# Translation please, Irish Dopers! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 11, 2001, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-please-irish-dopers/86757 "2001-10-11T07:36:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AwSnappity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a3d4f5/32.png) [@AwSnappity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AwSnappity)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-please-irish-dopers/86757/1 "2001-10-11T07:36:36Z")
For French class, I have to pretend that I’m sending a postcard from abroad. Right now, I’m “in” Ireland. I thought it would be kind of funny to write “I went to Ireland and all I bought for you was this lousy postcard” on the front side. Can anyone help me translate this into Irish, please? ( **ruadh** : I’m looking in your direction!) Thank you very much! ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-please-irish-dopers/86757/2 "2001-10-11T09:53:12Z")
Chuaigh Mé go heirinn ach gach a cheannaigh mé tusa is an Geansai ceac sin. Rough translation… I went to Ireland and all I bought is this shit t-shirt. Any use? ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2001, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-please-irish-dopers/86757/3 "2001-10-12T06:57:45Z")
Remember I’m nowhere near fluent, but my best effort is: Chuaigh mé go hÉireann agus níl cheannaigh mé duit ach an cárta poist scallta seo. ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2001, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-please-irish-dopers/86757/4 "2001-10-12T09:42:56Z")
Where the hell did I get T-shirt from??? 😉 Sorry about that FUB! ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2001, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-please-irish-dopers/86757/5 "2001-10-12T10:06:15Z")
What **ruadh** said, but “níor cheannaigh”. ---
**Author:** ![manwithaplan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@manwithaplan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manwithaplan)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2001, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-please-irish-dopers/86757/6 "2001-10-12T12:04:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ruadh \* > \*\*Remember I’m nowhere near fluent, but my best effort is: > > Chuaigh mé go hÉireann agus níl cheannaigh mé duit ach an cárta poist scallta seo. \*\* I’m also no expert but I’m with Hibernicus on the “níor cheannaigh” and I think you need to put the words “aon rud” between “mé” and “duit”. Bet you wish you never asked now. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2001, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-please-irish-dopers/86757/7 "2001-10-12T14:16:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by manwithaplan \* > \*\* > I think you need to put the words “aon rud” between “mé” and “duit”. > \*\* No, “níl ach” is good Irish for “there’s only”, e.g. “níl ann ach deich bpunt” - “there’s only ten pounds in it”. So “níor cheannaigh mé ach…” means “I only bought…” ---
**Author:** ![manwithaplan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@manwithaplan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manwithaplan)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2001, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-please-irish-dopers/86757/8 "2001-10-12T14:45:45Z")
Thanks, hibernicus. As my old Latin teacher would have said to me, my translation was “a bit free, manwithaplan, a bit free”. He meant “wrong” ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2001, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-please-irish-dopers/86757/9 "2001-10-12T18:54:05Z")
Erm, besides that little mistake (thanks hib) it also should have been “go hÉirinn” not “go hÉireann” - as Twisty said to begin with. _sigh_ frigging noun cases… ---
**Author:** ![AwSnappity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a3d4f5/32.png) [@AwSnappity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AwSnappity)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-please-irish-dopers/86757/10 "2001-10-13T20:33:44Z")
Thanks, all! I’ll try to decipher it. 🙂 I’m sure my French teacher will never know the difference, though.