Lessons for English speakers

Learn to read Irish

A short, active path into reading Irish: sound out eight real words before the alphabet, learn to undo séimhiú and urú on sight, put the verb at the front of the sentence, and read a story whose pronunciation and English begin hidden.

13 core sections · ≈ 33 min + 4 optional lookups · ≈ 51 min with everything

Asking — and the missing yes and no

≈ 4 min

What you'll learn

anun in front of the verb turns a statement into a yes-or-no question — and eclipses it.
tá becomes bhfuilwil inside a question; it is worth memorising outright.
The question words all start with c: what, who, where, why.
Irish has no word for yes and no word for no: you answer by handing the verb back, positive or negative.

Turning a statement into a question

Tá tú anseo.taw too un-SHUH“You are here.”

An bhfuil tú anseo?un wil too un-SHUH?“Are you here?”

an brings an eclipse, and tá has a special shape underneath it: bhfuil.

Is madra é.iss MOD-ruh ay“It is a dog.”

An madra é?un MOD-ruh ay?“Is it a dog?”

With the labelling verb, the verb simply drops out.

The question words a story uses

English	Irish	Said
what	cad	kod
who	cé	kay
where	cá	kaw
why	cén fáth	kayn faw
how	cén chaoi, conas	kayn khee, KUN-us
when	cathain, cén uair	KA-hin, kayn OO-ir

A c at the head of a sentence is very often a question. cá, cén fáth and cén chaoi drag an eclipse along exactly as an does — more bhfuil. cathain softens instead.

How are you?

Cén chaoi a bhfuil tú?

kayn khee uh wil too?

The west says it this way; the south says Conas atá tú?KUN-us uh-TAW too? — same question, no eclipse.

When did the dog come?

Cathain a tháinig an madra?

KA-hin uh HAW-nig un MOD-ruh?

Softened, not eclipsed: tháinig with its silent t.

Why is the dog here?

Cén fáth a bhfuil an madra anseo?

kayn faw uh wil un MOD-ruh un-SHUH?

The little a is glue with no meaning of its own. Read past it.

Irish has no word for yes and no word for no. Instead you answer by handing the verb back — ask with one verb and you are answered with the same verb, positive or negative.

The four answers

Built on	Yes	No	Literally
tá — An bhfuil…?	Tá.taw	Níl.neel	is / is not
is — An madra é?	Is ea.iss a	Ní hea.nee ha	it is so / it is not so

Which pair to use is decided by the question, not by you. And ní grows an h before a vowel — ní hea, not ní ea.

Is that a dog? — No, that is a fox.

An madra é sin? Ní hea, is sionnach é.

un MOD-ruh ay shin? nee ha, iss SHUN-ukh ay.

A whole exchange, and every word in it comes from the last three sections.

Ask, and answer

An bhfuil tú anseo?
bhfuil is tá inside a question.
Show answer +Hide answer −
An bhfuil tú anseo?un wil too un-SHUH?“Are you here?”
Somebody asks you that. How do you say no?
Hand the same verb back.
Show answer +Hide answer −
Níl.neel“no — literally: is not” Not a word for “no”; the verb itself, negated.
Cá bhfuil an t-uisce?
A c at the front, so a question — and one t- hat.
Show answer +Hide answer −
Cá bhfuil an t-uisce?kaw wil un TISH-kuh?“Where is the water?”