Learn the most common idioms in Bulgarian

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Essential Idioms That Will Make You Sound Like a Native Speaker

18 words

ot dazhd na vyatar

от дъжд на вятър

(p)

very rarely

S nego se vizhdame ot dazhd na vyatar.

С него се виждаме от дъжд на вятър.

We meet up with him very rarely.

ahilesova peta

ахилесова пета

(p)

weak point

Vseki chovek ima svoya “ahilesova peta”.

Всеки човек има своя “ахилесова пета”.

Each person has an "Achilles heel".

babini devetini

бабини деветини

(p)

totally ridiculous, made-up stuff

Ne go slushay, govori babini devetini.

Не го слушай, говори бабини деветини.

Do not listen to him, he makes stuff up.

bezglasna bukva

безгласна буква

(p)

a person whose opinion is not taken into consideration

Tazi partiya e bezglasna bukva v koalitsiyata.

Тази партия е безгласна буква в коалицията.

This party's position is not considered by the coalition.

vazhna klechka

важна клечка

(p)

high-ranking personality

Poznavah go kato dete, no sega e stanal vazhna klechka.

Познавах го като дете, но сега е станал важна клечка.

I knew him as a child, but now he has become an important person.

vzemam akala

вземам акъла

(p)

astonish

Tova izpalnenie vze akala na publikata.

Това изпълнение взе акъла на публиката.

This performance took the audience's wits.

gol i bos

гол и бос

(p)

a very poor person

Pravi se na gol i bos, a kara Porshe.

Прави се на гол и бос, а кара Порше.

He pretends to be quite poor, but is driving a Porsche.

gledam si kefa

гледам си кефа

(p)

enjoy one's life without a care

Otivam v pochivka i shte si gledam kefa tsyala sedmitsa.

Отивам в почивка и ще си гледам кефа цяла седмица.

I'm going on holiday and will enjoy myself for a week.

debela glava

дебела глава

(p)

a hard-headed, stubborn person

Toy e debela glava, trudno shte go ubedish.

Той е дебела глава, трудно ще го убедиш.

He is hard-headed, you will rarely convince him.

tran v ochite

трън в очите

(p)

be annoying to someone

Vnimavay kakvo mu kazvash, stanal si mu tran v ochite.

Внимавай какво му казваш, станал си му трън в очите.

Watch out what you are saying to him, you've started to annoy him.

do dupka

до дупка

(p)

persist until the end

Toy e reshil da raznishti sluchaya do dupka.

Той е решил да разнищи случая до дупка.

He has decided to explore the case to the tiniest detail.

nozh s dve ostrieta

нож с две остриета

(p)

something that can have both positive and negative aspects

Tova e dobra vazmozhnost, no mozhe da se okazhe nozh s dve ostrieta.

Това е добра възможност, но може да се окаже нож с две остриета.

This is a good opportunity, but might turn out to have a bad outcome.

tiha voda

тиха вода

(p)

a secretive person

Toy e tiha voda, ne znaesh koga shte te iznenada.

Той е тиха вода, не знаеш кога ще те изненада.

It is a secretive person, and you never know when he will surprise you.

svalyam shapka

свалям шапка

(p)

show respect

Toy e strahoten bashta, svalyam mu shapka.

Той е страхотен баща, свалям му шапка.

He's a great father, I respect him for that.

peya druga pesen

пея друга песен

(p)

change one's mind

Smamriha te i veche peesh druga pesen.

Смъмриха те и вече пееш друга песен.

They rebuked you and you've now changed your opinion.

na vyatara

на вятъра

(p)

in vain

Prekratiha proekta i vsichkite mu usiliya otidoha na vyatara.

Прекратиха проекта и всичките му усилия отидоха на вятъра.

They stopped the project and all his efforts went to waste.

lapam muhite

лапам мухите

(p)

spend time pointlessly

Vsichki sa pod naprezhenie, a toy samo lapa muhite.

Всички са под напрежение, а той само лапа мухите.

Everybody is under pressure, and he just doesn't do anything.

prez prasti

през пръсти

(p)

negligently

Proveri rabotata mu, mozhe da si ya svarshil prez prasti.

Провери работата му, може да си я свършил през пръсти.

Check his work, he might have been negligent with it.

5 Comments

Please to leave a comment.

BulgarianPod101.com

2019-11-02 17:16:56

Hello, learners, here is the list of the above idioms / their literal English translations!

от дъжд на вятър / ot dazhd na vyatar / from rain to wind

ахилесова пета / ahilesova peta / Achilles' heel

бабини деветини / babini devetini / grandma's gibberish

безгласна буква / bezglasna bukva / voiceless letter

десета дупка на кавала / deseta dupka na kavala / tenth hole of the pipe

важна клечка / vazhna klechka / important stick

вземам акъла / vzemam akala / take one's wits

гол и бос / gol i bos / naked and barefoot

гледам си кефа / gledam si kefa / look at one's pleasure

дебела глава / debela glava / thick head

трън в очите / tran v ochite / thorn in the eyes

до дупка / do dupka / till a hole

нож с две остриета / nozh s dve ostrieta / double-edged sword

тиха вода / tiha voda / quiet water

свалям шапка / svalyam shapka / take off a hat

пея друга песен / peya druga pesen / sing another song

на вятъра / na vyatara / to the wind

лапам мухите / lapam muhite / get flies in one's mouth

през пръсти / prez prasti / through fingers

BulgarianPod101.com

2023-07-18 18:26:11

Hello Fatma,

It is so good to hear you find the program helpful! With persistence, you will be successful. 😇

Keep up the great work!

Kind regards,

Viktoria

Team BulgarianPod101.com

Fatma

2023-07-16 18:11:17

I love the way you provide all necessary information to learn the language. Unfortunately I can‘t keep it in mind and have ti retry again and again.

BulgarianPod101.com

2021-11-29 14:00:34

Hi Jobe,

Thank you for your comment!

We're glad you're enjoying the lessons! ❤️

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Best,

Ali

Team BulgarianPod101.com

Jobe

2021-11-22 15:10:16

Every word helps..., I always say it as it looks then listen to how it should sound

Quite Enjoyable !

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