Conversational Gaelic, For Beginners

Ciamar a chanas mi...
How would I say...

Tha ceist agam.
I have a question.

I think Sonee just misspelled "cuideachadh". I think it was a cry for help!

I do believe Sláinte mhór is an Irish toast! It means roughly "Great health (to you)!"

Rose, anytime you see a word with an h after the first letter, like mhòr, it most likely has been lenited. To find it in a dictionary, just remove the h and look up the rest, in this case, mòr. In Scottish Gaelic, mòr means big or great. Slaìnte means health. I just looked up these words in the Irish dictionary I got for Christmas and the meanings are almost exactly the same.

This post has been edited by WizardofOwls on 12-Apr-2005, 05:05 PM

Feasgar math, a chairdean - good evening, friends!


Tha mise gle mhath is gle sgith - i am very well and very tired. Bha latha trang agam aig obair agus bha coisir agam a-nochd - I had a busy day at work and I had choir (practice) tonight. Bha e gle mhath agus chord e glan rium - it was very good and I enjoyed it very much. Agus - bidh laithean dheth agam a-maireach is Diardaoin - And - i will have days off tomorrow and Thursday


CelticRose wrote:

"How do you say" -

"de tha gaidhlig airson ..." - What is Gaidhlig for ....


or if you want to ask what something means actually, i. e. a gaidhlig word you dont know yet, you could say

"de tha sin a' ciallachadh?" - what does that mean? or of course
"de tha Beurla airson ..." - what is English for ...?

The most literal translation of that phrase however would be

"Ciamar a chanas mi ....?" (the grammar of which I will refrain from explaining, hehe)

other useful phrases for a learner are

"chan eil mi a' tuigsinn" - I don't understand and

"can(naibh) sin a-rithist" - say that again or

"bruidhinn(ibh) gu slaodach" - speak slowly!

The ending in brackets indicate the polite form.


and "I have a question" - Tha ceist agam. (works the same way as tha car agam)


"Slainte Mhor! " - I don't see "Mhor" in my dictionary. I am wondering if that is Irish?


Hehehe, another grammar question alas. But ye asked for it, lol.

mhor is the female form of "mor" = big, as slainte = health is a female noun.

I think Allan has explained that in one of his lessons - the female adjective is lenited.

cuideachadh means "help", Rose - a useful word indeed and I think, Sonee likes it hehe

And Allan - 'se do bheatha, tha mise gle tholichte cuideacheadh a thoirt dhuit - I am very happy to help you (lit. to give help to you). Cord sin rium gu dearbh - I really enjoy it

Tapadh leibh, a chairdean!

This really helps a lot! you should see all my notes! Holy cow! It is hard to keep up!

I thought Slainte mhor was Irish, but I couldn't prove it as I don't have an Irish dictionary. But since it wasn't in my Scots Gaelic dictionary that is what I assumed as well. I am still trying to understand the Lenition. Oy! This grammar stuff is very hard for me.

Tapadh leibh an drasta, Faileas and Allen.

Chi mi a-rithist thu a-maireach!

Oidhche mhath!

Feasgar math a h-uile duine!!

Holy cow!! (hey Ròs, are those MY cows?!?!LOL) I have missed a bunch today!! Let's see if I can catch up!!!

Tapadh leat, Faileas!! Allen probably wouldn't give so much info all at once if I didn't ask for it all the time!! I'm always jumping ahead of myself!! And, yes, I really like the word cuideachaidh!!! But I think the phrase 'Chan eil mi a' tuigsinn' is creeping up the chart of favorites!! All of these lessons are good initially but I'm one of those people who have to actually use it before it fully sinks in!! That's why this forum is awesome!! I can practice what I learn and ya'll can correct me for next time!!! (once you've picked yourselves up off the floor!!)

Is this correct?

Chan eil mi a' tuigsinn 'Chi mi a-rithist thu a-maireach'. De tha sin a' callachadh?

Mòran taing agus oidhche mhath!

Madainn mhath a Shonee!
Good morning, Sonee

Tha "Chi mi a rithist thu a-maireach" ciallachadh "I'll see you again tomorrow"
"Chi mi a rithist thu a-maireach" means "I'll see you again tomorrow!"

Agus 'se do bheatha, a ghràidh!
And you're welcome, dearie!

Madainn mhath Allen!
Good morining Allen

Tapadh leat, a-rithist a charaid! Dè do chor?
Thank you again my friend! How are you doing?

De tha Gàidhlig airson 'boring'?
What is Gaelic for 'boring'?

Tha i sgothach agus caran fuar an-diugh! Dè seòrsa dìde a th' agaibh?
It is cloudy and somewhat cold today! What kind of weather do you have?

Chi mi a-rithist thu an-duigh uaireiginn, mi dùil!!
I'll see you again today sometime, I hope


Mar sin let!!!

Halò a h-uile duine, ciamar a tha sibh?
Hello everybody, how are you?
Tha mi a' faicinn gu bheil Gàidhlig gu leòr an-seo
I see there's plenty Gaelic here.
agus canaidh mi gu bheil sibh a' dèanamh direach sgoinneil le ur Ghàidhlig
and i will say that you are doing great with your Gaelic
Tha e air a bhith uabhasach uine fhada gu dearbh on bha mi an-seo, tha eagal orm
It has been a terribly long time indeed since i was here i'm afraid
Ach bha an computar agam briste gu mi-fhortanach
But my computer was broke unfortunately
agus bha mi glè thrang co-dhiù
and i was very busy anyway
Ach tha mi air ais air lion mu dheireadh
But i'm back on-line at last
Taing do shealbh
Thank goodness
Feumaidh mi radh ri sonee - na cuir dragh ort-fhèin
I must say to sonee - Don't worry yourself
Tha Gàidhlig doirbh aig an toiseach
Gaelic is difficult at the beginning
Ach an dèidh beagan uine, tha i a' fas nas fhasa
But after a wee while it will get easier
agus bidh sinn uile a' dèanamh mearachdan bho àm gu àm
and we all make mistakes from time to time
Tha mi làn chinnteach gum bi mearachd no dhà ann aig a' phòist agam fhèin
I'm sure my own post will have a mistake or two there.
Co-dhiù, cumibh oiribh
Anyway keep going
Tioraidh

Chi mi a dh' aithghearr sibh.

Failte air ais, a charaid!!!!! Bha sinn gad ionndrain, gu dearbh ... Tms gun do chuir Alan dragh air mu do dheidhinnn air sgath nach fhaca e thu idir. Ach tha mi fhin direach air ais o chionn cuid laithean ... Uill, co-dhiu, tha e math d' fhaicinn a-rithist Tioraidh an-drasda agus chi mi a-rithist thu


Welcome back, my friend!!! We were missing you indeed ... I think that Alan was worried about you, because he didn't see you at all. But I myself are just back since a few days ... Well, however, it is good to see you again . Cheerio for now and I will see you again.

HALLO CÙ DUBH! FÀILTE AIR AIS, A CHARAID!
Hello, Cù Dubh! Welcome back my friend



Tha mi cho toilichte gad fhaicinn!
I am so happy to see you!

Bha mi gad ionndrainn!
I missed you!

Ciamar a tha thu?
How are you?

Tha mi'n dochas gu bheil thu gu math!
I hope you are well!

Tha mi duilich mu dheidhinn an coimpiutair agad! (?)
I'm sorry about your computer! (Not sure this is correct)

Uill, feumaidh mi falbh a-nis!
Well, I must go now.

Fàilte air ais a-rithist, a charaid!
Welcome back again, my friend!

Feasgar math a h-uile duine!
Good evening everyone

Ciamar a tha sibh an-duigh?
How are you today?

Duil mi tha sibh math!
I hope you are well!

Bha mi uabhasach trang an-duigh, cho tha mi glè shgith!
I was terribly busy today so I'm very tired!

Cha robh mi leisg an-duigh!
I wasn't lazy today!

Mar sin let!
Bye for now

Slàinte mhor agad!
Great health to you (cheers!)

Tha gu math tapadh leat....Chan eil adhbhar a bhith a' gearan co-dhiù
I'm fine thanks....no need to complain anyway

Nach còir a tha sibh uile.
Aren't you all kind

Ceud taing agus is math ur faicinn cuideachd
Thanks and it's good to see you all too

Tha computar ùr agam a-nis agus tha e ag obair ceart gu leòr
I have a new computer now and it's working ok

Am faca sibh an làrach-lin seo?
Have you seen this web-site?

Colin and Cumberland

Tha e air TV ann an Alba an-dràsda
It's on TV in Scotland at the moment

agus feumaidh mi ràdh gu bheil e a' còrdadh rium glan
and i must say i'm really enjoying it

Tha an làrach-lin glè mhath cuideachd gun teagamh
The website is very good too without a doubt

An t-side - Uill thuirt bodach na side gum biodh an t-uisge ann
The weather - Well, the weatherman said it would rain

Ach tha i tioram fhathast - ach tha i sgòthach
But it's still dry - but it's cloudy

Co-dhiù, sin e an-dràsda. Tioraidh.

Sonee - I think you're doing very very well in just a short space of time. Just one or two wee mistakes if i may point them out.

I hope you are well - Tha mi 'n dòchas gu bheil thu gu math
Whenever you want to say i hope you use- Tha mi 'n dòchas
In English you would say I hope you're well, but in Gaelic you must use 'THAT'
I hope THAT you are well or literally in Gaelic - I am in the hope that you are well - Tha mi 'n dòchas gu bheil thu gu math.

I was terribly busy today so I'm very tired! - Bha mi uabhasach sgith an-diugh mar sin tha mi glè sgith.

Glè is one of those words that lenite (add an h) as you have correctly done....except words begining with sg, sl, st, sp, l, n or r
As 'Sgith' begins with sg - no lenition i'm afraid
so glè sgith NOT gle shgith.

It's always a lot to take in at first, but eventually it will all sink in.
Hope that helps you out a wee bit.

Madainn mhat, Cù Dubh!!
Good morning Cù Dubh

Tha mi toilche bhur computar ag abair ceart, a-rithist! (not sure this is correct!)
I'm happy your computer works right again

Tha mi nighean ann sgoil, an-duigh.
My daughter is in school today.

Tha an sgoil glan.
The school is clean.

(Just practicing some things I just learned in lesson 3!!!)

BTW, after re-reading Allens post I realized I didn't say 'I hope you are well' correctly in my last post!! I will eventually figure this out! I think I finally, sort of, have past and present tense down. (stress 'sort of' there!!)

Tha mi ag ionnsachadh fòs!!
I am learning yet!

Slàinte mhor agad!

Tapadh leat, Cù Dubh!!

I think I was writing my post while yours was loading so I didn't see it!! I just finished lesson 3 today but I wrote that post last night! In other words I just learned about correct lenition! Or at least that was lesson! Whether I learned it or not remains to be seen!!!LOL

Mòran taing airson cuideachadh!!!

Tha mi a' dol leis a' Chu gu bheil thu a' deanamh uabhasach math - I agree with Cu that you are doing terribly well. Bha cuid mearachdan ann, co- dhiu , alas - There were however a few mistakes (mind you, quite minor ones )


Tha mi toilche bhur computar ag abair ceart, a-rithist! (not sure this is correct!)
I'm happy your computer works right again

- Tha mi tolichte gu bheil an compiutair agad ag obair a- rithist.


Tha mi nighean ann sgoil, an-duigh.
My daughter is in school today.

- Tha mo nighean ann an sgoil an-diugh

Tha an sgoil glan.
The school is clean.

Tha sin ceart mar sin - This is right like that

Tha mise gle mhath agus bha latha leisg againn - I am very well and we had a lazy day. Ach bidh sinn ag obair a- maireach: mise trath agus Brus feasgar .... - But we will be working tomorrow: myself early and Bruce in the afternoon. Mar sin - tha feum agam air cadal a-nochd - therefore i need sleep tonight (lol). Chi mi sibh a-maireach! - I will see you tomorrow!

-.


Tha mi ag ionnsachadh fòs!!
I am learning yet!

- depends actualluy on what you mean. Is it I am still learning? which would be

Tha mi ag ionnsachadh fhathast.

or if you want to say "However, I will learn." you would say Bidh mi ag ionnsachadh co-dhiu -"bidh" being the future tense of "tha", to be


Slàinte mhor agad! - I never heard it used with this preposition actually .... The common phrase is "slainte mhor dhut!" - good health to you

If you are looking for a "good bye", how ever, it would be more appropriate to use "Soraidh slan!" or "Beannachd leibh"!, "Slainte mhor" is rather used in a pub when ye have a wee dram, hehehe