Why a word has more vowels than sounds
An Irish word often has more vowels than sounds. Learn which vowels are only labels telling you how to say the consonant beside them, and what the stroke over a vowel changes.
Irish lessons
Learn to read Irish.
We’ll sound words out, undo the two changes Irish makes to the front of a word, and see where the pieces of a sentence sit.
Then you can try a story and see how much you follow.
13 core chapters · 4 optional references · Free, at your own pace
Starting from scratch
Start with the sounds behind the spelling, then read eight real words, then the two changes at the front of a word. The cards below let you try a greeting or start decoding first.
Start with the sounds →Try saying helloA first hello
Read eight words
A first hello
in Irish.
Start with hello, then thank someone and say goodbye. The pronunciation and English are there to help.
Try the lesson A reading-first approachRead eight words
before the alphabet.
Two small tables carry every sound you need. Use them to read dog, house, water and five more.
See how the letters workChapter 1 of 17 · Explore the Irish path
Start here · Chapter 1 of 17
How these lessons work
Irish uses the same alphabet as English, so the work is in the sounds behind the letters. See how the spelling, the respelling and the English sit together, and how a checkpoint works.
≈ 1 min of reading · Practise at your own pace
What’s in this chapter
- Irish is written in the same Latin alphabet as English, left to right — only the sounds behind the letters are different.
- Every Irish word here carries a respelling: hyphens between syllables, CAPITALS on the syllable you lean on — madra
MOD-ruh “dog”. - Irish nearly always leans on the first syllable of a word.
- You will attempt a word before revealing its pronunciation or meaning. Stop after any checkpoint.
This is short preparation for reading a book, not a grammar course. It teaches three things: how to sound an Irish word out, how to undo the two changes Irish makes to the front of a word, and where the pieces of a sentence sit. Two grammar words cover everything: a verb is the doing word (ran, saw, is) and a noun is the naming word (dog, rain).
day
lá
law
The large word is the spelling. law
How to use a checkpoint
Look at the Irish first and try to say it. Then reveal.
- lá
Two letters, and the stroke over the a is doing something.
Show answer +Hide answer −
lálaw “day”. Say “law”, as in “outlaw”.
The chapters
What do you want to work on?
If you’re starting from scratch, follow the chapters in order. Otherwise, pick the bit you need. You can skip the reference pages and come back to them.
First words: hello, thank you, goodbye
Say hello, thank someone and say goodbye. Irish greetings come in pairs, so the reply is never the same as the greeting, and a feeling sits on you rather than in you.
Word lookup: people, animals, colours, describing words
Open this when a noun or a describing word blocks you. People, animals, weather, colours and plurals, plus where a describing word sits: after its noun, the opposite of English.
Words for what already happened
A story happens in the past, and the Irish past is a change at the front of the verb rather than an ending. Learn eight past words to recognise on sight, and the word that means “said”.
First reading with help: two animals meet
Read a short scene between Mina the mouse and Dara the fox, one line at a time. The respelling and the English stay visible while you practise finding the verb first.
Come back to these chapters whenever you need them.All Irish chapters ↗