Today is International Day of Happiness and whilst we all know happiness can be ephemeral, fleeting and downright hard to hold onto, Gaeilge provides us with beautiful, poetic phrases for the best of feelings.
Words beginning with the letter 'S' generally signify good things in Irish. The adjectives suaimhneach, sona, sásta and suáilceach all denote good vibes and inversely, words beginning with 'D' generally describe negative experiences; dorcha, duairc and dólás to name but a few.
Here are some of our favourite ways to talk about happiness and how best to describe it:
Ní cheannóidh an saol an suaimhneas- money can't buy happiness.
Tá mé ar mo sháimhín só - I am happy out.
I wish you joy and happiness- guím séan agus sonas ort, sonas agus séan ort.
Bhí sonas ina ghnúis- there was happiness in his eyes.
Bhí mo chroí lán le háthas- My heart was filled with joy.
