So, stumbled across this site and now know how to say "good night" and respond.
Can anyone help me with this?
agus beidh me ag caint amareach leat le cuna de,,slan agus beanacht
Much obliged,
Newbie

agus beidh mé ag caint amárach leat
and I will be talking to you tomorrow
le cúnamh Dé
with God's help

slán agus beannacht
good bye and blessings

'Oiche mhaith' was always the standard in my area.

Literally 'night good' it means 'have a good night, as in to sleep, or as in farewell.

Sorry if this sounds like saying grass is green.

I can't understand 'Oiche mhaith' . That's too hard....it doesn't make sense....why is "night" in front of "good"? I don't get it...this is too strange....can't you change it for me and make it easier????

Aonghus...I know you've been speaking Irish from the cradle but I don't like your reference to GOD...take it out of your speech...it's offensive...I'm feeling oppressed....change the way you talk to make me feel better about my miserable existence.....ohhhhh, this is sooooo unfair.....

Sorry, Toe Dancer...you got caught up in a running feud that I've recently decided to wage.

Aonghus is about as clear an authority as you'll get on this site. There are others, but he's been a rock solid source for me over the past several years...his advice is spot on.

The version offered by Tomasocarthaigh is standard Irish and well accepted throughout the Irish speaking community. It will stand you well no matter where you go.

Welcome to this site. In my never to be humble opinion, this is the best on-line resource you'll find. Visit often, use Irish when you can and above all.....have fun!!!

From what I read, Toedancer said she knew how to say "Good Night" and asked for a translation of the line following which Aonghus did in his usual dead on style. TOC then put in his answer to a question that wasn't asked. Another of his "revisions"?

Maidir le 'Literally 'night good' it means 'have a good night' a Thomáis, ciallaíonn 'oíche mhaith' 'good night'. Sin bun agus barr an scéil, cé go dtuigim do mhearbhall ar an gceist.
I understand your meander through noun and adjective, but it causes more empuzzlement for some than it warrants. Mar shampla, bheadh sé chomh maith ag duine a rá go gciallaíonn 'good night' an Bhéarla 'mhaith oíche' i nGaeilg is a rá go gciallaíonn 'oíche mhaith' na Gaeilge 'night good' i mBéarla.

Is mithid an dearcadh isteach sin ar an nGaeilg a fhágáil i do dhiaidh agus teannadh isteach sa teanga tuilleadh go bhfeicir níos fearr ón taobh istigh í. That is to say, that it shall be a lot easier to interpret what is going on from within the language than applying a rule of thumb as you look in at it from another language. Languages are different because, with due regard to areality, they have their own innate rules and not those of a neighbouring language, be it near or far. Any two languages are bound to have their own innate antagonisms.
'Oíche mhaith' meaning 'good night' and not meaning 'night good' is an example.
'Good night' meaning 'oíche mhaith' and not meaning 'mhaith oíche' is the reverse example.

Go bunúsach, bíonn an aidiacht i ndiaidh an ainmfhocail in AON teanga a mbíonn an briathar chun tosaigh san abairt mar ghnás. A mhalairt a tharlaíonn i dteanga nach mbíonn an briathar amhlaidh.
.i. to say, VSO languages have the adjective after the noun, while other languages don't. Ghlac Séamas leis an méid sin agus is fearrde é sin.
Does one have to learn such rules in language learning? No. One may just accept that language X has it's own way of doing things and go with it. Fáilte romhat ina leith is go n-éirí sí leat.

Tomasocartaigh wrote "'Oiche mhaith' was always the standard in my area"
this is profound...coincidentally in my area also. Can anybody else from other areas indicate another standard?
(a dúirt sé le teanga sa leiceann)

ummm, okay, thanks! wow...i guess this is not exactly a language that someone with a severe learning disability in acquiring language should attempt; although, it sounds pretty and definitely looks cool.
thanks again!

a big dog
madra mór

a small cat
cat beag

a good night
oíche mhaith

In Irish we have noun and then adjective.

"maith" ofcourse is an ajective. But it also has a homonym (a word which is both spelled and pronounced the same as it) which is a noun. So, "maith oíche" means "nightly goodness".
Or you might even go as far to say that it's an abbreviation of "is maith an oíche í", which means "it's a good night".

Anyway, the be all and end all of it is that while all languages have certain categories of words (nouns, adjectives, prepositions, adverbs), they don't all put them in the same order:

I closed the door.
1: I (subject)
2: closed (verb)
3: the door (object)

Dhún mé an doras.
1: Dhún (verb)
2: mé (subject)
3: an doras (object)


Even if it's a bit perverted as times: "A beautiful seagull saw I".