Hello in Bulgarian: Здравей, Здравейте and Добър ден
| Situation | Say | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Friend, one person | Здравей | zdra-VEY |
| Stranger, elder or group | Здравейте | zdra-VEY-te |
| Very casual | Здрасти | ZDRAS-ti |
| Shop or office, daytime | Добър ден | DO-bar DEN |
Hello in Bulgarian is Здравей (zdravey) to one person you know and Здравейте (zdraveyte) to a stranger, an elder or a group. Friends also say Здрасти (zdrasti). In shops and offices the safest greeting is Добър ден (dobar den), “good day.”
How to say hello in Bulgarian
The standard way to say hello in Bulgarian is Здравей (Zdravey) to one person you know well, and Здравейте (Zdraveyte) to a stranger, an older person or a group. Both come from the adjective здрав (zdrav), “healthy,” so the greeting is closer in spirit to “be well” than to a plain “hi.”
Bulgarian splits “you” into an informal singular ти (ti) and a polite or plural вие (vie). Greetings follow the same split. Pick the wrong one and nobody will be offended, but the right one sounds noticeably warmer.
| Bulgarian | Say it | Meaning | When to use | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Здравей | Zdravey | Hello (to one person you know) | Informal, singular | |
| Здравейте | Zdraveyte | Hello (polite or plural) | Strangers, elders, groups | |
| Здрасти | Zdrasti | Hi | Very casual, friends | |
| Добър ден | Dobar den | Good day | Daytime, any formality | |
| Добро утро | Dobro utro | Good morning | Until mid-morning | |
| Добър вечер | Dobar vecher | Good evening | From early evening |
Press the play buttons to hear each phrase in your browser’s Bulgarian voice. If your device has no Bulgarian voice installed, the transliteration column gives you the sounds letter by letter, following the official system explained on our Bulgarian alphabet to English page.
Здравей and Здравейте: the core pair
Здравей is stressed on the last syllable: zdra-VEY [zdrɐˈvɛj]. The final й sounds like the “y” in “boy.” Say it to a friend, a classmate, a child or a colleague you are on first-name terms with.
Здравейте adds the plural ending -те (-te). The stress stays on the same syllable: zdra-VEY-te. Use it in shops, hotels, offices, with your partner’s parents, and any time you are speaking to two or more people, even close friends.
A simple rule for visitors: when in doubt, say Здравейте. Being slightly too polite is never a problem. Bulgarians will usually tell you when to switch to ти, or simply start using it with you.
Casual hello in Bulgarian: Здрасти and friends
Здрасти (Zdrasti) is the relaxed, everyday “hi.” You will hear it between friends, family members and young people. It is a shortened, colloquial form, and it works for one person or many.
Other casual openers you will meet:
- Ей (Ey): “hey,” to get a friend’s attention.
- Как си? (Kak si?): “How are you?” to one person, informal.
- Как сте? (Kak ste?): “How are you?” polite or plural.
- Какво правиш? (Kakvo pravish?): “What are you doing?” Often used as “What’s up?”
- Ало (Alo): “hello,” but only when answering the phone.
Чао (chao), borrowed from Italian, is common for “bye,” and some people use it as a greeting too. It is safe with friends, less so in formal settings.
Time-of-day greetings
For anyone you do not know, a time-of-day greeting is the most natural choice. Добър ден (Dobar den) literally means “good day” and is the default in shops, offices and on the phone with businesses. It is stressed DO-bar DEN.
Добро утро (Dobro utro) is “good morning” and Добър вечер (Dobar vecher) is “good evening.” The noun вечер is otherwise feminine (you wish someone приятна вечер (priyatna vecher), “have a nice evening”), but the greeting itself is a fixed formula with the masculine form добър. Our guide to good morning in Bulgarian covers when each one starts and stops.
Replying to a Bulgarian hello
The easy reply is to mirror the greeting. If someone says Добър ден, answer Добър ден. If a friend says Здравей, say Здравей back.
| Bulgarian | Say it | Meaning | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|
| Добре, благодаря. | Dobre, blagodarya. | Fine, thank you. | |
| А ти? | A ti? | And you? (informal) | |
| А вие? | A vie? | And you? (polite) | |
| Нищо особено. | Nishto osobeno. | Nothing much. | |
| Приятно ми е. | Priyatno mi e. | Nice to meet you. |
When you meet someone for the first time, you can add Казвам се (Kazvam se) plus your name: “My name is…” For tips on spelling your own name in Cyrillic, see your name in Bulgarian.
Reading the greetings in Cyrillic
Every greeting above uses only a handful of letters, which makes them good first reading practice. Здравей contains З (z), д (d), р (r), а (a), в (v), е (e) and й (y). Watch out for the false friends: Bulgarian в is a “v,” and р is an “r,” never a “p.”
The vowel ъ in Добър has no exact English match. It is a short, neutral sound close to the “u” in “but” [ɤ]. In the official Streamlined System it is written as “a,” which is why road signs and passports show Dobar. The rule comes from Bulgaria’s 2009 Transliteration Act; the government’s description of the system is in its report to the UN Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names.
If you want to type these greetings yourself, the on-screen Bulgarian keyboard lets you do it without installing anything.
Body language that goes with hello
A handshake is normal when meeting someone in a business or formal setting. Friends often greet with a kiss on the cheek. Eye contact matters, and so does saying the greeting out loud rather than just nodding.
Speaking of nodding: in Bulgaria, the traditional head gesture for “yes” is a side-to-side shake, and a nod can mean “no.” Not everyone uses it, especially in tourist areas, so listen for да (da) (yes) and не (ne) (no) rather than trusting the head. More on this in our list of Bulgarian phrases.
Another greeting you will see everywhere is Добре дошли (Dobre doshli), “welcome.” It appears on signs at the entrance to towns, hotels and restaurants, and hosts say it when you arrive.
Common mistakes
- Using Russian greetings. Привет and Здравствуйте are Russian. Bulgarians will understand привет, but Здравейте is the Bulgarian word.
- Saying Здравей to a stranger. It is not rude, just too familiar. Use Здравейте or Добър ден.
- Stressing the first syllable. Say zdra-VEY, not ZDRA-vey.
- Reading Добър as “dobyr.” The ъ is a short neutral vowel, not a “y.”
- Using Ало face to face. It is a telephone word only.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say hello in Bulgarian?
Say Здравей (zdravey) to one person you know and Здравейте (zdraveyte) to strangers, elders or groups. Добър ден (dobar den), “good day,” works in any polite situation.
What is the difference between Здравей and Здравейте?
Здравей is informal and addressed to one person. Здравейте is polite or plural, used with strangers, older people and groups.
Is Привет used in Bulgarian?
Привет is mainly Russian. Some Bulgarians use it jokingly or online, but the normal Bulgarian greetings are Здравей, Здравейте and Здрасти.
How do you answer the phone in Bulgaria?
Most people answer with Ало (alo) or Да (da, “yes”). Businesses often answer with Добър ден plus the company name.
How do you say goodbye in Bulgarian?
Довиждане (dovizhdane) is the polite goodbye. Чао (chao) is casual, and Лека нощ (leka nosht) means good night.
Sources
- Romanization System in Bulgaria (UN conference paper, Republic of Bulgaria)
- Andonova and Taylor, Nodding in dis/agreement: a tale of two cultures (Cognitive Processing, 2012)
- Bulgarian language (Britannica)