Southeast Europe
Video Chat with People from Bulgaria
Bulgaria runs from the Danube in the north to the Rila and Pirin mountains in the southwest and the Black Sea in the east, so the people you meet might be in Sofia at the foot of Mount Vitosha, among the cobbled lanes of Plovdiv's old town, in seaside Varna or Burgas, or in Veliko Tarnovo, perched above a river gorge. Bulgarian is the official language and is written in the Cyrillic alphabet; Turkish is also spoken in some regions. Many younger adults speak good English, and older people may know Russian or German.
Bulgaria is on Eastern European Time, so 9 PM in Sofia is 8 PM in Berlin and 2 PM in New York. Ask about banitsa, the flaky cheese pastry many people grab for breakfast, shopska salad, cold tarator soup on a summer day, the yogurt Bulgarians are proud of, rose oil from the Rose Valley, skiing in Bansko, or summers on the Black Sea coast. For more phrases and help with the alphabet, see our Bulgarian page.
Bulgaria at a glance
| Flag | 🇧🇬 |
|---|---|
| Official name | Republic of Bulgaria |
| Capital | Sofia |
| Region | Europe · Southeast Europe |
| Official language | Bulgarian |
| Currency | Bulgarian lev (лв, BGN) |
| Calling code | +359 |
| Time zone | Eastern European Time (Europe/Sofia) |
How to say hello
A few words of Bulgarian make a great first impression, even if you switch to English right after.
| Language | Phrase | Say it | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bulgarian | Здравей! | zdrah-VAY | Hi! (to one person) |
| Bulgarian | Здравейте! | zdrah-VAY-teh | Hello! (polite, or to several people) |
| Bulgarian | Как си? | kahk see | How are you? |
| Bulgarian | Добър вечер! | DOH-bur VEH-cher | Good evening! |
Tips for chatting with people from Bulgaria
- Watch the head movements: traditionally, a nod can mean "no" and a shake can mean "yes". Many people switch to the international style with foreigners, so confirm with words when it matters. More on this in our guide to hand gestures around the world.
- Many people type Bulgarian in Latin letters online (a style called shlyokavitsa), so "zdrasti" on screen is just "здрасти", a casual hi.
- Ask the classic summer question: mountains or sea? Whether they'd pick Bansko and the Rila lakes or the Black Sea coast says a lot about them.
- Bulgarian sounds familiar if you know Serbian, Russian or another Slavic language, so try out words you know and see what lands.
Only meet people from Bulgaria
Omlet matches you Worldwide by default. To meet only people from Bulgaria, use the country filter, the only filter Omlet has:
- Open Omlet and press Country on the control panel.
- Search for Bulgaria and select it.
- Press Start. Press Next to meet someone else from Bulgaria, or switch back to Worldwide any time.
Your first day is free: you add a card through Stripe to start it, and nothing is charged that day. When the 24 hours end, the country filter costs $3 one time, charged to that card, unless you cancel before then in Settings (if you cancel, you can still pick a country until the day ends). It's not a subscription, and it stays unlocked on that device and browser. It doesn't carry over to other devices or browsers, and clearing your browser data removes it. There's one free day per device, home network and card. Payment goes through Stripe, so Omlet never sees your card number.
The filter works both ways, and matching can be slower when fewer people from Bulgaria are online. Chatting itself is free, and Worldwide matching never costs anything.
Your own country is detected automatically and shown to the people you meet as a flag.
Neighboring countries
Bulgaria borders 5 countries. Curious about the people next door? Meet them too: