| Abair
Mac an Aba gun do chab a ghobadh. |
Say
MacNab without pursing your lips. |
| Abair
ibear abair gun do chab a dhùnadh. |
Say
ibear-abair without closing your mouth. |
Am
faca tu am bacach,
no am faca tu a mhac,
chan fhaca mi am bacach,
is chan fhaca mi a mhac,
ach nam faicinn-sa am bacach,
no nam faicinn-sa a mhac,
cha bhagrainn air a'
bhacach,
is cha bhagrainn air a mhac. |
Did
you see the cripple,
Or did you see his son,
I didn't
see the cripple,
Nor did I see his son,
If I see the cripple,
Or if I see his son,
I won't threaten the cripple,
not will i threaten his son. |
Arsa
Doug beag bog: rug gob beag bog
gogag bheag bhog. |
Little
soft Doug said: a small soft beak caught a small soft silly woman. |
Baraill
am broinn baraille
is
baraill Baile Ailein |
A
barrel in a barrel
and the barrel of Baile Ailein |
Bha
bean aig Joe,
is bha banjo aig Joe,
is bha banjo aig bean Joe,
b'
fheàrr Joe air a' bhanjo gun deoch,
na bean Joe air a' bhanjo gun deoch.
|
Joe
had a wife,
And Joe had a banjo,
And Joe's
wife had a banjo,
Joe was better on the banjo without a drink,
Than Joe's wife was on the banjo without a drink. |
B'
e sin urras gun earras mise a dhol an
urras ort-sa. |
It
would be surety without capital for me to stand surety for you. |
|
Bha
neach a'
dol air turas. Ruith a choimhearsnach 'na dhéidh is
dh'innis e dhà mu thubaiste a thachair. Dh'fhreagair am
fear eile 'na chabhaig mar seo:
Bàth an àth, mas e mo àth-sa i,
Bhathainn-sa i, nam b'
e do àth-sa i. |
A
man went on a trip. His neighbour ran after him to tell him
about an accident. The other one answered the follwing in
haste:
Extinguish
the kiln, if it is my kiln,
If it was my kiln, I would extinguish it. |
Bithidh
an luaithreachan luaithre 'na
uallachan
gille. |
The
little active one in the ashes will be a jaunty boy. |
Chac cearc air an
sparr,
pàirt dheth dubh is pàirt dheth bàn |
A hen shat on the
spar, part of it black and part of it white. |
Cat
bruc breac donn, cat cam cam-earblach,
a h-aon deug de chait
bhruca
bhreaca dhonna,
cait chama cham-earblach. |
A
dark grey and brown spotted cat, a crooked
tailed cat, eleven of dark
grey and brown spotted cats and crooked
tailed cats. |
| Cat
dubh breac donn, cat crom cam-earballach, trì chait dheug de
chait dhubha, bhreaca dhonna, cait chroma cham-earballach. |
A
black and brown spotted cat, a bent crooked
tailed cat,
thirteen black and brown spotted cats and bent cats with
crooked tails. |
Cha
robh laogh ruadh luath a-riamh,
is cha robh laogh luath a-riamh reamhar |
A
brown calf was never swift, and a swift calf was never fat. |
| Cha
robh reithe leathan liath riamh reamhar. |
There
has never been a broad grey fat ram. |
Cha
snàth mo mhnatha-sa e,
ach is snàth do mhnatha-sa e. |
It
isn't
my wife's thread, but your wife's thread. |
Chleachd
a'
chearc dhubh a bhith a' breith
anns a' chliabh, agus chleachd
a' chearc liath a bhith
a' breith anns a' chrodh. |
The
black hen used to lay in the basket and the grey hen used to lay
in the cattle fold.
|
"Có a thug am
bàs?" ars Mór Niall Smuilc.
"Có a chuala no chunnaic?" ars Eòin MacCuilc.
"Mo shùil a chunnaic 's mo bhonn a mhothaich"
ars Mór Niall Smuilc.
Dh'fhalbh Mór Niall Smuilc.
Agus Eòin MacCuilc.
Agus am fear a bha ann an Loch Obha.
Agus an gobha a bha ro bhraid.
Agus tughadair an àth.
Agus gréineadair a' mhuilinn.
Agus an seann làir bhàn a ruith air an tràigh.
Dà chùl càise.
Dà chlàr mhàis.
An cuala cluas?
An cuala thu fhéin?
An leithid sin roimhe? |
"Who killed it?"
said Mór Niall Smuilc.
"Who heard or saw it?" said Eòin MacCuilc.
"My eye saw it and my sole felt it" said Mór Niall Smuilc.
Mór Nial Smuilc left.
And Eòin MacCuilc.
And the one who was in Lochawe.
And the smith who was too thieving.
And the thatcher of the ford.
And the grinder of the mill.
And the old white mare which ran on the beach.
Two heels of cheese.
Two ?
Did an ear hear?
Did you yourself hear?
Its like before? |
| Cù
dubh stubhach, cù dubh gun earball. |
A
short-tailed black dog, a dog without tail. |
Dà
chloich air muin cloiche,
agus clach air trì clachan. |
Two
stones on top of a stone and a stone on three stones. |
Dà iolair air
iolainn,
iolair fhireann 's iolair bhoireann. |
Two eagles
frolicking,
a male eagle and a female eagle. |
| Dh'ith
damh dubh ugh amh air nèamh. |
A
black oxen ate a raw egg in heaven. |
| Donnchadh
Mòr is an cù is an cat is a bhrù air at cho mòr ri poit is a
phìob làn tombaca is e feadaireachd. |
Big
Duncan and the dog and the cat and his belly swollen immensly and
his pipe full of tobacco and him whistling. |
Fàd
bog, fada bog,
fàd bog mònach |
A
soggy peat, long and soggy,
a soggy peat of turf |
| Fóghnaidh
salann salach air ìm ròineagach. |
Dirty
salt will do for hairy butter. |
Ged
a bhuaileadh tu an gràinne, cha ghabh an
gràinne gràin ort. |
Even
should you strike the grain, the grain won't
hate you. |
Ged
a mholadh tu am mol, chan fhàs am mol
molach. |
Even
though you praise the shingle beach, the shingle beach won't
become hairy. |
Gheibhear
laogh breac ballach,
aig taigh gach àiridhe,
latha Fhéill-Pàdraig earraich. |
One
will get a speckled and spotted calf,
At every shieling-house,
On St. Patrick's
Day in spring. |
Iasad
cailliche gun diasan,
iasad as fhasa a iarraidh. |
The
loan of an old woman without ears of corn, the loan easiest to
ask. |
Iolairean
air iodhlan,
iolair fhireann, iolair
bhoireann. |
Eagles
in an enclosure, a male eagle, a female eagle. |
Is
coma leam comann gillean na géire,
mura b'
i an toiseach searbh,
gu dearbh bithidh an deireadh. |
I
dislike the company of sarcastic lads,
If the beginning isn't
bitter,
The end certainly will be. |
Itean
na circe brice ann an
lite mo sheanmhar |
The
feathers of the speckled hen in my
grandmother's porridge |
Latha
dhomh is mi falbh le mart,
thòisich mi ri gabhail port,
an uair a
chuala am mart am port
theab am mart mo mhurt. |
One
day when i was off with the cow I started to hum a tune and when
the cow heard the tune it almost killed.
You have to ask a
speaker from a dialect which inserts [ʃ]
between <rt> to say this without inserting the
[ʃ]. |
Ma
dh'itheas
tu crìdhe an eòin,
bithidh do chrìdhe air chrith ri do bheò. |
If
you eat the bird's
heart, your heart will quaiver for the rest of your life. |
Mar
chù ag òl eanaraich tha ainmean chloinn
GhilleEathain, Eachann
Lachainn,
Eachann Lachainn, Eachann Lachainn,
Teàrlach. |
Like a dog lapping soup are the names of the children of MacLennan,
Hector Lachy, Hector Lachy, Hector Lachy and Charles. |
Mas
i do àth i,
bàth i,
bàthaidh mise i,
mas i mo àth i |
If
it's your kiln
Extinguish it,
I'll
extinguish it,
If
it's my kiln |
Nì dubh-bhreac an locha suain
ach bithidh sàr bhreac an t-srutha
a'
sìor leum. |
The
black trout of the loch will sleep, but the superior salmon of the
stream will keep on leaping. |
Oidhche
shoilleir thioram agus
oidhche thioram shoilleir |
A
bright dry night and a dry bright night
|
Rolag
is bloigh rolaige,
agus
rolag
shlàn. |
A
roll and a bit of a roll,
and a whole
roll. |
Rolag
is bloigh rolaige,
trì rolagan air guit. |
A
roll and a bit of a roll,
three rolls on a winnowing-fan. |
Sama-Laman,
Sama-Laman,
taigh mòr Shama-Lamain. |
Sama-Laman,
Sama-Laman, the great house of Sama-Lamain. |
Siud
an cliabh san do chleachd
a' chearc bhreac a bhith breith. |
That's
the basket in which the spotted hen used to lay. |
Tha ceann-tughaidh aig trì taighean
a tha shìos aig taobh an tuinne. |
The
three houses down by the wave have a straw thatch. |
Tha gob fada air
a' bhudagochd,
tha am budagochd gun ghob. |
The woodcock has
a long beak,
the woodcock has no beak. |
Tha
ite na circe brice ann an
ciste mo sheanmhar. |
The
feather of the spotted chicken is
in my grandmothers chest. |
Tha
itean na circe brice ann an
seotal ciste mo sheanmhar. |
The
feathers of the spotted chicken are in the paper-compartment of my
grandmothers chest. |
Tha nead na circe
brice ann an
ciste mo sheanmhar. |
The nest of the
speckled hen is in my grandmother's chest. |
Thoir am bòrd á
beul na poit
is cuir am beul na poit e. |
Take the lid from
the mouth of the pot and put it in the mouth of the pot. |
| Thoir
do "ghun-robh-math" dhan choileach. |
Give
your "best wishes" to the cock |
Trì
uairean gun a dhol iomrall timcheall
ceann Loch Strollamaraig. |
To
go around the head of Loch Trolmaraig three times without going
astray. |
Trì
uairean gun a dhol iomrall timcheall
imleag meanbhchuileig. |
To
go around a midges belly-button three times without going astray. |
Ubhal bog abaich
dubh,
's ubhal dubh bog abaich |
A soft ripe black
apple,
and a black soft ripe apple. |
|
Uisge blàth bog a' tighinn á gob a' cheatail |
Warm
soft water coming from the kettle spout |
| Uisge
blàth bog a' tighinn á gob a' choire |
Warm
soft water coming from the kettle spout |
