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

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, Modern 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 no longer 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
Third neuter —ea—
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

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From Old Irish sib. Cognates include Irish sibh and Manx shiu.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ʃiv/, /ʃu/

Pronoun

sibh

  1. ye, you (polite and/or plural)

See also
Scottish Gaelic personal pronouns
simple emphatic
singular plural singular plural
First person mi sinn mise sinne
Second person thu, tu1) sibh thusa, tusa1) sibhse
Third person m e iad esan iadsan
Third person f i ise
*) sibh and sibhse also act as the polite singular pronouns.
**) To mark a direct object of a verbal noun, the derivatives of gam are used.
1) used when following a verb ending in -n, -s or -dh.

References
  • Edward Dwelly (1911), “sibh”, in Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan [The Illustrated Gaelic–English Dictionary], 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN
  • G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “sib”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
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