Learn some common noun suffixes in Bulgarian
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Intro |
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| Michael: What are some noun suffixes in Bulgarian? |
| Yana: And why are they useful to know? |
| Michael: At BulgarianPod101.com, we hear these questions often. Imagine the following situation: Ben Lee hears a new word that sounds familiar, but he isn't sure about the meaning. He asks his friend, |
| Yana: "What does 'poshtadzhiya' mean?" |
| Ben Lee: Какво означава "пощаджия"? (Kakvo oznachava "poshtadzhiya"?) |
| Dialogue |
| Ben Lee: Какво означава "пощаджия"? (Kakvo oznachava "poshtadzhiya"?) |
| Lidiya Angelova: Означава "пощенски служител." (Oznachava "poshtenski sluzhitel.") |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Ben Lee: Какво означава "пощаджия"? (Kakvo oznachava "poshtadzhiya"?) |
| Michael: "What does "пощаджия" mean?" |
| Lidiya Angelova: Означава "пощенски служител". (Oznachava "poshtenski sluzhitel".) |
| Michael: "It means 'postman.'" |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: In this lesson, we will be talking about noun suffixes or |
| Yana: наставки (nastavki) |
| Michael: Suffixes are a form of affix, and affixes are small elements of the language which are attached to words in order to modify the meaning of those words. Suffixes are attached to the ends of root words. |
| In this lesson, we are going to be studying suffixes that form nouns out of other words. A simple example in English will make it clear. |
| Consider the suffix, “-ness,” for instance and how it modifies the meaning of an adjective like “happy.” “Happy” becomes “happiness,” which is a noun. |
| [Recall] |
| Michael: Let’s start by taking a closer look at the dialogue. Do you remember what word Ben was asking about? |
| (pause 3 seconds) |
| Yana: пощаджия (póshtadzhiya) |
| Michael: This word means “postman.” The root word is |
| Yana: поща (poshta) |
| Michael: which means “post,” and the suffix is |
| Yana: джия (dzhiya) |
| Michael: This suffix has multiple functions, but it does not have a meaning in the same sense that a word does. Just like the English suffix “-ness,” it carries no meaning of its own but has a function. It changes the meaning of the root word from “post” to “postman.” This new noun, “postman,” describes a profession. In fact, the purpose of the suffix |
| Yana: джия (dzhiya) |
| Michael: is to modify the root word into a noun denoting a profession. In English, suffixes that serve this same function are “-er” and “-ist,” as in “speaker” and “dentist.” |
| Michael: Let’s see another example |
| Yana: бояджия (boyadzhíya) |
| Michael: This means “painter.” The profession suffix |
| Yana: джия (dzhiya) |
| Michael: is attached to the word |
| Yana: боя (boya) |
| Michael: which means “paint.” The same suffix can modify a root word so that it refers to a person who applies a certain practice or activity. For example, let’s consider the word meaning “scandal” |
| Yana: скандал (skandál) |
| Michael: If we then add the suffix to this root word, we form a new word which means, literally, “one who causes scandals:” |
| Yana: скандалджия (skandaldzhíya) |
| Michael: There isn’t an English equivalent for this word; we could translate it as “brawler.” |
| The same suffix can also refer to an owner of a property. For instance, “inn” or “tavern” in Bulgarian is: |
| Yana: хан (han) |
| Michael: and, if we add our suffix, the new word refers to the owner of an inn or a tavern. |
| Yana: ханджия (handzhíya) |
| Michael: A useful way to understand how this suffix functions is to see all the words with this suffix as descriptions of roles that people can fulfil. |
| [Summary] |
| Michael: In this lesson, you learned that a suffix is a small language element that, when attached to the end of a root word, modifies the meaning of that root word. The suffix usually has a consistent function in that it modifies any word it is attached to in a similar way. |
| Expansion |
| Michael: There are other suffixes referring to roles that people can take on. However, unlike the suffix we looked at earlier, these suffixes are based on grammatical gender. For example, |
| Yana: ар (ar) |
| Michael: usually refers to male roles and can be appended to a root word like |
| Yana: риб (rib) |
| Michael: or “fish” to form a new noun referring to a male person who fishes or a “fisherman” or |
| Yana: рибар (ribar) |
| Michael: Another example is |
| Yana: книжар (knizhar) |
| Michael: which means “bookseller.” |
| Other suffixes can be used to form nouns that refer to female people. One of these is the suffix |
| Yana: ица (itsa) |
| Michael: It can be combined with a root word like |
| Yana: цар (tsar) |
| Michael: or “king” to refer to a “female person who rules,” or a “queen.” The Bulgarian word for queen is thus: |
| Yana: царица (tsaritsa) |
| Michael: Another example is |
| Yana: певица (pevitsa) |
| Michael: which specifically indicates a “female singer.” |
| Of course, not all noun suffixes combine with root words to refer to roles that people take on. Some of them form words that refer to objects, for instance. One such suffix is |
| Yana: ник (nik) |
| Michael: and, when it is combined with a root word like |
| Yana: чай (chay) |
| Michael: which means “tea,” it can form the Bulgarian word for “teapot” which is |
| Yana: чайник (chaynik) |
| Michael: It can also be used with a root word like |
| Yana: хладил- (hladil-) |
| Michael: which means “cooling.” The resulting noun is the Bulgarian word for “refrigerator.” It sounds like this: |
| Yana: хладилник (hladilnik) |
| Michael: Other noun suffixes can be used to form words that refer to actions as well. The Bulgarian word for “teaching” is |
| Yana: учение (uchenie) |
| Michael: and it is comprised of the root word |
| Yana: учa (ucha) |
| Michael: meaning “teach” or “learn” and the suffix |
| Yana: ние (nie). |
| Michael: Another word containing this suffix is |
| Yana: писание (pisanie) |
| Michael: which means “writing.” The root word in this case is |
| Yana: писа (pisa) |
| Michael: which means “he/she wrote.” These are just a few examples of the noun suffixes you can study in Bulgarian. I hope it has been clear from this lesson just how useful it is to study these suffixes. If you learn the noun suffixes you will be able to understand many other words even if you have not encountered them before. |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We’re here to answer them! |
| Yana: До скоро! |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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