портока́л
portokálmasculine
The Bulgarian word for the fruit orange is портока́л (portokál).
портока́л is the noun used to refer to the citrus fruit. If you wish to describe the color orange, you should use the adjective ора́нжев.
Meaning: fruit (noun)
Which one should you use?
Use портока́л when referring specifically to the fruit, whereas ора́нжев is used to refer to the color orange.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form of the fruit портока́л is портока́ли.
How do you pronounce it?
portokál
Did you know?
- The Bulgarian word портока́л is a linguistic cousin to the English word 'Portugal'. Both derive from the name of the country that introduced the fruit to Europe.
- In some older Bulgarian literature, you might see the word портока́л used to denote a sense of exoticism or wealth, as the fruit was historically a rare luxury item.
- The word портока́л is an imported loanword that entered the language via Turkish, which is why it sounds more similar to words in other Balkan languages than to the English 'orange'.
Examples in context
- Моля, сервирайте ми един портокал.Please, serve me an orange.
- Обожавам аромата на свеж портокал.I adore the scent of fresh oranges.
- Дай ми половин портокал, моля.Please give me half an orange.
Example conversation
Desislava and Ivan are in the kitchen.
- Десислава DesislavaИван, искаш ли портока́л?Ivan, iskaish li portokal?Ivan, do you want an orange?
- Иван IvanДа, моля, Десислава.Da, molya, Desislava.Yes, please, Desislava.
- Десислава DesislavaЕто го, много е сочен.Eto go, mnogo e sochen.Here it is, it is very juicy.
- Иван IvanБлагодаря ти много!Blagodarya ti mnogo!Thank you very much!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “orange” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
