sibh

Irish

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old Irish sib (compare Scottish Gaelic sibh, Manx shiu, from Proto-Celtic *swiswis (compare Welsh chwichwi), a reduplicated form of *swīs (“you, ye”) (see Old Irish síi), from Proto-Indo-European *wos.

Pronunciation
  • (Munster, Mayo, Ulster) IPA(key): /ʃɪvʲ/
  • (Galway) IPA(key): /ʃɪbʲ/ (as if spelled sib)

Pronoun

sibh (emphatic form sibhse, conjunctive and disjunctive)

  1. you (plural), ye/you
    Bhí sibh ansin. ― You were there.
    Cloisim sibh. ― I hear you.

Usage notes
  • Unlike many European languages, Irish does not distinguish between "familiar" and "polite" second-person pronouns. Sibh is used to address two or more people, regardless of how well known those people are to the speaker. It is not used to address one single person.
  • The emphatic form sibhse is also used as the vocative: Haigh sibhse! — "Hey you (all)!"

See also
Irish personal pronouns
Number Person (and gender) Conjunctive
(emphatic)		 Disjunctive
(emphatic)		 Possessive
determiner
SingularFirst mé
(mise)		 mo L
m' before vowel sounds
Second tú
(tusa)1		 thú
(thusa)		 do L
d' before vowel sounds
Third masculine sé
(seisean)		 é
(eisean)		 a L
Third feminine sí
(sise)		 í
(ise)		 a H
PluralFirst muid, sinn
(muidne, muide), (sinne)		 ár E
Second sibh
(sibhse)1		 bhur E
Third siad
(siadsan)		 iad
(iadsan)		 a E

L Triggers lenition E Triggers eclipsis H Triggers h-prothesis

1 Also used as the vocative

The reflexive is formed by adding féin to the relevant pronoun: e.g. "myself" = mé féin, "yourselves" = sibh féin.

Further reading
  • "sibh" in Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla, An Gúm, 1977, by Niall Ó Dónaill.
  • “sib” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.
  • “tú” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From Old Irish sib (compare Irish sibh, Manx shiu, from Proto-Celtic *swiswis (compare Welsh chwichwi), a reduplicated form of *swīs (“you, ye”) (see Old Irish síi), from Proto-Indo-European *wos.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): [ʃiv]

Pronoun

sibh

  1. you (plural or formal singular)

Derived terms
  • sibhse (emphatic)
  • sibh-fhéin (reflexive)

See also
  • mi (“I, me”)
  • thu (“you”) (informal singular)
  • e (“he, him”)
  • i (“she, her”)
  • sinn (“we, us”)
  • iad (“they, them”)

References
  • Faclair Gàidhlig Dwelly Air Loidhne, Dwelly, Edward (1911), Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan/The Illustrated [Scottish] Gaelic-English Dictionary (10th ed.), Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN
  • “sib” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.
  • “tú” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.
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