Ceachtanna: Everyday Words

Some "common words and phrases" are so common that we take them for granted, and hardly pay them any attention at all. On this page we cover words like "stop", "start", "do", "don't", what to say when you sneeze or cough and so on.

Greetings

Irish	English	Literal English	Sounds				Notes
			Connacht Irish	Munster Irish	Standard Irish	Ulster Irish
deiseal!	See Notes	See Notes	deiseal!	Dialect Specific	deiseal!	Dialect Specific	Said when somebody coughs. Can be said by the cougher or by someone else. The word "deiseal" has several meanings, all of them subtly linked to each other. Overall, it has to do with things being correct, right or generally the way they should be. In this case, something is wrong with you if you have to cough, so by saying "deiseal" you are wishing for it to be corrected.
casacht casachtach	(a) cough	(a) cough	casacht	casachtach	casacht casachtach	casacht
ag casacht ag casachtaigh	coughing	coughing	ag casacht	ag casachtaigh	ag casachtaigh	ag casachtaigh	Note that in any dialect you never pronounce the "g" in "ag" if it's followed by a consonant.
Dia linn!	See Notes	God with us	Dia linn!	Dia linn!	Dia linn!	Dia linn!	Said when somebody sneezes once. Can be said by the sneezer or by someone else.
Dia linn, is Muire!	See Notes	God with us, and Mary	Dia linn, is Muire!	Dia linn, is Muire!	Dia linn, is Muire!	Dia linn, is Muire!	Said when somebody sneezes the second time. Also said after the first sneeze if it was particularly strong. Can be said by the sneezer or by someone else.
Dia linn, is Muire a mháthair!	See Notes	God with us, and Mary his mother	Dia linn, is Muire a mháthair!	Dia linn, is Muire a mháthair!	Dia linn, is Muire a mháthair!	Dia linn, is Muire a mháthair!	Said when somebody sneezes the second time. Also said after the first sneeze if it was particularly strong. Can be said by the sneezer or by someone else.
sraoth	(a) sneeze	(a) sneeze	sraoth	sraoth	sraoth	sraoth
ag sraothfairt ag sraothartaigh le teacht	sneezing	sneezing	ag sraothfairt	ag sraothartaigh	ag sraothfairt ag sraothartaigh	le teacht	Note that in any dialect you never pronounce the "g" in "ag" if it's followed by a consonant.
srannadh sranntarnach	a snore/snoring	a snore/snoring	srannadh	ag sranntarnach	srannadh sranntarnarnach	srannadh
ag srannadh ag sranntarnaigh	the act of snoring	the act of snoring	ag srannadh	ag sranntarnaigh	ag srannadh ag sranntarnaigh	ag srannadh	Note that in any dialect you never pronounce the "g" in "ag" if it's followed by a consonant.
meánfach méanfaíoch	a yawn	a yawn	meánfach	méanfaíoch	meánfach méanfaíoch le teacht	le teacht
ag meánfach ag méanfaíoch	the act of yawning	the act of yawning	ag meánfach	ag méanfaíoch	ag meánfach ag méanfaíoch le teacht	le teacht	Note that in any dialect you never pronounce the "g" in "ag" if it's followed by a consonant.
brionglóid	(a) dream	(a) dream	brionglóid	Dialect Specific	Brionglóid	Brionglóid	In Connacht and Ulster this word means "dream". It is not in Munster Irish, although there is a different word with the same spelling(!), which means "uneasiness" or "worry". "Bhí brionglóid agam" is correct in traditional Connacht and Ulster Irish.
droch­bhrionglóid	(a) nightmare	(a) bad dream	droch­bhrionglóid	Dialect Specific	droch­bhrionglóid	droch­bhrionglóid	This word is in Connacht and Ulster. "Bhí drochbrionglóid agam" is correct in traditional Connacht and Ulster Irish. It is not in Munster Irish.
taibhreamh	(a) dream	(a) dream	Dialect Specific	Taibhreamh	Taibhreamh	Dialect Specific	"Bhí taibhreamh agam" etc is poor Irish. "Deineadh taibhreamh dom" (a dream was done to me) is the correct form. Note that the Munster forms "dhein mé"/"níor dhein mé", "dhein tú"/"níor dhein tú" etc, are perfectly correct grammer within the Caighdeán Oifigiúil.
tromluí	(a) nightmare	(a) heavy lie (as in lying down)	Dialect Specific	tromluí	tromluí	Dialect Specific	"Bhí tromluí agam" etc is poor Irish. "Deineadh trom-luí dhom" (a heavy lie was done to me) is the correct form. Note that the Munster forms "dhein mé"/"níor dhein mé", "dhein tú"/"níor dhein tú" etc, are perfectly correct grammer within the Caighdeán Oifigiúil.
déan ná déan	do (or make) don't (or don't make)	do (or make) don't (or don't make)	déan ná déan	dein ná dein	déan ná déan	déan ná déan	Note that this is never pronounced "dane" (or "jane") in any native dialect.
ag déanamh	doing making	doing making	ag déanamh	ag déanamh	ag déanamh	ag déanamh	Note that this is not pronounced "dane-uv" (or "jane-uv") in any native dialect. Note that in any dialect you never pronounce the "g" in "ag" if it's followed by a consonant.
faoi fé fá	under	under	faoi	fé	Dialect Specific	fá	All these spellings are listed in Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla, and are simply the same thing in different accents.
nóiméad neomat bomaite	(a) minute	(a) minute	nóiméad	neomat	Dialect Specific	bomaite	All these spellings are listed in Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla, and are simply the same thing in different accents - although the Ulster form has moved a good bit away from the others. Note that in Connacht the pronounciation is "núiméad". (In the same way, the names "Domhnall" and "Nóra" are pronounced "Dúnall" and "Núra" in Connacht, and the word "nó" is pronounced "nú" in both Connacht and Munster.)
stad	stop	stop	Dialect Specific	stad	stad	stad	As an instruction, this is only said to one person.
stadaigí stadaíg	stop	stop	Dialect Specific	stadaíg	stadaigí	stadaigí	As an instruction, this is only said to more than one person. In Munster Irish, all such "-igí" endings are pronounced "-íg".
stop	stop	stop	stop	stop	stop	stop	As an instruction, this is only said to one person. Note that the pronounciation of the word "stop" is subtly different to the English.
stopaigí stopaíg	stop	stop	stopaigí	stopaíg	stopaigí	stopaigí	As an instruction, this is only said to more than one person. In Munster Irish, all such "-igí" endings are pronounced "-íg". Note that the pronounciation of the "stop" part of the word is subtly different to the English.

Title of these pages... Introduction | Long Vowels | The Language | Greetings | Praise and Encouragement | Everyday Words

Sunday 18th November 2007