Tattoo ‘life is worth living’

[idaa]

Hey everybody!

My name is Ida, i spent the last seven months in Ireland. I love this country and its people so much. I found a family here and i’d like to take something with me that will always remind of my beautiful time here.
I thought about getting a tattoo. Before i came to Ireland i had a few hard years and my time here has shown me again that ‘life is worth living’.

I found following translation and i just wanted to get sure, that it’s right before i get that tattoo.

‘is aoibhinn bheith beo’

Hope to here from you soon.
Thanks a million!

[Héilics Órbhuí]

Basically that translation means “It’s wonderful to be alive”.

It depends what you want to say – translation is a tricky thing and it becomes important to know the exact sense of what you want to express.

Something like “Is fiú é an saol” – Life is wortwhile, life matters, might be more close to what you want. But there are potentially a lot of ways of saying this, so it depends what you want to express.

[aonghus]

I think “Is aoibhinn bheith beo” captures what Ida wants to say and is idiomatic.

A more literal translation will be clunky.

[Héilics Órbhuí]

Seans gur fíor duit é. To me, “is aoibhinn bheith beo” says something a bit different, though. The suggestion is that the act of being alive is wonderful. The phrase “life is worth living” to me connotes that there is a value to living, that the endeavor is preferable to the alternative. None of these things are contained in “is aoibhinn bheith beo”. But I find translation tricky in general.

[idaa]

Thanks a million for the replies!

“Is fiú é an saol” sounds better to me. The translation is much closer to what i wanted to say.

Maybe there is someone else, who could confirm that translation. I just want to be really sure.

And it would be great if someone could tell me how to pronounce that sentence and check if there are any spelling mistakes.

Thank you for your help, it means a lot to me!
Ida

[Héilics Órbhuí]

I’d get a few more confirmations before I got this tattooed on my body, but as far as pronunciation goes, approximately:

is fyoo ay an sayl (or seel, depending on dialect). (ay = like in “day”)

Again, that’s very rough, but good enough I suppose.

[idaa]

Thanks for the pronounciation!
I will definitely wait longer. I really hope i get some more replies.
But thanks so far.

[Seáinín]

Garry Bannister, in his book “Gaelic Idioms” translates the English phrase “My life isn’t worth living” to Ní beo liom mo bheo. Certainly not the meaning you’re trying to convey(!) but it suggests there may be a more idiomatic way to get at it.

[Héilics Órbhuí]

Interesting! Thanks for that one – I hadn’t heard it before. I’m wondering how you’d turn that into what the OP wanted, i.e. in the impersonal sense.

I think it’s very likely there is a more appropriate idiom than what has been suggested so far, but I don’t know it 😉

[Onuvanja]

I think “Is aoibhinn bheith beo” captures what Ida wants to say and is idiomatic.

A more literal translation will be clunky.

I’m with Aonghus on this one. The Irish expression might not correspond 100% to what you’re looking for, but is probably the closest native idiom you can get. Literal translation doesn’t make much sense, in my opinion.

[idaa]

Hey everyone!
Thanks for the replies, it’s very hard to choose, because I don’t speak irish at all.
I hope I get some more replies, so I can be sure about the tattoo.
But thanks so far.
Ida

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