София

See also: Софія

Bulgarian

Etymology

From Byzantine Greek and Ancient Greek σοφία (sophía, “wisdom, divine wisdom”). For the female name, see Sophia. As the name of the capital of Bulgaria, from църква „Света София“ (cǎrkva "Sveta Sofija"), from Byzantine Greek Ναός Ἁγίας Σοφίας (Naós Hagías Sophías, “Church of Holy Wisdom”), the city's prominent 6th-century Byzantine Greek church, first attested being used as the name for the city in the 14th century and reinforced under Ottoman rule as Ottoman Turkish صوفيه (Sofya).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈsɔfijɐ]

Proper noun

Со́фия • (Sófija) f (relational adjective софи́йски)

1. Sofia (a female given name from Ancient Greek, equivalent to English Sophia)
2. Sofia (the capital city of Bulgaria)

   Живе́я в Со́фия

   Živéja v Sófija

   I live in Sofia

Inflection

given name

Declension of Со́фия

	singular	plural
indefinite	Со́фия Sófija	Со́фии Sófii
definite	—	Со́фиите Sófiite
vocative form	Со́фийо Sófijo	Со́фии Sófii

city

Declension of Со́фия

	singular
indefinite	Со́фия Sófija
definite	—

Related terms

• софи́йски (sofíjski)
• софия́нец (sofijánec), софия́нка (sofijánka)

Descendants

• English: Sofia
• Ottoman Turkish: صوفيه (Sofya), صوفیه (Sofiye)
  • English: Sofya
  • Turkish: Sofya
• Russian: Софи́я (Sofíja)

References

• “София”, in Речник на българския език [Dictionary of the Bulgarian Language] (in Bulgarian), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2014
• “София”, in Речник на българския език [Dictionary of the Bulgarian Language] (in Bulgarian), Chitanka, 2010

Russian

Alternative forms

• Со́фья (Sófʹja) (given name)
• Софі́я (Sofíja) — Pre-reform orthography (1918)

Etymology

Ultimately borrowed from Ancient Greek σοφία (sophía, “wisdom”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [sɐˈfʲijə]

Proper noun

Софи́я • (Sofíja) f inan (genitive Софи́и, relational adjective софи́йский)

1. Sofia (the capital city of Bulgaria)
2. Sofia (a female given name from Ancient Greek, equivalent to English Sophia)
3. (Gnosticism) Sophia (Aeon of wisdom)

Declension

Declension of Софи́я (inan sg-only fem-form i-stem accent-a) 

	singular
nominative	Софи́я Sofíja
genitive	Софи́и Sofíi
dative	Софи́и Sofíi
accusative	Софи́ю Sofíju
instrumental	Софи́ей, Софи́ею Sofíjej, Sofíjeju
prepositional	Софи́и Sofíi

Related terms

• софи́ец (sofíjec), софи́йка (sofíjka)

See also

• Болга́рия (Bolgárija)
• эон (eon)