Dedicated to the Gaelic Language of the Isle of Man
Lessoonyn Meanagh

Intermediate Lessons

lesson 5: Mie lhiat? - Do you like?

Once you know where someone lives you might want to find out if they like it there.

We've seen that the word for good is mie. We've used it in 'Moghrey mie', 'Fastyr mie' and 'Oie vie' and in 'Mie dy liooar'. So 'mie' is 'good'. And the idiom for asking someone if they like something is to ask, very simply, 'Good with you?' which is 'Mie lhiat?' 'Lhiat' means 'with you'.

Mie lhiat Purt Çhiarn? Good with you, Port Erin? Do you like Port Erin? [Mie lhiat Purt Çhiarn?] ---------- Mie lhiat Purt Çhiarn?

And if we do like Port Erin, we can say S'mie lhiam, It's good with me, I like it. S'mie lhiam. [S'mie lhiam.] ---------- S'mie lhiam. Mie lhiat Purt Çhiarn?

S'mie lhiam Purt Çhiarn.

'Lhiat' means with you, and 'lhiam' means with me. Mie lhiat Rhumsaa?

S'mie lhiam. Mie lhiat Doolish?

S'mie lhiam.

If the answer is no, then we can say 'Cha mie lhiam.' Not good with me, [Cha mie lhiam.] ---------- Cha mie lhiam.

Mie lhiat Mwyllin Doo Aah?

Cha mie lhiam. S'mie lhiam Laksaa. Mie lhiat Laksaa?

Cha mie lhiam. S'mie lhiam Doolish.

Apart from places, there are plenty of other things that we might like to say we like or perhaps we don't like. Let's pretend you don't like water, so if I ask, Mie lhiat ushtey? you'd say -

Cha mie lhiam. / Mie lhiat caffee? You like coffee, so you'd say ----------

S'mie lhiam.

To find out if Juan likes something then we can use the same idiom with 'lesh', 'Mie lesh _____?' 'Good with him _____?', Does he like _____? ['Mie lesh _____'] ---------- Mie lesh _____?

Mie lesh bainney? - Does he like Milk? [Mie lesh bainney?] ---------- Mie lesh bainney?

Or we can also include his name. Mie lesh Juan shugyr? - Does Juan like sugar? [Mie lesh Juan shugyr?] ---------- Mie lesh Juan shugyr?

In either case, the answer could be: S'mie lesh – He likes it. - [S'mie lesh.] ---------- S'mie lesh. Or if he doesn't like it:

Cha mie lesh. He doesn't like it. [Cha mie lesh.] ---------- Cha mie lesh.

Or alternatively, we could include his name again.

S'mie lesh Juan - Juan does like it. [S'mie lesh Juan.] ---------- S'mie lesh Juan, or possibly:

Cha mie lesh Juan - Juan doesn't like it. [Cha mie lesh Juan.] ---------- Cha mie lesh Juan.

To find out if she likes something then we use this idiom with 'lhee', meaning 'with her', 'lhee'. Mie lhee _____? Does she like _____? [Mie lhee _____?] ---------- Mie lhee _____?

Mie lhee bainney? - does she like milk? [Mie lhee bainney?] ---------- Mie lhee bainney?

S'mie lhee. She does like it. [S'mie lhee.] ---------- S'mie lhee.

Cha mie lhee. She doesn't like it. [Cha mie lhee.] ---------- Cha mie lhee.

If we're asking particularly about Mary, we'd ask Mie lesh Mary bainney?- Does Mary like milk? [Mie lesh Mary bainney?] ---------- Mie lesh Mary bainney?

The answer could be: S'mie lhee, or Cha mie lhee, she likes or doesn't like it, or, if we include her name, it could be:

S'mie lesh Mary. Mary does like it. [S'mie lesh Mary.] ---------- S'mie lesh Mary; or, of course,

Cha mie lesh Mary. Mary doesn't like it. [Cha mie lesh Mary.] ---------- Cha mie lesh Mary.

Mie lesh Mary ushtey?

S'mie lesh Mary.

Mie lesh Mary bainney?

Cha mie lesh Mary.

So I like is S'mie lhiam. [S'mie lhiam.] ---------- S'mie lhiam.
You don't like is Cha mie lhiat. [Cha mie lhiat.] ---------- Cha mie lhiat.
Does she like is Mie lhee? [Mie lhee?] ---------- Mie lhee?
And he likes is S'mie lesh. [S'mie lesh.] ---------- S'mie lesh.

And lesh is what we use if we're talking about particular people such as Juan and Mary.

Mie lesh Juan bainney? Does Juan like milk? [Mie lesh Juan bainney?] ---------- Mie lesh Juan bainney?
Cha mie lesh Mary ushtey. Mary doesn't like water. [Cha mie lesh Mary ushtey.] ---------- Cha mie lesh Mary ushtey.

Shen eh veih lessoon queig.

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