Cad é an difríocht idir " táim ag lorig bronntanais do chara dom" agus "Táim ag lorg bronntanais dom chara" ?

Gura míle.

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Bíonn rudaí maithe mall

Measaim gurbh iarracht é an chéad cheann "friend of mine" a rá.

I'm looking for a oresent for a friend of mine
vs
I'm looking for a present for a friend.

Ach i mo thuarimse, is fearr "cara liom" a úsáid do "friend of mine".

Fan le haghaidh smaointe eile.

"A friend of mine" can be translated by:
cara liom
cara agam
cara dom(h)
cara de mo chuid

Mo chara = my friend.

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Is fearr Gaeilg na Gaeltaċta ná Gaeilg ar biṫ eile
Agus is í Gaeilg Ġaoṫ Doḃair is binne

gura maith agaibh.

Is the usage similar to English, as in interchangeable for all situations?

Or is it you'd use mo chara when you have referred to a particular person already.

Ta siúl agam go mbeadh ciall leis sin

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Bíonn rudaí maithe mall

Mo chara = my friend ie. either you have only one friend, or it's the friend you've been talking about just before.
Cara do mo chuid etc = a friend of mine, ie. one of your friends (it's indefinite ie. we don't know which one it is, and it implies you have several friends)

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Is fearr Gaeilg na Gaeltaċta ná Gaeilg ar biṫ eile
Agus is í Gaeilg Ġaoṫ Doḃair is binne

Go raibh míle maith agat.

Do shíleas gurbh amhlaidh a bhí.

The books often miss these nuances.

Many books also just put "you" beside translations for phrases that include sibh, oraibh, díbh etc, failing to note that its for you plural, which although always mentioned elsewhere in the book can often catch a learner out.

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Bíonn rudaí maithe mall

cara liom - would be the normal usage in Conamara.
Tá mé ag ceannacht (sic) bronntanas go cara liom.

Tá cara agam - I have a friend
Tá cáirde agam - I have friends

I'd say probably "cara dom" - is Donegal only usage.

Deirtear "ceannacht" i dTír Chonaill fosta.
Uair amháin eile, nuair a rinn siad a' caighdeán, char thagh siad an fhoirm is comónta (ie. ceannacht) ach an fhoirm is lú a úsáidtear in Éirinn, ie. ceannach...

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Is fearr Gaeilg na Gaeltaċta ná Gaeilg ar biṫ eile
Agus is í Gaeilg Ġaoṫ Doḃair is binne

It is stuff like this that makes people feel frustrated by the caighdeán.

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Reading this old thread I was thinking about:
Is there a difference felt in meaning between cara liom and cara dom (except dialect differences)?

In copula phrases do is used objectively (Is maith dom = It is something good for me) but le is used subjectively (Is maith liom = It is something I consider to be good)

Maith dom and maith liom are similar to cara dom and cara liom, a friend for me, a friend with me
So, can this difference be transferred here?
Is cara dom more distanced ("someone everybody says is a friend to me")?
and
Is cara liom perceived more subjectively ("someone I myself consider being a friend")?