Slang is usually understood as informal communication and language, and in a broader sense - it is a social speech (sometimes called a social dialect) of persons united by a certain closeness in profession, education, interests, lifestyle and more. In Bulgaria, slang is most often used as a common name for all social dialects.
According to the Encyclopedia of Plovdiv, the way of communication under the hills is one of the most original and rich in Bulgaria. Alexander Condodimo has been working on the topic for many years, compiling a special dictionary. It contains words and expressions that probably appeared many years ago, used mainly on the street or in everyday conversations in restaurants, cafes, stadiums, gatherings, neighborhoods. Some of these words are probably used in other parts of the country, but we have collected some of them to check exactly how much we know:
- арабия (arabiya) – a good, understanding person
- батак (batak) – a mess
- върза си кънките (varza si kankite; he tied up his skates) – he got drunk
- gusto – nice, pleasant
- духна (duhna) – he ran away
- жамборе (zhambore) – a party
- истимаро (istimaro) – skillfully
- кодоши се (kodoshi se) – he’s kidding
- лафи (lafi) – he’s talking, chatting
- навит съм (navit sam) – I consent
- одма (odma) – immediately
- порка (porka) – he drinks (alcohol)
- рапон (rapon) – a clumsy person
- сиктир (siktir) – go away!
- таркал (tarkal) – a fight
- фрашкано (frashkano) – full (of people)
- хава (hava) – weather; на хава (nah ava) – outdoors; как е хавата? (kak e havata) – how’s it going?
There are certainly many more that are not included in Condomimo's glossary, and perhaps we haven't even heard of them, so here we leave it to you to share everything you know and the words that have entered your daily speech.