Bulgarian is a member of the South Slavic branch of the Slavic languages and is closely related to Turkish. It has some lexical similarities with other Eastern European languages, such as Russian. It is an inflected language, with nouns and adjectives varying in gender, number, case, and definiteness. Pronouns agree with their subjects in number and definiteness, and possessive forms also exist. Inflections are mainly present in the nominative, accusative, and dative cases.

Like many Slavic languages, Bulgarian is known for its rich folklore and music. Bulgarian composers, including Beethoven, Chopin, and Tchaikovsky, made important contributions to world music. The legendary bassos Nicolai Ghiaurov and Boris Christoff are among the most famous opera singers from Bulgaria, while artists Tzvetan Todorov and Julia Kristeva made valuable contributions to modern art.

Traditional Bulgarian cuisine makes heavy use of salads and includes a wide variety of breads, pastries, and dairy products. It incorporates a significant contribution from Ottoman cuisine and shares many dishes with Middle Eastern food, such as moussaka and gyuvetch. Bulgarian cuisine also contains many meat-based foods, such as kebabs and the centuries-old dish Meshana Skara, a lamb stew.

A typical Bulgarian meal may begin with a few pieces of the greasy, crispy baked pastry banitsa, which is filled with egg, potato, or onion. Then one might enjoy a bowl of the refreshing cold soup tarator, which is made with yoghurt, cucumbers, garlic, fresh dill, and walnuts.

If a person is craving something a little heartier, they might try kavarma, which is a type of casserole. It is prepared in a sach, a clay pot that stays hot for a long time. It is often served with a side of roasted peppers.

Another popular dish is snezhanka, which is a salad with cucumbers and yogurt similar to tzatziki in Greece. It can be served as a snack or a salad, but it is often enjoyed as a starter in Bulgaria. The salad can be garnished with grated sirene cheese, which is a favorite of the locals. The country is also a major producer of the yellow cheese Kashkaval, which has a similar texture to cheddar cheese. This is also a very popular choice for salads and is found in the Shopska Salad. In addition to these, many other varieties of salads and appetizers are popular in Bulgaria.