The article concerns the expression of negation in Bulgarian word formation. Attention is focused on the Bulgarian prefixes без-, не- и противо-. The meaning and the derivational activity of these prefixes are considered. The greatest productivity of prefix не- is underlined. The prefixes без- and не- function as a synonymic derivation resources. This fact follows from the meaning 'absence, lack ', which characterizes each of the two prefixes, and which is common to both. The complex prefix недо- and the prefix противо- have a slightly different meaning of the prefixes без- and не-. For that they are not presented as a synonymous derivational resources expressing negation.
Key words: word formation, negation, Bulgarian prefixes без-, не- и противо-
