Negation is a linguistic tool we use every day. From refusing proposals to answering questions in the negative, there are so many ways we use the word “no” in our daily conversations and social engagements. After all, we can’t possibly agree on everything all the time! 

Learning about negation in Bulgarian grammar is a key element in mastering the language, and we recommend that you study this early on. 

Here are some reasons why it’s good to learn how to say “no“ in Bulgarian:

• You’ll be able to express an opposite opinion.
• You can react negatively when someone speaks untruthfully.
• You can disagree with any offensive declaration. 
• You can express to others your inability to do something.
• You can state that something never happened.

BulgarianPod101 has prepared this Bulgarian negation overview to guide you through this complex topic. You’ll learn how to form negative sentences in Bulgarian, how to say no, how to answer questions in the negative, and more.

Table of Contents

1. Negate a Statement
2. Making Negative Sentences with the Verb “To Bе”
3. Giving a Negative Response to a Question
4. Other Negating Words and Phrases
5. Double Negatives
6. How BulgarianPod101 Can Help You Learn Bulgarian
7. Answers to the Practical Exercises

1. Negate a Statement

Let’s start by learning how to negate a positive statement in Bulgarian. For your convenience, we’ve also included some practical exercises to help you get the hang of it! 

Here are the positive statements:

• Аз съм американец. / Ние сме американци.
  (Az sam amerikanets. / Nie sme amerikantsi.)
  I am an American. / We are Americans.

• Аз уча български, защото смятам да пътувам за България.
  (Az ucha balgarski, zashtoto smyatam da patuvam za Balgariya.)
  I study Bulgarian because I plan to travel to Bulgaria.

To make these positive statements negative in the simple present tense, we have to add the negative particle “не” in front of the verb. The negative versions of these sentences look like this:

• Аз не съм американец. / Ние не сме американци.
  (Az sam amerikanets. / Nie sme amerikantsi.)
  I am not an American. / We are not Americans.

• Аз не уча български, защото не смятам да пътувам за България.
  (Az ne ucha balgarski, zashtoto ne smyatam da patuvam za Balgariya.)
  I don’t study Bulgarian because I do not plan to travel to Bulgaria.

Learning Bulgarian vocabulary for nationalities is not an easy thing. To help you out, here’s a list of 35 nationalities and how they’re pronounced in Bulgarian.

Practical exercise: Making affirmative statements negative in the simple present tense

It seems simple, right? Just figure out where the verb is located and put the negative particle before it. Now, practice negation in Bulgarian yourself with the following sentences: 

• Аз обичам да ходя на ресторант.
  (Az obicham da hodya na restorant.)
  I like going to restaurants.

• Тя живее в къща.
  (Tya zhivee v kashta.)
  She lives in a house.

• Те работят в тази фирма.
  (Te rabotyat v tazi firma.)
  They work for this company.

You can check your answers at the end of this article.

Negate a statement in the future tense

When the statement you would like to negate is in the future tense, a different negative particle is used instead of “не.” In this case, the negative particle “няма да” (nyama da), meaning “won’t,” should replace the Bulgarian future tense particle “ще” (shte), meaning “will.” 

Let’s make it more clear by providing an example. Locate the particle “ще” first.

• Когато науча български, ще се върна в Америка.
  (Kogato naucha balgarski, shte se varna v Amerika.)
  When I learn Bulgarian, I will return to America.

Now let’s replace the particle “ще” with the negative particle “няма да.”

• Когато науча български, няма да се върна в Америка.
  (Kogato naucha balgarski, nyama da se varna v Amerika.)
  When I learn Bulgarian, I will not return to America.

By the way, BulgarianPod101 can help you start using the future tense to make plans and appointments in this lesson.

Practical exercise: Negate a statement in the future tense

Now, it’s your turn to make a negative statement in the future tense. Try the following sentences:

• Утре ще ходя на ресторант.
  (Utre shte hodya na restorant.)
  I’m going to a restaurant tomorrow.

• Тя ще живее в тази къща.
  (Tya shte zhivee v tazi kashta.)
  She will live in this house.

• Те ще работят в тази фирма.
  (Te shte rabotyat v tazi firma.)
  They will work for this company.

You can check your answers at the end of this article.

2. Making Negative Sentences with the Verb “To Bе”

When building Bulgarian negation sentences with the verb съм (sam), you need to follow the same principle as with the other verbs: The negative particle “не” should be placed in front of the verb съм. 

Let’s start with affirmative examples. We’ll provide two versions of each sentence (for masculine and feminine gender, respectively) in the first person singular:

masculine	feminine
Аз съм българин.  (Az sam balgarin.) I am Bulgarian.	Аз съм българка.  (Az sam balgarка.) I am Bulgarian.
Аз съм тъжен. (Az sam tazhen.) I am sad.	Аз съм тъжна.  (Az sam tazhnа.) I am sad.
Ние сме млади. (Nie sme mladi.) We are young.

Now, let’s make these sentences negative. Note that, in contrast to the English language where the negative particle not is placed after the verb “to be,” the particle не comes before the verb “to be” in Bulgarian. 

masculine	feminine
Аз не съм българин. (Az ne sam balgarin.) I am not Bulgarian.	Аз не съм българка. (Az ne sam balgarка.) I am not Bulgarian.
Аз не съм тъжен. (Az ne sam tazhen.) I am not sad.	Аз не съм тъжна. (Az ne sam tazhnа.) I am not sad.
Ние не сме млади. (Nie ne sme mladi.) We are not young.

Practical exercise: Making negative sentences with the verb “to bе”

Ready to practice this essential skill? Each of these sentences contains a conjugated form of the verb “to be.” Try to make them negative! 

• Колата е бърза.
  (Kolata e barza.)
  The car is fast.

• Времето е хубаво.
  (Vremeto e hubavo.)
  The weather is nice.

• Хората са добри.
  (Horata sa dobri.)
  People are good.

• Те са мълчаливи днес.
  (Te sa malchalivi dnes.)
  They are silent today.

You can check your answers at the end of this article.

3. Giving a Negative Response to a Question

It’s time to learn how to give negative answers to questions that others ask you. Here are three examples, each one for a different scenario: 

With a possessive pronoun

– Този телефон твой ли е?
   (Tozi telefon tvoy li e?)
   Is this phone yours?

– Не, не е мой.
   (Ne, ne e moy.)
   No, it’s not mine.

With the verb “to be“

– Ти от Бразилия ли си?
   (Ti ot Braziliya li si?)
   Are you from Brazil?

– Не, не съм от Бразилия.
   (Ne, ne sam ot Braziliya.)
   No, I’m not from Brazil.

With a common verb 

– Ти обичаш ли ме?
   (Ti obichash li me?)
   Do you love me?

– Не, не те обичам.
   (Ne, ne te obicham.)
   No, I don’t love you.

→ Are you feeling pretty negative today? Then see BulgarianPod101’s lesson on how to express anger in Bulgarian.

Practical exercise: Giving a negative response to a question

Your next task is to answer the following questions negatively. 

• Ти помагаш ли му?
  (Ti pomagash li mu?)
  Are you helping him?

• Ти учиш ли?
  (Ti uchish li?)
  Do you study?

• Ти знаеш ли това?
  (Ti znaesh li tova?)
  Do you know that?

• Ти млад ли си?
  (Ti mlad li si?)
  Are you young?

A hint: Follow the last example (With a common verb) from above to answer the first three questions and the second example (With the verb “to be“) for the last one. You can check whether your answers are correct at the end of this article.

★ One more task:

Alter the following question for the feminine gender and answer it negatively, too:

• Ти млад ли си?
  (Ti mlad li si?)
  Are you young?

4. Other Negating Words and Phrases

In addition to Bulgarian negative particles, there are some other negating words that make sentences negative. It’s interesting to note that these words have to be used in combination with the negative particle “не” in order to build a grammatically correct negative sentence.

Bulgarian	English
нищо (nishto) – should be used with “не“	nothing
никой (nikoy) – should be used with “не“	nobody
никога (nikoga) – should be used with “не“	never
не мога (ne moga)	I cannot
не трябва (ne tryabva)	should not / must not

Examples:

• Нищо не ми трябва.
  (Nishto ne mi tryabva.)
  I don’t need anything.

• Никой не идва.
  (Nikoy ne idva.)
  Nobody is coming.

• Никога не закъснявам.
  (Nikoga ne zakasnyavam.)
  I’m never late.

• Аз не мога да дойда на работа днес.
  (Az ne moga da doyda na rabota dnes.)
  I can’t come to work today.

• Не трябва да работя много.
  (Ne tryabva da rabotya mnogo.)
  I don’t have to work hard.

Practical exercise: Negating words and phrases

Make the following sentences negative in Bulgarian by adding the negative words in parentheses to them. Hint: Don’t forget to add the negative particle не.

• Разбирам. (add нищо)
  (Razbiram.)
  I understand.

• Говоря с непознати. (add никога)
  (Govorya s nepoznati.)
  I’m talking to strangers.

• Чува какво говоря. (add никой)
  (Chuva kakvo govorya.)
  He hears what I’m saying.

5. Double Negatives

Double negatives are typical in the Bulgarian language. As we saw in the previous section, the negative pronouns (like никой) can only be used with the negative form of the verb.

• Никой престъпник не остава ненаказан.
  (Nikoy prestapnik ne ostava nenakazan.)
  No criminal goes unpunished.

In the sentence above, the Bulgarian negative pronoun (никой) is equivalent to the English word “no.”

• Нищо не виждам в тъмното.
  (Nishto ne vizhdam v tamnoto.)
  I don’t see anything in the dark.

• Не приемам никакви предложения.
  (Ne priemam nikakvi predlozheniya.)
  I do not accept any suggestions.

6. How BulgarianPod101 Can Help You Learn Bulgarian

BulgarianPod101 has prepared this overview of Bulgarian negation to help you better understand how it works so you can start using it in your daily conversations with Bulgarians. We believe that this explanation and the exercises we provided can help you quickly overcome the language barrier and start speaking freely.

If you feel like you need some additional help for that, you can check out our MyTeacher service, which allows you to study and practice with your own personal Bulgarian tutor. He or she can help give you the confidence you need to start speaking Bulgarian on your own. 

Before you go: Did you find these practical exercises challenging? What exactly did you find most challenging about them? We would love to hear from you, so please share your thoughts in the comments below. 

And now, it’s time to check your answers!

7. Answers to the Practical Exercises

Answers to practical exercise: Making affirmative statements negative

• Аз не обичам да ходя на ресторант.
  (Az ne obicham da hodya na restorant.)
  I don’t like going to restaurants.

• Тя не живее в къща.
  (Tya ne zhivee v kashta.)
  She doesn’t live in a house.

• Те не работят в тази фирма.
  (Te ne rabotyat v tazi firma.)
  They don’t work for this company.

Answers to practical exercise: Negate a statement in the future tense

• Утре няма да ходя на ресторант.
  (Utre nyama da hodya na restorant.)
  I’m not going to a restaurant tomorrow.

• Тя няма да живее в тази къща.
  (Tya nyama da zhivee v tazi kashta.)
  She will not live in this house.

• Те няма да работят в тази фирма.
  (Te nyama da rabotyat v tazi firma.)
  They will not work for this company.

Answers to practical exercise: Making negative sentences with the verb “to bе”

• Колата не е бърза.
  (Kolata ne e barza.)
  The car is not fast.

• Времето не е хубаво.
  (Vremeto ne e hubavo.)
  The weather is not nice.

• Хората не са добри.
  (Horata ne sa dobri.)
  People are not good.

• Те не са мълчаливи днес.
  (Te ne sa malchalivi dnes.)
  They are not silent today.

Answers to practical exercise: Giving a negative response to a question

• Ти помагаш ли му?
  (Ti pomagash li mu?)
  Are you helping him?

– Не, не му помагам.
   (Ne, ne mu pomagam.)
   No, I’m not helping him.

• Ти учиш ли?
  (Ti uchish li?)
  Do you study?

– Не, не уча.
   (Ne, ne ucha.)
   No, I’m not studying.

• Ти знаеш ли това?
  (Ti znaesh li tova?)
  Do you know that?

– Не, не зная това.
   (Ne, ne znaya tova.)
   No, I don’t know that.

• Ти млад ли си?
  (Ti mlad li si?)
  Are you young?

– Не, не съм млад.
   (Ne, ne sam mlad.)
   No, I’m not young.

★ One more task:

masculine	feminine
Ти млад ли си? (Ti mlad li si?) Are you young?	Ти млада ли си? (Ti mladа li si?) Are you young?
Не, не съм млад. (Ne, ne sam mlad.) No, I’m not young.	Не, не съм млада. (Ne, ne sam mlada.) No, I’m not young.

Answers to practical exercise: Negating words and phrases

• Нищо не разбирам.
  (Nishto ne razbiram.)
  I do not understand anything.

• Никога не говоря с непознати.
  (Nikoga ne govorya s nepoznati.)
  I never talk to strangers.

• Никой не чува какво говоря.
  (Nikoy ne chuva kakvo govorya.)
  Nobody hears what I’m saying.