Hey!

I was hoping I could get a translation for a tattoo I wanted to get. I will give a quick note about circumstances to see if this help for translation... unfortunately I lost a very close friend to suicide and something that really stuck with me after being with the family and reading the note were the words "Stay Strong"... they were a reminder for his friends and family and I thought It would be a nice tattoo and also a little reminder for myself to always stay strong...

I have looked up the translation and also asked in a reddit post and I got "fan laidir" but I have heard that is sort of awkward and isn't a proper phrase. so is there a better equivalent to "stay strong" I could use? or perhaps given the context would the direct translation due well?

... Side note: I am an Irish citizen through my family history and so I plan in going there frequently... don't want the Gaelic to show how Canadian I really am...

thanks so much in advance!

Fan láidir (don't forget the accent on á)

I'd prefer:

Coinnigh do neart (Keep your strength)

At least in my mind this sounds more idiomatic (because Irish is generally fond of nouns)

You could spare a letter (h) by using a dot:
Coinniġ do neart

For a more poetic sound perhaps

fan teann
(it nearly rhymes!)

If not for rhyme, perhaps

seas teann
or
seas daingean

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ЯГОН ТОҶИК НЕСТ ИНҶО???

Hello!

I was just wanting to double check a phrase before I stick it on my body forever!... I wanted to get “stay strong” tattooed on my arm in irish and I was able to find the direct translation but I’d rather use something similar that is more “proper” irish and was told “Coinnigh do neart” would work better and be more authentic.

Is this true? If not does anyone have another suggestion?

Thanks,

Brendan Mahon

Well, Coinnigh do neart does follow the pattern of the common Irish exhortation Coinnigh do mhisneach so it is grammatically okay.

However, neart is "physical strength"; misneach itself is "mental strength; resoluteness". (See sense 2 here.)

So, why not stick with the traditional phrase?

Coinnigh do mhisneach

Await further input ...

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[hr]Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher[/hr]
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).

Coinnigh do mhisneach - is the traditional way of comforting/uplifting somebody.