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Tag Archives: bhliain

What’s Your New Year’s Resolution (and How to Say It in Irish)? Posted by on Dec 31, 2018

(le Róislín) ‘Sea, an t-am sin den bhliain arís, aimsir na ndea-rún don bhliain nua.  In the word cloud (néal focal) above we see some common topics for “dea-rúin na hAthbhliana,” many of which have to do with health (sláinte).  How many of them do you recognize? Here they are again, with a few pronunciation…

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How to say “Merry Christmas” and “Happy New Year” in Irish AND Five Examples of Lenition (Séimhiú), to boot Posted by on Dec 24, 2018

(le Róislín) Around this time of year, we often see the phrases “Nollaig Shona” and “Athbhliain faoi shéan agus faoi mhaise duit.”  Today’s blogpost will look at how to pronounce these phrases and at the reasons why words like “sona” and “bliain” change to “shona” and “bhliain.”  This change of the first letter is called…

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Saying Ordinal Numbers Out Loud in Irish: Ag rá orduimhreacha os ard i nGaeilge Posted by on Aug 13, 2017

(le Róislín) I’ve sometimes seen otherwise-confident learners of Irish come to a dead stop when they’re reading out loud and come to some numbers.  The basic numbers are challenging enough.  First, one must deal with all the different mutations that follow (dhá chat but seacht gcat).  Then there are all the exceptions due to the…

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How many ways can we say ‘bliain’ (year) in Irish, including ‘athbhliain’? Posted by on Jan 11, 2016

(le Róislín) As we settle into the new year (an bhliain nua, an bhliain úr, an athbhliain, srl.), let’s think of how many ways we can say and use the word ‘year’ in Irish. Most recently, you’ve probably seen the phrase “Athbhliain faoi shéan is faoi mhaise” (A happy and prosperous New Year). But let’s look…

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Chinese New Year in Irish: Cén tAinmhí (which animal) do 2015? Posted by on Feb 18, 2015

(le Róislín) Bliain Nua na Síneach agus Parthas na nGramadóirí.  Chinese New Year and this year, 2015, a grammarian’s paradise. Cén fáth?  Why? Because unlike previous years, 2015 offers us two, perhaps even three, animals as the symbol for the year. But choosing between animals would mostly be vocabulary, not grammar, right?  Like “sheep” vs…

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Years, Ears, and Donkeys in Irish (Bhuel, Not Really Donkeys!) Posted by on Jan 25, 2014

(le Róislín) This time in January, in between the western New Year (1 Eanáir) and Chinese New Year (31 Eanáir i 2014) seems like a good time to look again at the word “bliain” (year) in Irish (nasc thíos do bhlag eile faoi seo).  In this blog, we’ll look at the basic forms of the…

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New Year’s – Celtic Style (1 Mí na Samhna in ionad 1 Eanáir) Posted by on Oct 31, 2012

(le Róislín) While January 1 is widely considered to be “New Year’s Day” in many parts of the world, including Ireland, there is/was a Celtic concept of the New Year that placed the holiday much earlier in the winter season, specifically on November 1. I say “is/was” quite deliberately.  Considering “an t-aonú lá de mhí…

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