Bedeutung
Cleaning one's hands with water.
Kultureller Hintergrund
It is considered very rude to sit at a dinner table without washing your hands first. Guests are often expected to do this immediately. The phrase is linked to the liturgy and biblical stories familiar to most Bulgarians, reinforcing its figurative power. In Bulgarian offices, 'washing hands' is a common complaint about middle management avoiding tough decisions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the literal phrase 'Мийте си ръцете' was the most seen slogan in the country.
The 'Si' Rule
Always use 'си' when washing your own hands. It's the mark of a fluent speaker.
Don't 'Pera' your hands
Unless you are made of cotton, never use the verb 'пера' for your body.
Bedeutung
Cleaning one's hands with water.
The 'Si' Rule
Always use 'си' when washing your own hands. It's the mark of a fluent speaker.
Don't 'Pera' your hands
Unless you are made of cotton, never use the verb 'пера' for your body.
The Guest Ritual
If you visit a Bulgarian home, ask 'Къде мога да си измия ръцете?' to impress your host with your manners.
Perfective vs Imperfective
Use 'мия' for the habit, 'измия' for the one-time completed act.
Teste dich selbst
Fill in the missing reflexive pronoun and verb form.
Аз винаги ___ ___ ръцете преди ядене.
We use 'си' for possession of body parts in Bulgarian.
Which sentence uses the figurative meaning correctly?
Кое изречение е преносно?
This sentence means he avoided responsibility for the failure.
Match the Bulgarian phrase with its English equivalent.
Свържете фразите:
These are the standard translations for literal and figurative uses.
Complete the dialogue.
Майка: 'Вечерята е готова!' Дете: 'Добре, отивам да ___ ___ ___.'
Washing hands is the expected action before dinner.
🎉 Ergebnis: /4
Visuelle Lernhilfen
Miya vs Pera
Aufgabensammlung
4 AufgabenАз винаги ___ ___ ръцете преди ядене.
We use 'си' for possession of body parts in Bulgarian.
Кое изречение е преносно?
This sentence means he avoided responsibility for the failure.
Ordne jedem Element links seinen Partner rechts zu:
These are the standard translations for literal and figurative uses.
Майка: 'Вечерята е готова!' Дете: 'Добре, отивам да ___ ___ ___.'
Washing hands is the expected action before dinner.
🎉 Ergebnis: /4
Häufig gestellte Fragen
10 FragenIt's grammatically okay but sounds like a robot. 'Мия си ръцете' is what humans say.
Yes, it is an irregular plural. You won't hear 'ръки'.
When you are talking to someone you directly harmed. It sounds like you don't care about the consequences.
No, for dishes we say 'мия чинии'.
Not a direct one, but 'оправяй се' (deal with it yourself) often follows the figurative use.
Almost exactly. The biblical origin makes it very cross-culturally consistent.
It's a unique Bulgarian sound, similar to the 'a' in 'about' but deeper in the throat.
Yes, 'мия си краката'. The logic is the same.
The literal sense is neutral. The figurative sense can be informal or formal depending on the context.
That is the definite article 'the'. Since you are washing *your* specific hands, they are definite.
Verwandte Redewendungen
Вдигам ръце
similarTo give up on something/someone.
Чисти ръце
specialized formClean hands (integrity).
С вързани ръце
contrastWith tied hands.
Мия чинии
builds onTo wash dishes.
