Russian and Bulgarian languages have certain similarities, but they cannot be called obvious. To communicate successfully, you will still need to learn a foreign language. But if a trip to Bulgaria is planned only once, you can limit yourself to learning just a few words.
How do translations of individual words from Bulgarian to Russian sound?
The translation from Bulgarian to Russian is similar for some words and radically different for others. Let's list a few similar words, or at least those with analogous interpretations.
"Strawberry" in Russian will sound like "ягода" ("berry"). "Пыль" ("dust") in Bulgarian means "прах" ("dust"), which you must admit, has a certain similarity. As for radically opposite meanings, there are also plenty of those, so a Russian person in Bulgaria can easily get confused.
"Стул" (chair) in Bulgarian will sound like "стол" (table) in Russian. Right in front of Russians, Bulgarians sound like they're going to the right. Because of this, tourists often find themselves in uncomfortable situations when asking for directions and end up going in the wrong direction. Another example - the word "арбуз" (watermelon) in Bulgarian sounds like "дыня" (melon).
Active development of the Bulgarian language began relatively recently. Linguists consider it to be young.
Words in the Bulgarian language and Russian often sound similar. This language is spoken not only in Bulgaria but also in neighboring countries, for example, in Romania. Serbs, northern Macedonians, Greeks, and Moldovans know it well. Practically in all these countries, there are Bulgarian diasporas. Citizens of Bulgaria actively travel, work, and study in other countries. This is how the language spreads.
The main similarity of the Bulgarian language with Russian is the use of Cyrillic. This is why Russians understand a lot when they come to Bulgaria.
At the same time, in the Bulgarian alphabet, compared to Russian, three letters are missing - these are ы, ё, and э. In Bulgaria, for example, they write "шофьор" (driver). Also, it is necessary to take into account that the stress is placed very differently in many Bulgarian words.
As for the vocabulary, there are also quite a few similarities, about 70%. This can be used in the process of learning Bulgarian.
And finally, a few more words in Bulgarian with translation into Russian:
- Майка - мама (mother);
- Гора - лес (forest);
- Пердета - шторы (curtains).
Learn Bulgarian if you plan to move or have a long trip to this wonderful country. The language will be useful for those who dream of working or studying in Bulgaria. It's not that difficult to master. It will definitely be easier than, for example, Chinese.
When reading texts in Bulgarian, much becomes clear from the context. You can start with newspapers and gradually move on to fiction books. If you practice reading regularly, soon there will be no problems with understanding Bulgarian.
This language is quite interesting, largely due to its similarity to Russian.