ar aon nós
/ɛɾʲ eːn̪ˠ n̪ˠõːsˠ/word by word
The Irish phrase for 'anyway' is ar aon nós.
ar aon nós is used to mean 'anyway' or 'in any case'.
Meaning: regardless (adv)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the preposition ar (on), the adjective aon (one/any) and the noun nós (way/manner), which together literally mean 'in any way'.
How does it change in a sentence?
ar aon nós is indeclinable, meaning it does not change its form regardless of the case or gender of other words in the sentence.
How do you pronounce it?
/ɛɾʲ eːn̪ˠ n̪ˠõːsˠ/
Did you know?
- The preposition ar is a linguistic merger of three distinct Old Irish words that once meant 'for', 'on', and 'after'.
- While ar aon nós means 'anyway' today, the word nós originally referred to a 'custom' or 'tradition' rather than just a 'way' or 'method'.
- The word nós is a distant relative of the Welsh word naws, which describes a person's 'nature' or 'disposition'.
Examples in context
- Tá sé go maith, ach ar aon nósIt's fine, but anyway
- Ar aon nós, tá mé sásta.Anyway, I am happy.
Example conversation
Niamh and Conor are deciding whether to go for a walk in the rain.
- NiamhTá sé ag cur báistí go trom.It is raining heavily.
- ConorTá an uisce ann, ach téigh ar aon nós, a Niamh.The water is there, but go anyway, Niamh.
- NiamhAn bhfuil an dara dath cóta agat?Do you have the second color coat?
- ConorNíl, ach ní bhabhair mé ar aon nós.No, but I'm not afraid anyway.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry ar aon nós, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (ar, aon, nós) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries aon, ar, nós, CC BY-SA 4.0.
