You probably already know a lot of basic Bulgarian words. However, to connect them properly in a sentence, you need to learn more about different Bulgarian conjunctions. They enable you to learn bulgarian words, phrases, and clauses in order to form grammatically correct sentences.

BulgarianPod101 not only reveals the most common types of Bulgarian conjunctions in this guide, but has also added examples to show you how to use them and help you transform your own thoughts into understandable sentences using Bulgarian conjunctions like “and,” “or,” “but,” to name a few. But that’s not all. To help you memorize the most common Bulgarian conjunctions  easier, we prepared some practical Bulgarian conjunctions exercises.

There is no more time to waste, so let’s start right away!

Table of Contents

1. What is a Bulgarian conjunction?
2. Conjunctions for Correlating Similar Thoughts
3. Conjunctions for Expressing Condition
4. Conjunctions for Expressing Cause
5. Conjunctions for Expressing Opposition
6. Even More Conjunctions
7. How BulgarianPod101 Can Help You Learn Bulgarian?
8. Answers to Practical Exercises

1. What is a Bulgarian conjunction?

Conjunctions are parts of speech intended to connect the homogeneous parts in a simple sentence, and the simple sentences in complex sentences. Bulgarian conjunctions can be divided into two groups:

Simple Conjunctions

These are conjunctions that consist of a single word, like и, а, но. We will take a closer look at them later.

There is a very interesting type of simple conjunctions that in Bulgarian is called разделителни (razdelitelni) conjunctions (in English correlative conjunctions). Such Bulgarian correlative conjunctions are: 

или-или 
дали-или
ту-ту
хем-хем

Bulgarian Conjunction	Pronunciation	English Conjunction
или-или	Ili – ili	either… or
Example:	Или ще вали, или ще е слънчево. Ili shte vali, ili shte e slanchevo. It will either rain or it will be sunny.
Note:	или-или can be used with different parts of the speech, but it is most common with verbs. Please note that you should always put a comma before the second или.
дали-или	dali – ili	whether… or
Example:	Дали да отида на празника, или да не ходя? Dali da otida na praznika, ili da ne hodya Whether to go to the party or not?
Note:	This conjunction is usually used to express uncertainty and hesitation about what decision to make.
ту-ту	tu-tu
Example:	Тя ту плаче, ту се смее. Tya tu plache, tu se smee. She sometimes cries, sometimes laughs.
Note:	This Bulgarian conjunction has no specific translation in English, but the meaning is that the same person radically changes his behavior within short intervals, for example during a conversation.
хем-хем	hem-hem	both… and
Example:	Хем боли, хем сърби. Hem boli, hem sarbi. It both hurts and itches.
Note:	This is a popular Bulgarian idiom that means that, on the one hand, you want to do something very much, but on the other you delay doing it as you are afraid of the consequences.

➜ You might be interested to learn some more popular Bulgarian idioms explained in this lesson.

Complex Conjunctions

There are many Bulgarian conjunctions that consist of two or more words. These are called complex conjunctions, such as в случай че, при условие че, въпреки че, като че ли. We will review them in detail later.

And now, let’s study different Bulgarian conjunctions based on their role in the sentence.

2. Conjunctions for Correlating Similar Thoughts

Let’s start with the most common and easy Bulgarian conjunctions list that correlates similar thoughts.

Bulgarian Conjunction	Pronunciation	English Conjunction
и	i	and
Example:	Аз ям и пия. Az yam i piya. I eat and drink.
Note:	Unlike in English where and is used for showing what your intention is after specific verbs, such as ‘go’, ‘come’, ‘try’, or ‘wait’ (I will go and see your new house.), in Bulgarian, this is not a typical usage of и, and this sentence will look the following way:               Ще отида да видя новата ти къща.               Shte otida da vidya novata ti kashta. Literally: I will go to (instead of and) see your new house.

също и / също така и	sashto i / sashto taka	and also / and so
Examples:	Обичам да слушам музика, също и да пея. Obicham da slusham muzika, sashto i da peya. I like listening to music and also singing.  Аз мисля, че си красива, също така и брат ми мисли така. Az mislya, che si krasiva, sashto taka i brat mi misli taka. I think you’re beautiful, and so does my brother.
Note:	These two Bulgarian conjunctions have the same meaning and are usually used to connect two simple sentences in one complex sentence.

както и	kakto i	as well as / in addition to
Example:	Обичам да ям сладолед, пържени картофи, както и торта. Obicham da yam sladoled, parzheni kartofi, kakto i torta. I like eating ice cream, french fries, as well as cake.
Note:	This conjunction is usually used to add more details to a description or at least one more thing when we enumerate different things.

след което	sled koeto	after which / and then
Example:	Често се прибирам уморен от работа, след което си лягам. Chesto se pribiram umoren ot rabota, sled koeto si lyagam. I often come home from work tired and then go to bed.
Note:	This Bulgarian conjunction is used to show that one thing causes another. But it also may show the sequence of events (find such in the practical exercise below).

Practice with us!

It’s time to practice these four Bulgarian conjunctions, described above. Please, put the correct conjunction in the blanks. Choose between (и, също така и, както и, след което). This will help you get used to their usage in the correct place. It can be challenging, but you can check the correct answers at the end of this review.

Tip: All the conjunctions are used once except for и that is used three times.

Note: 

1. Сутрин ставам, обличам се, сресвам се и си мия си зъбите  ___________ закусвам, преди да отида на работа.
   (Sutrin stavam, oblicham se, sresvam se i si miya si zabite ___________ zakusvam, predi da otida na rabota.)
   I get up in the morning, get dressed, comb my hair, and brush my teeth ___________ I have breakfast before I go to work.

2. Ставам много рано ___________  веднага тръгвам по задачи.
   (Stavam mnogo rano ___________ vednaga tragvam po zadachi.)
   I get up very early ___________ I immediately go on assignments.

3. Моят баща обича да чете книги, ___________ аз много обичам да чета книги.
   (Moyat bashta obicha da chete knigi, __________ az mnogo obicham da cheta knigi.)
   My father loves reading books, ___________ I love reading books.

4. Днес срещнах Иван ___________  Мария.
   (Dnes sreshtnah Ivan ___________ Mariya.)
   Today, I met Ivan ___________ Maria.

5. Ще купя от магазина хляб, картофи ___________  яйца, ___________ брашно за кекса.
   (Shte kupya ot magazina hlyab, kartofi ___________ yaytsa, ___________ brashno za keksa.)
   I will buy from the store bread, potatoes ___________ eggs, ___________ flour for the cake.

3. Conjunctions for Expressing Condition

It’s time to move on with Bulgarian conjunctions that express condition.

Bulgarian Conjunction	Pronunciation	English Conjunction
ако	ako	if
Example:	Ще отида на почивка, ако имам пари. Shte otida na pochivka, ako imam pari. I will go on vacation if I have money.
Note:	In Bulgarian, in most cases, there is a comma in front of ако. There are cases in which there is no need for a comma and we will see this rule in the next example.

в случай, че	v sluchay che	in case / if
Examples:	Ще му простя само в случай че ми се извини. Shte mu prostya samo v sluchay che mi se izvini. I will forgive him only if he apologizes to me.
Note:	Both of these conjunctions (ако and в случай че) are interchangeable and you can safely say/write the following: Ще отида на почивка в случай че имам пари. Shte otida na pochivka v sluchay che imam pari. I will go on vacation in case I have money.  Ще му простя само ако ми се извини. Shte mu prostya samo ako mi se izvini. I will forgive him only if he apologizes to me.  Please note that in the last example there is no need for a comma in front of ако because there is a clarifying word (само/only) before it.

при условие че	pri uslovie che	provided that
Example:	Не разбирам защо се отказваш, при условие че обеща да свършиш тази работа. Ne razbiram zashto se otkazvash, pri uslovie che obeshta da svarshish tazi rabota. I don’t understand why you’re giving up, provided that you promised to do the job.
Note:	This conjunction can also be placed in the very beginning of the sentence.

Practice with us!

This time the practical exercise is easier. You have to choose only between ако and при условие че to fill in the blanks.

___________ много пъти досега си лъгал, няма кой да ти повярва.
___________ mnogo pati dosega si lagal, nyama koy da ti povyarva.
___________ you have lied many times so far, no one will believe you.

Никой няма да ти вярва ______ лъжеш.
Nikoy nyama da ti vyarva ______ lazhesh.
No one will believe you ______ you are lying.

Не можеш да вдигнеш сам този багаж ___________ вчера те болеше кракът.
Ne mozhesh da vdignesh sam tozi bagazh ___________ vchera te boleshe krakat.
You can’t pick up this luggage alone ___________ your leg was hurting yesterday.

4. Conjunctions for Expressing Cause

Bulgarian Conjunction	Pronunciation	English Conjunction
защото	zashtoto	because
Example:	Ще отида сам, защото съм смел. Shte otida sam, zashtoto sam smel. I will go alone because I am brave.
Note:	In Bulgarian, there is always a comma in front of защото and the other conjunctions that express cause given below.

понеже	ponezhe	because / since
Example:	Понеже не вали, ще отида да работя в градината. Ponezhe ne vali, shte otida da rabotya v gradinata. Since it is not raining, I will go work in the garden.
Note:	Понеже is almost identical to защото. In fact, both of these conjunctions are replaceable if they are located in the middle of the sentence. So you can safely replace  Ще отида сам, защото съм смел. with Ще отида сам, понеже съм смел. Shte otida sam, ponezhe sam smel. I will go alone because I am brave. One important note here is that, unlike понеже, защото cannot be in the beginning of the sentence.

тъй като	tay kato	as / since
Example:	Тъй като е неделя, днес няма да работя. Tay kato e nedelya, dnes nyama da rabotya. Since it’s Sunday, I won’t be working today.
Note:	Another identical conjunction to защото and понеже. Just like понеже, тъй като can also be placed in the very beginning of the sentence. The exception of this rule is защото. So we can safely change the sample above in the following way: Тъй като е неделя, днес няма да работя. with Понеже е неделя, днес няма да работя. Ponezhe  e nedelya, dnes nyama da rabotya. Since it’s Sunday, I won’t be working today. The same applies to this sentence: Понеже не вали, ще отида да работя в градината. It may be changed the following way: Тъй като не вали, ще отида да работя в градината. Tay kato ne vali, shte otida da rabotya v gradinata. Since it is not raining, I will go work in the garden. The only way in which this sentence could sound wrong is when placing защото in the beginning: Защото не вали, ще отида да работя в градината.

Practice with us!

Exercise 1: As explained above, the following sentence is incorrect: 

• Защото не вали, ще отида да работя в градината.

Can you make it correct without changing the conjunction?

You may check the correct answer at the end of this guide.

за да	za da	to / in order to
Example:	Трябва да работя, за да имам пари. Tryabva da rabotya, za da imam pari. I have to work to have money.

Practice with us!

Exercise 2: Let’s practice some more Bulgarian vocabulary. Put the correct Bulgarian conjunction in the place of the English conjunction. Tip: there could be more than one correct answer, but be careful to not put the wrong one.

• Since искам да кандидатствам в университет, уча много.
  Since iskam da kandidat·stvam v universitet, ucha mnogo.
  Since I want to apply to university, I study a lot.

• Не обичам лимоните, because са кисели.
  Ne obicham limonite, because sa kiseli.
  I don’t like lemons because they are sour.

• Трябват ми яйца to направя баница.
  Tryabvat mi yaytsa to napravya banitsa.
  I need eggs to make banitsa.

In order to make this exercise even more challenging, try to place all possible correct answers for each of these three sentences. You can check whether your answers are correct at the end of this review.

5. Conjunctions for Expressing Opposition

Bulgarians are famous for their obstinacy that is expressed in the popular idiom: магарешки инат (magareshki inat) as stubborn as a donkey.

➜ You can learn the meaning of some other common Bulgarian idioms in the following lesson.

This likely explains why there are so many Bulgarian conjunctions that express opposition. We will review the most popular of them below:

Bulgarian Conjunction	Pronunciation	English Conjunction
но	no	but
Example:	Аз съм малък, но вече зная. Az sam malak, no veche znaya. I’m little, but I already know.

ама	ama	but
Example:	Надявах се да е хубаво времето, ама заваля. Nadyavah se da e hubavo vremeto, ama zavalya. I was hoping for good weather, but it started to rain.
Note:	Conjunctions но and ама are interchangeable, but но is more often used, while ама is considered too informal and cannot be used in formal conversations.

обаче	obache	but / however
Example:	Планирах да отида на почивка тази година, обаче няма да ми стигнат парите.Planirah da otida na pochivka tazi godina, obache nyama da mi stignat parite.I planned to go on vacation this year, but I won’t have enough money.
Note:	Обаче is very similar to но and ама and practically can be replaced by them. Let’s practice it in the exercise below.

Practice with us!

Exercise 1:  To practice Bulgarian grammar, make two different sentences from this one by replacing обаче with но (for the first sentence) and ама (for the second one).

Планирах да отида на почивка тази година, обаче няма да ми стигнат парите.

1.

2.

Check your answer at the end of this review.

въпреки че	vapreki che	although
Example:	Ще отида сам, въпреки че ме е страх. Shte otida sam, vapreki che me e strah. I will go alone, although I am afraid.

макар че	makar che	although
Example:	Ще отида на празненството, макар че не съм поканен. Shte otida na praznenstvoto, makar che ne sam pokanen. I will go to the party, although I am not invited.
Note:	Conjunctions въпреки че and макар че are interchangeable and there is no difference in their meaning.

Practice with us!

Exercise 2: Let’s practice some more with these two conjunctions. Replace въпреки че with its analogue in the following sentence:

• Ще отида сам, въпреки че ме е страх.

• Ще отида сам,                       ме е страх.

Now, replace макар че with its analogue in the following sentence.

• Ще отида на празненството, макар че не съм поканен.

• Ще отида на празненството,                    не съм поканен.

вместо	vmesto	instead of
Example:	Вместо да се прибера вкъщи, реших да се поразходя. Vmesto da se pribera vkashti, reshih da se porazhodya. Instead of going home, I decided to take a walk.
Note:	In Bulgarian, вместо could be placed both in the beginning or in the middle of the sentence without changing the meaning. Let’s have one more exercise using this example.

Practice with us!

Exercise 3: Try to reorder the words in the sentence and move вместо to the middle of it.

Вместо да се прибера вкъщи, реших да се поразходя.

Your version:

Let’s try with another sentence. Please, move вместо in the middle of this sentence.

Вместо да командваш, иди свърши малко работа.
Vmesto da komandvash, idi svarshi malko rabota.
Instead of commanding, go and do some work.

Your version:

отколкото	otkolkoto	rather than / instead of
Example:	Предпочитам да изляза на разходка, отколкото да съм пред компютъра. Predpochitam da izlyaza na razhodka, otkolkoto da sam pred kompyutara. I’d rather go for a walk than be in front of the computer.
Note:	отколкото and вместо are very close in meaning and can be replaced in this example. The important thing here to remember is that, unlike вместо, отколкото can be placed only in the middle of the sentence and never in the beginning. And now it’s time to practice!

Practice with us!

Exercise 4: Replace отколкото with вместо in this sentence.

• Предпочитам да изляза на разходка, отколкото да съм пред компютъра.

• Предпочитам да изляза на разходка,                  да съм пред компютъра.

Exercise 5: The sentence below is incorrect in Bulgarian. Try to correct it so it looks good. If you find this exercise challenging, refer to the rule for отколкото given in the note.

• Отколкото болен, предпочитам да съм здрав.
  Otkolkoto bolen, predpochitam da sam zdrav.
  I’d rather be healthy than sick.

➜ You can learn some more common Bulgarian adjectives from this list.

6. Even More Conjunctions

Here are three more common Bulgarian conjunctions that cannot be placed under a certain category yet are very helpful in many situations.

Bulgarian Conjunction	Pronunciation	English Conjunction
като че ли	kato che li	it seems as if / it looks like
Example:	Като гледам времето навън като че ли ще вали. Kato gledam vremeto navan kato che li shte vali. Looking at the weather outside, it looks like it’s going to rain.
Note:	This conjunction shows uncertainty about a specific thing or event, a sort of assumption.

докато	dokato	while
Example:	Докато се разхождах, срещнах Иван. Dokato se razhozhdah, sreshtnah Ivan. While I was walking, I met Ivan.
Note:	докато can be placed in the middle of the sentence as well. So, the example will look like this: Срещнах Иван, докато се разхождах. Sreshtnah Ivan, dokato se razhozhdah. I met Ivan while I was walking.

доколкото	dokolkoto	as far as
Example:	Ще направя всичко възможно, доколкото зависи от мен. Shte napravya vsichko vazmozhno, dokolkoto zavisi ot men. I will do my best as far as I can.
Note:	This conjunction is used to express a stipulation when the certainty of the statement is reduced. It can also be placed in the beginning of the sentence: Доколкото зависи от мен, ще направя всичко възможно. Dokolkoto zavisi ot men, shte napravya vsichko vazmozhno. As far as I can, I will do my best.

7. How BulgarianPod101 Can Help You Learn Bulgarian?

This Bulgarian conjunctions review gives you an opportunity to learn conjunctions in Bulgarian sentences. As a  bulgarian language learning website, BulgarianPod101 has prepared it to help you connect Bulgarian words and Bulgarian phrases in sentences, so it is perfect for beginner level Bulgarian learners. 

Since there are so many other conjunctions in Bulgarian language which we couldn’t include in this detailed guide, you can study them further with a native Bulgarian teacher from the MyTeacher section. This language expert will not only help you learn the rest of the Bulgarian conjunctions, but will also help you advance quickly and start speaking Bulgarian with more confidence.

We would be happy to hear your feedback about this review and whether you found the exercises challenging or not. Please do not hesitate to share your thoughts with us in the comments below. 

And now it’s time to check your answers to the practical exercises given above.

8. Answers to Practical Exercises

Answers to exercises with conjunctions to correlate similar thoughts

1. Сутрин ставам, обличам се, сресвам се и си мия зъбите, след което закусвам, преди да отида на работа.
   (Sutrin stavam, oblicham se, sresvam se i si miya zabite, sled koeto zakusvam, predi da otida na rabota.)
   I get up in the morning, get dressed, comb my hair, brush my teeth, and then I have breakfast before I go to work.

2. Ставам много рано и веднага тръгвам по задачи.
   (Stavam mnogo rano i vednaga tragvam po zadachi.)
   I get up very early and I immediately go on assignments.

3. Моят баща обича да чете книги, също така и аз много обичам да чета книги.
   (Moyat bashta obicha da chete knigi, sashto taka i az mnogo obicham da cheta knigi.)
   My father loves reading books, and so I love reading books.

4. Днес срещнах Иван и Мария.
   (Dnes sreshtnah Ivan i Mariya.)
   Today, I met Ivan and Maria.

5. Ще купя от магазина хляб, картофи и яйца, както и брашно за кекса.
   (Shte kupya ot magazina hlyab, kartofi i yaytsa, kakto i brashno za keksa.)
   I will buy from the store bread, potatoes, and eggs, as well as flour for the cake.

Answers to exercises with conjunctions to express condition

При условие че много пъти досега си лъгал, няма кой да ти повярва.
Pri uslovie che mnogo pati dosega si lagal, nyama koy da ti povyarva.
Provided that you have lied many times so far, no one will believe you.

Никой няма да ти вярва, ако лъжеш.
Nikoy nyama da ti vyarva, ako lazhesh.
No one will believe you if you are lying.

Не можеш да вдигнеш сам този багаж при условие че вчера те болеше кракът.
Ne mozhesh da vdignesh sam tozi bagazh pri uslovie che vchera te boleshe krakat.
You can’t pick up this luggage alone provided that your leg was hurting yesterday.

Answers to exercises with conjunctions to express condition

Exercise 1: Защото не вали, ще отида да работя в градината. This sentence can become correct if you change the word order moving защото in the middle of the sentence. 

Ще отида да работя в градината, защото не вали.
Shte otida da rabotya v gradinata, zashtoto ne vali.
I’m going to work in the garden because it’s not raining.

 ********    ********

Exercise 2:

• (Понеже / Тъй като) искам да кандидатствам в университет, уча много.
  (Ponezhe / Tay kato) iskam da kandidatstvam v universitet, ucha mnogo.
  Since I want to apply to university, I study a lot.

• Не обичам лимоните, (защото / понеже / тъй като) са кисели.
  Ne obicham limonite, (zashtoto / ponezhe / tay kato) sa kiseli.
  I don’t like lemons because they are sour.

• Трябват ми яйца, за да направя баница.
  Tryabvat mi yaytsa za da napravya banitsa.
  I need eggs to make banitsa.

Answers to exercises with conjunctions to express opposition

Exercise 1: Планирах да отида на почивка тази година, обаче няма да ми стигнат парите.

1. Планирах да отида на почивка тази година, но няма да ми стигнат парите.
   Planirah da otida na pochivka tazi godina, no nyama da mi stignat parite.
   I planned to go on vacation this year, but I won’t have enough money.

2. Планирах да отида на почивка тази година, ама няма да ми стигнат парите.
   Planirah da otida na pochivka tazi godina, ama nyama da mi stignat parite.
   I planned to go on vacation this year, but I won’t have enough money.

********    ********

Exercise 2: Ще отида сам, въпреки че ме е страх.

• Ще отида сам, макар че ме е страх.
  Shte otida sam, makar che me e strah.
  I will go alone, although I am afraid.

Ще отида на празненството, макар че не съм поканен.

• Ще отида на празненството, въпреки че не съм поканен.
  Shte otida na praznenstvoto, vapreki che ne sam pokanen.
  I will go to the party, although I am not invited.

********    ********

Exercise 3: Вместо да се прибера вкъщи, реших да се поразходя.

Реших да се поразходя, вместо да се прибера вкъщи.
Reshih da se porazhodya vmesto da se pribera vkashti.
I decided to take a walk instead of going home.

Вместо да командваш, иди свърши малко работа.

Иди свърши малко работа, вместо да командваш.
Idi svarshi malko rabota vmesto da komandvash.
Go and do some work instead of commanding.

 ********    ********

Exercise 4: 

• Предпочитам да изляза на разходка, отколкото да съм пред компютъра.

• Предпочитам да изляза на разходка, вместо да съм пред компютъра.
  Predpochitam da izlyaza na razhodka, vmesto da sam pred kompyutara.
  I’d rather go for a walk than be in front of the computer.

Exercise 5:

• Предпочитам да съм здрав, отколкото болен.
  Predpochitam da sam zdrav, otkolkoto bolen.
  I’d rather be healthy than sick.