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

Verbs and stories

2 sections

The verbs a story runs on — and the past

≈ 3 min

What you'll learn

arsaAR-suh means “said”, and the speaker always follows it — never comes before it.
The Irish past adds no ending — it changes the front of the verb: a séimhiú, or a d’ before a vowel or an f.
Eight common verbs have a past of their own — recognise them, do not drill them.
Word order does not move: verb first, then the doer, then the rest.

Two new nouns for the readings

English	Irish	Said
mouse	luch	lukh
friend	cara	KAR-uh

Everything else in the two readings ahead — fox, bird, tree, forest, house, road, wind — has already appeared in an example or a checkpoint.

“Hello,” said the fox.

“Dia duit,” arsa an sionnach.

“JEE-uh ditch,” AR-suh un SHUN-ukh.

arsa comes first, then an sionnach. When you see arsa, the next word is the speaker — and dialogue is most of a story.

Now the past. The Irish past is not an ending, the way English adds -ed. It is a change at the front, and you already know how to read it: a séimhiú.

The past is a softening — or a d’ in front

tittchitch“fall”

thithitch“fell”

ithih“eat”

d’ithdih“ate”

A verb starting with a vowel has nothing to soften, so Irish sticks a d’ on the front.

fiafraighFEE-uh-free“ask”

d’fhiafraighJEE-uh-free“asked”

Both at once: the d’ in front and the f gone silent under its h.

The eight to recognise

English	Irish	Said
was	bhí	vee
went	chuaigh	KHOO-ee
came	tháinig	HAW-nig
saw	chonaic	KHUN-ik
said	dúirt	DOOR-tch
heard	chuala	KHOO-uh-luh
gave	thug	hug
found	fuair	FOO-ir

Everything else builds its past out of the two rules above. The negative of bhí is worth having too: ní raibhnee roh“was not”.

The fox saw the bird.

Chonaic an sionnach an t-éan.

KHUN-ik un SHUN-ukh un TCHAYN.

Compare the present tense from earlier: only the verb has changed — the word order has not.

Three joining words

English	Irish	Said
and	agus	AH-gus
but	ach	okh
because	mar	mar

And the glue at the head of nearly every Irish story: Fadó, fadó…fuh-DOH, fuh-DOH“long ago, long ago” — saying it twice is the whole formula.

Read a line of story

Thit an crann.
Delete the h at the front to find the verb, then put the time back.
Show answer +Hide answer −
Thit an crann.hitch un kran“The tree fell.”
“Dia duit,” arsa an luch.
The word after arsa is always the speaker.
Show answer +Hide answer −
“Dia duit,” arsa an luch.“JEE-uh ditch,” AR-suh un lukh““Hello,” said the mouse.”
Chuala mé an ghaoth.
One of the eight, and one softened “she” word.
Show answer +Hide answer −
“I heard the wind”, said “KHOO-uh-luh may un GHEE”.
an bhfuil
From several sections back — no tables this time.
Show answer +Hide answer −
an bhfuilun wil — the asking shape of tá.