Като две капки вода
Literally like two drops of water
Means used of two people who look exactly alike
English idiom like two peas in a pod
Example Момичето прилича на майка си като две капки вода.
The girl is the spitting image of her mother.
An idiom is a phrase you cannot translate word for word. Here are the 26 most common Bulgarian idioms, ranked by how often you will actually meet them, each with its literal translation, real meaning, the closest English idiom where one exists, and an example sentence with an English translation, so you know what natives actually mean.
Common Bulgarian idioms are everyday expressions whose meaning cannot be guessed from the individual words. For example, Като две капки вода literally means "like two drops of water" but is used to mean used of two people who look exactly alike. This free page ranks the 26 most common Bulgarian idioms by how often you meet them, each with its literal translation, meaning, the closest English idiom where one exists, and an example sentence with an English translation.
All 26 idioms, most common first.
Guess the meaning, then tap a card to check.
Idiom list verified as of August 2026.
Като две капки вода
Literally like two drops of water
Means used of two people who look exactly alike
English idiom like two peas in a pod
Example Момичето прилича на майка си като две капки вода.
The girl is the spitting image of her mother.
Дойде ми до гуша
Literally it came up to my throat
Means to be completely fed up with something
English idiom to have had it up to here
Example Дойде ми до гуша от постоянните извинения.
I have had it up to here with the constant excuses.
Изкарвам си акъла
Literally I drive out my own wits
Means to get a terrible fright
English idiom to be scared out of one's wits
Example Изкарах си акъла, когато телефонът звънна посред нощ.
I was scared out of my wits when the phone rang in the middle of the night.
Note Without the reflexive си, изкарвам акъла на някого means you frightened someone else.
Правя от мухата слон
Literally I make an elephant out of the fly
Means to blow a small problem out of all proportion
English idiom to make a mountain out of a molehill
Example Не се притеснявай толкова, не прави от мухата слон.
Do not worry so much, you are making a mountain out of a molehill.
Пет пари не давам
Literally I do not give five coins
Means to not care in the slightest about something
English idiom to not give a damn
Example Той пет пари не дава за чуждото мнение.
He does not give a damn what other people think.
Влизам в положението
Literally I enter into the situation
Means to understand and sympathize with the difficult situation someone is in
English idiom to put yourself in someone's shoes
Example Опитай се да влезеш в моето положение, преди да ме съдиш.
Try to put yourself in my shoes before you judge me.
Note Very often used as a plea, влез ми в положението, when asking someone to cut you some slack.
Удрям на камък
Literally I hit against a stone
Means to run into a flat refusal or a dead end
English idiom to hit a brick wall
Example Опитах се да го убедя да си промени решението, но ударих на камък.
I tried to talk him into changing his decision, but I hit a brick wall.
Хващам бика за рогата
Literally I grab the bull by the horns
Means to tackle a hard matter head on instead of putting it off
English idiom to take the bull by the horns
Example Стига сме отлагали, хайде да хванем бика за рогата.
Enough putting it off, let us take the bull by the horns.
На седмото небе съм
Literally I am on the seventh heaven
Means to be overjoyed about something
English idiom to be on cloud nine
Example След като я приеха в университета, тя е на седмото небе.
Since she got into university, she has been on cloud nine.
Гледам през пръсти
Literally I look through my fingers
Means to knowingly ignore something wrong instead of acting on it
English idiom to turn a blind eye
Example Шефът гледа през пръсти на закъсненията му.
The boss turns a blind eye to his lateness.
Върви като по мед и масло
Literally it goes as if on honey and butter
Means to go smoothly, without a single snag
English idiom to go like clockwork
Example Ремонтът върви като по мед и масло, ще приключим до петък.
The renovation is going like clockwork, we will be done by Friday.
Плюя си на петите
Literally I spit on my own heels
Means to run away as fast as one possibly can
English idiom to take to one's heels
Example Щом видя полицията, крадецът си плю на петите.
As soon as he saw the police, the thief took to his heels.
Между чука и наковалнята
Literally between the hammer and the anvil
Means caught between two options that are both bad
English idiom between a rock and a hard place
Example Между чука и наковалнята съм, защото и двете страни искат различно нещо.
I am between a rock and a hard place, because each side wants something different.
Отварям си очите на четири
Literally I open my eyes to four
Means to be extra careful and watchful
English idiom to keep one's eyes peeled
Example Отваряй си очите на четири, като подписваш договора.
Keep your eyes peeled when you sign the contract.
Note Usually said as advice in the imperative, отваряй си очите на четири.
Хвърлям прах в очите
Literally I throw dust in the eyes
Means to fool people with a false show of skill or wealth
English idiom to pull the wool over someone's eyes
Example Той хвърля прах в очите на клиентите, но всъщност няма опит.
He pulls the wool over his clients' eyes, but he actually has no experience.
Хващам се на въдицата
Literally I get caught on the fishing hook
Means to fall for a trick or a scam
English idiom to take the bait
Example Хванах се на въдицата на измамниците и загубих парите си.
I took the scammers' bait and lost my money.
Търся под дърво и камък
Literally I search under tree and stone
Means to look for something absolutely everywhere
English idiom to leave no stone unturned
Example Търсих под дърво и камък, докато не намерих точния подарък за нея.
I left no stone unturned until I found exactly the right present for her.
Стоя като на тръни
Literally I stand as if on thorns
Means to be tense and anxious while waiting for something
English idiom to be on pins and needles
Example Стоях като на тръни, докато чаках резултатите от изпита.
I was on pins and needles while I waited for the exam results.
Обирам си крушите
Literally I gather up my own pears
Means to clear out and leave quickly
English idiom to hit the road
Example Стана късно, хайде да си обираме крушите.
It is getting late, let us hit the road.
Note In the imperative, обирай си крушите is a rude way to tell someone to get lost.
В кърпа вързано
Literally tied up in a cloth
Means completely certain, as good as done already
English idiom in the bag
Example Не се тревожи, сделката е в кърпа вързана.
Do not worry, the deal is in the bag.
Note The participle agrees with the noun, so you will also hear в кърпа вързана and в кърпа вързан.
Опъвам каиша
Literally I pull the strap
Means to do hard, exhausting and usually thankless work
English idiom to slog one's guts out
Example Двайсет години опъва каиша в завода.
He has been slogging his guts out at the factory for twenty years.
Note Colloquial, and it carries a note of complaint about badly paid work.
Хлътвам по някого
Literally I sink in for someone
Means to fall in love with someone, usually fast and hard
English idiom to fall head over heels for someone
Example Хлътна по нея още от първата среща.
He fell head over heels for her from the very first date.
Note Informal and playful, fine with friends but out of place in formal writing.
Прехапвам си езика
Literally I bite my own tongue
Means to stop yourself just in time from saying something you would regret
English idiom to bite one's tongue
Example Прехапах си езика, за да не избухна пред всички.
I bit my tongue so I would not lose my temper in front of everyone.
На куково лято
Literally on cuckoo's summer
Means at a time that will never come
English idiom when pigs fly
Example Ще ми върне парите на куково лято.
He will pay me back when pigs fly.
Note Folksy and sarcastic; на върба в сряда says the same thing.
Режа клона, на който седя
Literally I cut the branch on which I sit
Means to act in a way that ruins your own position
English idiom to shoot oneself in the foot
Example Като лъже началника си, той реже клона, на който седи.
By lying to his boss, he is shooting himself in the foot.
Дърпам дявола за опашката
Literally I pull the devil by the tail
Means to provoke trouble and put yourself at risk for no good reason
English idiom to play with fire
Example Не дърпай дявола за опашката, кажи истината още сега.
Do not play with fire, tell the truth right now.
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: Като две капки вода comes out as "like two drops of water", which makes no sense until you know it means used of two people who look exactly alike.
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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The most common Bulgarian idioms, ranked by everyday frequency, start with Като две капки вода, Дойде ми до гуша, Изкарвам си акъла, Правя от мухата слон, Пет пари не давам. Each one means something you could not guess from the words alone, which is exactly why learners have to meet them in context. This page lists 26 of them with meanings and example sentences.
In Bulgarian, "Като две капки вода" translates literally as "like two drops of water", but it actually means used of two people who look exactly alike. The closest English idiom is "like two peas in a pod". Example: Момичето прилича на майка си като две капки вода. ("The girl is the spitting image of her mother.")
The Bulgarian equivalent is "Като две капки вода", literally "like two drops of water". Example: Момичето прилича на майка си като две капки вода. ("The girl is the spitting image of her mother.")
In Bulgarian, an idiom is called идиом, and a proverb is пословица. A пословица is a complete proverb sentence that states a lesson, a поговорка is a shorter figurative saying without the moral, and an идиом (called фразеологизъм in school grammar) is a fixed phrase you build a sentence around.
Idioms are non-compositional: their meaning is fixed by convention, not built from the individual words. Като две капки вода translates literally as "like two drops of water", yet it means used of two people who look exactly alike. 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.