Irish Translation Forum

Please help me translate this - I am suppose to design a tattoo for someone and I would like it to be accurate.

"There is no strength without pain"

I've seen "go pian(phian)" and "gan pian(phian)"
What is the difference technically.
I have also seen this
"Níl aon neart gan pian."

go pian (never phian) - until pain
gan phian (mostly, but not alway, with the "h") - without pain

I'll try and explain the difference between the phrases with the two proverbs that they are based on

Ní saor go binn literally this means Not a craftsman untill a gable, You are not a craftsman untill you have mastered building a gable.
So ní neart go pian literally No strength until pain, You will not be strong untill you have suffered (and mastered) pain.
This Ní A go B is quite difficult to translate into English but it is the basis of many traditional Irish sayings.

Níl saoi gan locht. There isn't a wise man without a fault.
There is no wise man that does not have a fault, the fault is part of him so Níl (aon) neart gan phian would mean there is no strength can be exercised without feeling pain whilst doing that.
Both are valid but they mean something different.
So the choice would be
Ní neart go pian.
or
Níl neart gan phian.

I hope I have managed to explain this so that it's understandable. If you want further clarification or mudification, please feel free to ask.