{"id":10154,"date":"2018-02-10T16:09:04","date_gmt":"2018-02-10T16:09:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=10154"},"modified":"2018-02-20T14:06:51","modified_gmt":"2018-02-20T14:06:51","slug":"how-to-say-be-happy-in-irish-and-20-ways-to-say-happy-itself-adhuil-to-toilteanach-with-an-emphasis-on-sona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/how-to-say-be-happy-in-irish-and-20-ways-to-say-happy-itself-adhuil-to-toilteanach-with-an-emphasis-on-sona\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Say ‘Be Happy’ in Irish and 20 Ways to Say ‘Happy’ Itself:\u00a0 ‘\u00c1dh\u00fail’ to “Toilteanach’ with an Emphasis on “Sona”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

https:\/\/www.publicdomainpictures.net\/view-image.php?image=88537&picture=happy-flowers<\/a>. Happy Flowers, by Dawn Hudson, License:\u00a0CC0 Public Domain; <\/em>T\u00e9acs Gaeilge le R\u00f3isl\u00edn, 2018: Bl\u00e1thanna Sona<\/p><\/div>\n

We’ve recently had a request for the phrase “Be happy!” for a tattoo. So seo dhuit, na fr\u00e1sa\u00ed is coitianta (mo thuairimse, ar a laghad) le <\/strong>“Be happy” a r\u00e1 agus ansin s\u00fail siar ar dh\u00f3igheanna eile le <\/strong>“happy” a r\u00e1 i nGaeilge<\/strong>.\u00a0 So, here you are, the most common phrases (my opinion, at least) for “Be happy,” and then a review of other ways to say “happy” in Irish.\u00a0 As you may remember from a previous blogpost (nasc th\u00edos<\/strong>), I’ve counted at least 20 versions of “happy” so far for Irish.<\/p>\n

First, to answer the specific question: How to say “Be happy!” \u00a0This is short of translating the entire “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” song by Bobby McFerrin (which I’m now actually inspired to do). Here are the two basic ideas:<\/p>\n

1a. B\u00ed sona!<\/strong> — this is quite literal, meaning “Be happy!”\u00a0 But this is singular, so if you want to make the “command” (as it were) plural, it would be:<\/p>\n

1b. B\u00edg\u00ed sona!<\/strong> — this is like saying “You all be happy!”\u00a0 Remember, English is one of the few (maybe the only) European language that doesn’t distinguish between “you – singular” and “you – plural.”\u00a0 Remember your Sie\/du, chi\/ti, vous\/tu, vos\/usted\/vosotros\/ustedes\/t\u00fa<\/em>, and many other parallels?<\/p>\n

Of course, English used to have this distinction, using “thee,” “thou,” and “thy\/thine” for the singular, and “ye,” “you,” and “your” for the plural.\u00a0 By now, the original 2nd-person singular forms (i.e. thee, thou, thy, thine) are almost entirely limited to songs, poetry, and quotes from, say, Shakespeare.\u00a0 In the US, there’s the patriotic song “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” and more generally we have “Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes” and “Fare thee well,” which shows up, a bit surprisingly, in the song “Polly Wolly Doodle.”\u00a0 There are also Shakespearean lines like “Get thee to a nunnery” and “How do I love thee?\u00a0 (Let me count the ways).\u00a0 \u00a0Interestingly, the “thee\/thou\/thy\/thine” set, normally the “familiar” form, is also used to show respect when speaking of God in some English hymns and in the King James Bible and translations in a similar register (“How Great Thou Art,” “Love thy neighbor as thyself,” etc. ).<\/p>\n

Irish is sort of like most of these other European languages in that it does have a singular and plural form for the pronoun (t\u00fa\/sibh<\/strong>), for the possessive adjective (do\/bhur<\/strong>), and for various verb forms (b\u00ed\/b\u00edg\u00ed, d\u00e9an\/d\u00e9anaig\u00ed, goitse\/goitsig\u00ed, srl.<\/strong>).\u00a0 However, in most modern Irish usage, the idea of using a plural form to just one person to show extra respect doesn’t apply.\u00a0 I have been told that it does apply\/has applied if speaking to one priest, but I can’t say I’ve ever actually heard that usage in a real-life context.\u00a0 The person who told me about that usage (RIP, a Ethel<\/strong>) was probably recollecting Irish as spoken in, say, the 1950s.<\/p>\n

So, that’s the first set of choices.\u00a0 It’s up to the person requesting the tattoo whether to use the singular or plural form.\u00a0 Do you anticipate just one person at a time seeing the tattoo or do you anticipate the world at large viewing it?<\/p>\n

The second main choice uses a very Irish structure, literally translating to “Let there be happiness on you.”\u00a0 That may sound a bit convoluted in English but the structure is very typical in Irish.\u00a0 Once again, we have a singular and a plural form:<\/p>\n

2a. B\u00edodh \u00e1thas ort!<\/strong> (Let there be happiness on you!)<\/p>\n

2b. B\u00edodh \u00e1thas oraibh!<\/strong> (Let there be happiness on you all!)<\/p>\n

As you probably noticed, we’ve done a linguistic leap in vocabulary, using a word (\u00e1thas,<\/strong> happiness) not related to “sona<\/strong>” (happy).\u00a0 “Sona<\/strong>” actually does have its own “noun” form, “sonas<\/strong>.”\u00a0 So, in theory, we could also say<\/p>\n

2c. B\u00edodh sonas ort!<\/strong> (Let there be happiness on you!)<\/p>\n

2d. B\u00edodh sonas oraibh!<\/strong> (Let there be happiness on you all!)<\/p>\n

But, for this structure, using “\u00e1thas<\/strong>” seems more familiar.\u00a0 In fact, “B\u00edodh sonas ort!<\/strong>” starts to get close to a phrase that’s sometimes used for “Thank you!” in Irish (“Sonas ort!<\/strong>,” which implies an invisible understood verb “b\u00edodh<\/strong>“).\u00a0 For any total newcomer to Irish here, though, please be advised that the most typical way to say “Thank you!” in Irish is completely different.\u00a0 It’s “Go raibh maith agat<\/strong>” (to one person) or “Go raibh maith agaibh<\/strong>” (to more than one person).<\/p>\n

Those are your basic choices for “Be happy!”\u00a0 But as I mentioned previously, there are many other choices, depending on how wide you want to cast your vocabulary net.\u00a0 We don’t have space here to elaborate on the many other ways to say “happy,” but here’s a list of possibilities and you might like to check out the previous blogpost on the topic (nasc th\u00edos, mar a d\u00faradh thuas<\/strong>):<\/p>\n

The primary five, in my opinion are sona<\/strong> (with the inflected form “shona<\/strong>“), faoi sh\u00e9an, faoi mhaise, ar do sh\u00e1imh\u00edn s\u00f3, ar do sh\u00e1imh\u00edn suilt<\/strong>.\u00a0 Beyond that there are at least 14 more, many of which have more far-ranging meanings like “lucky,” “satisfied,” “tipsy,” and “willing”: \u00a0\u00e1dh\u00fail, \u00e1mharach, \u00e1thasach, bre\u00e1 s\u00e1sta, gliondrach, m\u00e9anar, l\u00fach\u00e1ireach, meidhreach, pl\u00e9isi\u00fartha, \u00a0rath\u00fail, s\u00e1sta, sonasach, su\u00e1ilceach, s\u00fagach, toilteanach<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Hopefully this has answered the original question (the tattoo request), and stimulated food for further thought regarding vocabulary and human (i.e. non-machine) translations.\u00a0 So I’m tempted to close with, “How shall I define thee?\u00a0 Let me count the ways!”\u00a0 Sl\u00e1n go f\u00f3ill — R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

PS: I wonder if Bobby McFerrin would like to sing his song in Irish — I’m ready to oblige with a translation!<\/p>\n

Nasc:<\/strong>\u00a0Twenty Ways to Say \u2018Happy\u2019 in Irish and Which Ones to Use for \u2018Christmas\u2019 and \u2018New Year\u2019<\/a>Posted by\u00a0r\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/a>\u00a0on Dec 25, 2017 in\u00a0Irish Language<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Naisc bhreise faoin bhfocal <\/strong>“happy”:<\/p>\n

How many \u2018happys\u2019 are there in Irish for the various seasonal greetings?<\/a>\u00a0Posted by\u00a0r\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/a>\u00a0on Dec 14, 2017 in\u00a0Irish Language<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Happy, Happiness and Happy Dances in Irish (mostly based on \u2018\u00e1thas\u2019)<\/a>\u00a0Posted by\u00a0r\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/a>\u00a0on May 25, 2015 in\u00a0Irish Language<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Happiness Is \u2026 Lots of Ways to Say \u201cHappy\u201d in Irish (including \u201cHappy Christmas\u201d)<\/a>\u00a0Posted by\u00a0r\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/a>\u00a0on Dec 3, 2011 in\u00a0Irish Language<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

\u00a0(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) We’ve recently had a request for the phrase “Be happy!” for a tattoo. So seo dhuit, na fr\u00e1sa\u00ed is coitianta (mo thuairimse, ar a laghad) le “Be happy” a r\u00e1 agus ansin s\u00fail siar ar dh\u00f3igheanna eile le “happy” a r\u00e1 i nGaeilge.\u00a0 So, here you are, the most common phrases (my opinion…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":10156,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3898],"tags":[508758,508759,508756,508757,381817,111632,508754,508760,5137,255521,111642,5483,111644,508755,508761,13053,508762,508763,315771,111625,13056,111640,508764,508765,111602,49737,508766],"class_list":["post-10154","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-adhuil","tag-amharach","tag-ar-do-shaimhin-so","tag-ar-do-shaimhin-suilt","tag-athas","tag-athasach","tag-be-happy","tag-brea-sasta","tag-faoi-mhaise","tag-faoi-shean","tag-gliondrach","tag-happy","tag-luchaireach","tag-mcferrin","tag-meanar","tag-meidhreach","tag-pleisiurtha","tag-rathuil","tag-sasta","tag-shona","tag-sona","tag-sonas","tag-sonasach","tag-suailceach","tag-sugach","tag-tattoo","tag-toilteanach"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10154"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10154\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10165,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10154\/revisions\/10165"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}