Looking to start learning Gaelic or just practice what you already know? This short article is going to cover some introductory phrases in Gaelic so by the end you will be able to tell someone your name, ask for their name, ask how someone is doing and reply.
Let’s start easy
Saying your name is a rather short and easy phrase to begin with. Some names also have a Gaelic translation, for example, George becomes Seòras. This usually only applies to most Scottish names but if you want to find out if your name is in Gaelic then you can look it up in the LearnGaelic dictionary.
Now that you know how to say your name, it would be just as helpful to ask someone else’s name!
Asking for someone’s name with ‘th’ort’ is usually said in an informal environment so if you are wanting to ask for their name in a more formal context (or just to be polite) it would be ‘th’oirbh’.
Now that you know how to ask who someone is, it would be equally as important to ask how they are.
Much like the previous phrase, you can be more formal by replacing ‘thu’ with ‘sibh’.
If you are unsure about any of the pronunciation in this article we have a TikTok covering the same phrases that you can listen to and practice with (or maybe even try duetting!).
While it is useful to ask how someone is you also need to know how to reply.
Saying how you are is a very easy sentence to start with in Gaelic and can be used for a variety of emotions. Below is a table of vocabulary you can add to the sentence above to show how you are feeling.
Here are some final words/phrases that can be useful as well!
With this you should now be able to hold your first conversation in Gaelic! If you want to practice more then we have plenty of articles to read on the Young Scot Gaelic page.