хляб

Bulgarian

хляб

Alternative forms

• хлеб (hleb), леб (leb), леп (lep) — dialectal
• хлѣбъ (hlěb) — Pre-reform orthography (1945)

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Germanic *hlaibaz

Gothic 𐌷𐌻𐌰𐌹𐍆𐍃 (hlaifs)bor.

Proto-Slavic *xlěbъ

Old Church Slavonic хлѣбъ (xlěbŭ)

Bulgarian хляб

Inherited from Old Church Slavonic хлѣбъ (xlěbŭ), from Proto-Slavic *xlěbъ, from a Germanic language, likely Gothic 𐌷𐌻𐌰𐌹𐍆𐍃 (hlaifs).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [xlʲa̟p]

• Audio (Standard Bulgarian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ap

Noun

хляб • (hljab) m (diminutive хле́бец or хле́бче)

1. (countable) a loaf of bread
2. (uncountable) bread

   Много народи използват хляба като символ в различни обреди и ритуали.

   Mnogo narodi izpolzvat hljaba kato simvol v različni obredi i rituali.

   (please add an English translation of this usage example)

3. (figurative, by extension) food, provision, nutrition

   хляб небесен (ecclesiastical) ― hljab nebesen ― celestial food

   изкарвам си хляба с/със... (idiom)

   izkarvam si hljaba s/sǎs...

   to make ends meet by ...

   (literally, “to get one's bread with...”)

Declension

Declension of хляб

	singular	plural
indefinite	хляб hljab	хля́бове hljábove
definite (subject form)	хля́бът hljábǎt	хля́бовете hljábovete
definite (object form)	хля́ба hljába
count form	—	хля́ба hljába

Derived terms

adjectives

• хле́бен (hlében)
• хля́бов (hljábov)

nouns

• (agent nouns) хлеба́р m (hlebár), хлеба́рка f (hlebárka)
• (augmentative) хлеби́ще (hlebíšte)

References

• “хляб”, in Речник на българския език [Dictionary of the Bulgarian Language] (in Bulgarian), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2014
• “хляб”, in Речник на българския език [Dictionary of the Bulgarian Language] (in Bulgarian), Chitanka, 2010
• “хляб”, in БЕРОН (Български езикови ресурси онлайн) [BERON (Bulgarian Language Resources Online)] (in Bulgarian), Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2024
• Nayden Gerov; Тодор Панчев (1904), “хлѣбъ”, in Рѣчникъ на Блъгарскꙑй язꙑкъ. Съ тлъкувание рѣчи-тꙑ на Блъгарскꙑ и на Русскꙑ. [Dictionary of the Bulgarian language] (in Bulgarian), volume 5, Plovdiv: Дружествена печꙗтница "Съгласие.", page 501
• “хлѣбъ”, in Старобългарски речник [Dictionary of Old Bulgarian] (in Bulgarian), https://histdict.uni-sofia.bg, 2011—2026