Irish vocabulary: 110 essential words for beginners

Greetings and polite phrases

Irish	English	Say it	Example
Dia duit	hello	DEE-a gwit	Dia duit, conas atá tú?Hello, how are you?
slán	goodbye	SLAWN	Slán, feicfidh mé thú amárach.Goodbye, I'll see you tomorrow.
go raibh maith agat	thank you	guh rev MAH ah-gut	Go raibh maith agat as do chabhair.Thank you for your help.
le do thoil	please	leh duh HULL	An bhféadfá cabhrú liom, le do thoil?Could you help me, please?
tá fáilte romhat	you're welcome	taw FAWL-cheh ROH-waht	Tá fáilte romhat!You're welcome!
gabh mo leithscéal	excuse me / sorry	guh muh LESH-kayl	Gabh mo leithscéal, cá bhfuil an leithreas?Excuse me, where is the bathroom?
tá	yes	TAW	Tá, tá mé go maith.Yes, I am well.
níl	no	NEEL	Níl, níl mé tuirseach.No, I am not tired.
conas atá tú	how are you	KUN-us a-TAW too	Conas atá tú inniu?How are you today?
maidin mhaith	good morning	MAH-jin wah	Maidin mhaith, a chara.Good morning, friend.
oíche mhaith	good night	EE-heh wah	Oíche mhaith, codladh sámh.Good night, sleep well.

Numbers

Irish	English	Say it	Example
a haon	one	a HAYN	Uimhir a haon.Number one.
a dó	two	a DOH	Uimhir a dó.Number two.
a trí	three	a TREE	Uimhir a trí.Number three.
a ceathair	four	a KA-hir	Uimhir a ceathair.Number four.
a cúig	five	a KOO-ig	Uimhir a cúig.Number five.
a sé	six	a SHAY	Uimhir a sé.Number six.
a seacht	seven	a SHAHKT	Uimhir a seacht.Number seven.
a hocht	eight	a HUKT	Uimhir a hocht.Number eight.
a naoi	nine	a NEE	Uimhir a naoi.Number nine.
a deich	ten	a JEH	Uimhir a deich.Number ten.
céad	one hundred	KAYD	Tá céad euro agam.I have a hundred euro.

Colors

Irish	English	Say it	Example
dearg	red	JAR-ug	Tá an carr dearg.The car is red.
gorm	blue	GUR-um	Tá an spéir gorm.The sky is blue.
buí	yellow	BWEE	Tá an banana buí.The banana is yellow.
glas	green	GLAHS	Tá an féar glas.The grass is green.
dubh	black	DUV	Tá mo ghruaig dubh.My hair is black.
bán	white	BAWN	Tá an teach bán.The house is white.
donn	brown	DUN	Tá a shúile donn.His eyes are brown.
corcra	purple	KUR-kruh	Tá an bláth corcra.The flower is purple.
bándearg	pink	BAWN-jar-ug	Tá a gúna bándearg.Her dress is pink.
liath	gray	LEE-uh	Tá an spéir liath inniu.The sky is gray today.
oráiste	orange	or-AWSH-cheh	Tá mo léine oráiste.My shirt is orange.

Family

Irish	English	Say it	Example
máthair	mother	MAW-hir	Tá mo mháthair go deas.My mother is nice.
athair	father	AH-hir	Tá m'athair ard.My father is tall.
páiste	child	PAWSH-cheh	Tá an páiste sásta.The child is happy.
deartháir	brother	JAR-hawr	Tá mo dheartháir cliste.My brother is clever.
deirfiúr	sister	JER-fyoor	Tá mo dheirfiúr óg.My sister is young.
seanathair	grandfather	SHAN-a-hir	Tá mo sheanathair críonna.My grandfather is wise.
seanmháthair	grandmother	SHAN-waw-hir	Tá mo sheanmháthair cineálta.My grandmother is kind.
céile	spouse	KAY-leh	Is múinteoir í mo chéile.My spouse is a teacher.
clann	family	CLAHN	Tá clann mhór againn.We have a big family.
uncail	uncle	UN-kil	Tá m'uncail cairdiúil.My uncle is friendly.
aintín	aunt	AN-teen	Tá m'aintín go deas.My aunt is nice.

Food and drink

Irish	English	Say it	Example
arán	bread	a-RAWN	Ith an t-arán.Eat the bread.
uisce	water	ISH-keh	Ól uisce gach lá.Drink water every day.
bainne	milk	BAN-yeh	Tá bainne sa chuisneoir.There is milk in the fridge.
iasc	fish	EE-usk	Is maith liom iasc.I like fish.
feoil	meat	FYOHL	Níl mé ag ithe feoil.I am not eating meat.
sicín	chicken	SHI-keen	D'ith mé sicín aréir.I ate chicken last night.
im	butter	IM	Cuir im ar an arán.Put butter on the bread.
cáis	cheese	KAWSH	Is breá liom cáis.I love cheese.
tae	tea	TAY	An bhfuil tae agat?Do you have tea?
caife	coffee	KA-feh	Ólaim caife gach maidin.I drink coffee every morning.
salann	salt	SA-lun	Cuir salann air.Put salt on it.

Time and days

Irish	English	Say it	Example
lá	day	LAW	Is lá breá é.It is a fine day.
oíche	night	EE-heh	Tá an oíche ciúin.The night is quiet.
maidin	morning	MAH-jin	Éirím go luath ar maidin.I get up early in the morning.
tráthnóna	afternoon / evening	TRAW-noh-nuh	Feicfidh mé thú tráthnóna.I'll see you this afternoon.
seachtain	week	SHAHKH-tin	Tá seacht lá i seachtain.There are seven days in a week.
mí	month	MEE	Is í Feabhra an mhí is giorra.February is the shortest month.
bliain	year	BLEE-in	Tá mé fiche bliain d'aois.I am twenty years old.
inniu	today	i-NYOO	Tá mé gnóthach inniu.I am busy today.
amárach	tomorrow	a-MAW-rukh	Feicfidh mé thú amárach.I'll see you tomorrow.
inné	yesterday	i-NYAY	Bhí sé ag cur báistí inné.It was raining yesterday.
uair	hour / time	OO-ir	Beidh mé ann i gceann uair an chloig.I'll be there in an hour.

Common verbs

Irish	English	Say it	Example
ith	to eat	IH	Ith do dhinnéar.Eat your dinner.
ól	to drink	OHL	Ól do bhainne.Drink your milk.
codail	to sleep	KUD-il	Codail go maith.Sleep well.
siúil	to walk	SHOO-il	Siúil liom.Walk with me.
labhair	to speak	LOW-ir	Labhair Gaeilge liom.Speak Irish with me.
rith	to run	RIH	Rith sé go tapa.He ran quickly.
léigh	to read	LAY	Léigh an leabhar seo.Read this book.
scríobh	to write	SHKREEV	Scríobh do ainm anseo.Write your name here.
téigh	to go	TAY	Téigh abhaile anois.Go home now.
ceannaigh	to buy	KAN-ee	Cheannaigh mé bróga nua.I bought new shoes.
oibrigh	to work	I-bree	Oibríonn sí go dian.She works hard.

Adjectives and descriptive words

Irish	English	Say it	Example
mór	big	MOHR	Tá an teach mór.The house is big.
beag	small	BYUG	Tá an madra beag.The dog is small.
álainn	beautiful	AW-lin	Tá an radharc álainn.The view is beautiful.
deas	nice	DASS	Is duine deas í.She is a nice person.
sásta	happy	SAW-stuh	Tá na páistí sásta.The children are happy.
brónach	sad	BROH-nukh	Tá sé brónach inniu.He is sad today.
te	hot	CHEH	Tá an tae te.The tea is hot.
fuar	cold	FOO-ur	Tá an t-uisce fuar.The water is cold.
tapa	fast	TAH-puh	Tá an carr tapa.The car is fast.
mall	slow	MAHL	Tá an t-idirlíon mall.The internet is slow.
deacair	difficult	JA-kir	Tá an scrúdú deacair.The exam is difficult.

Question words

Irish	English	Say it	Example
cé	who	KAY	Cé thusa?Who are you?
céard	what	KAYRD	Céard é sin?What is that?
cá	where	KAW	Cá bhfuil tú?Where are you?
cathain	when	KA-hin	Cathain a bheidh tú ar ais?When will you be back?
cén fáth	why	kayn FAW	Cén fáth a bhfuil tú ag gáire?Why are you laughing?
conas	how	KUN-us	Conas a dhéanann tú é?How do you do it?
cé mhéad	how many	kay VAYD	Cé mhéad atá uait?How many do you want?
cé acu	which	kay A-kuh	Cé acu is leatsa?Which one is yours?
cé leis	whose	kay LESH	Cé leis é seo?Whose is this?
cé chomh	how (big/much)	kay KHUH	Cé chomh mór is atá sé?How big is it?
cén t-am	what time	kayn TAM	Cén t-am é?What time is it?

Travel and directions

Irish	English	Say it	Example
aerfort	airport	AYR-furt	Táimid ag dul go dtí an t-aerfort.We are going to the airport.
traein	train	TRAY-in	Chuaigh muid ar an traein.We went by train.
bus	bus	BUS	Táimid ag fanacht ar an mbus.We are waiting for the bus.
bóthar	road	BOH-hur	Tá an bóthar fada.The road is long.
ar dheis	right	er YESH	Cas ar dheis ag an gcoirnéal.Turn right at the corner.
ar chlé	left	er KHLAY	Cas ar chlé tar éis an tséipéil.Turn left after the church.
díreach ar aghaidh	straight ahead	DEE-rukh er EYE	Téigh díreach ar aghaidh.Go straight ahead.
i bhfad	far	i WAHD	Tá an scoil i bhfad ó bhaile.The school is far from home.
gar	near	GAHR	Tá an margadh gar dúinn.The market is near us.
táille	fare	TAWL-yeh	Cé mhéad atá an táille tacsaí?How much is the taxi fare?
ticéad	ticket	ti-KAYD	Cheannaigh mé ticéad bus.I bought a bus ticket.

Study tips for Irish

The fada, an accent mark like á or í, changes a vowel's sound and often the word's meaning, so never skip it when writing Irish words.
Irish consonants change at the start of words through processes like lenition, so the same word can look different depending on what comes before it, such as mo mháthair for my mother.
Word order is usually verb-subject-object, the opposite of English, so pay attention to sentence structure rather than translating word for word.
Practice the example sentences aloud, since Irish spelling does not always match English pronunciation habits.
Learn greetings and numbers first, since they appear in almost every conversation and build confidence quickly.

Frequently asked questions

How do you say hello in Irish?

Hello is Dia duit, which literally means God be with you. A common reply is Dia is Muire duit.

Is Irish hard to learn for English speakers?

Irish has unfamiliar spelling patterns and grammar features like initial consonant changes, but starting with core vocabulary and short phrases, as on this page, makes it manageable.

What is the Irish word for thank you?

Thank you is go raibh maith agat, which literally means may you have goodness.