hi i was hoping someone would be able to help me. i've been trying to find the irish word for the english word "shy" as in (a shy girl). i've looked through a bunch of dictionaries and been on various websites but noone can seem to agree on anything. one website said that "naireach" although it means ashamed, "cailin naireach" means a shy girl. another wrote back saying "cailin faiteach" meant a shy girl. i wanted to get this phrase tattood but i want to make sure of the spelling and translation because i cannot speak or understand gaelic. if anyone knows the correct translation and spelling, or if any of the above are correct can you also tell me how it would be pronounced. i would really appreciate it. thanks.
shannan

'Cailín cúthail' is what I would say. 'Faiteach' has the primary meaning of timid, fearful; 'náireach' shameful or prone to shame.

I think that the old Gaelic script would be neat for tattoos, but technically I can't send the phrase to you using it, although it is evidently not very difficult. (Some people would probably like to post in the cló Gaelach right here in this forum.)

i was wondering if someone could also tell me how you would pronounce 'cailin cuthail'.

KAH-leen KOO-huhl (The 'uh' is meant to be the indistinct vowel sound in the English word 'the'. Both l's and the n are slender: If you want to pronounce them authentically, spread the ends of your mouth out in a smile as you say them. The 'KAH' may sound to you like the English Kyle. In Munster (for example, Cork and Kerry in the south of the country) the emphasis on cailín would fall on the second syllable: kah-LEEN.

what's the difference between cailin cuthail and cailin cuthaileach?

There's no difference in meaning. 'Cúthail' has a lot of variations, including several that end in -ach: cúthaileach, cúthailteach, and cúthalach. Cúthail is in all the standard dictionaries. It is pronounced as if spelled cúil in parts of Conamara. Cúthailteach, I think, is the most common version in Donegal. All of them should be understood anywhere.

i wanted to thank you for the above information and i also wanted to know if you could help with a few other details. on january 5th my sister plans on geting her second tattoo. she has chosen a irish design and wants the irish words for the english " i am ". i'm not sure if she means it like she's irish or maybe like this is what "i am". i'm not sure there's even a diffrence. also you had mentioned above that the words for my tattoo would look nice in old gaelic script. any ides on any websites or books that would be able to show some examples. i would really appreciate your help again. thanks.