'Euro' Tops Bulgaria’s Words of 2025

“Euro” has been named the most emblematic word in Bulgaria for 2025, according to the latest survey by the popular language platform “Kak se pishe” (“How to spell?”). The common European currency received 42.5 percent of the votes, reflecting its strong presence in public life after its introduction on January 1.

The second most selected word, with close to 33 percent support, is “disgrace” (bezobrazie/безобразие), a term that gained prominence during heated parliamentary debates. It is followed by “protest” and “volleyball”, each backed by around a quarter of respondents. These results come from the platform’s fifth annual “Word of the Year” survey.

Other expressions completing the top ten include “mrshlyak” (slang, a derogatory word), “gen-z”, “kogato pa-” (when he fa...when he falls - in relation to protests against politician Delyan Peevski), “kapitalno D” (capital D, again in relation to Delyan Peevski), “budget”, and “locals”. Some of these are fragments of widely used phrases in the political life of Bulgaria such as “Who allowed this disgrace?” and “a state with a capital D”, which have become instantly recognizable in everyday speech, the platform explains.

Commenting on the results on Bulgarian National Radio, Dorotea Nikolova, one of the organizers of the initiative, said the pattern is clear. The word “euro”, she noted, reflects everyday concerns such as shopping, prices, and easier travel without currency exchange, but it also carries a broader symbolic meaning linked to Bulgaria’s place in Europe. She recalled that last year’s top word was “Schengen”, underlining how public attitudes toward European integration continue to shape linguistic choices. At the same time, she connected the prominence of “disgrace” and “protest” to growing public frustration with political scandals and behavior.

Nikolova also highlighted the strong participation of Generation Z. In her view, young people have once again proven to be a driving force for change. She argued that their increased civic engagement is particularly significant at this moment and suggested that politicians who tried to downplay or suppress protests misjudged the role of the youth.

For the third time, the survey also included a ranking of the most frequently mentioned public figures in the media. Topping the list this year is Donald Trump, followed by Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky, Boyko Borissov, Delyan Peevski, and President Rumen Radev, among others.

The “Words of the Year” initiative is organized for the fifth consecutive year and follows a two-stage process. In the first phase, anyone can propose words, phrases, or even interjections through the platform’s social media channels. From these suggestions, ten finalists are selected and put to a public vote. “The choice is entirely made by the people, not by an expert jury,” emphasized the platform’s founder, Pavlina Varbanova.

According to Varbanova, the final results clearly point to two dominant themes in 2025. One is the wave of protests, represented by emotionally charged and sometimes provocative words, including “mrshlyak”. Nikolova admitted that announcing such a word was not easy, but the organizers ultimately agreed that its inclusion accurately reflects public sentiment. Varbanova stressed that voting for these expressions should not be seen as endorsement, but rather as a reaction that captures attitudes toward political rhetoric.

A broader analysis shows that in previous years, selected words often cluster around major societal issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccination, war, and recurring political crises at home.

In parallel, for the third year in a row, a large-scale media study was carried out together with the analytics company “Sensika”. Nearly 9 million publications in Bulgarian were examined. Unsurprisingly, “Bulgaria” remains the most frequently used word in the media. Immediately after it comes “child”, a result that analysts interpret as a sign of heightened, and at the same time troubling, public sensitivity toward issues affecting young people.

Among the twenty most mentioned personalities in the media, all are politicians, with Donald Trump’s sharp rise standing out in particular. Summing up the findings, Varbanova said everyday life and the media landscape remain heavily politicized, a tendency she expects to persist in the coming year as well.