Core Vocabulary by Context for Learning

Learning Irish words by theme

You learn Irish vocabulary far better when you group words by theme, such as home, school and food, rather than learning a long random list. Two habits help most. Meet each word inside a short phrase, so you know how to use it and not only what it means. And look for cognates, words that resemble their English meaning, which give you a head start. This module groups core Irish words by everyday theme and shows how to build them into simple phrases you can say. Because Irish spelling and word changes are covered in the grammar module, here you focus on the words and their meanings.

Words for learning Irish

Learn these ideas before the words themselves. They describe how to build a useful Irish vocabulary.

Pair the Irish word with its meaning

Learning by theme against by luck

How you learn vocabulary matters as much as how long you spend. Grouping words by theme beats meeting them at random.

Which word do you need?

You want to tell a friend the Irish word for school. Which word do you use?

• scoil
• teach
• bia
• uisce

Meet every word in a phrase

Do not learn Irish words as a bare list. Meet each one inside a short, useful phrase, so you learn how to say it and not only what it means. For example, do not just learn the word cat. Learn the phrase Tá cat agam, meaning I have a cat, and you have gained a whole pattern you can reuse with other words. Word plus pattern beats word alone every time.

Pick the food and drink words

Select every Irish word below that belongs to the theme of food and drink.

• bia, meaning food
• uisce, meaning water
• arán, meaning bread
• leabhar, meaning book
• scoil, meaning school

Order a short greeting

Put this short Irish exchange in a sensible order, from meeting someone to parting.

• Dia duit, meaning hello
• Conas atá tú, meaning how are you
• Tá mé go maith, meaning I am well
• Go raibh maith agat, meaning thank you
• Slán, meaning goodbye

Complete the Irish phrases

The Irish word for house is _____. The Irish word for school is _____. The Irish word for water is _____. A greeting meaning hello is _____.

One pattern, many words

Irish gives you patterns you can reuse. Take the pattern Tá ... agam, which means I have something. Slot in cat and you get Tá cat agam, I have a cat. Slot in leabhar and you get Tá leabhar agam, I have a book. Or take Is maith liom ..., meaning I like something. Say Is maith liom bia and you have said I like food. Learn one pattern and every new noun you meet can go straight into it. That is how a small vocabulary stretches into many real sentences.

Spot the food words

Tap the TWO Irish words that belong to the theme of food and drink.

• bia, meaning food
• uisce, meaning water
• teach, meaning house
• scoil, meaning school

Find the hidden Irish words

Find the five Irish words hidden in the grid. Each clue gives you the English meaning to search for.

Use your Irish

You are using your Irish in real situations. Choose the right word or phrase each time.

• You meet someone and want to greet them. What do you say?
• You want to say that you have a dog. Which phrase do you use?
• You want to say that you like food. What do you say?

Build an Irish phrase

Choose the right word for each gap to build a correct Irish phrase meaning I have a book.

Write a few words about you

Write four or five short Irish phrases about yourself, using words and patterns from this module. Try to use Tá ... agam or Is maith liom ... .

• Greet the reader in Irish
• Use Tá ... agam to say you have something
• Use Is maith liom ... to say what you like
• Name one thing from home or school in Irish
• End with a suitable goodbye