About this phrase
- Go is a verbal particle, indicating the present subjunctive mood.
- Raibh is the present subjunctive of the verb bí meaning be.
- Maith is the singular, feminine noun meaning goodness.
- Agat is the second, singular prepositional pronoun of the pronoun ag meaning by, at.
Thus, go raibh maith agat: may there be goodness by (or at) you. The gist of this is essentially 'may you have good fortune' but the actual meaning is thank you.
Other ways of saying thanks
Go raibh maith agat is probably the commonest way in which thanks are expressed in Irish but it is far from being the only one. The following all have great currency:
- Míle buíochas (thank you very much). Literally, 'a thousand thank yous'.
- Go raibh míle maith agat (thank you very much). Literally, 'may there be a thousand goodnesses by you'.
- Gabhaim buíochas leat (thank you). Munster equivalent of go raibh maith agat. Literally, 'I extend thanks to you'.
- Pronounced, roughly, gom bway-chuss lat. This ch is the voiceless velar fricative (/x/), as in the German 'achtung'. It's not the voiceless palato-alveolar sibilant affricate (/ts′/), as in the English 'chop', 'chip', 'chap' and 'chump'.
- Regarding the ch consonant cluster in written Irish, it is always pronounced /x/ or something close to it (there are minor variations). Ignore completely any person or publication that tells you it's pronounced the same as it is in English. They're mistaken.
- Go bhfága Dia an tsláinte agat (may God leave you your health). Used to express particularly great and sincere thanks. Not to be used trivially.
The opposite of thank you
It is quite possible to invert the phrase go raibh maith agat to form a mild curse or imprecation. Ná raibh maith agat, which literally means may there not be goodness by you, might be said to someone who has done you some wrong or let you down. While this form is not common in everyday speech, it is perfectly naturalistic and is sometimes used by good native speakers.
The expression of 'having'
As this phrase demonstrates, there is no verb to have in Irish. The concept of 'having' is generally expressed by a thing being 'by' / 'at' the person or thing that has it:
- Tá deirfúr ag Máire: Máire has a sister ('there is a sister by Máire').
- Bhí gadhar ag Conchubhar: Conchubhar had a dog ('there was a dog by Conchubhar').
- Níl scilling ag Gobnait: Gobnait hasn't a bob ('there is not a shilling by Gobnait').
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This is not a universal form however. In some cases, the having is expressed by the thing being 'on' that which has it:
- Tá eireaball ar an gcat: the cat has a tail ('there is a tail on the cat').
- Bhí deireadh tubaisteach ar an scéal: the story had a tragic ending ('there was a tragic ending on the story').
- Tá dhá thaobh air: it has two sides ('there are two sides on it').
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Further study is recommended regarding the correct usages of these forms.