Hi all!
I have been searching for the closest translation of "any road" for a tattoo (mostly using IGT with a little help from the Irish Studies profs at my university). I think the consensus is "bealach ar bith". I want to be absolutely sure that means what I want it to, so any feedback you can provide is much appreciated . For context, the quote I'm drawing from is "If you don't know where you're going, any road will tak you there"

Thanks !!

Looks good to me.

Bealach means "way" in the sense of "road" as well as in the sense of "means or method". It covers a range of meanings.

The more literal bóthar would be a bit strange out of context.

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Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

Am I right in thinking that "bealach ar bith" without a verb could be interpreted as "no road"?

For example:
An raibh aon duine ann? (Was anyone there?)
Duine ar bith. (Nobody at all)

Maybe aon bealach would be better.

Quite the opposite. Without a negative verb, ar bith means "any", so it is perfect.

Aon is used instead of ar bith in Munster, but is slightly different in usage. Without a verb it means "one". Aon bhealach on its own just looks like "one road" rather than "any road".

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Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

Not aon bhealach?

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Is fearr Gaeilg na Gaeltaċta ná Gaeilg ar biṫ eile
Agus is í Gaeilg Ġaoṫ Doḃair is binne

Aon bhealach = Any road ( a Lugaidh)
Bealach amháin = One road
Aon bhealach amháin = Only one road
Aon bhealach ar bith = Any road at all/whatsoever
Bealach ar bith = ?

I still think there can be an (unspoken) negative in some "ar bith" phrases. A few more examples:

(Níl) caill ar bith orm = Not a bother on me
(Níl) ciall ar bith agat = You have no sense
(Gan) fadhb ar bith = No problem
(Gan) cúis ar bith = Without cause

I still think aon bhealach is just as ambiguous on its own as bealach ar bith.

Given the context of the quote, I think that aon bhealach ar bith would remove any ambiguity in either direction and be closest to the intended meaning:

aon bhealach ar bith "any road"

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Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

Thanks for your help Just to be clear, "aon bhealach ar bith" is the most unambiguous?

I think so, yes, but wait for other opinions on that.

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Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).