⚖️ Genders
Bulgarian nouns have three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. The gender affects the adjectives, articles and pronouns you use with the noun.
♂
Masculine
ends in consonant
♀
Feminine
ends in -а or -я
◇
Neuter
ends in -о or -е
♂ Masculine nouns
| Bulgarian | Pronunciation | English | Ending |
|---|---|---|---|
| мъж | myzh | man | consonant |
| стол | stol | chair | consonant |
| брат | brat | brother | consonant |
| град | grad | city | consonant |
| ден | den | day | consonant |
| учител | uchitel | teacher | consonant |
💡 Most masculine nouns end in a consonant. Adjectives agreeing with them use their base form: голям мъж (big man), хубав ден (nice day).
♀ Feminine nouns
| Bulgarian | Pronunciation | English | Ending |
|---|---|---|---|
| жена | zhena | woman | -а |
| маса | masa | table | -а |
| сестра | sestra | sister | -а |
| книга | kniga | book | -а |
| нощ | nosht | night | consonant (exception) |
| любов | lyubov | love | consonant (exception) |
💡 Most feminine nouns end in -а or -я. Adjectives add -а: голяма жена (big woman), хубава книга (nice book). A few feminine nouns end in a consonant (like нощ/night) — these are exceptions to memorise.
◇ Neuter nouns
| Bulgarian | Pronunciation | English | Ending |
|---|---|---|---|
| дете | dete | child | -е |
| море | more | sea | -е |
| небе | nebe | sky | -е |
| мляко | mlyako | milk | -о |
| село | selo | village | -о |
| вино | vino | wine | -о |
💡 Neuter nouns end in -о or -е. Adjectives add -о: голямо море (big sea), хубаво вино (nice wine).
🎯 Summary — adjective endings by gender
голям
masc (base)
голяма
fem (+а)
голямо
neut (+о)