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How to Say “Winter Olympics” in Irish: Geimhreadh, Geimhridh, Gheimhridh, Geimhriúil, or Geimhreata? Posted by róislín on Feb 16, 2018
(le Róislín) One of the tricky features of Irish is figuring out how to use one noun (like “winter”) to describe another noun (like “Olympics”). There are many examples of this structure in Irish. One example would be using “cat” (changed to “chait“) to describe “easair” (litter) giving us the phrase “easair chait” (cat litter). …
Giving Commands in Irish, from the Cheerful ‘Be Happy’ to the Brusque ‘Shut Your Gob!’ Posted by róislín on Feb 12, 2018
(le Róislín) Continuing with our recent ‘happy’ theme (nasc thios), the above graphic illustrates one way of saying “Be happy” in Irish. As you may have noticed, it’s the plural form. No special reason for the plural — it’s just that the singular form (“bí“) would have made for pretty minimal eyebrows (malaí fíorbheaga). The…
How to Say ‘Be Happy’ in Irish and 20 Ways to Say ‘Happy’ Itself: ‘Ádhúil’ to “Toilteanach’ with an Emphasis on “Sona” Posted by róislín on Feb 10, 2018
(le Róislín) We’ve recently had a request for the phrase “Be happy!” for a tattoo. So seo dhuit, na frásaí is coitianta (mo thuairimse, ar a laghad) le “Be happy” a rá agus ansin súil siar ar dhóigheanna eile le “happy” a rá i nGaeilge. So, here you are, the most common phrases (my opinion…
Vocabulary Round-up for Féilte agus Feiseanna agus Laethe Speisialta na Feabhra: Fill in the Blanks Posted by róislín on Feb 5, 2018
(le Róislín) Here are some of the vocabulary words to accompany the most recent blog (nasc thíos) and some practice for each one. Watch out for all the small changes that happen in Irish: initial consonant mutation, genitive case endings, plural endings, etc. Remember that a lot of these phrases have the word “of” in…
Féilte agus Feiseanna agus Laethe Speisialta i mí Feabhra: Fill in the Blanks Posted by róislín on Jan 31, 2018
(le Róislín) How many holidays or festivals or special event days can you name for February? And how many can you name in Irish? Today’s blogpost offers a list of dates (liosta dátaí) for February with columns for the names of the event or holiday in English and space to write the Irish name. The…
Nuair a bhíonn an aimsir go dona — some Irish words for winter weather conditions and equipment Posted by róislín on Jan 29, 2018
(le Róislín) Bhuel, is é an t-am sin den bhliain é. Well, it’s that time of year. Listening daily, even hourly, for the weather report to see what driving will be like. Depending on where you live, the big question may be whether you’ll have snow (sneachta), rain (fearthainn or báisteach), or sleet (flichshneachta). But…
A Short Glossary for the Irish Rap Song “C.E.A.R.T.A” by Kneecap (Rapcheol Gaeilge) [Cuid/Pt. 6/6] Posted by róislín on Jan 26, 2018
(le Róislín) Faoi dheireadh, an séú (6ú) cuid den ghluais don rapamhrán “C.E.A.R.T.A.” leis an ngrúpa Kneecap (naisc thíos: lyrics, YouTube video and previous installments in this mini-series). And here I thought glossing this song would just take a couple of posts, at most. But here, finally, are a few more words from the…