A hunner key Doric words
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These North East Scots/Doric words, phrases, and grammatical features can be enlarged,
printed, and placed in windows or other locations round the school. Learners can work in threes
to find and record as many as possible.
Learners can use the Doric Dictionary (http://www.doricdictionary.com/), online Dictionary of the
Scots Language (http://www.dsl.ac.uk/) or the following vocabulary sheets to find definitions.
(Words generally need to be heard or said at least seven times before they will enter the learners’
vocabulary.)
Verbs (action words) in Doric
bide
birl
blad
brak
claik
canna
clap
cowp
dae
dird
ding
doot
fleg
footer
gaan
greet
haud
hiv
ken
mak
mine on
pleep
skraich
swadge
tak
Verbs (action words) in English
stay, live
spin around
spoil
break
gossip, tittle-tattle
can’t
pet
turn over, upside down
do
beat or thump
strike or knock/fall heavily (of snow)
believe/ doubt
frighten, startle
fiddle with
going
weep, cry
hold
have
know
make
remember
whine or complain
screech
relax after eating
take
Prepositions in Doric
afore
ahin
atween
eftir
fae
oot
ower
tae/till/ti
Prepositions in English
before
behind
between
after
from
out
over
to
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Adjectives (describing words) in Doric
auld
daft
fantoosh
feart
gyte
ill-trickit
mad
muckle
peelie-wally
reid
shilpit
stoorie
thrawn
unca/unco
wee
Adjectives (describing words) in English
old
foolish, stupid
fancy, elaborate
afraid
crazy
mischievous
angry
big
sickly, not well
red
feeble
dusty
stubborn, determined, headstrong
strange, unfamiliar
small
Nouns (naming words) in Doric
ba
bairn
trock
bosie
byre
clapshot
cloot
clyse
cog
craitur
the day
freen
gapus
gloamin
gluff
guff
gushel
gutter
hoose
heid
lass(ie),lassock
loon
Merry Dancers
the morn
tatties
kye
neeps
quine
sharn
sooth, Doon Sooth
Nouns (naming words) in English
ball
child
goods of no value, trash, rubbish
bosom, hug
cowshed
potatoes and turnips mashed together
cloth
clothes
wooden tub
creature/person
today
friend
idiot
dusk
fright; inhalation of air
smell
clumsy person
mud
house
head
girl
lad, boy
the Northern Lights
tomorrow
potatoes
cattle
turnips
girl
cow dung (sticking to something)
southern Scotland or England and Wales
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strae
toon
watter
wife, wifie
yowe
straw
town; farmstead; the Toon – Aberdeen
water
woman, married or not
ewe
Pronouns (short words that replace
nouns) in Doric
hit
ma
thon
faa
fit
wir
ye
Pronouns (short words that replace
nouns) in English
it
my
that
who
what, which
our
you
Numbers in Doric
ae or een
twa
siven
hunner
Numbers in English
one
two
seven
hundred
Adverbs in Doric
doon
gey
Adverbs in English
down
very,
somewhat,
rather
now
carefully,
cautiously
noo
canny-like
Exclamations/ Greetings
Michty! Michty
me!
Fit like? Nae
bad ava!
exclamation of
surprise
How are you?
Not bad at all!
Some features of Doric grammar and speech
Negative forms of verbs are created by adding ‘na’ at end – ‘canna’, ‘mustna’ etc.
Present participles end in ‘in’ – never ‘ing’ : ‘scramblin’, ‘pretendin’, ‘surfin the internet’.
Doric/Scots uses older, short vowel sounds in words like ‘hoose’, ‘moose’ and ‘coo’ (like
Norwegian) instead of ‘house’, ‘mouse’ and ‘cow’ (like English).
In Doric, the plural of ‘year’ is ‘year’, not ‘years’. E.g. ‘siven year ago’.
In Doric, many questions words which begin with “w” in English begin with “f” – ‘fit?’. ‘fan?’,
‘fa?’.
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