• Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Submissions
  • Archives
  • Privacy Policy

Irish American Mom

Celebrating Our Irish Heritage Together

  • Irish Cooking
    • A Taste of Ireland
    • Recipe Index
    • Bread, Muffins, Pancakes And Scones
    • Drinks And Cocktails
    • Favorite American Recipes
    • Irish Appetizers And Party Food
    • Irish Breakfast
    • Irish Cakes, Cookies And Desserts
    • All Recipes
    • Irish Main Dishes
    • Irish Side Dishes
    • Irish Soups And Stews
    • Reader Recipes
    • Irish American Mom’s Pancake Roundup
  • Irish Culture
    • Blessings
    • Irish Books
    • Irish Crafts
    • Irish Expressions
    • Irish Life
    • Irish Movies
    • Irish Music
    • Irish Poetry
    • Irish Superstitions
    • Irish Television
    • The Irish Language or Gaelic
    • Symbols Of Ireland
    • The Irish Psyche
    • The Spud Saga
    • What I Miss About Ireland
    • Wise Old Words
  • Visiting Ireland
    • Ireland – County By County
    • Land and Culture
    • Why Tourists Love Ireland
  • Immigrant Tales
    • Stories of our Ancestors
    • Stories from the Present
    • Genealogy Resources
  • Ramblings
    • My American Journey
    • Why I Love America
    • Blogging
    • Holidays
    • America the Beautiful
  • Giveaways
    • Giveaways
    • Gifts
  • Buying Irish Food
You are here: Home / Lessons for Tourists / Irish – A Language Without Words For ‘Yes’ and ‘No’

Irish – A Language Without Words For ‘Yes’ and ‘No’

July 9, 2012 by Irish American Mom 29 Comments

Irish, the primary official language of Ireland has been spoken on the island for over 2500 years.  Its sentence structure and syntax are very different from that of the English language. 

One striking distinction is the lack of words for “yes” and “no” in Irish.

This probably sounds very strange to any English speaking person.  How can you have a conversation without these seemingly all important words?

So how do you answer a question in Irish?  This is usually done by answering with the verb, either affirmatively or negatively.  Here are some examples:

 

An dtuigeann tú?:

Do you understand?

 

Tuigim: Yes – or truly you are saying “I understand”.

Ni thuigim: No – the exact translation is “I don’t understand”

 

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/renaissancechambara/4604071067/in/photostream/Image Credit

Ar mhaith leat uisce?:  Would you like water?

Ba mhaith liom: Yes or literally “I would like”

Níor mhaith liom: No or literally “I wouldn’t like”

 

When some people are learning Irish they mistakenly apply the words “sea” and “ní hea” for the words “yes” and “no.”  These are only used to answer a question like this:

An é an doras?: Is that the door?

 

Is é (sea) or ní hé:  Yes or no – literally  meaning “it is” or “it isn’t”. 

 

Today most people in Ireland speak English, learning it at home, and only learning Irish at school.  However despite adopting the English language, many Irish people still seldom use the words”yes” and “no” when answering a question, even in English.  This is particularly noticeable in rural Ireland.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/horiavarlan/4536149424/Image Credit

This lack of use of these succinct little English words might be noticed by tourists when browsing in small country shops.  You might, for example, ask a shopkeeper if she has a particular product or brand in stock.  It is highly unlikely that you will get a simple “yes” as an answer.  More than likely you will hear a response such as:

“Let me see, now”

or

“I do, of course.”

or

“We have loads of them.”

or

“I’m afraid not.”

 

If you ever get the “I’m afraid not response”, it will generally be followed by a quick, “but I have such and such, which is just as good, if not better.”

Usually any response is followed by a story or a few questions about why you might need the particular item.  Maybe the shopkeeper might seem overly inquisitive to the non-Irish national, but all that is happening is the obligatory banter that is needed to start up a grand old conversation.

 

The Irish dislike those simple words “yes” and “no”.  They are way too short and to the point.  A plain negative “no” would be just too pointed, giving the impression that the shopkeeper is not in the least bit interested in a good old chat, when you can be certain that a chin wag is always on the cards in Ireland.

Words like “yes” and “no” are too polarizing, too stagnant for the Irish.  What kind of a chat can you start with such “useless” little words?

And so, when the Irish started speaking English, they decided not to use words like “yes” and “no” that do nothing to stimulate a good conversation.

 

 

Slán agus beannacht,

(Goodbye and blessings)

 

Irish American Mom

Share my recipes and ramblings with the world
  • 16
    Shares

Filed Under: Lessons for Tourists, The Irish Language or Gaelic Tagged With: Gaelic, Hiberno-English, How the Irish Speak English, How the Irish Think, Irish Language, Language, Lessons For Tourists

Recent Updates from Irish American Mom

  • This Christmas May You Have Walls For The Wind
  • The Light Of The Christmas Star To You
  • May You Be Blessed With The Spirit Of The Season
  • May Peace And Plenty Be The First To Lift The Latch On Your Door
  • The First Christmas Sweater – A Christmas Tale From Ireland

Comments

  1. Melissa says

    July 9, 2012 at 11:48 pm

    I studied Irish in New Hampshire a number of years ago, and getting used to not having a simple “yes” or “no” was very difficult at first. (Sadly, since I didn’t have the opportunity to use it very often, I lost most of it, though I do keep meaning to work on it again.) Amusingly, I realized as I read this, that it must have sunk in very well, as I rarely use them in English now, but instead use things like “Unfortunately, I don’t have…”, or “I do have…”, etc. I never noticed until now!

    Reply
    • Irish American Mom says

      July 10, 2012 at 11:15 pm

      Melissa – Thanks for stopping by my website. It is lovely to hear that you studied Irish. It is a fairly difficult language to learn but truly lyrical. It’s funny how you noticed how you don’t say yes and no so much anymore. It is a difficult concept when learning Irish, but definitely affects our turn of phrase when speaking English. Thanks again.

      Mairead

      Reply
  2. [email protected] says

    July 10, 2012 at 1:07 pm

    Greetings and salutations Mairead,
    I always enjoyed your explanations of why or how things come to be. I’ve attempted to learn a phrase or two of Irish, but to no good results. A nice chat , now that Ive enjoyed on both coasts of the Atlantic, with for the most part positive results. Keep the air conditioner on,
    Cheers,
    Brian.

    Reply
    • Irish American Mom says

      July 10, 2012 at 11:13 pm

      Brian – I am glad you are enjoying my theories on all things Irish. I am sure many scholars may not agree with my conclusions, but its just a little food for thought. Glad to hear you have had many a nice chat on both sides of the great pond.

      The air conditioners are running full blast here in Kentucky. A “cool” front has moved through dropping our temperatures from the low 100’s to the mere 90’s. My five year old asked why he can’t go to Ireland this year, because “it’s too hot here”. Hope it isn’t as sweltering in your neck of the woods.

      Mairead

      Reply
      • [email protected] says

        July 11, 2012 at 8:25 am

        Hi Mairead, I was lost on some backwoods in Maine a while back and stop to ask for directions in an old auto repair place, I asked this old Mainer if I could go right at the fork in the road to get to my destination,
        he responded “you could, wouldn’t do you much good though” the following conversation lasted for a good half hour and is one of my all-time favorites. Anyway just thought you’ld enjoy that, The summer here has been one of the best, we live near the coast and always have the option of taking a dip.

        Reply
        • Irish American Mom says

          July 11, 2012 at 9:10 pm

          Brian – I love the old man from Maine’s response. It seems you too have inherited the Irish love of a good chat. I find that here in Kentucky people love to stop and talk, too. I think it’s one of the reasons I like living here so much.

          Reply
  3. Grammy says

    July 10, 2012 at 8:27 pm

    Fascinating! I have a question….what is the difference (if there is one) between speaking Irish and Gaelic? I’ve always wondered that….Here’s another: Is it Celtic with a hard C (like cat) or Celtic with an S sound? My, it’s good to have an Irish friend that I can finally ask these questions! 🙂

    Reply
    • Irish American Mom says

      July 10, 2012 at 11:07 pm

      Hi Grammy – Irish is a Gaelic language. The other Gaelic languages include Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, Manx (spoken in the Isle of Man) and Brythonic Gaelic from Cornwall and Brittany in France. These languages all share certain similarities. In Ireland we say Irish when talking about our form of Gaelic language. Here in America the word Gaelic is often used to describe the Irish language, but all of these languages fall under this term.

      When saying the Celts or describing the Celtic people we use a hard C for pronunciation. The only time we use the soft C or S sound is when referring to Glasgow Celtic football club, just like the Boston Celtics have a soft C.

      Hope this helps. So glad to be able to answer some of your Irish and Celtic questions.

      Reply
      • Grammy says

        July 12, 2012 at 6:49 pm

        It does, Thank you!! My confusion is all cleared up 🙂

        Reply
      • Clare Mcclure says

        December 7, 2019 at 2:06 pm

        Gaeilge is the form of Gaelic language spoken in Ireland. We would generally say Gaeilge in Ireland if saying we speak Irish. “Irish” is the English translation for “Gaeilge”. Ta Gaeilge agam.xx

        Reply
  4. Cheryl Barker says

    July 11, 2012 at 11:18 am

    Maired, how interesting! Fun to hear how the Irish want to keep the conversation going so just avoid yes and no. Thanks for another peek into all things Irish!

    Reply
    • Irish American Mom says

      July 11, 2012 at 9:08 pm

      Cheryl – The Irish are great talkers. Whenever I go home I really take note of how much people love a conversation, even with strangers. I think that is one reason why tourists love Ireland so much.

      Reply
  5. Corinna O'Brien says

    July 20, 2012 at 4:29 pm

    How right you are – yes or no are not well known concepts in Ireland. They wouldn’t be, would they…. 🙂

    Reply
    • Irish American Mom says

      July 20, 2012 at 5:53 pm

      Corinna – A chat is always on the cards in Ireland, so no point using a simple yes or no as an answer. Sometimes I miss friendly chats with strangers from my days in Ireland. All the best!

      Mairead

      Reply
  6. Joy says

    October 3, 2012 at 3:17 am

    Mairead- I’m SO glad I read this article. I’m part Irish, and it really explains a lot about why I like to talk as much as I do. I thought I just inherited it from my parents. lol
    And, it also explains why I tend to not always give a straight answer when asked a question. I, too, feel like just a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ is too short sometimes. Don’t get me wrong, I do tend to give just a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer sometimes. But often-times, I will give a longer answer to a simple question. It really bugs my husband sometimes, because he’s of the “just get to the point” school of thought. lol And I tend to want to give an answer, and then explain why I gave the answer I did. lol

    I really like your site by the way. It’s really interesting to read about the land of my ancestors (Johnsons and Morgans/McKays). I hope to one day go back and actually visit Ireland. The last time I was there, it was just for a layover when I was leaving Italy to move back to the States (my dad was in the U.S. Army). My dad and I were at the Shannon Airport for about 45 minutes, so we didn’t really have time to get out and take in the view. But it was cool to hear the dialect of the locals who worked there. 🙂

    Reply
    • Irish American Mom says

      October 3, 2012 at 8:15 am

      Joy – I am so happy you found my site. I too seldom use ‘yes’ and ‘no’, but answer with a sentence most of the time. It definitely is part of our heritage. I hope you make it to see Ireland some day. It really is beautiful. Come back and visit whenever you get a chance.
      Best wishes,
      Mairead

      Reply
  7. language school Ireland says

    July 21, 2013 at 9:45 am

    Tremendous things here. I am very glad to see your post.

    Thank you a lot and I’m taking a look ahead to get in touch with you. Will you kindly drop me a mail?

    Reply
    • Irish American Mom says

      July 22, 2013 at 10:57 am

      Glad you enjoyed this post.
      All the best,
      Mairéad

      Reply
  8. sam says

    January 2, 2014 at 7:11 am

    Doesn’t sea mean yes

    Reply
    • Irish American Mom says

      January 2, 2014 at 8:28 am

      Sam – Technically “sea” is short for “is é” which mean’s “that’s it”. Over the years many of us who only learned Irish at school, and are not native Irish speakers, started using “sea” to mean “yes”. So if we accept that all languages evolve and change, then in modern times we might agree that “sea” now means “yes”. Thanks for checking out my post and commenting.
      All the best,
      Mairéad

      Reply
  9. Luke says

    February 26, 2016 at 11:59 am

    What about Tá and Níl

    Reply
    • Irish American Mom says

      February 26, 2016 at 12:35 pm

      Hi Luke – ‘Tá’ technically means ‘it is’ and ‘níl’ means ‘it isn’t’. In today’s Irish we use these words to mean yes and no, even though they may not have been used in this way many years ago.
      Thanks for pointing this out.
      All the best,
      Mairéad

      Reply
  10. Teddie says

    April 4, 2016 at 4:19 pm

    Is there a good website that will teach Irish accurately that is free/cheap that you know of? I’ve always learned sea and níl, but recently learned that’s not the case and I want to be able to learn this beautiful language correctly. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Irish American Mom says

      April 4, 2016 at 5:56 pm

      Hi Teddie – I recommend Bitesize Irish Gaelic. This is a program developed by a native Irish speaker and the audio guides are excellent for correct pronunciation. Unfortunately it’s not exactly cheap. It starts at $15 per month, but this does not include audio lessons. With the recorded lessons, listening to a native Irish speaker, the price goes up to $25 per month. Here’s the link for their website … http://www.bitesize.irish/
      I hope this helps.
      All the best,
      Mairéad

      Reply
    • Skibopbkli says

      February 3, 2017 at 3:52 pm

      Duolingo is actually quite good. I myself am fluent in Irish and a lot of the things they teach are spot on, with the exception of a few pronunciations. It’s a free app too, so there’s that.

      Reply
      • Irish American Mom says

        February 5, 2017 at 10:18 am

        Thanks for the tip about this language learning app. Nice to hear the pronunciations are good on it.
        All the best,
        Mairéad

        Reply
  11. Danii Power says

    May 14, 2018 at 6:28 pm

    Hi there, born and raised In Ireland and i loved your article but we do have flat yes and no answers. They’re “tà” which is yes and “nìl” which is no. Seà also mean yeah as a casual way of saying yes.

    Reply
    • Irish American Mom says

      May 19, 2018 at 12:37 pm

      Hi Danii – In modern Ireland we have started using “tá agus níl” for the words yes and no. However, these words technically mean “is” and “is not.” In old Irish there were no words for yes and no, but today we’ll go with the modern ways and use ‘tá agus níl” and just make life a little easier. Thanks so much for adding to our conversation about the Irish language.
      Mairéad

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. A Little Irish | Brandywine Books says:
    March 15, 2019 at 9:32 am

    […] Irish does not have yes and no as words. Instead they respond affirmatively or negatively, such as “Sure, we do,” or “I wouldn’t say that.” Many of them follow this pattern in English too. (source) […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Irish American Mom Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Search My Site

A Warm Welcome From Irish American Mom

I believe it’s never too late to explore your Irish cultural heritage and celebrate your ancestors’ spiritual legacy. Read More About The Irish American Mom Community

Mom’s Recipes and Ramblings Are Featured On Irish Central

A green background around the letters I and C in the Irish Central Logo

Thanks For Visiting

Advertising
Comment Policy
Disclaimer
Disclosure
Privacy Policy
Contact
FAQ's
Sitemap

 

© Copyright 2011-2019, Irish American Mom.

All Rights Reserved.

Previously Featured On Irish American Mom

Black and white image of two coal miners with lunch pails

Labor Day Reflections

Connecting Ireland to the history of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving – The Irish Connection

Blue graphic for triad of Ireland number 204

The Triads Of Ireland

Book cover for Oisin the Brave on Robot Island by Derek Mulveen and Michelle Melville

Introducing Oisín the Brave Plus A Giveaway From Éire’s Kids

An angel holding shamrocks in her white gown

Prayers For The Angels Of Sandy Hook Elementary School

Many Thanks to the Irish Blog Awards – Irish American Mom Won the Silver Award in the 2018 Diaspora Category

Silver glittery b for the silver winner badge in the Blog Awards Ireland 2018

Recent Reader Comments

  • Lois on How To Cook Rutabaga Or Turnip Irish Style
  • Clare Mcclure on Irish – A Language Without Words For ‘Yes’ and ‘No’
  • Irish American Mom on Homemade Mincemeat
  • Mariana on Homemade Mincemeat
  • Irish American Mom on May Peace And Plenty Be The First To Lift The Latch On Your Door
  • Kathleen on May Peace And Plenty Be The First To Lift The Latch On Your Door
  • Nuala Kelly on The First Christmas Sweater – A Christmas Tale From Ireland

Copyright © 2019 · Lifestyle Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

This site uses cookies: Find out more.