Knowing how to count in Bulgarian is an essential first step for navigating daily life in Bulgaria.

You’ll need numbers for everything from shopping at local markets to giving your phone number to a new friend.

Bulgarian numbers follow a highly logical pattern once you learn the basic building blocks.

This guide will teach you exactly how to count from 1 to 100 in Bulgarian with clear pronunciation tips.

Numbers 1 to 10

The foundational building blocks for counting in Bulgarian are the numbers from one to ten.

You must memorize these first, as every other number builds directly upon them.

When we count abstractly in Bulgarian out loud, we use the neuter forms for one and two.

Numbers 11 to 19

The numbers from 11 to 19 in Bulgarian are formed using a very simple mathematical formula.

You simply take the base number, add the preposition “на” (on), and attach “десет” (ten).

Literally, the word for eleven translates to “one on ten”.

There’s an important conversational variation you must know here.

In spoken Bulgarian, people almost always drop the middle syllable “де” (de) and replace it with a “й” (y) sound to speak faster.

For example, instead of saying “единадесет” (edinadeset), you’ll hear locals say “единайсет” (edinayset).

Both forms are completely correct, but the shorter form is much more common in everyday speech.

Counting by tens: 20 to 100

Counting by tens is just as straightforward as the teen numbers.

You generally just take the base number and attach “десет” (ten) to the end of it.

The literal translation of twenty is “two tens”.

Just like with the teen numbers, native speakers use a shortened version for 20 through 90 in casual conversation.

They drop the final “десет” (deset) and replace it with “йсет” (yset) or “йсе” (yse) depending on the region.

One hundred has its own unique word, which is “сто” (sto).

Combining tens and units

Once you know your tens and your single digits, putting them together is very easy.

You take the ten, add the conjunction “и” (and), and then add the single unit.

It’s exactly like saying “twenty and one” instead of “twenty-one”.

Important rules for counting

Bulgarian nouns have genders, and the numbers one and two must change to match the gender of the noun you’re counting.

The number one has three forms depending on if the noun is masculine, feminine, or neuter.

The number two only has two forms to remember.

You use “два” (dva) for masculine nouns and “две” (dve) for both feminine and neuter nouns.

Numbers from three upwards don’t change forms for gender.

You can use “три” (tri), “четири” (chetiri), and all the others exactly as they are regardless of the noun.