Bulgarian Letter Н: The H That Says N
The Bulgarian letter Н is the fourteenth letter of the alphabet and a consonant pronounced [n], like the ‘n’ in ‘no’, even though it looks like English H. Its name is нъ (nuh). Before К and Г it sounds like the ‘ng’ in ‘bank’. It is transliterated as n.
The Bulgarian letter Н is an ‘n’. It is one of the six false friends of Cyrillic, letters that look Latin but mean something else, along with В, Р, С, У and Х. On signs written in capitals, Н is the one that trips people up most often, because H is such a common English letter.
How to pronounce the Bulgarian letter Н
Put the tip of the tongue on the ridge behind the upper teeth and hum through the nose, as in English. Н is alveolar, the same place as English ‘n’. It does not change at the end of a word.
| Word | Transliteration | Meaning | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|
| не | ne | no, not | |
| нощ | nosht | night | |
| небе | nebe | sky | |
| банка | banka | bank (‘ng’ before к) | |
| няма | nyama | there isn’t (soft н) |
Three versions of Н
Most of the time Н is a plain ‘n’. Two neighbors change it, much as in English:
- Before К and Г it becomes [ŋ], the ‘ng’ of ‘sing’. Банка (banka, bank) sounds like the English word. The phonology overview lists this velar variant.
- Before Я, Ю and ЬО it becomes a soft [ɲ], like the ‘ny’ in ‘canyon’. Няма (nyama, there isn’t) and каньон (kanyon, canyon) both use it.
- Before Е and И it stays a plain ‘n’ in standard Bulgarian, unlike Russian, which softens it.
Reading capitals: the false friend problem
Look at a sign reading РЕСТОРАНТ. An English reader sees ‘PECTOPAHT’. A Bulgarian reads ‘restorant’, restaurant. Here Р is ‘r’, С is ‘s’ and Н is ‘n’. Learn these swaps together, because they appear together. The step-by-step learning plan treats the false friends as one group, and the quiz drills them.
A second visual trap: Н, П and И differ only in their middle stroke. Н has a bar across the middle, П has a bar across the top, and И has a diagonal.
The –ние ending on signs
Many abstract nouns end in –ние, the Bulgarian counterpart of English ‘-tion’ or ‘-ing’. The most visible is ВНИМАНИЕ (vnimanie, attention, caution), printed on warning signs everywhere. Note that the ending –ие is transliterated -ie; only word-final –ия becomes -ia.
Не and the head shake
Н begins one of the first words you will need: не (ne), ‘no’ or ‘not’. Bulgarians traditionally shake their head for ‘yes’ and nod for ‘no’, the reverse of most of Europe. Many people adjust when talking to foreigners, which makes it even more confusing. When in doubt, listen for да (da) or не. More on this in Bulgarian phrases.
Name, transliteration and frequency
The letter is called нъ, ‘nuh’; Russian calls it ‘en’ (эн). Under the 2009 Transliteration Act it is always n, so Несебър is Nesebar and Банско is Bansko.
Н is the most common Bulgarian consonant and the fifth most common letter overall, at about 7.7% of letters in a corpus count by Sttmedia. The preposition на (na, on; of) does a lot of that work, along with negation and endings like –ни.
Common mistakes with the Bulgarian letter Н
- Reading Н as ‘h’. The Bulgarian ‘h’ sound is Х.
- Confusing Н with П or И in capitals.
- Softening Н before Е and И in the Russian way.
- Reading a nod as ‘yes’ without hearing the word.
Before Н comes М; after it comes О.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the Bulgarian Н look like an H?
It comes from the Greek letter eta (Η), whose shape Cyrillic used for ‘n’. Latin took the same shape for ‘h’.
How do you pronounce the Bulgarian letter Н?
Like English ‘n’. Before К and Г it sounds like the ‘ng’ in ‘bank’.
What is the Bulgarian letter for ‘h’?
It is Х, which looks like X and is pronounced like the ‘ch’ in Scottish ‘loch’.
Do Bulgarians really nod for ‘no’?
Traditionally, yes: a nod means ‘no’ and a head shake means ‘yes’. Many people switch for foreigners, so listen for да or не.
What is the name of the letter Н?
It is called нъ, pronounced ‘nuh’.
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)