Gaeilge

Irish

Celtic

FamilyCeltic Speakers~1.7M (L1: ~70K) ScriptLatin CountriesIreland Official inIreland + EU Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3gle

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

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87 core words in Irish

Water

uisce

ɪʃcə

Fire

tine

tʲɪnʲə

Sun

grian

ɟɾʲiən̪ˠ

Moon

gealach

ɟalˠax

Star

réalta

ˈɾˠeːl̪ˠt̪ˠə

Night

oíche

ˈiːçə

Rain

báisteach

ˈbˠaːʃtʲəx

Snow

sneachta

ʃnʲaxt̪ˠə

Wind

gaoth

ɡeː

Earth

cré

cɾʲeː

Stone

cloch

klˠɔx

Mountain

sliabh

ʃlʲiəvˠ

Sea

farraige

ˈfˠaɾˠɪɟə

Mother

máthair

mˠɑːhəɾʲ

Father

athair

ahəɾʲ

Daughter

iníon

ɪˈnʲiːn̪ˠ

I

mé

mʲeː

You

tú

t̪ˠuː

We

muid

mˠidʲ

Name

ainm

anʲəmʲ

Person

duine

ˈd̪ˠɪnʲə

Head

ceann

cɑːn̪ˠ

Eye

súil

sˠuːlʲ

Ear

cluas

kl̪ˠuəsˠ

Nose

srón

sˠɾˠoːnˠ

Mouth

béal

bʲeːl̪ˠ

Tooth

fiacail

ˈfʲiəkəlʲ

Tongue

teanga

ˈtʲaŋɡə

Hand

lámh

l̪ˠɑːvˠ

Foot

cos

kɔsˠ

Heart

croí

kɾˠiː

Bone

cnámh

kn̪ˠaːw

Blood

fuil

fˠɪlʲ

Poop

cac

kak

Love

grá

ɡɾˠɑː

Tree

crann

kɾˠɑːn̪ˠ

Dog

madra

mˠɑd̪ˠɾˠə

Cat

cat

kɑt̪ˠ

Fish

iasc

iəsˠk

Bird

éan

eːnˠ

Butterfly

féileacán

fʲeːlʲəkaːn̪ˠ

Egg

ubh

ʊvˠ

Bear

béar

bʲeːɾˠ

Horse

capall

ˈkapˠəl̪ˠ

House

teach

tʲax

Milk

bainne

ˈbˠanʲə

Honey

mil

mʲɪlʲ

Salt

salann

ˈsˠalˠən̪ˠ

Wine

fíon

ˈfʲiːn̪ˠ

Rice

rís

ɾʲiːʃ

Chocolate

seacláid

ˈʃakl̪ˠaːdʲ

Iron

iarann

ˈiəɾˠən

Wheel

roth

ɾˠɔh

Silk

síoda

ˈʃiːd̪ˠə

Book

leabhar

ˈlʲauəɾˠ

Eat

ith

ɪ

Drink

ól

oːlˠ

Sleep

codail

ˈkɔd̪ˠəlʲ

One

aon

eːn̪ˠ

Two

dó

d̪ˠoː

Three

trí

tʲɾʲiː

Four

ceathair

ˈcahəɾʲ

Five

cúig

kuːɟ

Hundred

céad

ceːd̪ˠ

Hello

dia duit

dʲiə d̪ˠɪtʲ

Thank you

go raibh maith agat

ɡɔ ɾˠɛv mˠah aɡət̪ˠ

Good

maith

mˠah

New

nua

n̪ˠuə

Red

dearg

ˈdʲaɾˠəɡ

White

bán

bˠaːnˠ

Black

dubh

d̪ˠʊvˠ

Green

glas

ɡlˠasˠ

Blue

gorm

ˈɡɔɾˠəmˠ

Cuckoo

cuach

kuəx

Woof

bhuf bhuf

wʊf wʊf

Cock-a-doodle-doo

coc-a-dúdal-dú

kɔkəˌduːdəlˈduː

Computer

ríomhaire

ˈɾˠiːwəɾʲə

Sushi

sushi

ˈsʊʃiː

Tea

tae

t̪ˠeː

Coffee

caife

ˈkafʲə

Sugar

siúcra

ˈʃuːkɾˠə

Orange

oráiste

ˈɔɾˠaːʃtʲə

Ninety-nine

nócha a naoi

ˈn̪ˠoːxə ə ˈn̪ˠiː

Dopamine

dopaimín

ˈd̪ˠɔpˠɪˌmʲiːnʲ

At sign

ag

aɡ

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Celtic

Meaning IrishScottish GaelicMiddle IrishManxOld IrishSlovenianHindi
Water uisce /ɪʃcə/ uisge /ɯʃkʲə/ usce /uske/ ushtey /ˈuʃtʲə/ uisce /ˈusʲkʲe/ voda /ˈʋɔːda/ पानी /paːniː/
Fire tine /tʲɪnʲə/ teine /ˈtʲɛɲə/ tene /tene/ aile /ailʲ/ tene /ˈtʲene/ ogenj /ˈɔːɡən/ आग /aːɡ/
Sun grian /ɟɾʲiən̪ˠ/ grian /kɾʲiən/ grían /ɡrian/ grian /ɡriən/ grían /ɡrian/ sonce /ˈsoːntsɛ/ सूरज /suːɾədʒ/
Moon gealach /ɟalˠax/ gealach /kʲaɫəx/ ésca /eːska/ eayst /eːst/ éscae /eːskai/ luna /ˈluːna/ चाँद /tʃãːd/
Star réalta /ˈɾˠeːl̪ˠt̪ˠə/ reul /rˠeːl̪ˠ/ rétla /ˈreːtla/ rollage /ˈrolaːɡ/ rétla /ˈrʲeːdla/ zvezda /ˈzʋeːzda/ तारा /taːɾaː/
Night oíche /ˈiːçə/ oidhche /ˈɤçə/ adaig /aðəɣʲ/ oie /ei/ adaig /aðəɣʲ/ noč /noːtʃ/ रात /raːt/
Rain báisteach /ˈbˠaːʃtʲəx/ uisge /ɯʃkʲə/ báitsech /ˈbaːtʲʃəx/ fliaghey /ˈfljaːə/ fras /fras/ dež /dəʃ/ बारिश /ˈbaːrɪʃ/
Snow sneachta /ʃnʲaxt̪ˠə/ sneachda /ʃɲɛxkə/ snechta /sʲnʲextə/ sniaghtey /ˈsnʲaxðə/ snechtae /sʲnʲexte/ sneg /sneːk/ बर्फ़ /bərf/
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Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

Irish
Ba mhaith ‌liom culaith a chonaic mé i siopa trasna ón óstán a thriail
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 で 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
我 想 试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 里 看到的 那套西装
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with languages in the same classification

Me garfe klask ur gwiskamant a weliz en ur stal dirak d'al leti
Irish
Ba mhaith ‌liom culaith a chonaic mé i siopa trasna ón óstán a thriail
Rydw ‌i eisiau rhoi cynnig ar siwt a welais i mewn siop gyferbyn â'r gwesty

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