Tattoo translation

deenz

Hey guys! 

can someone check for me if

Coinniġ do ṁisneaċ

means 

‘keep your courage’

or is it 

Coinnigh do Mhisneach ?

(keep your chip up) (keep moving) 

I’m just not sure how accurate google translate is with some things.

Its for a small tattoo:

Is there a certain way it should be facing like (horizontally or vertically) does it matter? would it still spell correctly?

if someone could doublecheck for me, it would be much appreciated :)

If you have any idea or photos you can show me from similar things it would mean the world 🙏

Peregrinus

Either of these is correct (except the capital 'M' stuck into the second one is a bit random). They're basically the same phrase, printed using different typographical conventions. The older convention was to use a little dot to indicate lenition of a consonant; the new convention is to indicate it with an added 'h'. So these are just different ways of writing the same words. If you're writing it with the old convention, it would be usual also to use a gaelic typeface; with the new convention, a Roman typeface.

However, without a context, the phrase could be a tiny bit ambiguous. Coinnigh can also mean "conserve, retain, do not waste, hold in reserve" in the sense of "conserve your strength, pick your battles" — i.e. you don't always need to display courage; keep it for when you do. If that's not what you're trying to say then you could consider the alternative ná caill do mhisneach - "don't lose your courage" or, as we'd more probably say in English, "don't lose heart".

As regards orientation, there's nothing to stop you orienting the phrase vertically (as it would be on the spine of a book, say). But I wouldn't orient the letters horizontally, but place them one on top of the other, like this:

C

o

i

n

n

i

g

h

It wouldn't change the spelling of the phrase; it's just unreadable.

deenz

Peregrinus

thank you so much for the response I was so helpful.

I think the capital M was a mistake on my phone, but everything should be lowercase yeah ?

I was originally looking for a quote ‘keep your head up’ or something similar in Irish and the follow was translated:

Coinniġ do ṁisneaċh

Keep your courage: I also like the meaning of it.

but if it’s one of those things, that’s too confusing to put together in a tattoo that would be behind the ear vertically then maybe I should just have:

ṁisneaċh

what do you reckon ? That would work vertically as well.

im honestly open to any suggestions regarding: strength, courage, keeping your head/chip up :)

Peregrinus

If it's going behind the ear, that's not a lot of space. So keep it short. Misneach (without the dot over the 'm'/the 'h' after it) is good. And if, by "vertically", you mean with the letters stacked on top of one another as shown in my last post, no, don't do this; there's a reason we don't write like this on the page, on signs or notices, or indeed anywhere. Behind your ear is not a good place to start. But if you mean with the word on its side, as it would be on the spine of a book, yeah, that's fine.

Resist any temptation to put the entire word in capital letters. Again, there's a reason why lower-case letters were invented, and are used; they're easier to read.

Reati

Keep your head up high is:

"Do cheann a choinneáil in airde" a Bit long for a tattoo perhaps.

languages should never be direct translated as it loses context so Coinnigh an mhisneach is a much nicer choice for the sentiment.

Peregrinus

"Do cheann a choinneáil in airde" means "to hold your head up high". It's not a command; it's the infinitive. The exhortataion "hold your head up high!" would be "choinnigh do cheann in airde!"

deenz

Yeah you’re right it’s too long for a tattoo behind the ear unfortunately :( and that’s where I want to get it.

I’m going to keep it simple then :)

i reckon misneach behind the ear then!

I’ll send two photos of tattoos on the side vertically and let me know if it would work :)

if anyone else thinks of something let me know !

thanks so much Reati and Peregrinus <3

IMG_3680.png

IMG_3704.png

deenz

There’s two other photos I sent there you might have to click on to see!

one of them’s a misneach tattoo

Peregrinus

My advice - forget all the curly scripts. They're illegible, and therefore annoying. Keep it simple, and use a relatively plain and simple script. It should be possible for someone who sees it to read it at a glance.

Of course, this is an artistic and aesthetic matter. Your judgment may be different; you may love the curly stuff. In the end, you're the one who's going to be wearing this tattoo, so get the tattoo you're happy to wear.

deenz

IMG_3705.jpeg

Let me know what you think of that one above ^^ I like them all tbh. I want it to be readable too

Peregrinus

That's not bad (though I would use a capital 'M').

nzqtotld

It's great that you're doing your research before getting your tattoo. Google Translate can be a bit tricky sometimes, especially with translations like these. I remember when I was considering a tattoo in a different language, I made sure to double-check with native speakers to ensure accuracy. As for the orientation, it really depends on personal preference. Some people prefer horizontal, others vertical. Have you checked out ? They have some helpful insights on different tattoo styles that might inspire you for your design!