What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is literally constructed as "you are missing to me", where the person being missed is the subject of the sentence.
Which one should you use?
The forms change based on who you are talking to or about. Use ли́псваш ми for one person you know well. Use ли́псвате ми when speaking to a group of people or to one person in a formal setting. If you want to say "I miss him/her/it", use the third-person singular form ли́псва ми. Additionally, the phrase Вие ми липсвате! specifically means "I miss you all!"
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb must agree with the person being missed. ли́псваш ми uses the second-person singular verb for one person you are close to. ли́псвате ми uses the plural form for a group of people or for formal address. To express missing a third party (him, her or it), use the third-person singular ли́псва ми.
How do you pronounce it?
lípsvaš mi
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid trying to use "I" (аз) as the subject, such as saying "аз те ли́псвам". In Bulgarian, the person being missed is the subject and the person feeling the loss is the indirect object (ми).
Did you know?
- While ли́псваш ми is common, Bulgarians also use скучавам за теб, where the verb скучавам is derived from the word for 'boredom' (скука).
- In Bulgarian, the word for 'missing' someone, липсвам, is closely related to the word for 'lack' or 'deficit' (липса), treating the person as a missing part of one's own being.
- The phrase ли́псваш ми can be used to describe a missing piece of a puzzle or a forgotten ingredient in a soup, using the exact same grammatical logic as missing a partner.
Examples in context
- Добър ден, г-н Иванов. Липсвате ми.Good day, Mr. Ivanov. I miss you.
- Здравей! Липсваш ми много.Hi! I miss you a lot.
- Ли́псваш ми всяка вечер.Lipsvash mi vsya vecher.I miss you every evening.
- Ли́псваш ми толкова много!Lipsvash mi tolkova mnogo!I miss you so much!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “I miss you” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
