Required fields are marked *. Like "ee-eh", but one syllable. I already know if you say "good eye might/mite" it sounds like you are australian! ‘I’m going to go to bed early tonight because I’m exhausted.’, James is a language lover and travel fanatic. A family of Irish birth will argue and fight, but let a shout come from without, and see them all unite. No doubt I’ve missed PLENTY of Irish phrases that no one else understands. You're in the right place! Well every single one of those companies has major offices in Ireland. If you say 'space ghetto' in an American accent, it sounds like 'Spice Girl' in a Scottish … Standard English: ‘I need to get a new phone. As you might have guessed, it’s used to express extreme satisfaction at something. This fun, free guide is available to you to download. Our own local police are called the. It’s used as an intensifier to strengthen the meaning or significance of something. ‘Will you clean the house this weekend?’ ‘No way!’. So there ya have it, all you need to know to survive in Ireland. ... "Take care" is another popular one, in fact we're starting to sound like our Mammies because we're using these phrases so often. In fact, more high-profile tech-companies are coming to Ireland every year. ‘Grand, I’ll go before that then’. So knowing a few Irish phrases will. In Ireland: ‘I had a good oul’ ham and cheese sambo for lunch today’. Try these handy Irish slagging phrases to fit right in: "Stop acting the maggot" - Acting in a foolish manner. In Ireland, we’re noted for being very sarcastic people. khakis sounds like car keys if you're bostonian/australian. Now say it without the T. Now emphasize the Y over the E. That's the sound. It’s probably one of the most commonly used words in Ireland and one of the most commonly misunderstood too. Mastering Style, Grammar, and Vocabulary Speak quickly but clearly. Now say it without the G. That was easy. Standard English:  ‘It’s a strange day. In Ireland: ‘It’s a quare day. Another quintessential Irish word, quare is most popular in the south-east, especially in County Wexford. Banjaxed. Here's to a long life and a merry one. Me old one’s banjaxed.’. While other nationalities might go straight for the jugular with a 'you're lovely' or a 'you're beautiful', we like to get a little more creative when showing our affection. deck in new zealander sounds like dick. In Ireland: ‘You shouldn’t be drinking minerals; they’re full of sugar!’ or ‘What’s your favourite fizzy drink?’, Standard English: ‘You shouldn’t be drinking soda; it’s full of sugar!’ or ‘What’s your favourite soda?’. Or are you simply curious about languages and other cultures, and looking to join the wonderful language learning community on the web? In England, it’s slang for ‘one thousand’. We rounded up 16 Irish sayings — and what they really mean. In Ireland: ‘You must be delighted to have the exams over?’ ‘Yeah, I’m happy as Larry!’, Standard English: ‘You must be delighted to have finished your exams?’ ‘Yeah, I’m really happy!’. 8.6k Shares. In this post, you’ll learn 17 of the best words and phrases that are unique to Ireland, so you have something up your sleeve the next time you speak with an Irish person! Are you looking to change your life for the better and learn a foreign language? You might, for instance, want to learn some Irish phrases and words in order to avoid coming across too touristy by wishing someone a "top o' the morning," which no Irish person would ever really say. Banjaxed is an adjective that means ‘broken’ or ‘no longer of any use’. Fair play is used to congratulate someone or express a job well done. quintessential Irish word, and perhaps the most difficult for foreigners to grasp. Not until now, at least! Link to TripSavvy Homepage Irish Idioms and Phrases … So, there you have it! The rowdy, hated Catholic Irish, as the poor frequently do, liked to steal, drink and fight. From the Irish “síbín”, this is the first of many words in this list related to general divilment … In Ireland: ‘That was some score!’ (when watching a football match); ‘He’s some man for one man’ (praising a person). Scottish sayings and words, combined with that unmistakable accent, can often make English sound like an entirely different language when you're 'north of the border'. You can read more of his work at www.linguamaterna.com. In the United States ‘grand’ means something big and luxurious. The Irish and their unique phrases, Irish words and slang are hard to master... unless you have this guide to the most imaginative Irish sayings! That said, we don’t use the all usual Irish slang in business meetings. The word ‘police’ is only used in Ireland to talk about the police in other countries. Standard English: ‘I had a lovely ham and cheese sandwich for lunch today’. 100 Irish Quotes and Sayings Be inspired and encouraged by these Irish quotes and sayings about many different topics - love, blessings, famous ones, short ones and funny ones. ‘I saw the police/the cops arrest somebody yesterday’. One minute it’s raining and the next, the sun is shining’. Now that you’ve reached the end of this post, you’re probably knackered! He coaches business professionals to learn languages in the fastest and most efficient way possible for use in high-stakes international business environments. If you buy what you don’t need you might have to sell what you do. Standard English: ‘I was reading about something in the newspaper yesterday.’ or ‘Pass me the [salt/pepper/milk/phone/any other noun], please’. -, Ireland is great place for business. Well every single one of those companies has major offices in Ireland. So ‘John’ becomes ‘Johno’, ‘Ryan’ becomes ‘Ryano’ and James can become ‘Jimbo’. This is one of our favourite phrases in Ireland and one of the most confusing for non-Irish … 23 – 36: Common Irish sayings that you hear most days. There were all kinds of epithets aimed at the Irish. This is another word that’s used in all variations of English but has a special meaning in Ireland. In Ireland: ‘Fair play to you’ (often pronounced ‘fair play tcha’). ‘Pass me the [salt/pepper/milk/phone/any other noun], please’. Standard English: ‘Will you clean the house this weekend?’ ‘No way!’. ‘Grand, I’ll go before that then’. This is one of our favourite phrases in Ireland and one of the most confusing for non-Irish people! Relevance ‘It’s a quare day. ‘You must be delighted to have the exams over?’ ‘Yeah, I’m happy as Larry!’, ‘You must be delighted to have finished your exams?’ ‘Yeah, I’m really happy!’, (‘the party last night was great fun’) and, The second usage is for asking how someone is. Yoke more or less means ‘thing’ but it’s use and meaning can very ambiguous. Using numbers in Irish can be a complicated business. "You're an awful snake (pronounced shnaake) " - Translation: you're a sneaky person, but I like you. Life isn't about finding yourself. ‘That was a great score’; ‘He’s a great guy’. In some parts of the country the word ‘donkey’ even gets pronounced with a ‘u’ instead of an ‘o’ – so that it sounds like ‘dunkey’s year’s’. Note: the Irish accent is a little more subtle with the spelling - what's more important is the lilt, which is unwritten. Jacks is Irish slang for toilet and it’s used all the time in informal conversation or amongst friends. In Ireland: ‘The new series of Game of Thrones is quare good’. but are there any other phrases that make you sound like you have an accent (french, irish, italian,etc) =) Answer Save. From ‘the messages‘ to ‘jammy‘, here are some more popular ways of saying things using Irish slang words. But knowing the difference between the two extremely similar sounding phrases will help make sure you are always nailing the proper meaning. A pretty girl and an honest one. Excuse my poor Irish. Standard English: ‘Where are the men’s toilets?’. The messages In Ireland: ‘I haven’t seen him in donkey’s years’; ‘It’s been donkey’s years since Ireland qualified for the World Cup.’, Standard English: ‘I haven’t seen him in many years’; ‘It’s been a long time since Ireland qualified for the World Cup.’. ‘You shouldn’t be drinking minerals; they’re full of sugar!’, ‘You shouldn’t be drinking soda; it’s full of sugar!’. Think you need to add some humor to a dull day? I’m sure you’re wondering ‘why would I want to learn English the Irish way?’ Good question! There’s more to conversation, however, than basic questions and vocabulary. Here is a collection of such famous, funny, and meaningful Irish quotes that will help you know more about Ireland and Irish people. Standard English: ‘I saw the police/the cops arrest somebody yesterday’. It can basically be used to replace any noun in an Irish sentence. – an Irish word that means ‘guardians of the peace’ – but colloquially we just call them ‘the guards’. Space Ghetto. Aside from the our rich culture – we have four nobel prize winning authors! One minute it’s raining and the next, the sun is shining’. -, Ireland is great place for business. ‘Some’ is a word used in English all over the world, but in Ireland we use it a little bit differently. Sometimes a simple quote speaks volumes about the culture and beliefs of a particular country. ‘Ok, I’ll go before that then’. In Ireland: ‘How are you doing?’ ‘I’m grand’. Don't let its being combined with other vowels confuse you. That's all - just the vowel part of "right" or "nigh". ‘I haven’t seen him in donkey’s years’; ‘It’s been donkey’s years since Ireland qualified for the World Cup.’, ‘I haven’t seen him in many years’; ‘It’s been a long time since Ireland qualified for the World Cup.’. Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with these 17 wonderful Irish quotations. It can basically be used to replace any noun in an Irish sentence. There is no single language that has ever historically been spoken by all Scots. 4 years ago. ‘I’m going to hit the hay early tonight because I’m knackered’. You can also say ‘I’m over the moon’. You would use this in a sentence like: “Do you know the yoke you use to make coffee?" if you need to speak English with Irish friends and colleagues, or if you want to come and work in Dublin! ‘The new series of Game of Thrones is really good’. In Ireland: ‘I’m going to hit the hay early tonight because I’m knackered’. If you ever visit an Irish bar, you’re sure to hear this word a lot! Notions May misfortune follow you the rest of your life, and never catch up. An Irishman will not be caught … Me old one’s banjaxed.’. Instead, it’s much more common to ask, ‘Fair play to you’ (often pronounced ‘fair play tcha’), ‘That was some score!’ (when watching a football match); ‘He’s some man for one man’ (praising a person). … That’s right, knackered means really, really tired. 12 Answers. Whatever the reason, we like to do things our own way. The Irish are known for their sense of humor, and if you spend much time around them, you’ll discover it for yourself. 4 Magic Words and Phrases That Will Make You Sound Smarter. These, along with some basic vocabulary, puts you in a position to make quite a bit of small talk in Irish! But all have wisdom and inspiration in them. ‘The bank closes at 4′. Secondly, it … Hearing a person with an Irish accent say "mounted on a flange" makes me want to produce a Broadway musical — Brian Niz (@nizzer) August 29, 2013 Source: Brian Nizinsky /Twitter It can be used as an adjective to show that something or someone is very funny. Instead, it’s much more common to ask ‘How’s the craic?’, ‘How’s the form?’, ‘What’s the story?’ or even ‘Any strange?’. A quick death and an easy one. Thirteen Irish Phrases You Won't Hear Anywhere Else. ADHARCÁILÍ (“ay-er-KOH-li”) The Irish verb adharcáil means “to gore” or, in relation to animals like … Our own local police are called the Garda Síochána – an Irish word that means ‘guardians of the peace’ – but colloquially we just call them ‘the guards’. You can read more of his work at. It can also be used in a similar way to banjaxed to say that something doesn’t work anymore. UY: Say "guy". This one is probably the most infamous Irish-English word of all. One minute it’s raining and the next, the sun is shining’. The Irish appear to be noun-deficient and have many words that can be … All the world’s a … Standard English: ‘I’m going to go to bed early tonight because I’m exhausted.’. I’m guessing you’ve heard of Facebook, Twitter, Apple, Dell, Airbnb and Slack, right? The second usage is for asking how someone is. IIE: Say "yet". Quotes and sayings that make you laugh have always been popular among people of all ages, and if they are of the witty kind, they are bound to tickle your funny bone. Very sarcastic people probably knackered covers the more Common, everyday Irish sayings and. Jimbo ’ us a deeper sense of connection with Ireland, wherever in the south-east, especially County! A particular country ’ or ‘ well done in me eye ’ of favorite. Proper meaning is no single language that has ever historically been spoken phrases that make you sound irish all.! 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