Хвърлям прах в очите
Literally I throw dust in the eyes
Means to deceive or dazzle someone, creating a false impression of one's abilities or wealth
Example Той хвърля прах в очите на клиентите, но всъщност няма опит.
An idiom is a phrase you cannot translate word for word. Here are 15 of the most common Bulgarian idioms, each with its literal translation, real meaning, and an example sentence, so you know what natives actually mean.
Common Bulgarian idioms are everyday expressions whose meaning cannot be guessed from the individual words. For example, Хвърлям прах в очите literally means "I throw dust in the eyes" but is used to mean to deceive or dazzle someone, creating a false impression of one's abilities or wealth. This free tool lists 15 real Bulgarian idioms, each with its literal translation, meaning, and an example sentence.
All 15 Bulgarian idioms, with meanings and examples.
Guess the meaning, then tap a card to check.
Idiom list verified as of July 2026.
Хвърлям прах в очите
Literally I throw dust in the eyes
Means to deceive or dazzle someone, creating a false impression of one's abilities or wealth
Example Той хвърля прах в очите на клиентите, но всъщност няма опит.
Удрям на камък
Literally I hit against a stone
Means to meet firm refusal or failure, to hit a dead end
Example Опитах се да го убедя да си промени решението, но ударих на камък.
Плюя си на петите
Literally I spit on my own heels
Means to run away as fast as possible, to take to one's heels
Example Щом видя полицията, крадецът си плю на петите.
Търся под дърво и камък
Literally I search under tree and stone
Means to search everywhere thoroughly, to leave no stone unturned
Example Търсих под дърво и камък, докато не намерих точния подарък за нея.
Правя от мухата слон
Literally I make an elephant out of the fly
Means to blow a small problem out of proportion, to make a mountain out of a molehill
Example Не се притеснявай толкова, не прави от мухата слон.
Като две капки вода
Literally like two drops of water
Means to look exactly alike, to be the spitting image of someone
Example Момичето прилича на майка си като две капки вода.
Хващам бика за рогата
Literally I grab the bull by the horns
Means to tackle a difficult problem directly and decisively
Example Стига сме отлагали, хайде да хванем бика за рогата.
Стоя като на тръни
Literally I stand as if on thorns
Means to be very anxious or nervous, to be on pins and needles
Example Стоях като на тръни, докато чаках резултатите от изпита.
Пет пари не давам
Literally I don't give five coins
Means to not care at all about something
Example Той пет пари не дава за чуждото мнение.
Гледам през пръсти
Literally I look through my fingers
Means to deliberately overlook something, to turn a blind eye
Example Шефът гледа през пръсти на закъсненията му.
Обирам си крушите
Literally I gather up my own pears
Means to leave in a hurry, to pack up and clear off
Example Стана късно, хайде да си обираме крушите.
Прехапвам си езика
Literally I bite my own tongue
Means to stop oneself from saying something one would regret
Example Прехапах си езика, за да не избухна пред всички.
Хващам се на въдицата
Literally I get caught on the fishing hook
Means to fall for a trick or scam
Example Хванах се на въдицата на измамниците и загубих парите си.
Режа клона, на който седя
Literally I cut the branch on which I sit
Means to act against one's own interests, to undermine one's own position
Example Като лъже началника си, той реже клона, на който седи.
Влизам в положението
Literally I enter into the position
Means to put oneself in someone's shoes, to understand and sympathize with their situation
Example Опитай се да влезеш в моето положение, преди да ме съдиш.
Idioms stick when you see them in context, not on a list. Lingo7 lets you read real Bulgarian books with sentence-aligned translation and native-narrated audio, so you meet idioms in the wild and tap any line you do not get. Save them and review later. Free to start.
An idiom is a phrase whose meaning is fixed by convention, not built from its words. That is why a word-for-word translation fails: Хвърлям прах в очите comes out as "I throw dust in the eyes", which makes no sense until you know it means to deceive or dazzle someone, creating a false impression of one's abilities or wealth.
Learn a few at a time, not a whole list. Pick the ones you keep running into, say them out loud in a real sentence, and you will remember them far longer than by drilling flashcards.
The most reliable way to absorb idioms is to meet them in context, again and again, in things you actually read. Parallel text and audio let you catch an idiom in a real Bulgarian sentence and check what it means without breaking your reading. That is what reading in Lingo7 is built for.
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Some of the most common Bulgarian idioms are Хвърлям прах в очите, Удрям на камък, Плюя си на петите, Търся под дърво и камък. Each one means something you could not guess from the words alone, which is exactly why learners have to meet them in context. This tool lists 15 of them with their meaning and an example sentence.
In Bulgarian, "Хвърлям прах в очите" translates literally as "I throw dust in the eyes", but it actually means to deceive or dazzle someone, creating a false impression of one's abilities or wealth. You would use it like this: Той хвърля прах в очите на клиентите, но всъщност няма опит.
Idioms are non-compositional: their meaning is fixed by convention, not built from the individual words. Хвърлям прах в очите translates literally as "I throw dust in the eyes", yet it means to deceive or dazzle someone, creating a false impression of one's abilities or wealth. Translate word for word and you get nonsense, so idioms have to be learned as whole units.
The fastest way is to meet them in context and reuse them, not to memorize a list. Learn a handful at a time, notice them while reading and listening, and try them in your own sentences. Reading real Bulgarian with tap-to-translate, the way Lingo7 works, turns every page into idiom practice.