You can read these on day one. Try КОТ (kot, cat) or ТАКСИ (taksi, taxi).
Group 2: the false friends (look familiar, sound different)
These six cause most of the mistakes, because your brain reads them as English letters:
| Bulgarian letter | Looks like | Really sounds like | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| В | B | “v” | вино (vino, wine) |
| Н | H | “n” | нос (nos, nose) |
| Р | P | rolled “r” | ресторант (restorant, restaurant) |
| С | C | “s” | сок (sok, juice) |
| У | Y | “u” as in “food” | улица (ulitsa, street) |
| Х | X | “h”, like Scottish “loch” | хотел (hotel, hotel) |
That’s why РЕСТОРАНТ looks like “PECTOPAHT” at first glance. Once you know the false friends, it simply reads “restorant”.
Group 3: the new shapes
Б, Г, Д, Ж, З, И, Й, Л, П, Ф, Ц, Ч, Ш, Щ, Ъ, Ь, Ю, Я. Most of them stand for sounds you already know from English, they just look different. Learn them in small batches of four or five, always together with a real word.
Read Cyrillic, then speak Bulgarian
Once you know the letters, the next step is real words with the right stress. The 17-Minute-Languages course trains Bulgarian vocabulary with native audio and lets you type in Cyrillic, so the alphabet becomes automatic.
Test it two days for free, without payment details.
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The tricky letters: Щ, Ъ, Ь, Ю and Я
Щ: one letter, two sounds
Щ is pronounced “sht”, as in “ashtray”. You’ll see it everywhere: щастие (shtastie, happiness), нощ (nosht, night), Лека нощ (good night). In Russian, the same letter sounds different, so don’t copy a Russian pronunciation.
Ъ: the “uh” vowel
Ъ is a full vowel in Bulgarian, a short “uh” sound like the “a” in “about”. It even appears in the name of the country: България (Balgariya). In Russian, the same letter is silent, which is one of the clearest differences between the two languages.
Ь: the letter without a sound
Ь has no sound of its own. In modern Bulgarian, it only appears before “о” and makes the consonant before it softer: шофьор (shofyor, driver), Бьорн (Byorn, the name Björn).
Ю and Я: two sounds in one letter
Ю is “yu” and Я is “ya”. After a consonant, they also soften it: лято (lyato, summer), люта чушка (lyuta chushka, hot pepper).
Bulgarian pronunciation rules for beginners
- Read what you see: Bulgarian spelling is largely phonetic. There are no silent letters like in English, apart from Ь.
- Stress is free and unmarked: any syllable can carry the stress, and it isn’t shown in normal writing. Благодаря is stressed on the last syllable (bla-go-da-RYA). That’s why you should learn new words with audio.
- Unstressed vowels get weaker: in unstressed syllables, “а” often sounds closer to “ъ”, and “о” closer to “у”. You’ll hear this naturally in fast speech.
- Final consonants harden: at the end of a word, “б” sounds like “п”, “д” like “т” and “в” like “ф”. So хляб (bread) sounds like “hlyap”.
How to learn the Bulgarian alphabet in a week
This is the plan I’d follow. Fifteen to twenty minutes a day are enough.
| Day | What to learn | Practice |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The easy letters: А, Е, К, М, О, Т | Read КОТ, ТАКСИ, МАМА |
| 2 | The false friends: В, Н, Р, С, У, Х | Read ХОТЕЛ, РЕСТОРАНТ, ВИНО |
| 3 | Б, Г, Д, З, И, Й, Л, П, Ф | Read ГРАД, ЛИФТ, БИЛЕТ |
| 4 | Ж, Ц, Ч, Ш, Щ | Read ЧАЙ, ШОКОЛАД, НОЩ |
| 5 | Ъ, Ь, Ю, Я | Read БЪЛГАРИЯ, ЛЯТО, ШОФЬОР |
| 6 and 7 | All letters mixed | Read signs, menus and our Bulgarian phrases aloud |
Words you already know are your best friends here: кафе (coffee), банка (bank), хотел (hotel), метро (metro), аптека (pharmacy), паспорт (passport). Read them slowly, letter by letter, and you’ll feel the alphabet click. When the letters sit, move on to our common Bulgarian phrases.
Bulgarian vs. Russian alphabet
Both languages use Cyrillic, but the alphabets aren’t identical. Russian has 33 letters, Bulgarian 30:
- Not in Bulgarian: Ё, Ы and Э.
- Ъ is a vowel (“uh”) in Bulgarian, but a silent sign in Russian.
- Щ is “sht” in Bulgarian, but a long “shch”-like sound in Russian.
- Ь only appears before “о” in Bulgarian.
If you already read Russian, you’ll learn the Bulgarian alphabet in an afternoon. Just watch these four letters.
A short history: why Cyrillic is a Bulgarian story
The Cyrillic alphabet has its roots in Bulgaria. In the 9th century, the brothers Cyril and Methodius created the Glagolitic script for the Slavs. Their students continued the work in the First Bulgarian Empire, and in the schools there, especially in Preslav, the Cyrillic alphabet took shape. It was later named after Saint Cyril.
Bulgarians are proud of this. 24 May is a public holiday dedicated to Saints Cyril and Methodius, the Bulgarian alphabet and Slavonic literature, with school parades across the country. And when Bulgaria joined the European Union in 2007, Cyrillic became the EU’s third official alphabet, next to Latin and Greek. That’s why you’ll find “ЕВРО” on euro banknotes.
How Bulgarian is written in Latin letters
On passports, road signs and websites, Bulgarian is transliterated with the official Bulgarian system. That’s why you see “Sofia” and “Plovdiv”, but also spellings that look odd at first: Ъ becomes “a” (Търново = Tarnovo), Щ becomes “sht” and Ж becomes “zh”. For learning, always use the Cyrillic original. Latin transliteration hides the vowel Ъ and the stress.
Frequently asked questions about the Bulgarian alphabet
How many letters are in the Bulgarian alphabet?
The Bulgarian alphabet has 30 letters. It is a version of the Cyrillic alphabet, with the letters А to Я.
Is the Bulgarian alphabet the same as the Russian alphabet?
Almost, but not quite. Russian has 33 letters, Bulgarian 30. Bulgarian has no Ё, Ы and Э, and the letters Ъ and Щ are pronounced differently.
How long does it take to learn the Bulgarian alphabet?
Most English speakers can read simple words after a weekend and the whole alphabet within about a week, with 15 to 20 minutes of practice a day.
Who created the Cyrillic alphabet?
Cyrillic developed in the First Bulgarian Empire in the late 9th century, based on the work of the brothers Cyril and Methodius and continued by their students. It is named after Saint Cyril.
How do you pronounce Ъ in Bulgarian?
Ъ is a short vowel, similar to the a in about. It appears in many common words, including the name of the country, България.
Related links
- Learn Bulgarian: the complete guide for English speakers
- Common Bulgarian phrases for everyday life
- Learning vocabulary successfully
- How to learn a language fast
Prefer another language?
- 🇳🇴 Lær bulgarsk
About the author
Sven Mancini has published four books on language learning and has over 20 years of hands-on experience learning languages through self-study, Norwegian at business level since 2005. He always starts a new language with its sounds and script, and writes about the methods that make that first step easy. Read more about Sven here.