In Bulgaria, a sneeze isn’t just a reflex, it’s a message from fate! When someone sneezes, locals don’t just say “Bless you”, they might shout out a random three-digit number. This quirky superstition turns an everyday sneeze into a cosmic game of numerology and connection.
Math Time
This three-digit number is then reduced to a single digit between 0 and 30 by adding its digits together. The result reveals the first initial of someone who is thinking about you at that very moment. Might be a family member, a classmate, a colleague, a boss. But it is always someone the person who sneezed knows.
Why 30? Because Bulgaria’s alphabet has 30 letters, and each number corresponds to one of the letters.
For example: 456 becomes 4 + 5 + 7 = 16.
If you get “16“, it’s the 16th letter (“П“), meaning someone’s name who starts with the Bulgarian letter “П” (“P” in Latin) is thinking about you. A Peter or Petya might have you on their mind!
When Pure Math Won’t Get You There
but what about the elusive letters “Я” (29) and “Ю” (30)? Since most three-digit sums shrink below 29, how can you force fate to reveal these rare initials.
One way is to say 290 or 300 which is allowed to be interpreted as 29 or 300 respectively. The other workaround is to skip the letters “Ъ” (27) and “Ь” (28) because traditionally in Bulgaria just a few names start with the letter “Ъ” and no name or word start with the letter “ь”.
The universe loves a loophole or two. If you need a letter like “Я” or “Ю,” just declare it. After all, superstitions thrive on a little mischief.
The Alphabet
Use Your Own Alphabet… Or Take the Bulgarian Challenge! If you want to play the sneeze-number game, you can use your own alphabet, but for a real challenge, try it with the Bulgarian Cyrillic alphabet! It might make your day trickier and way more interesting. If the Bulgarian alphabet feels too hard, just laugh it off because the universe has a sense of humor too.
| Number | Letter in Cyrillic (and Latin) | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A (А) | Ангелина (Angelina) |
| 2 | Б (B) | Борис (Boris) |
| 3 | В (V) | Вероника (Veronika or Veronica) |
| 4 | Г (G) | Габриел (Gabriel) |
| 5 | Д (D) | Димитър (Dimitar or Dimiter) |
| 6 | Е (E) | Елена (Elena) |
| 7 | Ж (ZH) | Жени (Zheni or Jenny) |
| 8 | З (Z) | Златина (Zlatina) |
| 9 | И (I) | Иван (Ivan) |
| 10 | Й (Y OR I) | Йордан (Yordan or Jordan) |
| 11 | К (K) | Константин (Konstantin or Constantine) |
| 12 | Л (L) | Любов (Lyubov) is translated to Love |
| 13 | М (M) | Мартина (Martina) |
| 14 | Н (N) | Никола (Nikola) |
| 15 | О (O) | Огнян (Ognyan) is translated to “fire” |
| 16 | П (P) | Петър (Petar or Peter) |
| 17 | Р (R) | Рада (Rada) |
| 18 | С (S) | Симеон (Simeon) |
| 19 | Т (T) | Таня (Tanya) |
| 20 | У (U) | Ума (Uma) |
| 21 | Ф (F, PH) | Филип (Filip or Philip) |
| 22 | Х (H) | Христо / Christo or Хари / Harry |
| 23 | Ц (TZ OR TS) | Цветан (Tsvetan) Fun fact: it means Flower |
| 24 | Ч (CH OR TCSH) | Чарли (Charlie) |
| 25 | Ш (SH OR CH) | Шарлота (Charlotte) or Шанел (Channel) |
| 26 | Щ (STH) | Щелиян (Shtelian) or Щефан (Stephan) |
| 27 | Ъ (A) | Not many people are named with a name starting with this letter but some names were imported, for example the Western name Ърнест (Ernest) |
| 28 | Ь (Combines with O, it is YO) | There is no word or name in Bulgarian starting with this letter, it is used only in the middle of the sentence |
| 29 | Ю (YU) | Юлия (Yulia, it is the Bulgarian for Julia) |
| 30 | Я (YA) | Яна / Yana |
Next time you sneeze in Bulgaria, listen closely, someone’s thoughts might just be reaching you through the numbers!
Would you like to learn some basic Bulgarian for your trip or just the Cyrillic letters, to help you get by? Or learn more about the most curious and typical Bulgarian superstitions: