Tag Archives: happy
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…
How many ‘happys’ are there in Irish for the various seasonal greetings? Posted by róislín on Dec 14, 2017
(le Róislín) How many ways are there to say ‘happy’ in Irish? Quite a few, but for right now we’ll concentrate on two seasonal variations. One will be for saying ‘Happy Christmas,’ which in US English would be ‘Merry Christmas,’ and the other will be for ‘Happy New Year.’ The bottom line is that neither…
How many ways can we say ‘bliain’ (year) in Irish, including ‘athbhliain’? Posted by róislín 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…
‘-aig” ag Nollaig nó ‘-ag’ ag ‘Nollag’? (When to say “Nollaig” and when to say “Nollag” for the Irish word for ‘Christmas’) Posted by róislín on Dec 11, 2015
(le Róislín) It’s that time of year again, and while the Christmas season may make us feel “holly jolly” and “berry merry,” but we might not always feel that way when confronted with the decision of “tuiseal ginideach” or not “tuiseal ginideach.” And what’s the “tuiseal ginideach,” anyway? It’s the form of the word used…
If ‘brón’ can be ‘orm’ in Irish phrases like ‘TBO,’ what else can be ‘ort’? Posted by róislín on Apr 28, 2015
(le Róislín) A few posts ago, we looked at the Irish abbreviation ‘TBO‘ for “Tá brón orm” (nasc thíos). This might be a good time to look at how to say that some other emotions, feelings (like hunger or thirst), or illnesses are “on you” (ort) in Irish. How does this compare to English? In…
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…
‘Sona’ or ‘Shona’ for ‘Happy Christmas’ (Merry Christmas) in Irish? Posted by róislín on Dec 1, 2014
(le Róislín) As we transition from Lá Altaithe (i Meiriceá) to Aoine Dhubh to Satharn na nGnóthas Beag to Cibearluan, and now, most recently, Máirt na Carthanachta, we’re now ready to look at another set of holiday terms, such as “Oíche Nollag” and “An Nollaig.” And right along with that, we have the greeting, “Nollaig…