Moving to another country is always exciting. New city, new food, new people, new routines, new bureaucracy…
Actually, forget the exciting part for a second.
New bureaucracy.
If you are relocating to Bulgaria, you can absolutely survive without speaking Bulgarian. Especially in Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna and other bigger cities, you will meet plenty of people who speak English. At the end of the day, Google Translate exists, and pointing at things has a surprisingly high success rate… for a while.
At the end of the day, there is a very big difference between surviving somewhere and actually living there.
Learning even a little Bulgarian slowly changes your entire relationship with the country. Suddenly the woman at the bakery is not simply “the woman at the bakery”. Your neighbour is no longer somebody you communicate with exclusively through smiles and elevator nods. The mysterious sign taped to the entrance of your building stops looking so outlandish.
And at Kristina Progress, this is something we see constantly. People start learning Bulgarian because they need it for everyday life, but quite often continue because they realise how much of Bulgaria becomes available once they can actually communicate with the people around them.
So, if you are moving here, here are some ways learning Bulgarian will make your life considerably easier:
- You will finally understand what is happening in your apartment building
Sooner or later you will encounter it. A sheet of paper, taped to the entrance, written entirely in Bulgarian. Possibly containing several exclamation marks.
You look at it.
You take a photo.
You put it into Google Translate.
Apparently:
“Dear neighbours, because of the repair of the water pipes, water will stop between 9 and 16 o’clock.”
Excellent.
Apartment buildings in Bulgaria are little societies of their own. There are neighbours, building managers, cleaning schedules, repairs, maintenance fees, plumbing problems, meetings and occasionally deeply emotional arguments about who left the front door open.
Knowing some Bulgarian suddenly makes all of this considerably less mysterious.
Even understanding phrases such as няма да има вода – “there will be no water”, ремонт – “repair”, or събрание на входа – “building meeting” can save you from several interesting surprises.
And more importantly, you can actually talk to your neighbours.
Which is useful because the seventy-year-old lady living downstairs probably knows more about what is happening in your building than any official institution ever will.
2. Going to the doctor and the pharmacy becomes slightly less terrifying
Let us be clear – nobody enjoys trying to describe a medical problem in a foreign language. Many of us don’t enjoy it even in our own.
Of course, many Bulgarian doctors speak English, particularly in private clinics and bigger cities. But receptionists, nurses, pharmacists and other people involved in the process may not.
And suddenly knowing words such as болка – pain, температура – temperature, алергия – allergy, рецепта – prescription and от колко време? – for how long? – becomes extremely practical.
You do not need to become capable of discussing neurosurgery in Bulgarian.
You simply want enough language to explain what hurts, understand basic instructions and avoid accidentally answering “yes” when somebody asks whether you are allergic to something.
But of course your medical journey doesn’t end there, because the doctor has prescribed you a bunch of medicines on a white paper, that nobody can read, not even the locals.
Bulgarian pharmacies are very interesting. Alongside various medicines, you can find teas, concoctions that are prepared on the spot, herbal and traditional medicine.
On one hand, that might pique your interest. You might wanna ask some questions. On the other hand – there will surely be follow ups from the pharmacist. Questions about your prescription, feedback on the medicine, questions about your treatment. Also input on dosage and frequency on taking the medicine itself.
Usually the pharmacis is actively involved in your treatment.
Knowing even basic Bulgarian gives you much more control over these conversations.
3. Bureaucracy remains bureaucracy… but at least you know what they want
Unfortunately, learning Bulgarian will not make paperwork requirements disappear.
We are language teachers, and sadly – not magicians.
You will still encounter forms, stamps, signatures, photocopies and situations where one office tells you to visit another office, which then tells you to return to the first office.
This is all part of the cultural experience!
But understanding basic Bulgarian can make dealing with institutions much easier. Words such as лична карта – ID, адрес – address, договор – contract, документ – document, подпис – signature, копие – copy, заявление – request and срок – deadline, appear rather often once you start building a life here.
And sometimes the biggest advantage is not even understanding every document.
It is simply being able to ask:
Какво трябва да направя?
“What do I need to do?”
And then, importantly:
Може ли по-бавно?
“Can you speak more slowly?”
That second sentence may become one of the most useful things you ever learn.
4. Older Bulgarians suddenly become much more accessible
One of the biggest things foreigners miss when they live in Bulgaria entirely through English is a whole generation of people.
Many younger Bulgarians speak excellent English. Plenty of middle-aged Bulgarians do too.
But once you start interacting with older people, especially outside major city centres, Bulgarian becomes considerably more important. This matters a lot because older Bulgarians are often the people with the best stories.
Your neighbour, the woman selling vegetables at the market, the man sitting outside the village shop. The elderly couple you meet on a hike, or just the locals in rural Bulgaria.
Without Bulgarian, your interaction will surely involve a lot of gestures, smiles and nods, however knowing the language, you suddenly discover the older woman from the first floor, worked in Libya in 1976, her son now lives in Germany, tomatoes were better twenty years ago, the neighbour on the third floor is completely unreliable and you should absolutely never buy cheese from that particular supermarket.
Now you are getting somewhere!
5. Markets become considerably more entertaining
You can shop in Bulgarian supermarkets forever without learning much Bulgarian.
Take product. – Scan product. – Pay. – Leave.
Farmer’s markets are different. They involve conversation, interaction. You will always want to say those things:
Колко струва? – How much is it?
Дайте ми половин килограм. – Give me half a kilogram.
Тези Български ли са? – Are these Bulgarian products?
And of course the very dangerous question:
Кое препоръчвате? – What do you recommend?
Ask that and you may receive not only a recommendation, but also the entire history of the tomatoes, where they were grown, why Bulgarian tomatoes are better than foreign tomatoes and possibly several political opinions completely unrelated to vegetables.
You might also hear:
Искате ли да опитате? – Do you want to try?
Не стискайте плодовете! – Don’t squeeze the fruits!
And yes – always try. And no – never squeeze the fruits.
At the end of the day in a Bulgarian farmer’s market you will learn one thing – Tomatoes in Bulgaria are tomating much better than tomatoes tomate elsewhere!
6. People usually react very differently when you try
Maybe the most rewarding thing. Here’s the deal – you do not need perfect Bulgarian.
Actually, sometimes imperfect Bulgarian works even better. You walk into a small shop, you say something in Bulgarian and the person immediately realises Bulgarian is not your first language.
Then comes the question:
„Откъде сте?” – Where are you from?
And suddenly the conversation begins.
Bulgarians can complain about Bulgaria with astonishing enthusiasm, but hearing a foreigner genuinely trying to learn Bulgarian often produces the exact opposite reaction.
People become curious, then they help you, they correct you, and you always end up learning something new. They will laugh and smile, and it will always be well-intentioned and we might even go as far as saying that they are proud of you!
Eventually Bulgaria starts feeling less like “the country you moved to”
Learning Bulgarian will not suddenly make everything about relocating easy. You will still have confusing situations, cultural misunderstandings and moments when somebody speaks to you so quickly that every Bulgarian word you have ever learned immediately disappears from your brain.
That’s normal!
But every little bit of language gives you a little more independence and, much more importantly, a little deeper access to the country itself.
So learn the grammar. Learn the vocabulary. Make mistakes. Have awkward conversations. Ask people to repeat themselves five times.
Our teachers at Kristina Progress have seen this journey many times, and this is exactly why we believe Bulgarian lessons should prepare you not simply to pass a language test, but to actually live here.