Bulgarian: do some words not receive a definite article?

[alexisn996]

Words can have a definite article (определителен член) at the end. But apparently not always? For example, why is it "Детето ми е високо" but "Майка ми е висока" or "Баща ми е висок"? Other examples: "Синът ми е лекар" but "Дъщеря ми е лекарка".

That being said, the following seems correct: "Сестрата пристигна рано". Also, "Бащата закъсня".

Side note: searching "жена ми" in Google returns 2.5 mil results, whereas "жената ми" only 63k. So, I guess the latter is a typo that people make occasionally?

Is it just an exception I have to memorize, that we don't put a def. article when using "кратката форма на местоименията"? (like ми, ти, му, etc.)

Thanks.

 

[Einick]

Other examples: "Синът ми е лекар" but "Дъщеря ми е лекарка".

I would say there must be "Сина ми е лекар"

the following seems correct: "Сестрата пристигна рано". Also, "Бащата закъсня".

This is not correct in this particular case.

searching "жена ми" in Google returns 2.5 mil results, whereas "жената ми" only 63k.

There are two meanings here: 1) "жена" = wife, 2) "жена" = woman

 

[alexisn996]

Hi @Einick, I appreciate your response.

Here is a sentence from my textbook: "Дъщеря им се казва Лили, а синът им - Борис". It seems to check out: Кой се казва? Синът (пълна форма). So, I would think that "Синът ми е лекар" is also correct. Why would you say it isn't?

Sorry, with the others - "Сестрата пристигна рано" and "Бащата закъсня" - I don't see how they are incorrect. I ran these through Google Translate: "The sister is arriving early." and "The father is late." and got those exact translations. Would you mind elaborating how they are incorrect?

Lastly, did I get you right that one could say "my woman" as in "жената ми", but for "my wife" they must say "жена ми" without the article? If not, what did you mean by the dual translation, how does it factor in?

 

[Panceltic]

It seems to check out: Кой се казва? Синът (пълна форма). So, I would think that "Синът ми е лекар" is also correct. Why would you say it isn't?

Yeah it's definitely correct, you need the пълен член here. However, as you probably know, in spoken language this will actually be pronounced сина.

 

[DarkChild]

Is it just an exception I have to memorize, that we don't put a def. article when using "кратката форма на местоименията"? (like ми, ти, му, etc.)

Thanks.

Yes. Generally with family relationships followed by the short possessive, the word does not receive an article.

Жена ми, майка ми, баща ти, леля ти.

I think синът ми is an exception, possibly due to being a one syllable word. Same with мъжът ми. Note that both син ми and мъж ми are possible but sound somewhat strange, archaic, or rural. (As in син ми е лекар. But in a sentence such as Дъщеря им се казва Лили, а синът им - Борис, you cannot say "а син им - Борис")

This does not apply to the long form - моята жена, твоята майка, нейният баща when talking about a specific person.

That being said, the following seems correct: "Сестрата пристигна рано". Also, "Бащата закъсня".

Yes, it's correct. A sentence like this would refer basically about another family. Сестрата пристигна рано or Сестра му пристигна рано.
Бащата закъсня or баща им закъсня.
Normally, you would always use the second form (with possessive) when talking about your own family.

 

[boozer]

Jeeeez, why is Bulgarian grammar so damn difficult!

I suspect, and very tentatively so, that the definite article can be skipped only where you are referring to someone unique and very close. And human, too... Mother, father, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, grandmother, grandfather, etc.

You certainly cannot say
Къща ми е много голяма.