Irish Gaelic A1
CEFR A1 · Beginner
Irish A1 begins with the word order that makes the language feel different from day one: the verb comes first (Tá mé go maith, Itheann sé arán), and there is no verb 'to have' at all, so you say what is at you - tá madra agam, tá ocras orm. You meet séimhiú, the softening h that follows mo, do, an and the numbers (mo theach, dhá chat), the two ways to say 'is' (tá for states, is for identity - is múinteoir mé), and the fact that yes and no are answered by echoing the verb: tá or níl, an bhfuil? The vocabulary is greetings from Dia duit to slán, the counting words a haon to a deich, days, family, food, drink and the everyday verbs you need to order a cupán tae.
124 words · 3 units · 12 grammar points
What you learn at Irish Gaelic A1
Greetings & introductions
Say hello, give your name, ask someone else's, and where they're from. Notice how the start of a word can soften (séimhiú) after certain words.
- Greet at different times of day
- Say goodbye politely
- Introduce yourself by name
- Use 'is mise' and 'tá ___ orm'
- Ask someone their name
- Use 'agus tusa?'
- Say where you're from with 'is as ___ mé'
- Ask 'where are you from?'
Numbers, days, time
Count, talk about days and months, give the time, and handle numbers in real situations.
- Use the independent counting numbers (a haon, a dó...)
- Count items
- Use numbers up to 100
- Give your age
- Name the days and months
- Say what day it is
- Ask and give the time
- Use 'cén t-am é?'
Food & ordering
Order at a café or restaurant, ask for the bill, and talk about basic food and drink.
- Name common drinks
- Order a drink politely
- Name common foods
- Say what you want to eat
- Read a menu
- Ask the waiter for things
- Ask for the bill
- Ask for items by quantity
A1 grammar points
- The copula "is" for saying who you are
- Word order: the verb comes first
- Asking a question: An bhfuil…?
- Saying where you are from: as
- The counting particle "a" with numbers
- Tá and is: two verbs for "to be"
- Days and months
- Saying no: níl and ní
- "Ba mhaith liom" for ordering
- Lenition: the séimhiú
- Eclipsis: the urú
- This and that, and asking the price
Irish Gaelic A1 vocabulary
The first 40 of 124, in frequency order.
| Irish Gaelic | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| an | the (sg.); lenites a following consonant on feminine nouns (an bhean) | an fear, an bhean |
| na | the (pl.); prefixes h- to plural vowels (na héin) | na fir, na mná, na héin |
| mé | I, me | Tá mé go maith. |
| tú | you (sg.) | Conas atá tú? |
| sé | he, it (m.) | Tá sé anseo. |
| sí | she, it (f.) | Tá sí ag obair. |
| muid | we (muid is the everyday spoken form; sinn is literary) | Tá muid ag dul abhaile. |
| sibh | you (pl.) | An bhfuil sibh réidh? |
| siad | they | Tá siad anseo. |
| mise | I (emphatic) | Is mise Anna. |
| tusa | you (emphatic, sg.) | Agus tusa? |
| seisean | he (emphatic) | Tá seisean ina chónaí i gCorcaigh. |
| sise | she (emphatic) | Is sise an múinteoir. |
| mo | my; causes lenition (mo charr) | mo chara, mo theach |
| do | your (sg.); causes lenition (do mhac) | do mháthair |
| a (m.) | his; causes lenition (a charr) | a chara, a theach |
| a (f.) | her; prefixes h- to vowels (a hathair) | a hathair, a cara |
| ár | our; causes eclipsis (ár gcarr) | ár dteach, ár gcairde |
| bhur | your (pl.); causes eclipsis (bhur dteach) | bhur ngluaisteán |
| a (pl.) | their; causes eclipsis (a gcarr) | a dteach, a gcairde |
| bí | to be (imperative/root of the substantive verb) | Bí ciúin! |
| tá | is, are (present of bí) | Tá mé tuirseach. |
| níl | is not, are not (negative of tá) | Níl sé anseo. |
| is | is (copula, for identity/classification) | Is dochtúir mé. |
| déan | to do, to make | Déan do chuid obair bhaile. |
| téigh | to go | Téigh abhaile. |
| tar | come | Tar isteach! |
| feic | to see | Feic an radharc álainn sin! |
| clois | to hear | Clois an t-éan ag canadh! |
| ith | to eat | Ith do dhinnéar. |
| ól | to drink | Ól an tae. |
| codail | to sleep | Codail go sámh. |
| oibrigh | to work | D'oibrigh sé in oifig anuraidh. |
| is maith le | to like (lit. is good with) | Is maith le Seán caife. |
| abair | to say | Abair leis fanacht. |
| fan | to wait, to stay | Fan nóiméad. |
| tabhair | to give, to bring | Tabhair dom é. |
| faigh | to get, to find | Faigh an leabhar. |
| beir | to catch, to bear | Beir greim air. |
| foghlaim | to learn | Tá mé ag foghlaim Gaeilge. |