Bulgarian Letter А: The First Letter and How to Say It
The Bulgarian letter А is the first letter of the alphabet and a vowel pronounced [a], like the ‘a’ in ‘father’. Its name is simply а. In unstressed syllables it relaxes toward [ɐ], close to the sound of Ъ. The official Streamlined System writes it as a.
The Bulgarian letter А is a vowel, the first of the 30 letters, and it looks and works almost exactly like the English A. Under stress it is an open [a], as in ‘father’ or ‘spa’. That makes it the easiest letter to learn and, it turns out, the one you will read most often.
How to pronounce the Bulgarian letter А
In a stressed syllable, open your mouth and say a short, clean ‘ah’. Do not glide into ‘ay’ as in English ‘say’, and do not flatten it to the ‘a’ of ‘cat’. Bulgarian vowels stay steady from start to finish.
Stress is the catch. Bulgarian does not mark stress in normal writing, and an unstressed А moves toward a more central [ɐ]. In relaxed speech that comes very close to the vowel of Ъ, a sound like the ‘u’ in ‘but’. The phonology literature describes unstressed а and ъ as largely merging, so do not be surprised when the last syllable of a word sounds muffled.
| Word | Transliteration | Meaning | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|
| аз | az | I | |
| вода | voda | water (stress on the last А) | |
| мама | mama | mom (second А unstressed) | |
| книга | kniga | book | |
| град | grad | city, town |
Compare the two А‘s in мама (mama). The first is a full ‘ah’; the second is shorter and duller. You hear the same pattern at the end of most feminine nouns, such as книга (kniga, book).
When А is read as Ъ
Here is a quirk most beginners never get told. In a few grammatical endings Bulgarian spells А but standard pronunciation says Ъ [ɤ], even when the syllable is stressed:
- First-person verb endings: чета (cheta, I read) is said like ‘che-TUH’, not ‘che-TAH’.
- Third-person plural endings: четат (chetat, they read) sounds like ‘che-TUHT’.
- The short masculine article: града (grada, the city) is said with a final ‘uh’.
Spelling keeps the А because of grammar, not sound. If you say a bright ‘ah’ in these words, Bulgarians will understand you, but it marks you as reading from the page.
А after Ж, Ч and Ш
After the hushing consonants Ж, Ч and Ш, Bulgarian writes А, never Я. So you get жаба (zhaba, frog), чаша (chasha, cup) and шапка (shapka, hat). If you see ‘ча‘ and wonder whether it is ‘chya’, it is not; it is just ‘cha’. See the pages on Ж and Я for the other side of this rule.
Transliteration of the Bulgarian letter А
Under the Transliteration Act (State Gazette No. 19 of 2009), А becomes a. The same Act also turns Ъ into a, which is why Търново is written Tarnovo on road signs. Going back from Latin to Cyrillic, a Latin ‘a’ can therefore stand for either letter. Our transliteration guide covers the full table, including the word-final –ия rule that gives Sofia.
How often you will see it
А is the most common letter in Bulgarian text. One corpus count of about 1.3 million characters by Sttmedia puts it at roughly 12% of all letters, ahead of И and О. Feminine nouns ending in –а, the feminine article –та and the conjunction а (a, and/but) all add to that total.
Bulgarian А vs Russian А
The letter is identical in both languages, in print and in handwriting. The difference is in the neighbors. Russian pronounces many unstressed О‘s as ‘a’, so Russian ‘молоко‘ sounds like ‘malako’. Bulgarian does not do this; its unstressed О moves toward ‘u’ instead. If you learned Russian first, keep your А‘s for А. The Bulgarian vs Russian alphabet page lists the other differences.
Common mistakes with the Bulgarian letter А
- Saying the English ‘a’ of ‘cat’ or ‘cake’. Bulgarian А is always an ‘ah’.
- Giving every А full value. Unstressed А, especially at the end of a word, is short and relaxed.
- Reading verb endings like чета as ‘cheta’. Standard speech says ‘chetuh’.
- Assuming a Latin ‘a’ in a name always comes from А. It may be Ъ, as in Tarnovo.
Next in the alphabet comes Б, the first letter with no English look-alike.
Frequently asked questions
How do you pronounce the Bulgarian letter А?
Say it like the ‘a’ in ‘father’ when stressed. In unstressed syllables it becomes shorter and closer to the ‘u’ in ‘but’.
What is the Bulgarian letter А called?
Its name is just its sound, а. Bulgarian vowels are named by their sound, while consonants add ъ (бъ, въ, гъ).
Why does чета sound like ‘chetuh’?
In first-person verb endings, some third-person plural endings and the short masculine article, standard Bulgarian pronounces a written А as Ъ. The spelling follows grammar, not sound.
Is А the most common Bulgarian letter?
Yes, in the corpus counts available it ranks first, at roughly 12% of letters, followed by И, О and Е.
How is А transliterated into English letters?
As ‘a’ under the official Streamlined System. Note that Ъ is also written ‘a’, so the Latin letter is ambiguous.
Sources
- Bulgarian alphabet (Wikipedia)
- Bulgarian phonology (Wikipedia)
- Transliteration Act, SG No. 19/2009 (Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works)
- Bulgarian letter frequency (Sttmedia corpus count)