Bulgaria DZI Russian cheat sheet

DZI listening tasks are played twice; on the first pass identify the topic and speaker roles, on the second pass confirm numbers, names and negations.

Key question words to catch: кой/коя/кои (who), къде (where), кога (when), защо (why), колко (how much/many), какъв (what kind).

Negation is marked by не before the verb, by никой (nobody), нищо (nothing), никъде (nowhere); a negated verb reverses the truth value of a statement.

Bulgarian has no infinitive; after modal verbs (мога, трябва, искам) the verb follows with да + present tense: Трябва да тръгна.

Numbers and times are frequent distractors: двоe (2), три (3), петнадесет (15), половина (half), без четвърт (quarter to).

The definite article is a suffix: -ът/-ят (masc. subject), -а/-я (masc. object), -та (fem.), -то (neut.), -те (plural) - use it to track which noun was already mentioned.

If two answer options are both mentioned, the correct one matches the question word and the speaker's final statement, not the first number heard.

Listen for discourse markers that signal the answer: всъщност (actually), обаче (however), затова (therefore), най-важното е (the most important thing is).

Skim the questions first, then locate the paragraph containing the key noun; answers follow text order in most DZI reading tasks.

Match the exact grammatical form: a text saying на учителя (of the teacher) does not support an option saying учителят (the teacher, subject).

Watch aspect pairs: imperfective читам/пиша describe ongoing or repeated action; perfective прочета/напиша describe a completed single act.

False friends and paraphrase traps: an option repeating the text's words verbatim is often wrong; the correct option paraphrases the meaning.

Time expressions: преди (before/ago), след (after), по време на (during), докато (while), щом (as soon as) fix the order of events.

Causal and concessive connectors change logic: защото (because), поради (owing to), въпреки че (although), макар и (even though).

For vocabulary-in-context items, substitute each option into the sentence and check that case government and meaning both fit.

Titles and headings summarise the main idea, not a detail; choose the option covering the whole text, not one paragraph.

Present tense endings: -а/-я (1st sg.), -еш/-иш (2nd sg.), -е/-и (3rd sg.), -ем/-им (1st pl.), -ете/-ите (2nd pl.), -ат/-ят (3rd pl.).

Past imperfect (минало несвършено) uses -х, -ше, -хме, -хте, -ха: четях, четеше, четяхме - for background or repeated past action.

Aorist (минало свършено) stresses a completed act: прочетох, прочете, прочетохме; contrast with the imperfect in narrative texts.

Future is formed with ще + present: ще чета, ще прочета; negative future uses няма да + present.

Definite article suffixes: masc. -ът/-ят (subject) vs -а/-я (object); fem. -та; neut. -то; plural -те; after adjectives the article attaches to the adjective.

Personal pronouns have full and short (clitic) forms: мене/ме, тебе/те, него/го, нея/я, нас/ни, вас/ви, тях/ги; clitics precede the verb.

Verb government: помагам на (help someone), благодаря на, завися от (depend on), интересувам се от, гордея се с - the preposition must match.

Conditional uses бих + past participle: бих чел, би отишъл; бих and the participle agree in person and number.

DZI writing tasks specify a genre and length; a formal letter uses Вие capitalised, respectful formulas and no contractions, an informal message uses ти and colloquial forms.

Standard openings: Уважаеми господине/Уважаема госпожо (formal); Здравей/Здравейте (informal); closings: С уважение, С поздрав, До скоро.

Paragraph structure per task point: one paragraph per bullet in the prompt, with a topic sentence, one or two supporting sentences and a linking word.

Cohesive devices to deploy: първо (first), освен това (besides), въпреки това (nevertheless), следователно (therefore), в заключение (in conclusion).

Check agreement chains before finishing: adjective–noun gender/number, article suffix, and subject–verb person.

Use reported or planned actions correctly: ще + present for plans, бих + participle for hypotheticals, трябва да for obligation.

Count words only after drafting; if under the minimum, add a concrete example or a reason, never filler adjectives.

Register check: avoid ти/тебе in formal letters and avoid Вие in messages to friends; mixing them is a common penalty.

Bulgarian distinguishes formal Вие (plural or polite singular) from informal ти; verb endings follow: говорите vs говориш.

Yes/no questions are formed by intonation or with ли after the verb: Имате ли време? Обичате ли музика?

Short answer to a ли-question repeats the verb: Да, имам / Не, нямам - not just да/не in extended answers.

Use fillers and turn-taking phrases to keep fluency: Ето, значи (so), всъщност (actually), Може ли да повторя? (May I repeat?).

Requests and offers: Може ли да…, Бихте ли могъл да…, Искате ли…, Да ви помогна ли? - modal + да + present.

Describing pictures or plans needs present tense for the scene and ще + present for future intentions; use има (there is) and се намира (is located).

Self-correction phrases: Извинете, исках да кажа… (Sorry, I meant…), По-точно… (More precisely…) - they preserve coherence instead of restarting.

Numbers, dates and prices are read aloud in Bulgarian: 15 петнадесет, 20 двадесет, 100 сто, 1000 хиляда; date order is day + month.