Gaeilge
Irish
Celtic
Also known as: Irish, Gaeilge
Irish (Gaeilge) is the first official language of the Republic of Ireland (with English as the second), and an official EU language since 2007 (full status from 2022). Despite its constitutional status, daily L1 use is concentrated in the small Gaeltacht regions (Donegal, Galway/Connemara, Kerry, Mayo, Cork, Waterford, Meath) totaling ~70K daily speakers; another ~1.7M Irish residents claim some ability through compulsory schooling. It is a Goidelic Celtic language (sister to Scottish Gaelic gd and Manx gv; descended from Old Irish c. 600-900 CE — the Old Irish corpus is the third-oldest vernacular European literature after Greek and Latin), with three regional dialects (Munster, Connacht, Ulster). The 1958 Caighdeán Oifigiúil established a written standard. Distinctive features: VSO word order, initial consonant mutations (lenition séimhiú, eclipsis urú), broad/slender consonant pairs. The Gaelscoileanna (Irish-medium school) movement since the 1970s has revitalized urban use.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Irish
Water
uisce
/ɪʃcə/
Fire
tine
/tʲɪnʲə/
Sun
grian
/ɡɾʲiən/
Moon
gealach
/ɟalax/
Star
réalta
/ˈɾˠeːl̪ˠt̪ˠə/
Mother
máthair
/mɑːhəɾʲ/
Father
athair
/ahəɾʲ/
I
mé
/mʲeː/
You
tú
/t̪ˠuː/
Name
ainm
/anʲəmʲ/
Eye
súil
/suːlʲ/
Hand
lámh
/lɑːv/
Heart
croí
/kɾiː/
Love
grá
/ɡɾɑː/
Tree
crann
/kɾɑːn/
House
teach
/tʲax/
Dog
madra
/mɑdɾə/
Cat
cat
/kɑt/
Eat
ith
/ɪ/
Drink
ól
/oːl/
One
aon
/eːn/
Two
dó
/d̪ˠoː/
Hello
dia duit
/dʲiə dɪtʲ/
Thank you
go raibh maith agat
/ɡɔ ɾɛv mah aɡət/
Good
maith
/mah/
Cuckoo
cuach
/kuəx/
Woof
bhuf bhuf
/wʊf wʊf/
Computer
ríomhaire
/ˈɾˠiːwəɾʲə/
Sushi
sushi
/ˈsʊʃiː/
Dopamine
dopaimín
/ˈd̪ˠɔpˠɪˌmʲiːnʲ/
At sign (@)
ag
/aɡ/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Celtic languages
| Meaning | Irish | Scottish Gaelic | Middle Irish | Manx | Old Irish | Dutch (Belgian) | Dutch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | uisce /ɪʃcə/ | uisge /ɯʃkʲə/ | usce /uske/ | ushtey /ˈuʃtʲə/ | uisce /ˈusʲkʲe/ | water /ʋaːtər/ | water /ʋaːtər/ |
| Fire | tine /tʲɪnʲə/ | teine /ˈtʲɛnʲə/ | tene /tene/ | aile /ailʲ/ | tene /tene/ | vuur /vyːr/ | vuur /vyːr/ |
| Sun | grian /ɡɾʲiən/ | grian /kɾʲiən/ | grían /ɡrian/ | grian /ɡriən/ | grían /ɡrian/ | zon /zɔn/ | zon /zɔn/ |
| Moon | gealach /ɟalax/ | gealach /kʲaɫəx/ | ésca /eːska/ | eayst /eːst/ | éscae /eːskai/ | maan /maːn/ | maan /maːn/ |
| Star | réalta /ˈɾˠeːl̪ˠt̪ˠə/ | reul /rial/ | rétla /ˈreːtla/ | rollage /ˈrolaːɡ/ | rétla /ˈreːdla/ | ster /stɛr/ | ster /stɛr/ |
| Mother | máthair /mɑːhəɾʲ/ | màthair /maːhəɾʲ/ | máthair /maːθirʲ/ | moir /mɔːɾ/ | máthair /maːθirʲ/ | moeder /muːdər/ | moeder /mudər/ |
| Father | athair /ahəɾʲ/ | athair /ahəɾʲ/ | athair /aθirʲ/ | ayr /ɛːr/ | athair /aθirʲ/ | vader /vaːdər/ | vader /vaːdər/ |
| I | mé /mʲeː/ | mi /mi/ | mé /mʲeː/ | mee /miː/ | mé /mʲeː/ | ik /ɪk/ | ik /ɪk/ |
| You | tú /t̪ˠuː/ | thu /u/ | tú /tuː/ | oo /uː/ | tú /tuː/ | gij /ɣɛi/ | jij /jɛi/ |
| Name | ainm /anʲəmʲ/ | ainm /ˈɛnɛm/ | ainm /anʲmʲ/ | ennym /ˈɛnəm/ | ainm /anʲmʲ/ | naam /naːm/ | naam /naːm/ |
| Eye | súil /suːlʲ/ | sùil /suːl/ | súil /suːlʲ/ | sooill /suːlʲ/ | súil /suːlʲ/ | oog /oːx/ | oog /oːx/ |
| Hand | lámh /lɑːv/ | làmh /ɫ̪aːv/ | lám /laːv/ | laue /lɛːu/ | lám /laːv/ | hand /ɦɑnt/ | hand /ɦɑnt/ |
| Heart | croí /kɾiː/ | cridhe /kɾʲiə/ | cride /krʲiðʲe/ | cree /kɾiː/ | cride /krʲiðʲe/ | hart /ɦɑrt/ | hart /ɦɑrt/ |
| Love | grá /ɡɾɑː/ | gaol /kɯːl/ | serc /serk/ | graih /ɡraːx/ | serc /serk/ | liefde /lifdə/ | liefde /lifdə/ |
| Tree | crann /kɾɑːn/ | craobh /kɾɯːv/ | crann /kran/ | billey /ˈbilʲə/ | crann /kran/ | boom /boːm/ | boom /boːm/ |
| House | teach /tʲax/ | taigh /tʰɤj/ | tech /tex/ | thie /tai/ | tech /tex/ | huis /ɦœs/ | huis /ɦœʏs/ |
| Dog | madra /mɑdɾə/ | cù /kuː/ | madra /madra/ | moddey /ˈmɔðə/ | cú /kuː/ | hond /ɦɔnt/ | hond /ɦɔnt/ |
| Cat | cat /kɑt/ | cat /kʰat/ | cat /kat/ | kayt /kat/ | cat /kat/ | kat /kɑt/ | kat /kɑt/ |
| Eat | ith /ɪ/ | ith /i/ | ithid /iθʲiðʲ/ | gee /ɡʲiː/ | ithid /iθʲiðʲ/ | eten /eːtən/ | eten /eːtə/ |
| Drink | ól /oːl/ | òl /ɔːl/ | ól /oːl/ | iu /juː/ | ibid /iβʲiðʲ/ | drinken /drɪŋkən/ | drinken /drɪŋkə/ |
| One | aon /eːn/ | aon /ɯːn/ | óen /oin/ | nane /næn/ | oín /oːin/ | een /eːn/ | een /eːn/ |
| Two | dó /d̪ˠoː/ | dà /taː/ | dá /daː/ | jees /dʒiːs/ | dá /daː/ | twee /tweː/ | twee /tʋeː/ |
| Hello | dia duit /dʲiə dɪtʲ/ | halò /haloː/ | fochen /foxʲen/ | moghrey mie /ˈmɔɣrə maɪ/ | fochen /foxʲen/ | hallo /ɦɑloː/ | hallo /ɦɑloː/ |
| Thank you | go raibh maith agat /ɡɔ ɾɛv mah aɡət/ | tapadh leat /tʰapə lʲɛt/ | atlochur /atloxur/ | gura mie ayd /ˈɡura miː eːd/ | atlochur /atloxur/ | dank je /dɑŋk jə/ | dank je /dɑŋk jə/ |
| Good | maith /mah/ | math /ma/ | maith /maθʲ/ | mie /maɪ/ | maith /maθʲ/ | goed /ɣut/ | goed /ɣut/ |
| Cuckoo | cuach /kuəx/ | cuthag /ˈkʰuhak/ | cúach /ˈkuːax/ | cooag /ˈkuːaɡ/ | — | koekoek /ˈkukuk/ | koekoek /ˈkukuk/ |
| Woof | bhuf bhuf /wʊf wʊf/ | af af /af af/ | — | — | — | — | waf waf /ʋɑf ʋɑf/ |
| Computer | ríomhaire /ˈɾˠiːwəɾʲə/ | coimpiutair /ˈkʰɔimpjutɪrʲ/ | — | co-earrooder /koˈjaːrudər/ | — | computer /kɔmˈpjutər/ | computer /kɔmˈpjutər/ |
| Sushi | sushi /ˈsʊʃiː/ | — | — | — | — | sushi /ˈsuʃi/ | sushi /ˈsu.ʃi/ |
| Dopamine | dopaimín /ˈd̪ˠɔpˠɪˌmʲiːnʲ/ | — | — | — | — | — | dopamine /doːpaˈminə/ |
| At sign (@) | ag /aɡ/ | — | — | — | — | — | apenstaartje /ˈaːpənstaːrtjə/ |
Word order compared
Compare with major world languages
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