3. Bulgarians don’t say “He’s completely unprepared”… we say “He’s trying to beat a bear with a stick” (Взел клечка да бие мечка).
4. Bulgarians don’t say “Slow down”… we say “Petko isn’t born yet but they’re making him a hat” (Още Петко нероден, а шапката му шият).
Petko is a popular boy’s name in Bulgaria and is used to refer to a random person.
5. When Bulgarians want to tell you that you’re out of place, we’ll call you a frog: “the frog saw that the ox was getting metal hooves, so she lifted her foot, too” (Видяла жабата, че коват вола и тя вдигнала крак).
6. If you ask Bulgarians to do you a favor for free, be prepared to hear: “A hungry bear doesn’t dance” (Гладна мечка, хоро не играе).
7. Bulgarians don’t tell you “Don’t mock others”… we say “The skinny guy laughed at the guy without teeth” (Присмял се хърбел на щърбел).
8. Here’s proof that we, Bulgarians are not the most feminist of people: “Two women make a whole market” (Две жени – цял пазар).
This saying means that it only takes two women to make an immense amount of noise at home, mainly via gossiping.
9. To those suffering severe FOMO we’ll say: “You want to be the parsley of every dish” (На всяко гърне мерудия).
10. Bulgarians don’t say “You’re lazy”… we say “You eat like a bear and work like a bug” (Яде като мечка, работи като буболечка).
11. Bulgarians won’t say “Go out there and experience the world”… we say “If you sit still, you won’t witness a miracle” (Да би мирно стояло, не би чудо видяло).
12. Bulgarians don’t say “You’re exaggerating”… we’ll say “You’re making an elephant out of a fly” (От мухата прави слон).
13. Bulgarians don’t say “He’s immature”… we say “His head turned white but he never got a piece of mind” (Главата му побеля, а умът му не дойде).
14. Bulgarians don’t tell you “To know your place”… we say “Every frog should know its puddle” (Всека жаба да си знае гьола).
15. Bulgarians don’t just say “He’s worried”… we say “He’s deep in thought like a fat pig before Christmas” (Умислил се като свиня по коледа).
16. Bulgarians don’t call a man “a playboy”… we say “Women are sticking to him like flies on honey” (Лепят му се като мухи на мед).
17. Bulgarians won’t tell you “You’re taking on too much” or “You’re greedy”… we say “Don’t carry two watermelons under one arm” (Две дини под една мишница не се носят). 