Learn how to buy and use a pre-paid telephone card in Bulgaria
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Здравейте (zdraveyte). Hello and welcome to BulgarianPod101.com. This course is designed to equip you with the language skills and knowledge to enable you to get the most out of your visit to Bulgaria. You will be surprised at how far a little Bulgarian will go. Now before we jump in, remember to stop by BulgarianPod101.com. And there, you’ll find the accompanying PDF, additional info in the post. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment. |
Lesson focus |
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| While most people wouldn't or couldn't step outside without their cell phones, when visiting another country, sometimes it's a little too far for your local carrier. You can, of course, use your cell phone when you get to Bulgaria, but you have to pay very expensive charges. So if you feel like saving your money, the good old ways work like a charm. |
| In Bulgaria, you can buy phone cards, or you can use special booths for international calls. You can find them in every city's post office, or if you search more, you can find a reasonable price in the so-called telephone centers for international calls. Let us see what you should do if you want to buy a prepaid card from a mobile operator company such as Globul. These prepaid cards are usually for local calls, and they do not require you to sign a contract or pay monthly bills. You just have to buy or charge the card, and you will be ready to make the calls in and from Bulgaria. |
| If you want to use the calling booths for making international calls, this might be a cheap way to call your country, but those booths are not as numerous as they used to be; of course, cell phones are more popular. The calling cards are a convenient way to make international calls, and you can use them with your own cell phone. This is what we will focus on in this lesson. |
| Before asking for a card, you may want to find out whether the store has the cards. In Bulgarian, "Do you sell prepaid cards?" is Prodavate li predplateni karti? Let's break it down by syllable. Pro-da-va-te li pred-pla-te-ni kar-ti? The first word, prodavate, means "do you sell," and it appears with the particle li, which you are familiar with. Let's break down these words: pro-da-va-te li. This word is third person plural. You use this because the third person form makes it polite and the plural means you are asking "them," the shop. Next, we have the Bulgarian phrase for "prepaid cards," predplateni karti. Let's break it down by syllable. Pred-pla-te-ni kar-ti. All together, we have Prodavate li predplateni karti? Literally, this means "Do you sell prepaid cards?" |
| The answer to this will be "yes" (da) or "no" (ne). In the case that the store has the cards, you'll want to ask for one of the denominations we talked about. |
| Let's start with a ten leva card. |
| In Bulgarian, "A ten leva prepaid card, please" is Edna desetlevova predplatena karta, molya. Let's break it down by syllable. Ed-na de-set-le-vo-va pred-pla-te-na kar-ta mo-lya. The first word, edna, means "a," the indefinite article. Then you have desetlevova ("a ten levas"), which by syllable is de-set-le-vo-va. After this, you have predplatena karta, meaning "prepaid card." Finally, you have molya, which means "please." Literally, this means "A ten-leva prepaid card, please." |
| For a fifty leva card, you just have to change the value this way: Edna petdesetlevova predplatena karta, molya. |
| If you are looking for the international call booths in post offices or the international telephone call centers, you will have to ask Ima li nablizo platen telefon? This means "Is there a pay phone near here?" The first word, ima, means "there is." Next is something you have already learned in Survival Phrases Number 30, nablizo, which translates as "near here" in English. Then we have the word for "pay phone," which is platen telefon. All together, we have Ima li nablizo platen telefon? In English, this means "Is there a phone booth near here?" |
Outro |
| Okay, to close out this lesson, we’d like for you to practice what you just learned. I’ll provide you with the English equivalent of the phrase, and you’re responsible for saying it out loud. You’ll have few seconds before I give you the answer. So, Успех! (Uspeh!) that means "Good luck!" in Bulgarian. Ok, here we go! |
| "Do you have prepaid telephone cards?" - Prodavate li predplateni karti? |
| Prodavate li predplateni karti? |
| Prodavate li predplateni karti? |
| "A 10 leva prepaid card, please." - Edna desetlevova predplatena karta, molya. |
| Edna desetlevova predplatena karta, molya. |
| Edna desetlevova predplatena karta, molya. |
| "A 50 leva prepaid card, please." - Edna petdesetlevova predplatena karta, molya. |
| Edna petdesetlevova predplatena karta, molya. |
| Edna petdesetlevova predplatena karta, molya. |
| "Is there a payphone near here?" - Ima li nablizo platen telefon? |
| Ima li nablizo platen telefon? |
| Ima li nablizo platen telefon? |
| All right. That’s going to do it for today. Remember to stop by BulgarianPod101.com and pick up the accompanying PDF. If you stop by, make sure to leave a comment. Довиждане (dovizhdane)! |
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