Irish Language Blog

(le Róislín) One, two, three vs. first, second, third.  A haon, a dó, a trí vs. an chéad, an dara / an dóú, an tríú.  Ever notice how in both English and Irish, the word for “first” is totally different from the word for “one” (one/first, aon or haon but céad or chéad)?  Learners of English…

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(le Róislín) You may have heard the tune, “The Garden Where The Praties Grow”.  Ever wonder why it’s not, “The Garden Where The Spuds Grow,” since “spuds” is another  popular nickname for potatoes in Ireland? We may not have the answer to the “spuds” aspect of the question, but we can at least discuss the…

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(le Róislín) There are a few final points about bicycles that I’d like to mention before we wrap up this discussion, at least for the time being.  So we’ll briefly discuss: rothar vs. rothair rothar vs. badhsacal badhsacal vs. badhsacail First, rothar vs. rothair: Many of you probably recognize that “rothar” (an rothar) is singular…

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(le Róislín) From the decorative (tassels or streamers) to the practical (puncture repair kit), let’s look at some Irish words for bicycle accessories, continuing the téama rothaíochta we’ve been working on for the last few posts (naisc thíos).  As you can see, the words are presented as a little matching game. Seo na téarmaí, le…

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(le Róislín) In keeping with our recent thread on bicycles, including a brief discussion of the globe-trotting bicycle “Rozinante” (owned by _____? freagra thíos),  here’s a matching game for types of bicycles.  An aithníonn iad go léir?  Freagraí thíos, mar is gnáth. Note that in at least one case there are two different Irish phrases…

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