Cúpla Focal: A couple of Irish Gaelic words
At Birmingham Irish, we feel that the beautiful language of Gaelic is an extraordinary gift that should be passed down from generation to generation with immense pride. This very reason is behind our language column, Cúpla Focal, meaning, a couple of Irish Gaelic words.
Dia Daoibh a chairde! Conas atá sibh?
An mí seo táimid ag caint faoi an aimsir.
Faoi láthair tá aimsir iontach deas againn! (At present we have lovely weather)
Ach cad faoi… (but what about…)
Toirneach agus tintreach – thunder and lightning
Tá sé stoirmiúil – it is stormy
Meirbh – close, sultry- uncomfortably hot!
Fearthainn/báisteach – rain
Brothallach - sweltering
We do get a little rain in Ireland and we therefore have quite a few interesting expressions to describe it. Here are a few examples you might like to put to use:
- Tá cosulacht bhaistí air - it looks like rain
- Tá sé ag caitheamh sceana gréasaí – it’s raining cats and dogs (literally it is raining cobbler’s knives!)
- Nuair a thig cith tig balc – It never rains but it pours.
- Tá mé fliuch báite – I’m soaking wet.
- Is lá salach é – a dirty day – one of those days of non-stop rain!
- Is lá bog é – it’s a soft day – still raining!
- Tá sé ag stealladh báistí – It is pouring with rain
- Scammalach – cloudy
Let’s look at some better conditions:
- Tá an lá:
- go maith - good
- ar fheabhas – excellent
- lá breá – a fine day
- Tá an ghrian ag taitneamh
- Lá gréine – a sunny day
- Tá an aimsir nios teo – the weather is warm
Hint for learning: Féach nó éist ar Réamhaisnéis na haimsire (The Weather Forecast) on TG4 or listen to RnaG. See how many words you can recognise!
Bain sult as an Samhradh agus na laethanta saoire! (Enjoy the Summer and the holidays!)
