A translation service for the
Glaswegian Impaired. Listed below are some words used in
Glasgow and some other areas of
Scotland and a rough equivalent in standard English. Note that some of the words depend greatly on context and some are simply mis-spellings due to the strength of the accent used in Glasgow, in relation to which the spelling is phonetic. If you've ever tried to read
Trainspotting or any
James Kelman books and got stuck this might help. I haven't tried to display the sound here, but if you take any vowels and expand them beyond all reason and then add a touch of the noise of a dog barking around the consonant you'll be close to the thing
I'll expand this list over time. msg me if you think of anything that should be added or if you have a word you have come across you want an explanation of, in which case please supply some context.
Also, I thought about creating separate pages a la Webster for this, but the idea of someone being able to pull up just one page to reference whilst reading something seemed to fit better. Where there is a more full definition of a word I have hard-linked it to the relevant node, since my definitions are fairly short you might want to check out the full write-ups. If I've missed any hard-links out please msg me and I'll add them.
aboot - about
aff - off, also used as in to retrieve something from someone I got the disk aff him
ah - I
ah'll or ahll - I will.
ahm - I am
ain - own
an aw - as well, or and all
arsed - bothered as in I cannot be arsed (bothered)
auld - old
awe - all
awe the gither - all together
bookies - book-keepers, gambling shop
boozer - Pub or in reference to a person, someone who drinks often
boax - box
broat - brought
bunnet - hat
cannae - cannot
c'moan , c'mon - come on
cos - because
crappin - Scared, crap means shit, so to be crappin oneself is to be shit scared of something
croanie - old friend or companion
deek - look
diz - does
doon - down
eh - of
fae - from
fawin - falling
flush - in the money, well off
fur - for
gaf - home, sometimes a general place
gawn - gone, expressing that the o is stretched out to sound more like fawn
gawin - going
gies - give me
gonnae - going to
gouchin' - state of drug induced sloth in a nightclub or rave, usually comes from taking heroin spiked E or similar.
greetin - crying
haudin - holding
heid - head
heid case - crazy person
hen - Older term for woman or girl. Often not taken well by younger women it is a term that should not be used unless certain not to insult
hing - hang around, gather
hud - had
hudnae - had not
huv - have
im - him
intae - into
is - me, from a mis-pronounced use of the term us Glasgow people often referring to themselves in the plural. Also used just as the word is
isnae - is not
jist - just
lassie - girl
lik - like
ken - know, this word is used outside of Glasgow mostly on the East coast and some northern areas. In Glasgow it is most often used when making fun of other Scots accents
mah - my
massel - myself
maest - most
maw - mother
mibbe - maybe
mob - undercover police
mob handed - arriving with a large group of people, normally with the intention of fighting
'n - and
no - not, but also used as no
nae - no, but only in contexts such as that is nae problem, otherwise see no
nuthin - nothing
oan - on
oot - out
ower - over
poacket - pocket
polis - police
punt - to move or go, as in to punt down the street
punter - Most often used in relation to drugs. A punter is someone who sells drugs, or if used in another context also someone who is buying drugs (normally plural here). Also used as meaning someone who places bets on horses or dogs. Can also be used as a general term for a customer of sorts. Confusing that one, huh?
spraff - talk
stoatin - drunk, but can also mean stoned on one or another drugs, although this is less common.
stey - stay
tae - to
team handed - arriving with a large group of people, normally with the intention of fighting
telt - told
thit - that
thur - They're or their
tick - to get something on tick is to receive it before paying.
todd - alone, on my own would be on my todd
thoat - thought
um - him
wan - one
wahnts - wants
wee - small, sometimes, but see wee
wey - with, pronounced way
whit - what
wi - with
windae - window
wis - was
wisney - was not
wummin - women
ye - you
yer - your
yirself - yerself - yourself
yin - one
youse - you lot, or a plural of you, similar to Y'all.