Shawn
Community Tutor
Irish: The meaning of "Feicfidh mé ar ball thú". Doesn't this mean "I will see you later."? Is that correct and natural Irish though or just an English expression imposed onto the Irish language? Also, what is the approximate pronunciation of "feicfidh"? I hear both FEK-HUH and FEK-UH when I listen to its recording on forvo.com. Is that f in the middle supposed to be silent?
Jan 5, 2015 8:37 PM
Answers · 7
3
Yes, it's a natural expression, meaning "See you later". The F of the future tense ending is pronounced as H (although under certain conditions it is still pronounced as F in parts of Munster), which may sometimes be dropped. So "feicfidh" is pronounced "FEK-hee" (in Ulster), "FEK-huh" (in Connacht), "FEK-hig" (in Munster).
January 7, 2015
1
Hi Shawn, It means "I'll see you later", and is quite natural. I'm not surprised you hear varying pronunciations, as there's no standard pronunciation for Irish, but I learned it as "fek-ee", with the 2nd F being silent. Slán go fóill, ~Maidhc
January 6, 2015
Hi Shawn, I'm just a beginner and so not the final word on anything, but I've seen "Feicfidh mé ar ball thú" translated as "see you shortly" and "see you later". I'm not sure whether it's an English expression imposed onto the Irish language but I have heard the phrase on Irish TV many times. The "f" is silent and the Munster pronunciation is something like "fek-hig". The ones you heard must be Connacht and/or Ulster. Hope this helps!
January 6, 2015
Hey, I'm fluent in Irish. You can alternate between feicfidh and chífidh - it's actually more common to hear people say the second one, it flows more naturally. It's pronounced chee-fee. And the feicfidh is pronounced feck-fee.
March 5, 2015
Still haven’t found your answers?
Write down your questions and let the native speakers help you!