Tag Archives: duit
Twenty Ways to Say ‘Happy’ in Irish and Which Ones to Use for ‘Christmas’ and ‘New Year’ Posted by róislín on Dec 25, 2017
(le Róislín) In various previous blogposts (naisc thíos) we’ve looked at how to say “happy” in Irish. Like many times when we go from one language to another, it seems like the more you look, the more possibilities you find. So right now, the count for “happy” is at twenty, and I’m sure a few…
How to Say ‘Happy New Year’ in Irish and How to Pronounce the Consonant Cluster “thbhl” Posted by róislín on Dec 31, 2014
(le Róislín) Athbhliain faoi shéan is faoi mhaise duit. Happy New Year to you. Athbhliain faoi shéan is faoi mhaise daoibh. Happy New Year to you (plural). So how do we pronounce that, what does it literally mean, why are the actual words “happy” and “new” not in the phrase, and where does a consonant…
Nollaig nó Nollag (How To Say ‘Christmas’ or ‘of Christmas’ in Irish) Posted by róislín on Dec 24, 2013
(le Róislín) As Christmas approaches, you might be wondering why there’s such a constant variation of whether to say “Nollaig” or “Nollag,” and in a similar vein, “An Nollaig” or “na Nollag.” First, the basic answer, and then some examples. And before that, a pronunciation pointer. What is the difference in sound between “Nollaig” and…
New Year’s – Celtic Style (1 Mí na Samhna in ionad 1 Eanáir) Posted by róislín 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…
Happiness Is … Lots of Ways to Say “Happy” in Irish (including “Happy Christmas”) Posted by róislín on Dec 3, 2011
(le Róislín) Recently we talked about some of the more whimsical (i.e. jingle-ish) ways to describe Christmas (“Holly Jolly” and “Berry Merry”) in English and pondered their translatability into Irish. Today let’s get back to the more traditional Irish phrase, and look at its various forms (singular and plural, greeting and response): Nollaig Shona duit…
Beannachtaí i nGaeilge a Trí – Or How to Reply to a Greeting in Irish Posted by róislín on Mar 27, 2009
(le Róislín) Beannachtaí i nGaeilge (Cuid a Trí) – Or How to Reply to a Greeting in Irish After two full blogs worth of information, we can finally say, “hello” in Irish. And now, how to reply! Here we’ll be keeping track of singular and plural, as noted in the previous blogposts, but for the traditional…
Beannachtaí i nGaeilge a Dó – Or How to Greet Several People in Irish Posted by róislín on Mar 25, 2009
(le Róislín) Beannachtaí i nGaeilge (Cuid a Dó) – Or How to Greet Several People in Irish As promised in a recent blog, here we’ll look at the greetings used when you’re talking to more than one person. Remember that Irish has two different ways to say “you,” singular and plural. Therefore, phrases such as “Dia…