🎯 Why this matters now
Relative clauses are what make Bulgarian descriptions sound educated, precise, and natural. They let you stop saying short disconnected sentences and start linking people, places, memories, jobs, and documents in the way Bulgarians actually do.
You hear this in office talk, news reports, property adverts, school communication, and everyday stories: жената, с която работя, градът, в който живея, проектът, по който работим. Once you control these patterns, your Bulgarian becomes much more expressive.
Section 1
The relative pronoun — който and its forms
Agreement with gender and number.
The Bulgarian relative pronoun който (who/which/that) agrees in gender and number with the noun it refers to — its antecedent. It has four forms: masculine, feminine, neuter and plural. Within the clause it also changes for case (subject vs object).
| Subject (nominative) | Object (accusative) | With preposition (е.g. с, за, от) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine (M) | който | когото | с когото / за когото |
| Feminine (F) | която | която | с която / за която |
| Neuter (N) | което | което | с което / за което |
| Plural (Pl) | които | които | с които / за които |
💡 The accusative form когото
The masculine singular has a distinct object form: когото. This is used when the relative pronoun is the object of the verb in the clause: Мъжът, когото виждам. (The man whom I see.) vs Мъжът, който идва. (The man who is coming.) Feminine, neuter and plural have only one form (която, което, които) for both subject and object.
Section 2
Building relative clauses — examples by gender
One pattern for each gender/number.
| Antecedent | Relative pronoun | Full sentence | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| мъжът (M) | който | Мъжът, който живее до нас, е лекар. | The man who lives next to us is a doctor. |
| мъжът (M, object) | когото | Мъжът, когото видях, е лекар. | The man whom I saw is a doctor. |
| жената (F) | която | Жената, която говори, е моята учителка. | The woman who is speaking is my teacher. |
| детето (N) | което | Детето, което плаче, е гладно. | The child who is crying is hungry. |
| книгата (F) | която | Книгата, която чета, е много интересна. | The book that I am reading is very interesting. |
| хората (Pl) | които | Хората, които живеят тук, са много приятни. | The people who live here are very pleasant. |
| градът (M) | в който | Градът, в който живея, е Пловдив. | The city in which I live is Plovdiv. |
💡 Natural Bulgarian order
In neutral Bulgarian, the relative clause usually comes immediately after the noun it describes. Compare the more natural Познавам жената, която живее в Пловдив. with the clumsier learner order Жената, която живее в Пловдив, я познавам. Both may be understood, but the first is the better everyday model.
Section 3
Relative clauses with prepositions
When the relative pronoun follows a preposition.
When a preposition is needed, it comes before the relative pronoun — exactly as in formal English ("the city in which" not "the city which...in"). The preposition + pronoun stay together.
| Bulgarian | Romanised | English |
|---|---|---|
| Куфарът, в който сложих дрехите, изчезна. | Kufarat, v koyto slozhih drehite, izchezna. | The suitcase in which I put the clothes has disappeared. |
| Жената, с която работя, е много опитна. | Zhenata, s koyato rabotya, e mnogo opitna. | The woman with whom I work is very experienced. |
| Причините, поради които напусна, са неясни. | Prichinite, poradi koito napusna, sa neyasni. | The reasons for which he left are unclear. |
| Темата, за която говориш, е сложна. | Temata, za koyato govorish, e slozhna. | The topic about which you are speaking is complex. |
| Хората, от които купих книгата, са приятели. | Horata, ot koito kupih knigata, sa priyateli. | The people from whom I bought the book are friends. |
Section 4
Чийто — whose
Expressing possession in a relative clause.
Чийто (whose) is used when the relative clause expresses possession. It agrees with the noun it modifies inside the clause (not the antecedent).
| Form | Use | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| чийто | before M noun | Мъжът, чийто син учи тук, е директор. | The man whose son studies here is the director. |
| чиято | before F noun | Жената, чиято дъщеря познавам, живее близо. | The woman whose daughter I know lives nearby. |
| чието | before N noun | Детето, чието куче изчезна, плаче. | The child whose dog disappeared is crying. |
| чиито | before Pl noun | Хората, чиито деца учат тук, са доволни. | The people whose children study here are satisfied. |
Section 5
Dialogue — using relative clauses naturally
— Спомняш ли си колегата, с когото работих в Пловдив?
— Онзи, чийто брат е архитект?
— Точно. Той се върна в компанията, от която напусна преди три години.
— Интересно. Отделът, в който работи сега, е ли новият?
— Да, новият отдел, който открихме миналата година.
— И как е? Доволен ли е?
— Изглежда да. Проектът, по който работи, е голям — за нова сграда в центъра.
— Сградата, за която чух по новините?
— Вероятно. Хората, с които работи, са едни от най-добрите в бранша.
— Звучи добре. Ще му кажа поздрави, ако го видя.
— Spomnyash li si kolegata, s kogoto rabotih v Plovdiv?
— Onzi, chiyto brat e arhitekt?
— Tochno. Toy se varna v kompaniyata, ot koyato napusna predi tri godini.
— Interesno. Otdelat, v koyto raboti sega, noviyat li e?
— Da, noviyat otdel, koyto otkrihme minalata godina.
— I kak e? Dovolen li e?
— Izglezhda da. Proektat, po koyto raboti, e golyam — za nova sgrada v tsentara.
— Sgradata, za koyato chuh po novinite?
— Veroyatno. Horata, s koito raboti, sa edni ot nay-dobrite v bransha.
— Zvuchi dobre. Shte mu predam pozdravi, ako go vidya.
— Do you remember the colleague with whom I worked in Plovdiv?
— The one whose brother is an architect?
— Exactly. He returned to the company from which he left three years ago.
— Interesting. Is the department in which he works now the new one?
— Yes, the new department that we opened last year.
— And how is he? Is he happy?
— Seems so. The project on which he is working is a big one — for a new building in the centre.
— The building about which I heard on the news?
— Probably. The people with whom he works are among the best in the industry.
— Sounds good. I'll pass on regards if I see him.
Section 6
Writing task
✏️ Writing task — Day 46
- Write five sentences using relative clauses — one for each form: който, която, което, които, когото.
- Combine these pairs into one sentence with a relative clause: (a) "Познавам жена. Тя живее в Пловдив." (b) "Купих книга. Тя е много интересна."
- Translate: "The city in which I was born is no longer the same. The people with whom I grew up have all moved away."
- What is the difference between "който" (subject) and "когото" (object)? Give an example of each.
Show answers
1. E.g. Мъжът, който ме учи, е много добър. Книгата, която четох, беше интересна. Детето, което видях, плачеше. Хората, които дойдоха, са приятели. Мъжът, когото познавам, е лекар.
2. (a) Познавам жената, която живее в Пловдив. (b) Книгата, която купих, е много интересна.
3. Градът, в който съм роден/а, вече не е същият. Хората, с които израснах, са се изселили.
4. Който = subject (does the action): Мъжът, който идва. Когото = object (receives the action): Мъжът, когото виждам.
Day 46 Quiz
8 questions · score 6+ to mark day complete
Question 1 of 8
"The book that I am reading" — correct relative pronoun:
Question 2 of 8
"The man whom I saw" — correct form (M object):
Question 3 of 8
"The people who live here" — correct form:
Question 4 of 8
"The city in which I live" — correct:
Question 5 of 8
"The man whose son studies here" — чийто agrees with:
Question 6 of 8
"The woman whose daughter I know" — correct:
Question 7 of 8
"The topic about which you are speaking" — correct:
Question 8 of 8
Relative pronouns in Bulgarian agree with:
Day 46 Recap
Review before Day 47. Every point builds on the last.
| Topic | Key point | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Forms | M: който (subj) / когото (obj). F: която. N: което. Pl: които. | Only M has separate object form |
| Agreement | Relative pronoun agrees with the antecedent noun in gender and number. | книга → която · дете → което |
| With prepositions | Preposition comes BEFORE the relative pronoun: в който · с която · от които. | Same as formal English |
| Чийто | Whose — agrees with the noun INSIDE the clause: чийто/чиято/чието/чиито. | чийто (M) · чиято (F) · чието (N) |
| Subordinate clause | Relative clause goes after the noun it modifies, usually set off by commas. | |
| Building complexity | Stack multiple relative clauses to build detailed descriptions — key B1 skill. | |
| 🌎 Culture | Bulgarian always uses a comma before relative pronouns — forgetting it is one of the most common foreigner mistakes in writing | който/която/което agree with the noun, not the verb |