Irish Language
Popular Sayings in Ogham
Traditional Irish proverbs and modern colloquialisms — the words that define Irish culture, written in the ancient Ogham script.
Traditional Irish Proverbs
These proverbs have been part of Irish oral tradition for centuries. Each is shown with its Ogham transliteration, the original Irish, and an English translation.
ᚔᚄ ᚃᚕᚏᚏ ᚌᚙᚔᚂᚌᚓ ᚁᚏᚔᚄᚈᚓ ᚅ ᚁᚐᚏᚂᚐ ᚉᚂᚄᚈᚓ
Is fearr Gaeilge briste, ná Béarla clíste
"Broken Irish is better than clever English"
ᚔᚄ ᚋᚔᚅᚔᚉ ᚐ ᚁᚆᚏᚔᚄ ᚁᚐᚂ ᚇᚗᚅᚓ ᚐ ᚄᚆᚏᚅ
Is minic a bhris béal duine a shrón
"Many a time a man's mouth broke his nose"
ᚅᚂ ᚄᚐᚖ ᚌᚐᚅ ᚂᚑᚉᚆᚈ
Níl saoi gan locht
"There is no wise person without fault"
ᚔᚄ ᚐᚔᚈ ᚐᚅ ᚋᚐᚉ ᚐᚅ ᚄᚐᚑᚂ
Is ait an mac an saol
"Life is strange"
ᚅ ᚅᚕᚏᚈ ᚌᚑ ᚉᚒᚏ ᚂᚓ ᚉᚆᚔᚂᚓ
Ní neart go cur le chéile
"There's strength in unity"
ᚅᚂ ᚐᚑᚅ ᚈᚔᚅᚈᚓᚅ ᚋᚐᚏ ᚇᚑ ᚈᚆᚔᚅᚈᚓᚅ ᚃᚔᚅ
Níl aon tinteán mar do thinteán féin
"There's no fireplace like your own fireplace"
ᚔᚄ ᚈᚏᚓᚔᚄᚓ ᚐᚅ ᚇᚉᚆᚐᚄ ᚅ ᚐᚅ ᚖᚂᚔᚔᚅᚈ
Is treise an dúchas ná an oiliúint
"Nature is stronger than nurture"
ᚅ ᚈᚆᚐᚌᚐᚅᚅ ᚉᚘᚂᚂ ᚏᚖᚋᚆ ᚐᚖᚄ
Ní thagann ciall roimh aois
"Sense does not come before age"
ᚈᚄ ᚋᚐᚔᚈᚆ ᚂᚕᚈᚆ ᚅᚐ ᚆᚖᚁᚏᚓ
Tús maith leath na hoibre
"A good start is half the work"
ᚔᚄ ᚐᚅᚂᚐᚅᚅ ᚋᚐᚔᚈᚆ ᚐᚅ ᚈᚑᚉᚏᚐᚄ
Is anlann maith é an t-ocras
"Hunger is good sauce"
ᚉᚆᚑᚋᚆ ᚉᚔᚑᚈᚐᚉᚆ ᚂᚓ ᚋᚒᚉ ᚔ ᚄᚉᚘᚋᚆᚂᚐᚅᚅ
Chomh ciotach le muc i sciamhlann
"As awkward as a pig in a parlour"
ᚅ ᚇᚆᚑᚂ ᚇᚑ ᚉᚆᚕᚏᚉ ᚐᚏ ᚂ ᚃᚂᚔᚒᚉᚆ
Ná dhíol do chearc ar lá fliuch
"Don't sell your hen on a wet day"
ᚋᚔᚇ ᚉᚖᚏᚅᚐᚂ ᚂᚓ ᚋᚂᚐ ᚋᚔᚅ
Méid coirnéal le mála móin
"As many corners as a bag of turf"
Modern Irish Colloquialisms
The words and phrases that make Irish English unique — from craic to sláinte, shown in Ogham with explanations.
ᚉᚏᚐᚔᚉ
Craic
Fun, gossip, good times — "What's the craic?" is the Irish equivalent of "What's up?"
ᚌᚏᚐᚅᚇ
Grand
Fine, okay, acceptable. The Irish "grand" covers everything from "I'm fine" to "that'll do."
ᚁᚐᚅᚇᚐᚕᚓᚇ
Banjaxed
Broken, ruined, or exhausted. "The car is banjaxed" or "I'm absolutely banjaxed."
ᚌᚐᚄ
Gas
Funny, amusing. "He's gas" means "he's hilarious."
ᚔᚑᚉᚓ
Yoke
A thing — any object whose name you can't remember or can't be bothered saying.
ᚓᚓᚇᚔᚈ
Eejit
An idiot, a fool — but usually said with affection rather than contempt.
ᚄᚂᚔᚅᚈᚓ
Sláinte
Cheers — literally "health." The Irish toast when raising a glass.
ᚄᚒᚉᚉᚔᚅᚇᚔᚓᚄᚓᚂ
Suckin' diesel
"Now we're suckin' diesel" — now things are going well, now we're in business.
ᚇᚏᚔᚄᚆᚔᚈᚓ
Dryshite
A boring, humourless person. Someone who won't join in or loosen up.
ᚉᚒᚈᚓᚆᚑᚑᚏ
Cute hoor
A sly, clever person who always manages to come out on top. Can be admiring.
ᚚᚂᚐᚋᚄ
Plamás
Flattery, empty talk, blarney. Someone giving you plamás is buttering you up.
ᚄᚈᚐᚂᚂᚈᚆᚓᚁᚐᚂᚂ
Stall the ball
Wait a moment, hold on — "Stall the ball, I'm not ready yet."
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