Cò mise?

Is mise...

My name is...

Dè an t-ainm a th' ort?
What is your name?

Is mise.........
My name is......

Dè an t-ainm a th' oirbh?
What is your name?

Cò sibhse?
Who are you?

Notice the words ort and oirbh and thusa and sibhse. These both mean you. Oirbh and sibhse is the formal way to address someone if you don't know them. It is also the plural form of you if you are addressing a group. Ort and thusa is the familiar form of you and is used between children and people who know each other.

Cò thusa?
Who are you?

You can see that there are lots of ways to ask such a simple question! You choose the one you prefer but it is important to know that the ending can be different, depending on who you are speaking to.

My age

Dè an aois a tha thu?
How old are you?

m' aois

Tha mi deich bliadhna a dh' aois.
I am ten years old.

Dè an aois a tha sibh?
How old are you?

Again, you can see this is another example of an informal question, dè an aois a tha thu? And of course if you are asking someone you don't know dè an aois a tha sibh?

Tha mi is used when saying your age this means I am. In Gaelic we simply say I am followed by a certain number of years. just like we do in English.

mo cho là breith

My birthday

Cuin a tha an co là breith agad?
When is your birthdaY?

Tha an co là breith agam air ....
My birthday is the .......

Dates in Gaelic are easy because we just use and write the number as it is. Twenty third in English would just be Twenty Three in Gaelic - 23rd = 23

Tha mi a' fuireach...

Caite bheil thu a' fuireach?

Where do you live?

I live...

Tha mi a' fuireach anns na Hearadh.
I live in Harris.

There are three ways to say in in Gaelic - ann an, ann am or anns;
- ann an is used for most place names in Scotland.
- ann am is used for place names beginning with b,m,p or f.
- anns is used for place names that begin with a small word, such as an, na etc.

Tha mi a' fuireach..........
I live...........

Na Hearadh

Peairt

Tha mi a' fuireach ann am Peairt.

I live in Perth.

Tha mi a' fuireach ann an Glaschu.
I live in Glasgow.

Glaschu

Is toil leam/Cha toil leam..

I like/I don't like...

An toil leat.......?
Do you like....?

Is toil leam.......
I like....

Cha toil leam.......
I don't like....

Is toil leam measan.
I like fruit.

Cha toil leam glàsraich.
I don't like vegetables.

Is toil leam ball-coise.
I like football.

Cha toil leam ball-coise.
I don't like football.

Is fheàrr leam dearg.
I prefer red.

To say you like something in Gaelic, you use the phrase Is toil leam.... - Is toil leam piotsa = I like pizza.
To say you don't like something in Gaelic, you use the phrase Cha toil leam.... - Cha toil leam piotsa = I don't like pizza.
To ask somebody if they like something in Gaelic, you use the question An toil leat....? - An toil lea piotsa? = Do you like pizza?

Is fheàrr leam.....
I prefer.....

To say you prefer something, you use the phrase Is fhèarr leam.... - Is fhèarr leam piotsa = I prefer pizza.

To provide extension when talking about hobbies. you can say which sports you play or do.

To say that you do a sport, you use Bidh mi ...... followed by the action, eg bidh mi a ruith = I run, bidh mi a' snàmh = I swim. If you play a particular sport, you use Bidh mi a' cluich.....followed by the sport, eg bidh mi a' cluich ball-coise = I play football, bidh mi a' cluich teanas = I play tennis.

Dè na cur-seachadan a th' agad?
What hobbies do you have?

Na Cur-Seachadan

Bidh mi a' cluich rugbaidh.
I play rugby.

Bidh mi a' dannsa
I dance.

Bidh mi a' cluich hocaidh.
I play hockey.

Hobbies

Bidh mi a' streap
I climb.

Let's begin with physical description.

Mo bhodhaig

To describe ourselves and others we need to combine the appropriate pronoun, verb,noun and adjective. Let's try and simplify this linguistic jigsaw.

Notice in Gaelic, when talking about parts of the body, you say they are on me, not at me. In English you say, I have, which in Gaelic is usually Tha ..... agam (at me), but for body parts you need to use Tha ..... orm (on me)

Tha .... air/oirre

Tha sùilean gorm orm.

Tha falt donn fada orm.

Remember in Gaelic that the noun generally comes before the adjective- Tha falt donn orm - I have brown hair. Tha sùilean gorm orm - I have blue eyes..

falt:
donn - brown
bàn - blonde
ruadh - red
fada- long
goirid- short
dìreach- straight
dualach- curly

sùilean:
gorm - blue
donn - brown
uaine - green
glas - grey

Adjectives have to agree with the noun in Gaelic. Eyes and hair are plural so the adjectives which describe them are too. Tha sùilean mòra orm = I have big eyes. Big is normally mòr unless it is describing a plural, when it becomes mòra.

Aodach - Clothes

Tha ....... orm - I wear/ I am wearing
Tha ...... air / oirre - he/she wears-he/she is wearing

Dè an t-aodach a th'ort?

Tha ..... orm.
Tha ..... air/oirre.

sgiorta - a skirt
dreasa - a dress
briogais - trousers
còta - coat
brògan spòrs - trainers

dearg -red
orains - orange
buidhe- yellow
donn - brown
gorm - blue
uaine - green
dubh - black
purpaidh- purple
geal - white

When we talk about wearing clothes, it is very similar to describing parts of our body, in that they are on us. We use the same structure Tha .... orm when talking about what we are wearing.

As colours are adjectives they need to agree with the noun they are describing. Masculine or feminine?- So cota dubh but dreasa dhubh. Notice some colours don't change, eg uaine/orains!

Mo Theaghlach - My Family

Now that we have all the language building blocks.. here are some examples of phrases you can use to describe your family.

'S e Lisa an t-ainm a th' air mo mhàthair. Tha falt liath fada oirre.

Tha mo bhràthair 20 bliadhna a dháois. Tha e a' fuireach ann an Glaschu.

Tha briogais ghorm agus leine-t geal air mo bhràthair.

Tha mo phiuthar deich bliadhna a dh' aois. Tha i snog agus tha i àrd.

Tha mo mhàthair caran beag. Tha falt bàn oirre agus tha i snog!

Is toil le mo bhràthair ball-coise.

Tha m'athair glè àrd. Tha falt donn air agus tha e glic.