Learning Resources | Bitesize Irish: Recent Episodes
Eoin Ó Conchúir: Irish language speaker from Ireland
“Seanfhocail” are proverbs in the Irish language. Literally, that means “old words”, pointing to the ages that these proverbs have survived. I’m sure some are older than others.
A good start is half the workThere’s a good reason why the name of the fundamental Irish language course for Bitesize Irish members is called Tús Maith. A good start is half the work. This matches up with modern wisdom that it’s action that counts. You can do all the thinking and planning you like, but you get to work by taking action. This is a good pat-on-the-back too after you’ve done some good work to start something, like starting to learn the Irish language.
The Irish for this phrase is:
Tús maith leath na hoibre
The traveller has many storiesFor me, this phrase is a reminder that a person who has travelled (physically or through events) has a lot to tell. It’s a signpost that you should direct your sense of curiosity at them. What might they have to tell you? What might you learn from them? They have a lot to tell, you might benefit from listening to them. The Stoics had the same view, voluntarily experiencing “lows” without their familiar comforts, to remind themselves that life might also bring them suffering.
The Irish for this phrase is:
Bíonn siúlach scéalach
There’s no noble or lowly but up for a while and down for a whileThis is a reminder of the age-old saying that “This too shall change”. Nothing is permanent in this life, not even levels of nobility that you may reach or new lows in your life. Yes, things might be going well right now, but they might not. Yes, things might be going badly right now, but it won’t be forever.
The Irish for this phrase is:
Níl uasal ná íseal ach thuas seal agus thíos seal
A country without a language, a country without a soulThis is a favourite Irish proverb with our audience over the years. It’s a nationalistic sense that a nation or a country needs its language. I might add to this that nations may have gone too far with this! For example, France had many dialects and regional languages, which were crowded out by the Parisien language known as French today. For Ireland, it’s a focus on the importance of the Irish language to the culture and heritage of Ireland. Part of the soul of the country no doubt is expressed through our Irish language.
The Irish for this phrase is:
Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam
A rainy day is not the children’s dayThis is a fun rhyme with an element of practical truth to it. You might translate this as “A rainy day is not for the kids”.
You see, this is from a grammatical point where the word for rain (báisteach) transforms into “báistí”. Then the word kids (páistí) transforms into “bpáistí”. You might be wondering how to pronounce “bp”, and in this case the “p” is silent. Sooo, in the end “báistí” and “bpáistí” are pronounced exactly the same, so you have nice direct rhyming.
The Irish for this phrase is:
Ní hé lá na báistí lá na bpáistí
One beetle recognises anotherMetaphors are like honey on toast. Or is that a simile? In this proverb, the “beetle” is a specific type of person. So, it implies that people with a specific trait or characteristic recognise eachother. Do you recognise someone for being angry? Maybe you’re projecting! On that line of thought, maybe this proverb shows wisdom that Carl Jung later found; where we project traits in our own shadows onto other people.
The Irish for this phrase is:
Aithníonn ciaróg ciaróg eile
Hope springs eternal (”there is hope with the sea”)This proverb indicates that there is a hopefulness that arises with the sea. There is an extension to this proverb that while the sea offers hope, the land offers death. The phrase “ag súil le” means that you’re hoping for something, so it indicates hope.
The Irish for this phrase is:
Bíonn súil leis an bhfarraige
Laziness is a heavy loadThis is good practical insight from the proverb, where laziness is difficult to carry. It might be “easy” to by lazy, but it’s also certainly difficult. This points to the modern proverb of “everything is difficult, so choose which difficult path you want in life”. This Irish proverb ultimately teaches us that laziness is a burden and not a relief (but I must point out that laziness is different to rest!).
The Irish for this phrase is:
Is trom an t-ualach leisce
An unpractised craft is an enemyThe English translation here is approximate, because the actual proverb in the Irish language indicates that a craft without practice is an enemy. My interpretation of this is that a craft you’re naturally good at is full of potential, but it will niggle and naw at you if you fail to practice it. You’ll think about your craft and wonder whether you should practice it. This brings us to Gaeilge Gach Lá – our motto at Bitesize Irish! It’s an action-oriented perspective, where you can make the Irish language part of your everyday life no matter what your abilities are in Irish. If you are truly curious in the Irish language, but you fail to practice it in your own ways, you may end up with a sense of regret for not having listened to your calling.
The Irish for this phrase is:
Is namhaid ceird gan chleachtadh
Praise the youth and they will flourishThis is a lovely positive phrase, encouraging us to encourage the youth.
The Irish for this phrase is:
Mol an óige agus tiocfaidh sí
There’s no victory without hardshipYou can watch How to say No Pain No Gain from our YouTube channel.
The Irish for this phrase is:
Níl bua gan dua
There’s no wise man without errorWise words. No-one is perfect. Not even the wisest people are without fault.
The Irish for this phrase is:
Níl saoi gan locht
Words are like windThis reminds me of modern business advice, where every decision in a meeting should be documented and circulated in writing, because otherwise those words will vanish. A person can use a lot of words, but will that translate into action? We’re perhaps better served by looking at a person’s actions, rather than being convinced by their words.
The Irish for this phrase is:
Téann focail le gaoth
A friend’s eye is a good mirrorThis type of advice is a practical signpost for life. It advises us that friends are a good truth. My take on this is that the truth in question here is the truth about you and your own situation. A friend can perhaps see things for what they are, being slightly more removed from the situation.
The Irish for this phrase is:
Is maith an scáthán súil charad
All is not what it seemsI believe it’s the author Robert Greene, author of Laws of Human Nature, who said that unusual behaviour leads to real insight of a person. If someone does something unusual, then take note. The reason is that you’re getting an insight into who that person really is. They’ve shown you some kind of behaviour that you thought wasn’t part of them, but it’s there. Nothing happens only once. This Irish language proverb gives us equally useful insight. It says that not everything that we perceive is what actually is the truth. The proverb works especially well in the Irish language, because “shíltear” and “bhítear” rhyme with the same endings due to the verb forms.
The Irish for this phrase is:
Ní mar a shíltear a bhítear
Time is a good storytellerTime will tell. You can give it time, and time will reveal the truth.
The Irish for this phrase is:
Is maith an scéalaí an aimsir
There is strength in unityOur private Irish language community Bitesize Pobal for Explore and Grow members is based on the idea that we’re stronger together.
The Irish for the phrase is:
Ní neart go cur le chéile
A word to the wise is sufficientYou don’t need to lay out an entire explanation to a wise person. They don’t need to be told the same thing in five different ways before they “get” it. If the person you’re dealing with is wise, then all they need is a prod.
The Irish for this phrase is:
Is leor nod don eolach
It’s better to bend than break Over the past couple of years, I’ve grown a dome of willows in my garden. It’s been quite fun to weave the branches together (although it introduced a little tension when the branches on top were almost long enough to be woven together, but not just quite yet). With willow, we wait until winter in order to weave its branches. In summer, the branches are a lot more brittle and are not forgiving. It’s much better to weave a willow branch when it’s dormant, than end up breaking it in summer. Forcing the situation too much may lead it to break.
The Irish for this phrase is:
Is fearr lúbadh ná briseadh
Here’s my willow dome!
Two people shorten the roadLike “there is strength in unity”, this proverb encourages us again to connect with others. You don’t need to be on the “road” or life journey along.
The Irish for this phrase is:
Giorraíonn beirt bóthar
Which is your favourite Irish language proverb?You’re welcome to leave your reply below to tell us which of these, or other, prover that you like. And you can tell us why you like it, what sliver of insight you got from it.
The post Our Top Irish Language Proverbs first appeared on Bitesize Irish.
When you’re learning to speak the Irish language, counting things in Irish is an essential part of your journey Yet numbers and counting in Irish can be a complex area, and may be hard for you to figure it out. We’re delighted to launch a new cheat sheet below by Bitesize Irish, “Guide to Numbers”. …
Guide to Numbers – Free Cheat Sheet Read More »
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The pronunciation of Irish language words can be tough to get right. By focussing in on a common example, you can learn to distinguish the different sounds. In the free shareable cheat sheet below by Bitesize Irish, you’ll get to learn about siúl and súil in the Irish language: Free Shareable Cheat Sheet The PDF …
Siúl vs Súil – Bitesize Cheat Sheet Read More »
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Telling stories is an important part of any language – it could be talking about your weekend, reminiscing about schooldays, telling a joke or breaking down what happened in the latest episode of a TV show. Stories are also a great opportunity for us to develop both our receptive and productive language skills. In our …
An Aimsir Chaite – Bitesize Irish Cheat Sheet Read More »
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Our aim for you at Bitesize Irish is: Gaeilge GACH Lá. Irish EVERY Day. Even if you attend Irish language classes every week, it’s only when you make Irish part of your every day that you’ll move to becoming a speaker of it. It’s possible for you to move from being a “learner” of Irish, …
Become a Daily “Practitioner” of Irish Read More »
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We’re happy to have a growing, passionate, engaged community of enthusiastic Irish language learners. That’s why we’re always in contact with them, developing products and tools to match their enthusiasm of learning the Irish language. This can’t be done without periodically asking members of our community about their connection to the Irish language. It helps …
Win Irish Children Books (with CD) and Audio Course from Bitesize Irish Read More »
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I have recently moved to Ireland and would like to be able to pronounce place names in Irish and make some sense of them. Thanks to the internet, you can hear most Irish place names being pronounced by a local in both Irish and English on the website logainm.ie. There are many words that commonly …
Dear Bitesize: How to Pronounce and Make Sense of Irish Place Names Read More »
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The Bitesize Irish Gaelic online course is helping hundreds of people to strengthen the connection to their Irish heritage through learning Irish Gaelic every day. We specifically designed the online course for people to learn at their own pace and we provided them with the best tools in doing so. But, did you know we …
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Being overwhelmed is probably the most common feeling when you consider learning to speak another language. If you’re reading this, you probably have great personal motivation already: to make a deep personal connection with your Irish heritage. It’s a way to express who you are inside. It’s giving a language to what you feel. The …
Our Bitesize Learning Principles for Irish Gaelic Read More »
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When’s the best time to read a book in the Irish language? Possibly when you can’t read the Irish language. Mike O’Regan is a fluent Irish Gaelic speaker. At our live online event in 2017, Bitesize Beo, he described reading is a good tool for learners. You take an article or book, and read it. I …
Reading Irish Gaelic When You Can’t Read More »
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We’ve mentioned the national Irish radio station quite a few times in our blog posts. For people who want to learn Irish, listening to the Irish radio is a great way to immerse themselves in the Irish language and try to catch any words or phrases they may have learned in their free time. A …
Bitesize Irish Gaelic Interview on Raidió na Gaeltachta Read More »
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When you abroad or meet someone who speaks another language, you want to introduce yourself but, some times, the language differences build an invisible but unbreakable barrier between the two of you. If you’re planning to visit Ireland, meet your Irish relatives or friends and you want to impress them by introducing yourself in Irish, …
How To Say Your Name in Irish (VIDEO) Read More »
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