Learning Scottish Gaelic from English
Created: 2016-12-31
Last Event: 2023-09-02
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Last update: 2023-10-30 13:18:06 GMT+3
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agus · anna · balach · beag · bò · caileag · calum · caraid · cat · cearc · chan eil · cù · dona · eilidh · gàidhlig · iain · irn bru · math · muc · mòr · mòrag · piseag · seo · snog · tha · tunnag
26 words
a charaid · anndra · cofaidh · feasgar math · fàilte · halò · madainn mhath · oidhche mhath · slàinte · tapadh leat · tì · tìoraidh
12 words
Agam is another prepositional pronoun and consists of the words aig (meaning "at") and mi (meaning "me" or "I"). It would be wrong to say aig mi. We have to combine the two words into a superword - agam.
We don't have a verb like "have" in Gaelic (totally unnecessary, honest) but we can use combinations of aig to show possession:
Tha peata agam. - I have a pet. (There is a pet at me)
Tha cù agam. - I have a dog. (There is a dog at me)
Agad is a combination of aig (at) and thu (you - informal / singular).
Tha peata agad. - You have a pet. (There is a pet at you)
Tha IRN BRU agad. - You have IRN BRU. (There is IRN BRU at you)
We can use lots more combinations of aig to show what we have and don't have.
Lenition (adding an 'h' after the first consonant) is part of what makes Gaelic so funky. The word glè causes lenition in the adjective that follows it whenever possible:
You can't lenite a vowel. Just try it. It's impossible:
Is it a verb? Is it a noun? It's sort of both, and it is super useful. This may be the first time we come across a verbal noun in this course. These are similar to -ing words in English. This is a common way of forming the present tense in Gaelic. If you can use one verbal noun (you can, you've got this), then you can use any of them.
Tha mi a’ faicinn cat. - I am seeing a cat.
Tha mi a’ faicinn muc. - I am seeing a pig.
N.B See the notes for Clothes 1 to see why we use "I am seeing" and not "I see".
Tha mi a’ cluinntinn cat. - I am hearing a cat.
Tha mi a’ cluinntinn tunnag. - I am hearing a duck.
This pattern repeats with almost all verbal nouns. Once you know one, it's just a case of learning new ones!
This is the Gaelic for "spider" and it means 'a fierce little stag'. Another much less common word for spider is poca-salainn, which means a bag of salt. Top class words. 10/10.
Currently the audio for damhan-allaidh doesn't work when the word appears on one tile, due to the way the software reads the hyphen. It is read as normal in the recorded sentences.
| Vocabulary | |
|---|---|
| agam | at me |
| luch f | (a) mouse |
| eun m | (a) bird |
| cuilean m | (a) puppy |
| brèagha | pretty, beautiful |
| peata m | (a) pet |
| agad | at you (inf/sin) |
| uan m | (a) lamb |
| each m | (a) horse |
| caora f | (a) sheep |
| glè | very (lenites) |
| losgann m | (a) frog |
| àrd | tall, high |
| òg | young |
| èibhinn | funny |
| gòrach | stupid |
| a' faicinn | seeing |
| a' cluinntinn | hearing |
| damhan-allaidh m | (a) spider |
| radan m | (a) rat |
| coineanach m | (a) rabbit |
| gobhar m | (a) goat |
The number one in Gaelic cause lenition on the noun that follows whenever possible:
aon + bàta = aon bhàta (one boat)
aon + piseag = aon phiseag (one kitten)
Gaelic used to maintain quite a distinct 'dual' form when referring to two things only. This has broken down in many ways, but it is still important to know that the plural form of a noun is not used with the number two in Gaelic. Instead, we use the singular. Dà (two), like aon (one), causes lenition on the noun that follows:
dà + bàta = dà bhàta (two boats)
dà + piseag = dà phiseag (two kittens)
This is how we ask "how many" in Gaelic. Unlike in English, when we ask this in Gaelic we use the singular form of the noun:
bàta - boat
bàtaichean - boats
Cia mheud bàta? - How many boats?
A common alternative to cia mheud is cò mheud, which means the same thing.
That was pretty easy. COUNT yourselves lucky... (Tha mi duilich / I am sorry)
| Vocabulary | |
|---|---|
| bus m | (a) bus |
| càr m | (a) car |
| bàta m | (a) boat |
| aon | one (lenites) |
| cia mheud...? | how many...? |
| eala f | (a) swan |
| asal m | (a) donkey, ass |
| uinneag f | (a) window |
| dà | two (lenites) |
| òran | (a) song |
Just leaving this here, on the off chance it is needed...
Tha an deoch orm. - I am drunk.
(literally - The drink is on me. )
Tha an deoch air Iain. - Iain is drunk.
(literally - The drink is on Iain. )
When forming the simple past tense of a verb that starts with a vowel, you take the command form (or root) and add dh' at the start:
When a verb begins with an f followed by a vowel, we add dh' at the start and lenite the verb:
Remember nach eil and its close friend and confidant, nach robh?
We can form an interrogative question in the past tense by firing nach do at the start:
Some more handy prepositional pronouns here:
Picture the scene. You and your new Gaelic speaking pals are in the pub in Eriskay. You want to buy them a round:
The craic (with its various spellings) is a difficult-to-pin-down concept. Most often associated with Ireland, the term craic is very familiar in Gaelic Scotland.
If you have had good craic (deagh chraic ), it generally means you have experienced anything from a good laugh with friends, to chaotic levels of debauchery.
| Vocabulary | |
|---|---|
| liomaid f | (a) lemon |
| a' fosgladh | opening |
| a Mhìcheil | Michael (voc) |
| a Pheadair | Peter (voc) |
| dh'òl | drank |
| bhodca m | (a) vodka |
| taigh-staile m | (a) distillery |
| branndaidh f | (a) brandy |
| dh'fhosgail | opened |
| mar | like |
| daor | expensive |
| dè as toil leat | what do you like |
| nach do dh'òl | didn't drink? |
| glainne f | (a) glass |
| leis | with w) dram |
| dh'fhàg | left |
| tha an deoch orm | I am drunk |
| leatha | with her, with it (fem) |
| Peigi f | Peggy (female name) |
| leth-phinnt m | (a) half pint |
| fàg | leave |
| craic m | craic (fun, a good laugh) |
| deoch-làidir f | alcohol |
| sineubhar m | (a) gin |
| ceann-daoraich m | (a) hangover |
| a' fàgail | leaving |
| srùbag f | (a) cup of tea, small drink, cuppa |
| leann-ubhail m | (a) cider |
| briosgaid f | (a) biscuit |
| òl | drink (command) |
As we have seen, Gaelic is simply too powerful to have only one word for "yes" and "no". It does, however, have a handy word for general agreement - seadh.
This is great for expressing understanding or agreement, moving a conversation on, or pretending you are listening.
You can't use it to answer questions though.
These are special prepositional pronouns with aig that we use when a personal pronoun (mi, thu, e, i, etc.) follows a verbal noun. Basically, personal pronouns don't like hanging out by themselves after a verbal noun, so we have to use a special form.
The best way to make sense of this is to see it, so we have given a couple of correct sentences and some incorrect ones below.
gam - at me
INCORRECT
AVERT THINE EYES. This one does not work because mi doesn't like hanging out after a' bualadh, which is a verbal noun.
CORRECT
Here is the correct way to do this:
Gam causes lenition whenever it can. The "me" part of the sentence is contained in the word gam.
Literally, this would translate as "he is at my hitting".
gad - at you
This works in the exact same way. Gad also lenites the following noun when it can.
INCORRECT
This does not work because thu cannot hang out and relax after a verbal noun.
CORRECT
Literally, this would translate as "she is at your kicking".
N.B. This has no effect on your run-of-the-mill noun, only pronouns.
Tha mi a' faicinn cat.
Tha mi a' cluinntinn eun.
Tha mi a' bualadh Iain.
It is only when mi, thu, e, i, sinn, sibh, or iad are needed. We will collect the full set of these special forms as we move through the course.
Double N.B. You quite often see the fuller forms of these used:
Gam is a contraction of ga and mo.
Gad is a contraction of ga and do.
Everyone loves a bit of single combat. This expression derives from one-to-one combat and means "a fair chance". It is used for more than just fighting these days.
This comes from an Fhèinn, or in English, the Fianna. These were a famed warrior band from Irish, Scottish, and Manx folklore/mythology. Pretty cool. "A fair chance" in Gaelic is a fair fight.
