будала

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish بدلا (budala), from Arabic بُدَلَاء (budalāʔ), plural of بَدَل (badal) and بَدِيل (badīl). Doublet of абда́л (abdál).

• IPA^(key): [bodɐˈɫa]

• Audio:

  (file)

будала́ • (budalá) m or f (colloquial, derogatory)

1. dupe, fall guy, juggins
2. fool, simpleton, ass, booby, dolt, chump, ninny, puppethead, fathead, nincompoop, gander

   правя се на будала ― pravja se na budala ― play the fool

3. easy game, easy mark, easy meat

• “будала”, in Речник на българския език [Dictionary of the Bulgarian Language] (in Bulgarian), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2014
• “будала”, in Речник на българския език [Dictionary of the Bulgarian Language] (in Bulgarian), Chitanka, 2010
• “будала”, in Български тълковен речник [Bulgarian Explanatory Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), fourth edition, Sofia: Nauka i Izkustvo, 2005, page 77
• Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1971), “будала̀”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 1 (А – З), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, →ISBN, page 86

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish بدلا (budala), from Arabic بُدَلَاء (budalāʔ), plural of بَدَل (badal) and بَدِيل (badīl).

• IPA^(key): [ˈbudaɫa]
• IPA^(key): [buˈdaɫa] (nonstandard)
• Hyphenation: бу‧да‧ла

будала • (budala) f (plural будали, relational adjective будалски, diminutive будалче, augmentative будалиште or будаличиште or будалетина)

1. fool
2. idiot
3. simpleton, fathead

• Although the word itself is feminine, it can also be applied to a masculine person without any change.

• (verbs): будалее impf (budalee), побудали pf (pobudali), избудали pf (izbudali), се будали impf (se budali)
• (nouns): будалаштина f (budalaština), будалаштилак m (budalaštilak)
• (adjectives): будалест (budalest), будалски (budalski)
• (adverb): будалесто (budalesto)

• “будала” in Дигитален речник на македонскиот јазик (Digitalen rečnik na makedonskiot jazik) [Digital dictionary of the Macedonian language] − drmj.eu
• Koneski, Kiril (1999) “будала”, in Правописен речник на македонскиот литературен јазик (Pravopisen rečnik na makedonskiot literaturen jazik) [Orthographic Dictionary of the Macedonian literary language] (in Macedonian), "Prosvetno delo", page 34

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish بدلا (budala), from Arabic بُدَلَاء (budalāʔ), plural of بَدَل (badal) and بَدِيل (badīl).

• IPA^(key): /budǎla/
• Hyphenation: бу‧да‧ла

буда̀ла f (Latin spelling budàla)

1. fool
2. idiot
3. simpleton

Although the word itself is feminine, it can also be applied to a masculine person without any change.

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:budala.

• “будала”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025