Template:bg-ndecl/documentation

	Documentation for Template:bg-ndecl. ^[edit]
	This page contains usage information, categories, interwiki links and other content describing the template.

Introduction

This template should be used to decline all Bulgarian nouns, in preference to any other, older template that may still exist. (Eventually these will all be eliminated.)

Generally, a single argument is supplied to the template, consisting of a noun (multisyllabic nouns are required to have an acute accent indicating the stress) followed by a declension spec in angle brackets. In the most basic case, nothing needs to be supplied between the angle brackets. For example, for the noun телефо́н (telefón, “telephone”):

{{bg-ndecl|телефо́н<>}}

produces

Declension of телефо́н

	singular	plural
indefinite	телефо́н telefón	телефо́ни telefóni
definite (subject form)	телефо́нът telefónǎt	телефо́ните telefónite
definite (object form)	телефо́на telefóna	телефо́ните telefónite
count form	—	телефо́на telefóna

Indicators

Indicators can be specified inside of angle brackets to modify the default declension behavior. For example, the (v) indicator specifies that the noun has a vocative, which is generated according to the normal rules documented in Bulgarian nouns on Wikipedia. An example is the noun профе́сор (profésor, “professor”):

{{bg-ndecl|профе́сор<(v)>}}

produces

Declension of профе́сор

	singular	plural
indefinite	профе́сор profésor	профе́сори profésori
definite (subject form)	профе́сорът profésorǎt	профе́сорите profésorite
definite (object form)	профе́сора profésora	профе́сорите profésorite
count form	—	профе́сора profésora
vocative form	профе́соре profésore	профе́сори profésori

Another indicator is *, which indicates that the noun is "reducible" in its plural form (i.e. an е or ъ in the last syllable drops out in the plural). For example, for the noun теа́тър (teátǎr, “theater”):

{{bg-ndecl|теа́тър<*>}}

produces

Declension of теа́тър

	singular	plural
indefinite	теа́тър teátǎr	теа́три teátri
definite (subject form)	теа́търът teátǎrǎt	теа́трите teátrite
definite (object form)	теа́търа teátǎra	теа́трите teátrite
count form	—	теа́търа teátǎra

Multiple indicators can be combined by simply concatenating them (in any order), for example for the noun кита́ец (kitáec, “Chinese person”):

{{bg-ndecl|кита́ец<*(v)>}}

produces

Declension of кита́ец

	singular	plural
indefinite	кита́ец kitáec	кита́йци kitájci
definite (subject form)	кита́ецът kitáecǎt	кита́йците kitájcite
definite (object form)	кита́еца kitáeca	кита́йците kitájcite
count form	—	кита́еца kitáeca
vocative form	кита́ецо kitáeco	кита́йци kitájci

Note here that the module automatically knows that if the final е to be dropped out is preceded by a vowel, й must be inserted.

Default and explicit plurals

All of the above examples have been of multisyllabic masculine nouns, where the default plural is -и. This is also the default for all feminine nouns, but monosyllabic masculine nouns default to -ове, for example блок (blok, “block, block”):

{{bg-ndecl|блок<>}}

produces

Declension of блок

	singular	plural
indefinite	блок blok	бло́кове blókove
definite (subject form)	бло́кът blókǎt	бло́ковете blókovete
definite (object form)	бло́ка blóka	бло́ковете blókovete
count form	—	бло́ка blóka

Some monosyllabic nouns have a plural in -и or otherwise have an irregular plural. This can be indicated by supplying the plural after a + sign. For example, пръст (prǎst, “finger”) is monosyllabic but has a plural in -и:

{{bg-ndecl|пръст<+и>}}

produces

Declension of пръст

	singular	plural
indefinite	пръст prǎst	пръ́сти prǎ́sti
definite (subject form)	пръ́стът prǎ́stǎt	пръ́стите prǎ́stite
definite (object form)	пръ́ста prǎ́sta	пръ́стите prǎ́stite
count form	—	пръ́ста prǎ́sta

Multiple plurals can be specified, e.g. for кър (kǎr, “field”, archaic):

{{bg-ndecl|кър<+ове+ища>}}

produces

Declension of кър

	singular	plural
indefinite	кър kǎr	къ́рове, къ́рища kǎ́rove, kǎ́rišta
definite (subject form)	къ́рът kǎ́rǎt	къ́ровете, къ́рищата kǎ́rovete, kǎ́rištata
definite (object form)	къ́ра kǎ́ra	къ́ровете, къ́рищата kǎ́rovete, kǎ́rištata
count form	—	къ́ра kǎ́ra

The plural ending -и automatically causes the Slavic second palatalization to be applied, i.e. final к -> ц, and similarly г -> з and х -> с. For example, ези́к (ezík, “tongue, language”) has the normal plural ези́ци:

{{bg-ndecl|ези́к<>}}

produces

Declension of ези́к

	singular	plural
indefinite	ези́к ezík	ези́ци ezíci
definite (subject form)	ези́кът ezíkǎt	ези́ците ezícite
definite (object form)	ези́ка ezíka	ези́ците ezícite
count form	—	ези́ка ezíka

Some nouns are exceptional and do not undergo this change, which can be indicated using ++и, e.g. for кварк (kvark, “quark”), plural ква́рки:

{{bg-ndecl|кварк<++и>}}

produces

Declension of кварк

	singular	plural
indefinite	кварк kvark	ква́рки kvárki
definite (subject form)	ква́ркът kvárkǎt	ква́рките kvárkite
definite (object form)	ква́рка kvárka	ква́рките kvárkite
count form	—	ква́рка kvárka

Note also that the above change applies only to masculine nouns ending in a consonant. Nouns ending in an -а (most feminine nouns, as well as some masculine nouns) such do not undergo this change, e.g. кни́га (kníga, “book”), plural кни́ги:

{{bg-ndecl|кни́га<>}}

produces

Declension of кни́га

	singular	plural
indefinite	кни́га kníga	кни́ги knígi
definite	кни́гата knígata	кни́гите knígite

Stress patterns

Some nouns, especially but not limited to monosyllabic masculine nouns, have a stress shift in the definite singular and/or plural. This can be specified using a stress pattern indicator, which is one of a, b, c or d:

Stress pattern	Definite singular stress	Plural stress
`a`	Stem	Stem
`b`	Ending	Ending
`c`	Stem	Ending
`d`	Ending	Stem

For example, глас (glas, “voice”) has definite singular гласъ́т, plural гласове́:

{{bg-ndecl|глас<b>}}

produces

Declension of глас

	singular	plural
indefinite	глас glas	гласове́ glasové
definite (subject form)	гласъ́т glasǎ́t	гласове́те glasovéte
definite (object form)	гласа́ glasá	гласове́те glasovéte
count form	—	гла́са glása

Some nouns have different multiple possible stress patterns, which can be indicated by concatenating the stress pattern indicators, for example сълза́ (sǎlzá, “tear (of crying)”) has definite singular сълза́та (stem-stressed) and plural either съ́лзи (stem-stressed) or сълзи́ (ending-stressed), hence it can follow either pattern a or c:

{{bg-ndecl|сълза́<ac>}}

produces

Declension of сълза́

	singular	plural
indefinite	сълза́ sǎlzá	съ́лзи, сълзи́ sǎ́lzi, sǎlzí
definite	сълза́та sǎlzáta	съ́лзите, сълзи́те sǎ́lzite, sǎlzíte

Another way to handle cases where the plural ending is stressed is to add an accent mark to an explicitly specified plural ending, e.g for ек (ek, “echo, thud”) with plurals е́кове or екове́:

{{bg-ndecl|ек<+ове+ове́>}}

produces

Declension of ек

	singular	plural
indefinite	ек ek	е́кове, екове́ ékove, ekové
definite (subject form)	е́кът ékǎt	е́ковете, екове́те ékovete, ekovéte
definite (object form)	е́ка éka	е́ковете, екове́те ékovete, ekovéte
count form	—	е́ка éka

The general rule is that if no accent mark is present, an accent mark will automatically be added if called for by the stress pattern, but an explicit accent mark overrides any stress pattern. As an example, another way to write сълза́ (sǎlzá) (see above) is as follows:

{{bg-ndecl|сълза́<a+и+и́>}}

which produces

Declension of сълза́

	singular	plural
indefinite	сълза́ sǎlzá	съ́лзи, сълзи́ sǎ́lzi, sǎlzí
definite	сълза́та sǎlzáta	съ́лзите, сълзи́те sǎ́lzite, sǎlzíte

Here, we specify both an unstressed plural ending -и and a stressed plural ending -и́. In this case, we have to explicitly indicate that the stress pattern is a, because the default for feminines and neuters whose lemma has ending stress is c, which will automatically add a stress to the unstressed +и specification.

Specifically, the following rules are used to determine the default stress pattern:

Nouns ending in -а́, -я́, -е́ and -о́ (regardless of gender) default to c (i.e. the plural will also be ending-stressed).
Masculine reducible nouns (those with the indicator *) where the reducible vowel is stressed default to c, e.g. чуждене́ц (čuždenéc, “foreigner”), plural чужденци́.
Feminine nouns ending in a consonant (these require the (f) indicator, see below) default to d, e.g. нощ (nošt, “night”), definite singular нощта́ (nošttá), plural но́щи (nóšti).
All other nouns default to a.

Stems and endings

The above discussion of adding the plural ending -и to сълза́ (sǎlzá) glossed over the fact that the ending is not added directly to the lemma сълза́ but to the stem съ́лз-. The stem is used when adding plural and other endings, and is generated from the lemma as follows:

If the noun ends in -а, -я, -е or -о (stressed or not), this is removed and the remainder becomes the stem.
Otherwise, if the noun begins with a capital letter and ends in -и (stressed or not), as in the name До́бри (Dóbri) but not the words такси́ (taksí, “taxi”) or {m|bg|цуна́ми||tsunami}}, the -и is removed and the remainder becomes the stem.
If the noun ends in -й, e.g. змей (zmej) or геро́й (gerój), this is removed and the remainder becomes the stem.
Otherwise, the whole lemma is the stem.

Finally, if the resulting stem has no accent, an accent is added to the last vowel, so that e.g. the stem of бряг (brjag, “shore, coast”) is бряг- the stem of жена́ (žená, “woman, wife”) is же́н-, and the stem of госпожа́ (gospožá, “Mrs., ma'am”) is госпо́ж-. (In the latter case, for example, specifying {{bg-noun|госпожа́<a>}} will correctly generate plural госпо́жи.)

Default and explicit gender indications

Examples were given above of masculine and feminine nouns. In general, the module needs to know the gender of a noun in order to properly decline it. Most of the time, the gender can be automatically determined from the ending, as follows:

Nouns ending in a consonant are by default masculine.
Nouns ending in -а or -я (stressed or not) are by default feminine.
All other nouns are by default neuter.

There are some exceptions, which should be indicated using a gender indicator, one of (m), (f) or (n), for example нощ (nošt, “night”), which is feminine:

{{bg-ndecl|нощ<(f)>}}

produces

Declension of нощ

	singular	plural
indefinite	нощ nošt	но́щи nóšti
definite	нощта́ nošttá	но́щите nóštite

Note that when the module knows that this is a feminine noun, it automatically uses the definite singular ending -та instead of -ът and plural -и instead of -ове (the default for monosyllabic masculine nouns), and automatically defaults to stress pattern d, so that the definite singular ending -та is stressed, as in all feminine nouns ending in a consonant.

Overriding plurals, vocatives, etc.

Some nouns have more complex plurals than can be easily indicated using the +PL format, or have other irregularities, as follows, for чове́к (čovék, “person”):

{{bg-ndecl|чове́к</pl:хо́ра/voc:чове́че>}}

which produces

Declension of чове́к

	singular	plural
indefinite	чове́к čovék	хо́ра hóra
definite (subject form)	чове́кът čovékǎt	хо́рата hórata
definite (object form)	чове́ка čovéka	хо́рата hórata
count form	—	чове́ка čovéka
vocative form	чове́че čovéče	хо́ра hóra

Here the general format is a slash, followed by a property name and one or more colon-separated values. In this case, we explicitly specify an irregular plural хо́ра and irregular vocative чове́че. (The definite plural хо́рата does not explicitly need to be given; it is generated according to a regular rule.)

Multiple overriding values can be given, e.g.:

{{bg-ndecl|чове́к</pl:хо́ра:+:лю́де/voc:чове́че>}}

which produces

Declension of чове́к

	singular	plural
indefinite	чове́к čovék	хо́ра, чове́ци, лю́де hóra, čovéci, ljúde
definite (subject form)	чове́кът čovékǎt	хо́рата, чове́ците, лю́дете hórata, čovécite, ljúdete
definite (object form)	чове́ка čovéka	хо́рата, чове́ците, лю́дете hórata, čovécite, ljúdete
count form	—	чове́ка čovéka
vocative form	чове́че čovéče	хо́ра, чове́ци, лю́де hóra, čovéci, ljúde

Here, + is a shortcut for whatever value(s) would normally be generated according to the default rules. In this case, the normal plural of чове́к (čovék) is чове́ци, so specifying + is equivalent to specifying чове́ци explicitly. So the effect is to specify three plurals: хо́ра, чове́ци and лю́де. (The latter two are archaic; the next section describes how to indicate this using a footnote.)

You can also use ~ as a shortcut for the lemma (so that e.g ~и generates a value by adding и to the lemma), and ~~ as a shortcut for the stem.

The following property names are recognized, and should be followed by one or more forms:

/pl: (the indefinite plural, from which the definite plural is automatically generated)
/def: (the definite subjective singular, from which the definite objective singular is automatically generated)
/count: (the count form)
/voc: (the vocative singular form; if you specify this, you do not have to specify (v) to get the vocative to display)
/dat: (the dative singular form, for nouns that have this form)
/gen: (the genitive singular form, for nouns that have this form)
/acc: (the accusative singular form, for nouns that have this form)
/dat_pl: (the dative plural form, for nouns that have this form)
/gen_pl: (the genitive plural form, for nouns that have this form)
/acc_pl: (the accusative plural form, for nouns that have this form)

The following special property names are also recognized:

/n:sg, /n:pl (specify that this is a singulare tantum [singular only] or plurale tantum [plural only] noun)
-def (specify that the noun has no definite singular; this is the default for nouns beginning with a capital letter, and to get the definite singular to display for these nouns you must specify /def:+)
-pl (specify that the noun has no plural; this is primarily useful for those few nouns that have no plural but do have a count form, such as грах (grah, “peas”); for singular-only nouns, use /n:sg)
-def_pl (specify that the noun has no definite plural)
-count (specify that the noun has no count form)

For example, to specify the declension of plurale tantum noun очила́ (očilá, “glasses”), use:

{{bg-ndecl|очила́</n:pl>}}

which produces

Declension of очила́

	plural
indefinite	очила́ očilá
definite	очила́та očiláta

To specify the declension of глава́ (glavá, “head”), which has a vocative гла́во and archaic genitive plural глав, use:

{{bg-ndecl|глава́<(v)/gen_pl:глав[a]>}}

which produces

Declension of глава́

	singular	plural
indefinite	глава́ glavá	глави́ glaví
definite	глава́та glaváta	глави́те glavíte
vocative form	гла́во glávo	глави́ glaví
genitive form	—	глав¹ glav¹

¹Archaic.

(See the next section for footnote annotations such as [a].)

Footnotes

We can annotate overriding values with footnotes. For example, the two additional plurals чове́ци and лю́де mentioned above for чове́к (čovék) are both archaic, which we can indicate as follows:

{{bg-ndecl|чове́к</pl:хо́ра:+[a]:лю́де[a]/voc:чове́че>}}

which produces

Declension of чове́к

	singular	plural
indefinite	чове́к čovék	хо́ра, чове́ци¹, лю́де¹ hóra, čovéci¹, ljúde¹
definite (subject form)	чове́кът čovékǎt	хо́рата, чове́ците¹, лю́дете¹ hórata, čovécite¹, ljúdete¹
definite (object form)	чове́ка čovéka	хо́рата, чове́ците¹, лю́дете¹ hórata, čovécite¹, ljúdete¹
count form	—	чове́ка čovéka
vocative form	чове́че čovéče	хо́ра, чове́ци¹, лю́де¹ hóra, čovéci¹, ljúde¹

¹Archaic.

Text in brackets following a plural or other value is inserted as a footnote. Arbitrary text can be given (it should be given without initial capital letter or final period, which will automatically be added), and certain special codes are recognized, e.g. [a] = [archaic]. The full set is described below.

Note that bracketed footnotes can also be added after plurals of the form +PL, for example for дар (dar, “gift”):

{{bg-ndecl|дар<ad+ове+ове́+и[fp]/count:да́ри:+>}}

which produces

Declension of дар

	singular	plural
indefinite	дар dar	да́рове, дарове́, да́ри¹ dárove, darové, dári¹
definite (subject form)	да́рът, даръ́т dárǎt, darǎ́t	да́ровете, дарове́те, да́рите¹ dárovete, darovéte, dárite¹
definite (object form)	да́ра, дара́ dára, dará	да́ровете, дарове́те, да́рите¹ dárovete, darovéte, dárite¹
count form	—	да́ри, да́ра dári, dára

¹Folk-poetic.

This spec is somewhat complex; let's unpack it bit by bit.

First there is an accent spec ad. This indicates that there are two possible stress patterns: a (definite singular and plural both stem-stressed) and d (definite singular ending-stressed, but plural still stem-stressed; this will not cause duplicate entries in the plural). This is because the definite singular can be either да́рът or даръ́т.
Then there are three explicit plurals given: да́рове, дарове́, and да́ри (where the last one is folk-poetic, as indicated by [fp]).
Finally, we override the count form, which can be either да́ри or да́ра (the normally generated value, which replaces +).

Stem alternations

-я- vs. -е-

In nouns with stressed -я́-, the -я́- automatically converts to -е- when a stressed ending is added, for example, бряг (brjag, “coast, shore”), definite singular брегъ́т (bregǎ́t), plural брегове́ (bregové) (but count form бря́га (brjága)):

{{bg-ndecl|бряг<b>}}

produces

Declension of бряг

	singular	plural
indefinite	бряг brjag	брегове́ bregové
definite (subject form)	брегъ́т bregǎ́t	брегове́те bregovéte
definite (object form)	брега́ bregá	брегове́те bregovéte
count form	—	бря́га brjága

In some nouns, this change also happens when an unstressed ending beginning with -е or -и is added. This can be signaled using the (я) indicator, as with мя́рка (mjárka, “measure, limit, criterion”) plural ме́рки:

{{bg-ndecl|мя́рка<(я)>}}

produces

Declension of мя́рка

	singular	plural
indefinite	мя́рка mjárka	ме́рки mérki
definite	мя́рката mjárkata	ме́рките mérkite

Conversely, in a few nouns, the change -я́- -> -е- does not happen even when a stressed ending is added; this can be signaled using (-я), as with одея́ло (odejálo, “blanket”) plural одеяла́ (stress pattern c, see above):

{{bg-ndecl|одея́ло<c(-я)>}}

produces

Declension of одея́ло

	singular	plural
indefinite	одея́ло odejálo	одеяла́ odejalá
definite	одея́лото odejáloto	одеяла́та odejaláta

-ръ- vs. -ър-

Another stem alternation that occurs in some nouns is a change from -ръ- to -ър- before endings beginning with a vowel. For example, гръб (grǎb, “back, rear”) has definite singular гърбъ́т, plural гърбове́, etc. This can be specified using the (ър) indicator:

{{bg-ndecl|гръб<(ър)>}}

produces

Declension of гръб

	singular	plural
indefinite	гръб grǎb	гъ́рбове gǎ́rbove
definite (subject form)	гъ́рбът gǎ́rbǎt	гъ́рбовете gǎ́rbovete
definite (object form)	гъ́рба gǎ́rba	гъ́рбовете gǎ́rbovete
count form	—	гъ́рба gǎ́rba

This change occurs only before endings beginning with a vowel. For example, the feminine noun кръв (krǎv, “blood”) has plural къ́рви (with the change) but definite singular кръвта́ (without the change).

This indicator is not the default for any nouns because only some nouns in -ръ- have this change.

Palatalized endings

Some masculine nouns unexpectedly have definite singular in -ят instead of -ът, and the count form in -я instead of -а. This can be specified using the indicator (ь), e.g. for път (pǎt, “road”):

{{bg-ndecl|път<(ь)+ища>}}

which produces

Declension of път

	singular	plural
indefinite	път pǎt	пъ́тища pǎ́tišta
definite (subject form)	пъ́тят pǎ́tjat	пъ́тищата pǎ́tištata
definite (object form)	пъ́тя pǎ́tja	пъ́тищата pǎ́tištata
count form	—	пъ́тя pǎ́tja

Some masculine nouns automatically act as if (ь) were specified:

nouns ending in a vowel + -тел, e.g. двига́тел (dvigátel, “engine”);
nouns ending in a vowel + consonant + -ар, e.g. ле́кар (lékar, “(male) doctor”);
nouns ending in -й, e.g. геро́й (gerój, “hero”).

For such nouns, you can disable the (ь) behavior using (-ь). An example noun that needs this is ку́фар (kúfar, “suitcase”), with definite subjective singular ку́фарът:

{{bg-ndecl|ку́фар<(-ь)>}}

which produces

Declension of ку́фар

	singular	plural
indefinite	ку́фар kúfar	ку́фари kúfari
definite (subject form)	ку́фарът kúfarǎt	ку́фарите kúfarite
definite (object form)	ку́фара kúfara	ку́фарите kúfarite
count form	—	ку́фара kúfara

Alternative stresses

Some nouns can be stressed in more than one place, e.g. мо́лив (móliv, “pencil”), also stressed as моли́в (molív). To indicate this, use the following syntax:

{{bg-ndecl|((мо́лив<>,моли́в<>))}}

which produces

Declension of мо́лив, моли́в

	singular	plural
indefinite	мо́лив, моли́в móliv, molív	мо́ливи, моли́ви mólivi, molívi
definite (subject form)	мо́ливът, моли́вът mólivǎt, molívǎt	мо́ливите, моли́вите mólivite, molívite
definite (object form)	мо́лива, моли́ва móliva, molíva	мо́ливите, моли́вите mólivite, molívite
count form	—	мо́лива, моли́ва móliva, molíva

The general form is to specify two or more comma-separated sets of lemma + spec, surrounded by double parentheses. There is no requirement that the different sets have the same specs. For example, ви́но (víno, “wine”) has an alternative stress pattern вино́ (vinó), but in all cases the plural is вина́ (referring to different types of wines). This can be indicated as follows:

{{bg-ndecl|((ви́но<c>,вино́<>))}}

which produces

Declension of ви́но, вино́

	singular	plural
indefinite	ви́но, вино́ víno, vinó	вина́ viná
definite	ви́ното, вино́то vínoto, vinóto	вина́та vináta

Adjectival nouns

Some nouns are derived from adjectives and declined like them. An example is вое́нен (voénen, “soldier”), derived from вое́нен (voénen, “military”); it is literally "military man". As an adjectival noun, it has definite subjective singular вое́нният instead of *вое́ннът, as would be expected for a regular noun. To indicate this, use the # indicator. Along with this, you can use other adjectival indicators as documented in {{bg-adecl}}. In addition, you can use the following:

(v) to indicate that the noun has a vocative;
(h) to indicate that the noun is a male human (currently synonymous with (v));
/n:sg or /n:pl to indicate that the noun is singular-only or plural-only.

For example, to decline the adjectival noun вое́нен (voénen, “soldier”), use the following syntax:

{{bg-ndecl|вое́нен<#*(h)>}}

which produces

Declension of вое́нен

	singular	plural
indefinite	вое́нен voénen	вое́нни voénni
definite (subject form)	вое́нният voénnijat	вое́нните voénnite
definite (object form)	вое́нния voénnija	вое́нните voénnite
vocative form	вое́нни, вое́нний¹ voénni, voénnij¹	вое́нни voénni

¹Archaic.

As another example, to decline the adjectival noun ру́ски (rúski, “Russian (language)”), use the following syntax:

{{bg-ndecl|ру́ски<#/n:sg>}}

which produces

Declension of ру́ски

	singular
indefinite	ру́ски rúski
definite (subject form)	ру́ският rúskijat
definite (object form)	ру́ския rúskija

Multiword expressions

Multiword expressions are supported. For example, to decline the noun слъ́нчева систе́ма (slǎ́nčeva sistéma, “solar system”), use the following syntax:

{{bg-ndecl|слъ́нчева<#> систе́ма<>}}

which produces

Declension of слъ́нчева систе́ма

	singular	plural
indefinite	слъ́нчева систе́ма slǎ́nčeva sistéma	слъ́нчеви систе́ми slǎ́nčevi sistémi
definite	слъ́нчевата систе́ма slǎ́nčevata sistéma	слъ́нчевите систе́ми slǎ́nčevite sistémi

Note how the adjective is marked with #, as for adjectival nouns (see above). The module automatically knows that in adjective-noun combinations, only the first adjective receives definite endings.

You can insert links into the declension syntax, and they will automatically be removed when declining the noun. For example, equivalent to the above is the following:

{{bg-ndecl|[[слънчев|слъ́нчева]]<#> [[систе́ма]]<>}}

which produces

Declension of слъ́нчева систе́ма

	singular	plural
indefinite	слъ́нчева систе́ма slǎ́nčeva sistéma	слъ́нчеви систе́ми slǎ́nčevi sistémi
definite	слъ́нчевата систе́ма slǎ́nčevata sistéma	слъ́нчевите систе́ми slǎ́nčevite sistémi

These links are especially useful in {{bg-noun}}, which can take the same syntax as {{bg-ndecl}}; the links will properly go into the headword.

Another example, for зва́телен паде́ж (zvátelen padéž, “vocative case”):

{{bg-ndecl|[[зва́телен]]<#*> [[паде́ж]]</n:sg>}}

produces

Declension of зва́телен паде́ж

	singular
indefinite	зва́телен паде́ж zvátelen padéž
definite (subject form)	зва́телният паде́ж zvátelnijat padéž
definite (object form)	зва́телния паде́ж zvátelnija padéž

Here, the adjective is reducible and the overall expression is singular-only. Note that the singular-only code /n:sg only needs to be indicated once (preferably on the noun).

The reducible code * only needs to be indicated on masculine singular adjectives. Other reducible adjectives are always in reduced form, and will work fine with or without the * reducible indicator, for example, for ато́мна бо́мба (atómna bómba, “atomic bomb”):

{{bg-ndecl|[[атомен|а́томна]]<#> [[бо́мба]]<>}}

produces

Declension of а́томна бо́мба

	singular	plural
indefinite	а́томна бо́мба átomna bómba	а́томни бо́мби átomni bómbi
definite	а́томната бо́мба átomnata bómba	а́томните бо́мби átomnite bómbi

You can include more than two words. For example, for the noun сла́бо я́дрено взаимоде́йствие (slábo jádreno vzaimodéjstvie, “weak nuclear interaction”), use the following syntax:

{{bg-ndecl|[[слаб|сла́бо]]<#> [[ядрен|я́дрено]]<#> [[взаимоде́йствие]]<>}}

which produces

Declension of сла́бо я́дрено взаимоде́йствие

	singular	plural
indefinite	сла́бо я́дрено взаимоде́йствие slábo jádreno vzaimodéjstvie	сла́би я́дрени взаимоде́йствия slábi jádreni vzaimodéjstvija
definite	сла́бото я́дрено взаимоде́йствие sláboto jádreno vzaimodéjstvie	сла́бите я́дрени взаимоде́йствия slábite jádreni vzaimodéjstvija

Here, only the first adjective receives definite markings, as is correct.

A slightly more complex example is бял дроб (bjal drob, “lung”):

{{bg-ndecl|[[бял]]<#(я)> [[дроб]]<ac>}}

which produces

Declension of бя́л дро́б

	singular	plural
indefinite	бя́л дро́б bjál drób	бе́ли дро́бове, бе́ли дробо́ве béli dróbove, béli drobóve
definite (subject form)	бе́лият дро́б bélijat drób	бе́лите дро́бове, бе́лите дробо́ве bélite dróbove, bélite drobóve
definite (object form)	бе́лия дро́б bélija drób
count form	—	бе́ли дро́ба béli dróba

Here, there is an alternation between я and е in the adjective, which needs to be indicated by (я), and дроб (drob) can take two possible stresses in the plural. Note that both plural forms are correctly generated and attached to the appropriate adjective form.

Another complex example is зве́зден вя́тър (zvézden vjátǎr, “stellar wind”):

{{bg-ndecl|[[зве́зден]]<#*> [[вя́тър]]<c*+ове́/voc:ве́тре>}}

which produces

Declension of зве́зден вя́тър

	singular	plural
indefinite	зве́зден вя́тър zvézden vjátǎr	зве́здни ветрове́ zvézdni vetrové
definite (subject form)	зве́здният вя́тър zvézdnijat vjátǎr	зве́здните ветрове́ zvézdnite vetrové
definite (object form)	зве́здния вя́тър zvézdnija vjátǎr	зве́здните ветрове́ zvézdnite vetrové
count form	—	зве́здни вя́търа zvézdni vjátǎra
vocative form	зве́здни ве́тре, зве́здний ве́тре¹ zvézdni vétre, zvézdnij vétre¹	зве́здни ветрове́ zvézdni vetrové

¹Archaic.

This shows that all the indicators and overrides normally available for a noun can still be used here, and will work correctly. In this case, the explicit vocative override causes the overall expression to have a vocative, and the fact that the adjective has two possible vocative forms means the overall expression will also have two possible vocatives.

Arbitrary text can be included between or around declined words, for example for ба́за да́нни (báza dánni, “database”):

{{bg-ndecl|[[ба́за]]<> [[да́нни]]}}

produces

Declension of ба́за да́нни

	singular	plural
indefinite	ба́за да́нни báza dánni	ба́зи да́нни bázi dánni
definite	ба́зата да́нни bázata dánni	ба́зите да́нни bázite dánni

Here, the word да́нни (dánni, “data”) is undeclined, and is included as-is in all forms.

Alternants and other complexities can be included and work fine. For example, if we wanted to generate the declension of не́добро ви́но (nédobro víno, “bad wine”) (also stressable as недобро́ ви́но (nedobró víno), не́добро вино́ (nédobro vinó) or недобро́ вино́ (nedobró vinó)), we would use the following:

{{bg-ndecl|(([[недобър|не́добро]]<#>,[[недобър|недобро́]]<#>)) (([[ви́но]]<c>,[[вино́]]<>))}}

which produces

Declension of не́добро ви́но, не́добро вино́, недо́бро ви́но, недо́бро вино́

	singular	plural
indefinite	не́добро ви́но, не́добро вино́, недо́бро ви́но, недо́бро вино́ nédobro víno, nédobro vinó, nedóbro víno, nedóbro vinó	не́добри вина́, недо́бри вина́ nédobri viná, nedóbri viná
definite	не́доброто ви́но, не́доброто вино́, недо́брото ви́но, недо́брото вино́ nédobroto víno, nédobroto vinó, nedóbroto víno, nedóbroto vinó	не́добрите вина́, недо́брите вина́ nédobrite viná, nedóbrite viná

Parameters

The general format is as follows: LEMMA<STRESS(INDIC)(INDIC)+PLURAL1+PLURAL2/PROPERTY1:VALUE1:VALUE2/PROPERTY2:VALUE3:VALUE4>. More specifically:

There can be zero or more stress pattern codes at the beginning. The allowed codes are
- a = stem-stressed in both def sg and plural
- b = ending-stressed in both def sg and plural
- c = stem-stressed in def sg, ending-stressed in plural
- d = ending-stressed in def sg, stem-stressed in plural
Note that the interpretation of these is a bit different from the Russian equivalents.

The defaults are as follows:
1. Masculine nouns with reducible plural where the stress is on the reducible vowel (e.g. чуждене́ц, def sg. чуждене́цът, pl. чужденци́) default to c; others default to a.
2. Feminine nouns ending in stressed -а́ or -я́ (e.g. жена́, def sg. жена́та pl. жени́) default to c; feminine nouns ending in a consonant (e.g. нощ def sg. нощта́, pl. но́щи) default to d; others default to a.
3. Neuter nouns ending in stressed -о́ or -е́ default to c; others default to a.
Following the stress pattern codes are zero or more indicators, which are mostly inside of parens:
- * (indicates reducible plural)
- (d*) (indicates reducible def sg)
- (v*) (indicates reducible vocative)
- (c*) (indicates reducible count form)
- (v) (indicates that the noun has a vocative)
- (ь) (indicates that the def sg is in -ят/-я and the count is in -я, instead of def sg -ът/-а and count in -а; automatically inferred for nouns ending in -й, vowel + -тел or vowel + -ар)
- (-ь) (prevents (ь) from being inferred when it normally would be)
- (ър) (indicates ръ -> ър change when a vowel-initial ending is added)
- (я) (indicates я́ -> е́ when an ending beginning with -е, -и or -ь is added; note that the change я́ -> unstressed е is automatic when a stressed ending is added, unless (-я) is given)
- (-я) (prevents the normally automatic change я́ -> unstressed е when a stressed ending is added, e.g. in одея́ло (odejálo) plural одеяла́ (odejalá))
- (ин) (indicates that -ин is lost in the plural)
- (m) (indicates unpredictably masculine, e.g. when ending in a vowel)
- (f) (indicates unpredictably feminine, e.g. when ending in consonant)
- (n) (indicates unpredictably neuter)
Following this are zero or more plural specs, e.g. +и, +ове, +ища. +и normally causes palatalization of word-final к, г, х (except for word-final нг) -> ци, зи, си; +е similarly causes palatalization of word-final ка, га, ха -> це, зе, се. To disable this, use ++и or ++е.
Following this is zero or more property specs. Currently recognized properties are:
- pl (specify the indefinite plural form)
- def (specify the definite singular subjective form)
- count (specify the count form)
- voc (specify the vocative form)
- n (restrict the noun to singular-only or plural-only).
All the properties specifying particular forms should be followed by one or more colon-separated forms, where the special value + means "use the default form" and ~ and ~~ are substituted by the whole word and the stem, respectively.
Each form can optionally be followed by a footnote in brackets, e.g. [collective] or [dated]. Certain abbreviations are recognized for the footnotes, e.g.
- [a] = [archaic]
- [c] = [colloquial]
- [d] = [dialectal]
- [fp] = [folk-poetic]
- [l] = [literary]
- [lc] = [low colloquial]
- [p] = [poetic]
- [pej] = [pejorative]
- [r] = [rare]
These abbreviations are also recognized inside of angle brackets, which allows you to specify other text in addition; for example, [<a> or <d>] = [archaic or dialectal], [<d> or endearing] = [dialectal or endearing], etc.
Note that specifying a plural form using a property spec overrides any plurals specified using +и or similar, so only one of the two mechanisms should be used.
Finally, more than one of the entire specification (including the initial specs, plurals and properties) can be given, comma-separated.

Properties and manual overrides

The following overrides are recognized for nouns:

- pl (specify the indefinite plural form, from which the definite plural form is automatically constructed)
- ind_pl (specify the indefinite plural form only)
- def_pl (specify the definite plural form only)
- def (specify the definite singular subjective form, from which the definite singular objective form is automatically constructed)
- def_sub (specify the definite singular subjective form only)
- def_obj (specify the definite singular objective form only)
- ind (specify the indefinite singular form only; this is the lemma form, and an override here can be useful if the lemma is irregular compared with other forms)
- count (specify the count form)
- voc (specify the vocative singular form)
- acc (specify the accusative singular form)
- gen (specify the genitive singular form)
- dat (specify the dative singular form)
- acc_pl (specify the accusative plural form)
- gen_pl (specify the genitive plural form)
- dat_pl (specify the dative plural form)
- n (restrict the noun to singular-only or plural-only).

Rules for constructing forms

Combining stems and endings

Endings are normally added onto a stem. The formation of the stem from the lemma is described above. Once the stem is determined, the ending is added as follows:

If the (ър) indicator is specified and the ending begins with a vowel, the sequence CърC is replaced with CръC (preserving the stress as appropriate).
If -я́- occurs, it is converted to -е́- under the following circumstances:
1. the (-я) indicator is not given; and either
2. the ending is accented, or
3. the (я) indicator is given and the ending begins with -е, -и or -ь.
4. If the ending is accented, remove any stress from the stem.

Note the behavior of stressed -я́- in the stem:

-я́- occurs, no indicator is given, and the ending is stressed: change to -е-. E.g. for бряг (brjag, “coast, shore”): брегъ́т "the coast".
-я́- occurs, no indicator is given, and the ending is unstressed: no change. E.g. for бряг (brjag, “coast, shore”): два бря́га "two coasts".
-я́- occurs, (я) is given, and the ending begins with е-, и- or ь-: change to -е́-. E.g. for мя́рка (mjárka, “measure, limit, criterion”): ме́рки "criteria".
-я́- occurs, (я) is given, and the ending begins with a consonant or a vowel other than е-, и- or ь-: no change.
-я́- occurs and (-я) is given: no change even if the ending is stressed. E.g. for одея́ло (odejálo, “blanket”): одеяла́ "blankets".

Plural formation

The default rules for determining the plural ending are as follows:

All feminine nouns default to +и.
Masculine nouns form the plural as follows:
1. For proper nouns (those beginning with an uppercase letter):
  1. If the word ends in -и (e.g. До́бри (Dóbri)), -я (e.g. Или́я (Ilíja)) or -й (e.g. Благо́й (Blagój)), the default is +евци.
  2. Otherwise, if the word ends in -ов (e.g. Ива́нов (Ivánov)/Ивано́в (Ivanóv)) or -ев (e.g. Пе́нчев (Pénčev)), the default is +и+ци (i.e. two default plurals).
  3. Otherwise (e.g. Пе́тър (Pétǎr), Ива́н (Iván), Кру́м (Krúm), Нико́ла (Nikóla)), the default is +овци.
2. For common nouns (those beginning with a lowercase letter):
  1. If the word ends in -о (stressed or unstressed, e.g. дя́до (djádo), гле́зльо (glézljo)) or stressed -а́н (e.g. готова́н (gotován)), the default is +овци.
  2. Otherwise, if the word ends in -е (e.g. аташе́ (atašé)), the default is +ета.
  3. Otherwise, if the word is multisyllabic (e.g. ези́к (ezík), друга́р (drugár), геро́й (gerój), баща́ (baštá), коле́га (koléga), etc.), the default is +и.
  4. Otherwise, if the word ends in -й (e.g. край (kraj), брой (broj)), the default is +еве.
  5. Other monosyllabic nouns for which (ь) is specified (e.g. кон (kon), зет (zet), цар (car)) default to +ьове.
  6. All remaining monosyllabic nouns default to +ове.
Neuter nouns form the plural as follows:
1. If the word ends in -о, -ще or -це, the default is +а.
2. If the word ends in -ие, the default is +я.
3. For other words ending in -е, the default is +ета. (Note that the plural ending is added onto the stem, not the lemma, hence the plural of носле́ (noslé, “nose”) is носле́та, i.e. stem но́сл- + -е́та.)
4. Any remaining words (primarily loanwords such as такси́ (taksí, “taxi”), цуна́ми (cunámi, “tsunami”), бижу́ (bižú, “jewel”), меню́ (menjú, “menu”)) default to +та. (Note that for these words, the stem and lemma are the same, hence the plural of такси́ (taksí) is такси́та.)

Once the plural ending is determined or specified, it may need a stress mark added (specifically if the stres pattern is b or c and no stress mark is explicitly given). If so, it is added as follows:

-еса́ and -ена́ are stressed as shown.
-ове́, -ьове́, -йове́ and -еве́ are stressed as shown if the stress pattern is b (but not c).
All other plurals are stressed on the first vowel.

After this, the stem to add the plural to needs to be determined. The normal rules for determining the stem from the lemma are described above, but in addition:

If the * is specified, or if it is inferred (this happens for nouns in -зъм, such as органи́зъм (organízǎm)), the stem is "reduced" by deleting -е- or -ъ- before a single final consonant. (If the noun does not have this form, an error is signaled.)
If the (ин) indicator was specified (e.g. for words like англича́нин (angličánin), господи́н (gospodín)), final -ин is removed. If the resulting stem has no stress, it is added onto the last syllable.
If the plural to be added is +и (but not ++и), and the lemma ends in -к, -г or -х (e.g. ези́к (ezík), plural ези́ци) and does not end in -нг (e.g. ми́тинг (míting), ло́зунг (lózung), with plurals ми́тинги, ло́зунги), the Slavic second palatalization is applied to the final consonant, i.e. final к -> ц, final г -> з and final х -> с.
The Slavic second palatalization is also applied if the plural to be added is +е (but not ++е) and the lemma ends in -ка, -га or -ха (e.g. ръка́ (rǎká), plural ръце́).

Finally, the plural ending is added onto the stem according to the rules described above (which an accent from the stem if present in the ending, and may modify the stem if it contains -ръ- or stressed -я́-).

Vocative formation

The default rules for forming the vocative are as described in the Wikipedia entry on Bulgarian nouns:

Neuter nouns, feminine nouns ending in a consonant, and nouns for which none of (v), (v*) and /voc: are specified have no default vocative.
Nouns for which (ь) is specified or inferred (i.e. nouns in -ар, -тел or -й, unless (-ь) is given) add -ю to the stem.
Nouns ending in a vowel + -я add -йо to the stem.
Nouns ending in a consonant + -я add -ьо to the stem.
Nouns ending in -ца, -рка or -чка, as well as all proper nouns ending in -ка, add -е to the stem.
All other nouns in -а add -о to the stem.
Nouns ending in -к, -ч, -ц or -ин add -о.
Nouns ending in -г or -з change this final consonant to -ж and add -е.
All other nouns (i.e. masculine nouns ending in a consonant, other than those mentioned above) add -е.

Note that the added ending never bears the stress, regardless of the stress pattern.

Count form formation

The default rules for forming the count form are as follows:

Nouns that aren't masculine or don't end in a consonant have no default count form.
Nouns for which (ь) is specified or inferred (i.e. nouns in -ар, -тел or -й, unless (-ь) is given) add -я to the stem.
Other nouns add -а.

Note that the added ending never bears the stress, regardless of the stress pattern.

Definite subjective singular formation

Definite objective singular formation

Definite plural formation