Gaelic Matters > Irish Gaelic Phrases

Irish Gaelic Phrases and Expressions

There are lots of wonderful Irish Gaelic phrases and expressions, some of which have been translated to English but I have to say the often quoted ‘Top of the morning to you’ is not one of them. I know of no Irish person who uses it and it sounds as strange to Irish people as it does to most other people. In fact, I am not sure where that phrase originated though I have heard it rumoured that it may be from New Zealand but I wouldn't bet on it.

Now that that’s off my chest, let’s start with some Irish Gaelic phrases and Gaelic expressions that most Irish people should know or have learned in school. I give a non-linguistic pronunciation guide to the expression, a fairly literal translation and an equivalent English expression.

It is important to know that some Gaelic expressions vary from one dialect to another. In Ireland there are three key dialects, in the North (Ulster), West (Connaught) and South (Munster). I will go into these differences in more detail elsewhere. Anyway most people in Ireland learn standard Gaelic in school, basically a mix of all three dialects.

I have included a video of the words below to help you with the pronunciation. While I am not a native speaker, my pronunciation should be reasonably accurate.

Irish Gaelic Phrases most Irish people know

Expression Pronounced Literal Meaning In English	Dia duit Dee-ah gwit  God to you Hello
Expression Pronounced Literal Meaning In English	Dia is Muire dhuit Dee-ah iss Mwir-eh gwit God and Mary to you  Hello, the response to 'Dia dhuit'
Expression Pronounced Literal Meaning In English	Cad is ainm duit? Cod iss anim gwit? What is the name to you? What is your name?
Expression Pronounced Literal Meaning In English	Seán is ainm dom Seán iss anim dum Seán is the name to me My name is Seán
Expression Pronounced Literal Meaning In English	Níl a fhios agam Neel ah iss a-gum The knowledge is not at me I don't know
Expression Pronounced Literal Meaning In English	Dún an doras Doon on dur-ass Close the door Close the door
Expression Pronounced Literal Meaning In English	Slán leat Slawn lat Health/Safety with you Goodbye
Expression Pronounced Literal Meaning In English	Más é do thoil é Maws aye duh hull aye  If it is your will Please
Expression Pronounced Literal Meaning In English	Ní thuigim Nee hig-im Not I understand I don't understand
Expression Pronounced Literal Meaning In English	Sláinte Slawn-che Health Cheers (toast)
Expression Pronounced Literal Meaning In English	Gabh mo leithscéal Gov muh leh-scale Accept my excuse Excuse me, Pardon me
Expression Pronounced Literal Meaning In English	Conas atá tú? Kun-ass a-taw to? How are you? How are you?
Expression Pronounced Literal Meaning In English	Tá me go maith Taw may guh maw I am well I am well
Expression Pronounced Literal Meaning In English	Oíche mhaith Ee-hah wah Night good Goodnight
Expression Pronounced Literal Meaning In English	Go raibh maith agat Guh rev mah ah-gut That there may good at you Thanks
Expression Pronounced Literal Meaning In English	Tá fáilte romhat Taw fall-che row-at There is a welcome before you You're welcome (response to thanks and a greeting)

Gaelic Expressions that are good to know

Expression Pronounced Literal Meaning In English	Cad as dhuit? Cod oss gwit?  Where out of are you? Where are you from?
Expression Pronounced Literal Meaning In English	Is as na Stáit Aontaithe mé Iss oss nah Stawt Ane-tih-hah may It is out of the States United I am I am from the United States
Expression Pronounced Literal Meaning In English	Abair arís é Ah-bur areesh aye Say again it Say it again
Expression Pronounced Literal Meaning In English	Maith thú Moh hoo Good to you Well done
Expression Pronounced Literal Meaning In English	Slán go fóill Slawn guh foal Health/Safety till later See you later
Expression Pronounced Pronunced Literal Meaning In English	Tá áthas/fearg/ocras/tart/brón/díoma orm Taw aw-hass/far-ig/uk-rass/ tort/brone/de-om-a orum There is happiness/anger/hunger/ thirst/sadness/disappointment on me I am happy/angry/hungry/thirsty/sad/disappointed
Expression Pronounced Pronounced Literal Meaning In English	Tá sé fuar/te/gaofar/ ag cur báistí/ag cur sneachta/ Taw shay foor/cheh/gway-for/ egg kur baw-shtee/egg kur shnach-tah It is cold/hot/windy/putting rain/putting snow It is cold/hot/windy/raining/snowing
Expression Pronounced Literal Meaning In English	Is/Ní maith liom é Iss/Nee moh lum aye It/Not agrees with me I like it/I don't like it
Expression Pronounced Literal Meaning In English	Ar mhaith leat tae/deoch? Err wah lat tay/juhch? Would a tea/drink agree with you? Would you like some tea/drink
Expression Pronounced Literal Meaning In English	Is cuma liom Iss cum-ah lum I don't mind/I don't care
Expression Pronounced Literal Meaning In English	An bhfuil Gaeilge agat? On will Gail-geh ah-gut? Is there Gaelic at you? Do you speak Gaelic/Irish?
Expression Pronounced Literal Meaning In English	Beagáinín byug-awn-een A small bit A little
Expression Pronounced Literal Meaning In English	Tá cúpla focal agam Taw koop-la fuck-al a-gum There is a couple of words at me I speak a little Irish (like 'beagáinín' a response to 'An bhfuil Gaeilge agat?'
Expression Pronounced Literal Meaning In English	Is múinteoir/macléinn/dlídóir/Éireannach mé Iss moon-tore/mack-lane/dlee-dore/Air-en-och may Is a teacher/student/lawyer/Irish person I am I am a teacher/student/lawyer/Irish person
Expression Pronounced Literal Meaning In English	Cén chaoi a bhfuil tú? Kane chwee (kwee) a will to? What way are you? How are you? Same as 'Conas atá tú?' above but used in Western Gaelic dialect
Expression Pronounced Literal Meaning In English	Conas atá an craic? Kun-ass a-taw on crack? How's the craic/fun? What's up?

Middle Left

Merry Christmas in Gaelic

The Irish Gaelic phrase for Merry Christmas is 'Nollaig shona dhuit' (pronounced Null-ig hun-ah gwit). You can also say 'Nollaig faoi shéan is faoi mhaise dhuit' (pronounced Null-ig fwee hyane iss fwee vosh-eh gwit) which means 'A prosperous and pleasant Christmas'

To say Happy New Year, we use the gaelic expression 'Athbhliain faoi mhaise dhuit' (prononunced 'aw-vlee-an fwee  vosh-eh gwit' ) which can be more close translated as 'A prosperous New Year.'

Happy Birthday in Gaelic

The gaelic expression for 'Happy Birthday' is simply 'Lá Breithe Shona dhuit' (pronounced 'Law breh-ha hun-ah gwit). If you want to reveal your age you can say the following: 'Tá mé fiche seacht mbliana d'aois' (pronounced 'Taw may fih-heh shocht mleena deesh') which means 'I am 27 years of age'.

You can also wish somebody well on their birthday by using the humorous Irish Gaelic phrase 'Go maire tú an lá' (pronounced 'Guh mwir-eh to on law) meaning 'May you survive the day.'

Póg mo thóin

The London-Irish band 'The Pogues' were originally called 'Pogue Mahone', an anglicised version of the gaelic expression. Because of BBC censorship, they shortened the name to be less offensive. I have included a video of them singing their best known song 'The Fairytale of New York.'

Pages Related to Irish Gaelic Phrases

If you didn't find what you are looking for check out the Irish words page. If you want some tips and suggestions on how to learn Irish Gaelic visit our Learn Irish Language page.

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Gaelic Matters > Irish Gaelic Phrases

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