A Crash Course in Scots Vocabulary
Warning: these rules are intended to help readers familiar with English to understand the Scots words that they meet with in their reading only. They're not suitable for writing or speaking Scots. It won't work to try to reverse the rules and construct Scots from English: this will just give you very bad Scots!
What it will do is give you the ability to recognise several hundred of the most common words in Scots in your reading.
Present Participles
English "-ing" endings for the present participles are written "-in" in Scots:
| bein | being |
| comin | coming |
| daein | doing |
| fleein | flying |
| leukin | looking |
| gettin | getting |
| keepin | keeping |
| lauchin | laughing |
| mornin | morning |
| rinnin | running |
| seein | seeing |
| singin | singing |
| sittin | sitting |
| playin | playing |
| tellin | telling |
| thinkin | thinking |
Suffixes
English "-ful" ending is written "-fu" in Scots:
| awfu | awful |
| thankfu | thankful |
Phonetic Correspondences
"-aa" at the end of a word may correspond to English "-all":
| aa | all |
| faa | fall |
| haa | hall |
| smaa | small |
| waa | wall |
"ui" and "eu" in Scots often give the correct English word when replaced with "oo":
| bluid | blood |
| guid | good |
| guidness | goodness |
| muin | moon |
| muir | moor |
| puir | poor |
| stuid | stood |
| suin | soon |
| beuk | book |
| leuk | look |
| neuk | nook |
| teuk | took |
"ch" in Scots sometimes corresponds to "gh" in English:
| bricht | bright |
| knicht | knight |
| lauch | laugh |
| licht | light |
| micht | might |
| nicht | night |
| richt | right |
| sicht | sight |
or "och" to "ough":
| brocht | brought |
| nocht | nought |
| thocht | thought |
"ig" at the end of a Scots word sometimes corresponds to "idge" in English:
| brig | bridge |
| frig | fridge |
| rig | ridge |
"oo" or "ou" (both pronounced "oo" as in "look") in Scots often correspond to English "ow" (or "ou" when it's pronounced "ow"):
| aboot | about |
| hoose | house |
| hou | how |
| mooth | mouth |
| oor | our, hour |
| oot | out |
| prood | proud |
| roond | round |
| soond | sound |
| doun | down |
| flouer | flower |
| nou | now |
| pouer | power |
| toun | town |
An "a" in Scots very often transliterates to an "o" in English:
| bane | bone |
| stane | stone |
| lane | lone |
| lanely | lonely |
| alane | alone |
| gane | gone |
| nane | none |
| craw | crow (verb and noun) |
| shaw | show, a clump of trees, the part of a potato plant aboveground |
| blaw | blow |
| law | low, a prominent conical hill |
| snaw | snow |
| gat | got |
| pat | put, pot |
| tap | top |
| sair | sore |
| mair | more |
| maist | most |
| sang | song |
| alang | along |
| amang | amongst |
| lang | long |
| langer | longer |
| strang | strong |
| wrang | wrong |
| aiken | oaken |
| ain | own |
| baith | both |
| saul | soul |
| ance | once |
| claes | clothes |
If the above rule doesn't help, then dropping the "i" in "ai" might, especially in the first syllable of a word:
| airm | arm |
| chairms | charms |
| faither | father |
| gairden | garden |
| maister | master |
| maiter | matter |
| pairish | parish |
| pairt | part |
| pairty | party |
Plurals in Scots are formed very much as in English, with the following exceptions, where "n" is used as the plural ending:
| singular | plural | English |
|---|
| ee | een | eye/eyes |
| shae | shuin | shoe/shoes |
| ox | owsen | ox/oxen |
Pronouns
Personal pronouns in Scots are:
| I/me |
| thoo/thee |
| he/him |
| she/her |
| it/it |
| ye/ye (or "you", emphatic) |
| they/them |
Possesives:
| mine/mines |
| thy |
| his |
| her |
| its |
| yer (or "your", emphatic) |
| their |
"Self" is "sel" in Scots, therefore the reflexives are:
| mysel |
| thysel |
| hissel (or himsel) |
| hersel |
| itsel |
| yersel/yersels |
| theirsels (or themsels) |
The ending "-na" corresponds to the ending "-n't" in English:
| can/canna | can/can't |
| could/couldna | could/couldn't |
| dae/dinna | do/don't |
| did/didna | did/didn't |
| haed/haedna | had/hadn't |
| hae/hinna | have/haven't |
| haes/haesna | has/hasna |
| is/isna | is/isn't |
| need/needna | need/needn't |
| sall/sanna | shall/shan't |
| should/shouldna | should/shouldn't |
| wad/wadna | would/wouldn't |
| will/winna | will/won't |
| wis/wisna | was/wasn't |
Numbers
| ane twa three fower five sax seeven aicht nine ten eleeven twal |
False Friends
| body | person | (also used as in English) |
| braid | broad | (also used as in English) |
| burn | stream | (in the sense of small river; also used as in English) |
| close | close, narrow alley | (also used as in English) |
| corn | oats or grass crops in general |
| dout | believe, suppose |
| gang | go, walk | (also used as in English) |
| gate | road | (the Scots for the English "gate" is "yett") |
| hill | mountain | (generally used for "mountain" in Scots as well as "hill") |
| meat | food | (of any kind: red meat would be called "fleesh" or "butcher meat" in Scots) |
| storm | snowfall |
Finally...
here's a list of very common Scots words (not including those already given above, nor those that are spelled identically to the English):
| aabody | everybody |
| ablo | below |
| abuin | above |
| ae | one (qualifier) |
| afore | before |
| ahint | behind |
| aiblins | perhaps |
| airt | area, direction |
| aither | either |
| altho | although |
| anither | another |
| aside | beside |
| atween | between |
| auld | old |
| ava | at all (cf French "du tout") |
| awa | away |
| ay | yes |
| aye | always |
| ayont | beyond |
| bairn | child |
| bauld | bold |
| beast | animal |
| ben | through to the inner room |
| bi | by |
| bide | stay |
| black | (the colour, but sometimes used as an intensifier) |
| blythe | merry, happy |
| bonnet | cloth cap |
| bonny | pretty |
| brae | hillside |
| braith | breath |
| brak | broke |
| braw | goodlooking, impressive to see |
| breid | bread |
| breist | breast |
| brither | brother |
| ca | drive in front, hit |
| cam | came |
| canny | easy-going |
| cauld | cold |
| chief | chief, close friends |
| chiel | man |
| crack | conversation, chat |
| cratur | creature |
| cry | call (not used in the sense of "weep") |
| cuddy | donkey, or derogatory term for a horse |
| daith | death |
| dang | threw down |
| daur | dare |
| dee | die |
| deid | dead (sometimes "death") |
| deil | devil |
| ding | throw doun |
| dis | does |
| dochter | daughter |
| dram | a shot of whisky |
| dree | put up with (usually willingly) |
| dreid | dread |
| dug | dog |
| duin | done |
| dule | sorrow, depression |
| dyke | a stone wall |
| ee | eye |
| efter | after |
| eneuch | enough |
| ettle | aim, intend |
| fae | foe |
| fae | from |
| fain | fond |
| fand | found, felt |
| fash | hassle, worry |
| faur | far |
| fause | false |
| fear | frighten |
| feared | afraid |
| fecht | fight |
| feckless | weak, lacking in energy |
| find | find, feel |
| fine | all right |
| fit | foot |
| flee | fly (verb and noun) |
| folk | people |
| forby | besides |
| forrit | forward |
| fou | full |
| frae | from |
| fund | found, felt |
| gae | go, gave |
| gaed | went |
| gaen | gone |
| gar | to cause |
| gaun | going |
| gear | money |
| gey | very, quite, really |
| gie | give |
| gied | gave |
| gien | given |
| gies | gives |
| gin | if |
| gled | glad |
| glen | valley |
| gloamin | evening twilight |
| gotten | received |
| gowd | gold |
| gowden | golden |
| gree | prize |
| greet | weep |
| hairst | harvest, autumn |
| hale | whole, heal, healthy |
| haly | holy |
| hame | home |
| happit | wrapped, clothed |
| haud | hold, celebrate |
| heeven | heaven |
| heid | head |
| hen | hen, a term of endearment for a woman |
| herd | herd, shepherd |
| hert | heart |
| hey | hay |
| hie | high |
| hiech | high |
| hieland | highland |
| himlane | by himself |
| hiv | have |
| I'se | I shall |
| ilk | each |
| ilka | every |
| ill | evil |
| intae | in, into |
| intil | in, into |
| ither | other |
| ithin | within |
| ithoot | without |
| jo | sweetheart |
| juist | just |
| kail | curly cabbage, or a kind of soup |
| ken | know |
| kens | knows |
| kent | knew |
| kin | kind |
| kintra | country |
| kirk | church |
| lad | boy |
| laddie | boy |
| laird | small landowner |
| lass | girl |
| lassie | girl |
| lat | let |
| lave | remainder |
| lea | leave |
| leal | loyal |
| leddy | lady |
| lee | lie (in the sense of falsehood) |
| lie | lie, a pool of water in a field |
| lift | sky, air |
| lilt | song, sing |
| lippen | trust to |
| lo'e | love (verb) |
| loun | boy |
| lout | to bob the head, eg in respect or in going through a low door |
| lowe | fire, flame |
| lown | quiet |
| lowp | jump, leap |
| lug | ear |
| mak | make |
| maun | must |
| meikle | big |
| mey | may |
| mibbie | maybe |
| mind | remember |
| minister | vicar, parson |
| mirk | darkness |
| mither | mother |
| mony | many |
| morn | "the morn" = tomorrow |
| mou | mouth |
| muckle | big |
| na | no |
| nae | no (qualifier) |
| naebody | nobody |
| naething | nothing |
| naither | neither |
| neist | next |
| no | not |
| nor | than |
| o | of |
| o't | of it |
| ony | any |
| onybody | anybody |
| ower | over |
| pate | top of head, brow |
| pey | pay |
| pictur | pictur |
| pit | put |
| pow | head, skull |
| qo | quoth (not archaic in Scots) |
| rax | reach |
| redd | rubbish |
| reid | red |
| rin | run |
| rue | regret |
| sae | so |
| saft | soft |
| saicont | second |
| seek | seek, sick |
| shot | a turn at a game |
| shuir | sure |
| sic | such |
| siclike | suchlike |
| siller | silver, money |
| simmer | summer |
| sin | since |
| sort | fix |
| spak | spoke |
| spring | spring, to sprain |
| straucht | straight |
| syne | then |
| tae | to, too |
| taen | taken |
| tak | take |
| telt | told |
| tent | attention |
| thae | those |
| than | than, then |
| thegither | together |
| tho | although |
| thole | put up with (usually unwillingly) |
| thrang | busy |
| throu | through |
| til | to |
| till | until |
| tint | lost |
| tither | "the tither" = the other |
| truith | truth |
| uised | used |
| unco | uncommonly |
| vera | very |
| wabster | weaver |
| wad | wed |
| wae | woe |
| walcome | welcome |
| wark | work (noun) |
| warld | world |
| wat | wet |
| watter | water |
| waur | worse |
| wean | child |
| weary | tired |
| wee | little |
| weel | well |
| wey | way |
| wha | who |
| whan | when |
| whase | whose |
| whaur | where |
| wheen | a number of |
| whiles | sometimes |
| whilk | which (literary) |
| whit | what |
| wi | with |
| wi't | with it |
| win | arrive, achieve |
| wird | word |
| wirk | work (verb) |
| wirth | worth |
| wrocht | worked, wrought |
| wud | wood, mad |
| wumman | woman |
| ye | you |
| yer | your |
| yerlane | by yourself |
| yett | gate |
| yin | one |
| yird | earth |
| yirth | earth |
| yon | that/those in the distance |
