Irish phrasebook

Irish is one of the three Gaelic languages, the others being Scottish Gaelic and Manx. This 'Goidelic' branch together with the Brythonic branch (Welsh, Cornish and Breton) form the Celtic language family. These are spoken in parts of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.

Some common features of the Celtic languages which strike learners as odd are:

'mutations': sounds change, often at the beginning of words, as part of the grammar, e.g. cat 'cat', but mo chat 'my cat'
the verb is usually at the beginning of the sentence
prepositional pronouns that are conjugated, e.g. agam 'at me', agat 'at you', etc.

Pronunciation guide

There are three major dialects in Irish, named for the three provinces in the north (Ulster, major cities Derry and Belfast), west (Connacht, major city Galway) and south (Munster, major cities Cork, Limerick, Waterford) of the island. the eastern province, (Leinster, major cities Dublin, Kilkenny), no longer has its own distinct dialect. The Caighdeán Oifigiúl (kaigh-DAWN iffig-YOOL, official standard) has been in place since the mid-20th century after spelling was 'regularised' (to an extent). This is the official Irish that appears in phrasebooks and in Government publications. It is largely the same as the Munster dialect, with a very few exceptions). There are great differences in pronunciation between the dialects, with Munster differing the most from the other two. eg 'tá go maith', 'yes indeed' is pronunced 'TAY guh MAIGH' in Ulster and Connacht but 'TAW guh MOH (like the english word 'moth' but without the 'th') in Munster. There are also differences in the phrases used in everyday speech. In the phrasebook below, the Munster phrase has been used except where indicated. The conjugation of verbs, too, differs from dialect to dialect. Munster uses a contracted form in the past and present first person and in the third person of all three tenses. For example 'tá mé' ('TAW MAY', I am) is 'táim' ('TAW'm') in Munster, and 'bhí mé' (VEE MAY, I was) is 'bhíos' (VEE-us) in Munster.

Vowels

a: like 'o' in "cod"
á: like 'aw' in "flaw"
e: like 'e' in "peg"
é: like 'ay' in "hay"
i: like 'i' in "tin"
í: like 'ee' in "heel"
o: like 'u' in "bud"
ó: like 'o' in "home"
u: like 'u' in "bud"
ú: like 'oo' in "cool"

Consonants

Consonant combinations with h are sometimes written with a dot (séimhiú, shay-VOO) on the letter instead of the h and are sometimes silent. Consonants have two versions called caol (narrow, palatalized) and leathan (wide, unpalatalized); this is indicated in writing by adjacent vowels.

b: like bed
bh: like veer
c: like kid
ch: as in Scottish 'loch'
d: like dog
dh: voiced h sound, y sound at the start of a word, sometimes vague 'gh' sound (munster dialect especially)
f: like fun
fh: silent
g: like go
gh: voiced velar fricative (in layman's terms, made soft in the back of the throat)
h: like help
l: like lean
m: like mother
mh: same as bh
n: like nice
p: like pig
ph: like phone or whom
r: rolled or flapped
s: like sheen or soon
sh: like hear
t: like tea
th: like hear

Common diphthongs

Diphthongs are generally irregular and can only be learned with experience. eg, 'ai' in "Corcaigh" (the city and county of Cork) is pronounced like the 'i' in "dig" but the 'ai' in "faic" (nothing) is pronounced like the 'a' in "hack", and the 'ai' in "haigh!" (hi! (transliteration of a loan-word)) is pronounced like the 'i' in "high".

Phrase list

There are differences in the phrases used in everyday speech in the different provinces. In the phrasebook below, the Munster phrase has been used except where indicated. The conjugation of verbs, too, differs from dialect to dialect. Munster uses a contracted form in the past and present first person and in the third person of all three tenses. For example 'tá mé' ('TAW MAY', I am) is 'táim' ('TAW'm') in Munster, and 'bhí mé' (VEE MAY, I was) is 'bhíos' (VEE-us) in Munster.

Basics

Hello.: Dia Dhuit (DEE-a GWIT)
How are you?: Conas atá tú? (CONN-us a-TAW too?)
Fine, thank you.: Táim go maith (TAW'm guh MOH)
What is your name?: Cad is ainm duit? (COD iss ANNim dit?)

; My name is _________________________________________________________________________? (...)

expensive: expensive (...)
cheap: cheap (...)
I can't afford it.: I can't afford it. (...)
I don't want it.: I don't want it. (...)
You're cheating me.: You're cheating me. (...)
I'm not interested.: I'm not interested. (..)
OK, I'll take it.: OK, I'll take it. (...)
Can I have a bag?: Can I have a bag? (...)
Do you ship (overseas)?: Do you ship (overseas)? (...)
I need...: I need... (...)
...toothpaste.: ...toothpaste. (...)
...a toothbrush.: ...a toothbrush. (...)
...tampons.: ...tampons. (...)
...soap.: ...soap. (...)
...shampoo.: ...shampoo. (...)
...pain reliever. (e.g., aspirin or ibuprofen): ...pain reliever. (...)
...cold medicine.: ...cold medicine. (...)
...stomach medicine.: ...stomach medicine. (...)
...a razor.: ...a razor. (...)
...an umbrella.: ...an umbrella. (...)
...sunblock lotion.: ...sunblock lotion. (...)
...a postcard.: ...a postcard. (...)
...postage stamps.: ...postage stamps. (...)
...batteries.: ...batteries. (...)
...writing paper.: ...writing paper. (...)
...a pen.: ...a pen. (...)
...English-language books.: ...English-language books. (...)
...English-language magazines.: ...English-language magazines. (...)
...an English-language newspaper.: ...an English-language newspaper. (...)
...an English-English dictionary.: ...an English-English dictionary. (...)

Driving

I want to rent a car.: I want to rent a car. (...)
Can I get insurance?: Can I get insurance? (...)
stop (on a street sign): stop (...)
one way: one way (...)
yield: Géill slí (Gale shlee)
no parking: no parking (...)
speed limit: speed limit (...)
gas (petrol) station: gas station (...)
petrol: petrol (...)
diesel: diesel (...)

Authority

I haven't done anything wrong.: I haven't done anything wrong. (...)
It was a misunderstanding.: It was a misunderstanding. (...)
Where are you taking me?: Where are you taking me? (...)
Am I under arrest?: Am I under arrest? (...)
I am an American/Australian/British/Canadian citizen.: I am an American/Australian/British/Canadian citizen. (...)
I want to talk to the American/Australian/British/Canadian embassy/consulate.: I need to talk to the American/Australian/British/Canadian embassy/consulate. (...)
I want to talk to a lawyer.: I want to talk to a lawyer. (...)
Can I just pay a fine now?: Can I just pay a fine now? (...)

Learning more

This is where you'd give more information on learning the language, such as links to online courses or textbooks, or suggestions for in-person courses to take. >

The authors of this document are Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel, Evan Prodromou, John Collison, Rob Payne, Wikitravel user Strabismus and the following WikiTravel users: Moillead%C3%B3ir, PierreAbbat. The original version of this article can be seen at http://wikitravel.org/en/Irish_phrasebook.