Conversational Gaelic, For Beginners

I hope this is the place to ask this particular question!! if not...well....anyway, here goes!!

Allen- In the online course I was studying from the BBC they pronounced "ciamer a tha thu" as 'Kimmer a taa too'. Is this just a difference in dialect or did I not hear the recordings properly?

oh yeah.....

'S mise Sonee. Tha mi a fuireach ann an Kearney Nebraska. Ciamer a tha thu?

Failte! Sonee!

Glad to have you here.

s'mise Rose. Tha me gu math, tapadh leibh. Ciamar a tha thu fhein?

Tioraidh an drasda.

Hallo a-rithist!
Hello again!

As far as accents go, there is a thread here in the Celtic Languages forum dealing with just that topic! It gives several options for making accents.

Now on "kimmer a taa too," that sounds very much like Irish Gaelic! As far as I know (and I am no expert by any means) "th" is always pronounced like an English "h" in Scottish Gaelic. I am not aware of any exceptions. I have never encountered "tha thu" pronounced "taa too" other than in Irish Gaelic. Are you learning the Irish or Scottish Gaelic?

Glad you are enjoying yourself here! Make yourself at home!

Hallo Rose!!

Tha mi gu math, tapadh leat!!

Sorry about the accent question!! There is so much to do here I must have overlooked it elsewhere!! I will certainly look it up, tapadh leat!!



apperently I was learning Irish Gaelic!! It's good to have that clarified!! I don't think I paid much attention to the title of the lesson other than to see 'learn' and 'gaelic' in the same sentence!! Thanx for the education!!! Now on to serious learning!!!

Hallo Sonee!

It is easy to get Irish and Scots Gaelic confused. I started off learning Irish.

Ciamar a tha thu an-diugh? Tha i breagha an Arizona an-diugh!

Tha mi ag ionnsachadh Gaidhlig.

Feasgar math!

Hey, no problem at all! I hope that I didn't sound like I was fussing! I just couldn't remember at the time I wrote that how to do it, but I remembered we had a thread about it, so I thought I would steer you to it. Were you able to find it?

Have you found the lessons I posted here for Scottish Gaelic? I think they are good lessons, and they have the added benefit of sound files so that you can hear the Gaelic as well as see it!

Hallo Ròs!!

Tha mi gu math an diugh, tapadh leat! Ciamer a tha thu fhein?

Tha i dorch, beagan fuar an Nebraska an diugh!!

I have no idea what ag ionnsachadh means in you gaelic sentance! (That is what gaidhlig means, right?) so I can't respond to that at this time!!!

Feasgar math


Hallo Allen!! Don't worry, you weren't fussing! I knew at some point I was going to ask a question that had already been asked or discussed somewhere else!! No biggie! And yes, I found it and got it to work, thanx for 'steering me in the right direction'!!

Now you went and read my mind! I was going to ask (if I didn't find the answer elswhere!LOL) if there was any place to actually hear these words being said!! I haven't check it out yet but I will shortly!! Soon as I find it!! Things can be kind of overwhelming around here! Especially if you think you have to add your 2 cents in on everything, like I do!! Half the time I forget what all I posted to and where it's at! Oh well, it will all come together in time!!!

So tell me, how bad did I mess up the earlier gaelic??

Hi Sonee! You didn't do badly at all! Just a couple of tiny things...

"Ciamer" is actually spelled "Ciamar"

I would write "Tha i dorch, beagan fuar an Nebraska an diugh!! " as
Tha i dorch agus beagan fuar ann an Nebraska an diguh"

"Agus" means and
"ann an" means in

Ag ionnsachadh means learning, so ag ionnsachadh Gàidhlig means "Learning Gaelic"

I think you will like the sound files but they are not actually posted here. I provide a link in the lessons to where the accompanying sound files can be found. Hope you enjoy them! Let me know what you think!

Agus glé mhath!
And very good!

Suas leis a' Ghàidhlig!
Keep going wtih the Gaelic!

Thank you! I guess I wrote ciamar down wrong!! (was reading my notes for the post!!)

I knew there was a word for and, I just couldn't remember it!! Guess that one missed getting my notes! What is the difference between 'an diugh' and 'an diguh'? Today and tonight? Because that was my next question, how do you say tonight!
(didn't know ann an ment in!! Or else I just overlooked it!)

if ag ionnsachadh means learning what would 'lesson' be? As in 'gàidhlig lesson'.

I know I'm being quite the pest, but I've looked at some of the other threads here and they seem a bit overwhelming, possibly over my head at the present time!! Too much Gàidhlig on the page and not enough in my head!!

Tappadh leat, Allen!! You are very patient!

an diugh is correct. an diguh was a typo.

That's the fun thing about learning a foreign language. Now I can make typos in TWO languages!

a-nochd is tonight

"ann an" actually means "In a" NOT "in the"! "In the" is actually "anns an" or "anns a' ". It gets a little complicated. We'll save that for another time if that's okay!

"learning a Gaelic lesson" would be "ag ionnsachadh leasan Gàidhlig"

Don't forget, in Gaelic, MOST (but not all!) adjectives go AFTER the noun they describe! "Beagan" which you used above is one of the few exceptions!

'little complicated'?? How do you say 'understatment' in Gaelic?!!?LOL



How in the world does anyone, who isn't a native speaker, learn this enough to keep up in a regular conversation? I can't even keep up when it's just typed!! Sheesh!!!

hallo a h-uile duine

how is" ionnsachadh " pronounced? Oh and what about h-uile duine, just how is it said?

hallo ros, s'mise Stephen nice to meet you, is that what "Se do bheatha" means?
you have used the word " feasgar " what is that and how do i say it ...

Ailean, tapadh leat for the help with names question though how is "Iosua" pronounced, is it the same english... And is there a gaidhlig term for "you da man"... 'cause you are ... any way tapadh leat again.

Tapadh leat a h-uile duine, (is that close) i can now relate to my 3year old daughter, as I sit here and so intently listen to (read) every word hoping to learn a new one or two that I can use...

one last question, for tonite any way.
What would be a fitting good bye ?

"ionnsachadh" is pronounced YOON-su-chugh.
A word about the pronounciation above. Pronounce the ch like the ch in loch or Bach, and the gh is very deep, in the back of your throat, almost sounds like you are gargling..

In Gaelic the emphasis in a word with more than one syllable almost always is on the first syllable, the major exceptions being recent loan words from other languages and a few contracted words.

"h-uile duine" is pronounced "hoola doonya" and means everyone, literally, every man.

"Se do bheatha" is pronounced "sheh daw veh-huh" and means You're welcome!"An interesting note: literally translated, Se do bheatha means "He is your life," referring to God!

I would pronounce ""Iosua" as "eesua"

Sorry, Sonee, I coudn't find "understatement"in any of my dictionaries!

And you are correct, Gaelic is a complicated and difficult language to learn, but in my opinion the work is worth it. I would classify myself as a low to middle intermediate level student. Not a beginner anymore, but not yet advanced either. And I have been studying for around 7 years! But when I listen to a song by Capercaillie or Runrig or Mary Jane Lamond or Distant Oaks (or any other band that sings in Scottish Galeic) and I find that I can suddenly understand some of what is being sung when I couldnt before, it is such a wonderful feeling and worth every moment I've put into it!

The key is to put some work into it every day! Don't let a day go by that you don't do something in your chosen langauge. Translate one of the Litirs from the BBC site. Work through one of the lessons I've given here. Listen to the sound files that go with it. Listen to one of the Litirs as it is being read. And speak some of it too! Say hi to your cat or dog or houseplant! I have 2 shamrocks that I got as gifts for St Patricks Day and I try to speak to them everyday! I even gave them Gaelic names: Eilidh and Màiread! But the most important thing is do SOMETHING!

Now, for goodbye, some customary ways to say it would be:

Bidh mi 'gad fhaicinn! (Bee mee gat ech-keen) I'll be seeing you!
Mar sin leat! (Mar shin let) Bye for now
Latha math! (Lah mah!) Goodday!
Oidhche mhath! (uh-eech-yuh va) Good night!
Beannachd leat! (byanakhk let) Goodbye! (literally Blessings with you)
Slàn leat (slahn let) Goodbye! (literally Health with you)
Tsioraidh an-dràsta! (chee-ury un-drah-sta) Cheerio for now

Tsioraidh an-dràsta, a h-uile duine!!

Ahh! I forgot!

"Feasgar" is pronounced "feskar" and means "evening", so Feasgar math is good evening!

Not sure about "you da man", but tapadh leat a charaid! (thanks my friend!)

Hallo Allen agus Stephen!!


I actually speak to my children in Gàidhlig!! I figure they might as well learn right along with me!! My son is 3 and learning english anyway so why not start him off bilingual!! Besides, they say kids pick up languages faster than adults so perhaps they will end up helping me!!!

Allen, there are exceptions to every rule but can it be said that most 'ch' sounds should be pronounced like loch or bach? ie: Tsioraidh an-dràsta?
Too bad about 'understatement'!! What is the difference between math and mhath? Besides pronounciation and spelling!! Both seem to represent good or well, can they be interchanged? I have also noticed that you capitalize Gàighlig every time you use it, enlglish spelling or not. What's the reason for this, or is there one?!

I am so looking forward to the day that I can listen to those songs and understand them as well!! At this point that is my biggest goal!!

Tappadh leat, Allen, for all the help! (BTW what is help?)

Mar sin leat!