Blasad Beag – Episode 20: Clothing
Halò, agus fàilte gu Blasad Beag – am pàirt den phrògram dhuibhse a tha ag iarraidh Gàidhlig a tha sìmplidh. Welcome to “Blasad Beag” – the section of the programme especially for beginners. Anns na leasanan seo, bidh mi a’ toirt thugaibh abairtean feumail air cuspairean cumanta. I’m here to bring you some useful phrases that you can use in everyday life.
’S e “aodach” cuspair an leasain seo. In this lesson, we’re going to look at clothing.
The Gaelic word for clothing or clothes is aodach. Aodach. Clothes. Aodach.
There are also some other words for clothes – one is èideadh. Èideadh.
Another word is trusgan. Trusgan. However we’ll stick with aodach for now.
Let’s look at the names of some common items of clothing in Gaelic.
We’ll start with the word “shirt” – lèine. Lèine. Shirt. Lèine.
Most items of clothing in Gaelic are feminine nouns – and this means that any adjective following them changes slightly. So, for example, a blue shirt would be lèine ghorm – not lèine gorm. Lèine ghorm – a blue shirt. Lèine ghorm.
Let’s continue now with some other forms of clothing.
The Gaelic for trousers is briogais. Briogais.
A jacket is seacaid. Seacaid.
A skirt – this is an easy one. Sgiorta. Sgiorta.
Another easy one is a dress – dreasa. Dreasa.
A suit is deise. Deise.
A shoe is bròg. Bròg. And shoes would be brògan. Brògan.
And a sock is stocainn. Stocainn. Socks would be stocainnean. Stocainnean.
Don’t worry if you can’t remember all of these – you’ll find notes and vocabulary for all of these lessons on our website.
Now let’s look at how you could use some of these words in everyday conversations.
To ask what somebody is wearing you could use the phrase, “Dè an t-aodach..?” Dè an t-aodach...? Dè an t-aodach a tha ort? What are you wearing? Literally, what are the clothes that are on you? Dè an t-aodach a tha ort?
Dè an t-aodach a tha air? What is he wearing? Dè an t-aodach a tha air?
Dè an t-aodach a tha oirre? What is she wearing? Dè an t-aodach a tha oirre?
To tell somebody what you’re wearing, you would use the phrase “Tha” agus “orm.” For example, to say you’re wearing a shirt, you could say, “Tha lèine orm.” Tha lèine orm – I’m wearing a shirt; literally, “a shirt is on me.” Tha lèine orm.
Èistibh ri seo - listen to this:
GUTH 1: Dè an t-aodach a th' air Màiri?
GUTH 2: Tha dreasa phurpaidh oirre agus brògan pinc.
Did you catch what Màiri was wearing? Dreasa phurpaidh agus brògan pinc – a purple dress and pink shoes.
I said before that most Gaelic words for items of clothing are feminine nouns – but there are a small number of masculine nouns. Let’s have a look at some of those.
First of all, a coat. Còta. Còta.
A jumper is geansaidh. Geansaidh.
And finally, but importantly - especially if you’re going to a wedding - a kilt is fèileadh. Fèileadh.
Èistibh ri seo:
GUTH 1: An e sin Alasdair agus geansaidh gorm air?
GUTH 2: Chan e, sin Ruairidh. Tha fèileadh air Alasdair agus seacaid uaine.
Now, to ask if someone is wearing something specific, you could use the phrase, “A bheil...?” For example, “A bheil còta air?” Is he wearing a coat? A bheil còta air? No A bheil còta oirre?
Èistibh ri seo:
GUTH 1: A Chaluim, a bheil deise ùr ort?
GUTH 2: Tha – agus tha brògan ùra orm cuideachd!
GUTH 1: Nach tu a tha spaideil!
Did you follow that? Eilidh asked Calum if he was wearing a new suit. Ùr – new. Deise ùr – a new suit. Deise ùr. Calum said, “Yes and new shoes as well!” Brògan ùra – new shoes. Brògan ùra. And do you remember the phrase Eilidh used? Nach tu a tha spaideil! Aren’t you smart! Nach tu a tha spaideil! Spaideil means “smart.” Spaideil!
Uill, sin e bhuamsa an-dràsta. That’s all from me for now. Tha notaichean ri fhaighinn air an làraich-lìn againn. To listen again or practise your pronunciation, visit our website for notes and vocabulary from this lesson. Agus airson tuilleadh Gàidhlig shìmplidh, thoiribh sùil air làrach-lìn . To learn some more simple Gaelic phrases, have a look at the website and check out the Beginners section or download the LearnGaelic Beginners App! Tìoraidh an-dràsta!
