Dia dhaoibh ! I have a question, maybe someone can answer it. I'm wondering how to say the following in Irish.

'How do you say' or 'How would you say' or 'How is 'house' (to use an example) said in Irish ?

I think that's a question I'll be asking a lot, so I need to know how to say it.

Gura math agaibh.

How = Conas / Cén chaoi / Cad é an dóigh and possibly other ways depending on dialect

is said = a deirtear

would you say = a déarfá

would ... be said = a déarfaí

in Irish = i nGaeilge / as Gaeilge

Example: Conas a déarfá 'house' as Gaeilge? - How would you (personally) say 'house' in Irish?


Wait for comments from others.


Personally I'd tend to say Cad (or :Céard) í an Ghaeilge ar 'house'? (What is the Irish for 'house'?)

More precisions on dialects:

how would you say X in Irish?

Ulster: Goidé mar a déarfá X i nGaeilg?

Connachta: Cén chaoi a ndéarfá X i nGaeilge?

Munster: Conas a déarfá X as Gaelainn?

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Is fearr Gaeilg na Gaeltaċta ná Gaeilg ar biṫ eile
Agus is í Gaeilg Ġaoṫ Doḃair is binne

Just to expand on the above question, using some of my own and also using some from the two previous posters. They have a definite Conamara bias. Some of the spellings are in the old style but if anyone wishes to modernise them, or correct any mistakes, I don't mind.

Cé'n chaoi a ndeireann tú é sin ? How do you say that ?

Cé'n chaoi a ndéarfá é sin ? How would you say that ?

Cé'n chaoi a ndeirtear é sin? How is that said ?

Cé'n chaoi a ndeireann tú 'house' i nGaedhilge ? How do you say 'house' in Irish

Cé'n chaoi a ndéarfá 'house' i nGaedhilge ? How would you say 'house' in Irish ?

Cé'n chaoi a ndeirtear 'house' i nGaedhilge ? How is 'house' said in Irish ?

Céard é an Ghaedhilge ar 'house' ? What is the Irish for house ?

Should that last one be í nó é ?

That's a lovely explanation/expansion, a Sheaghain.

In answer to the last question, I think é is okay in this instance, just as it is okay in:

Sin é mo bharúil "That's my opinion."
Céard é do thuairim ? "What's your opinion?"

You could also say:

Cén Ghaeilge ar 'house' ? "What is the Irish for house?"
Céard é an focal Gaeilge ar 'house' ? "What is the Irish word for house?"

But as I said, I don't think there is any problem with "Céard é an Ghaeilge ar ~ ?".

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Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

Go raibh maith agaibh gach duine !

It's just what I was looking for. Actually it's better than what I'd hoped for, by far !

Slán go fóill.

Jane

Just to throw another opinion into the mix, I am much more inclined to say "a deirtear' as opposed to "a déarfá". Maybe that's just a preference, but that's what I do!

Can someone explain this then? I was taught in school, and in college by a native speaker REPEATEDLY! to say Sin í an fhadhb. Isn't that the same thing?

All I know is that the following phrases were specifically noted by Mícheál Ó Siadhail as being allowable in the dialect:


I have confirmed this usage with tuairim, barúil, and an Ghaeilge more generally. I couldn't find any examples of an fhadhb, but Learning Irish has Sin í an cheist.

Sin í would be more gramatically correct, of course, and other dialects might be more particular about it (as might native speakers made self-conscious by "an education" or a strict employer, etc.) - but usually native usage isn't based on grammar.

Of course, if you had it beaten into you, then it must be right, right?

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Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

In theory, the pronoun corresponds to the gender of the noun, but at least in Ulster, you often use "é" when talking about things, even though the noun is feminine. I don't know for the other dialects but it may be the same thing.

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Is fearr Gaeilg na Gaeltaċta ná Gaeilg ar biṫ eile
Agus is í Gaeilg Ġaoṫ Doḃair is binne