100 Common Irish Nouns To Build Your Core Vocabulary
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Building your core vocabulary is the most effective way to start speaking Irish.
Nouns are the essential building blocks of any language.
By learning the most frequent everyday words, you can quickly understand the world around you.
Irish nouns have a few unique features, like gender and distinct plural forms.
I’ve organized 100 of the most common Irish nouns into simple categories to help you study them effectively.
Every noun in Irish is either masculine (m) or feminine (f).
This is an important detail to memorize right from the start.
Gender affects how words change when you add an adjective or the word “the” before them.
I’ve included the grammatical gender for each word in the tables below.
Table of Contents:
People and family
Learning how to talk about yourself and others is the first step in everyday conversation.
The word for “girl” (cailín) is actually masculine grammatically, which is a fun quirk of the Irish language.
| English | Irish | Gender |
|---|---|---|
| Man | Fear | m |
| Woman | Bean | f |
| Boy | Buachaill | m |
| Girl | Cailín | m |
| Mother | Máthair | f |
| Father | Athair | m |
| Brother | Deartháir | m |
| Sister | Deirfiúr | f |
| Child | Páiste | m |
| Friend | Cara | m |
| Person | Duine | m |
| Family | Clann | f |
| Baby | Leanbh | m |
| Grandfather | Seanathair | m |
| Grandmother | Seanmháthair | f |
| Husband | Fear céile | m |
| Wife | Bean chéile | f |
| Son | Mac | m |
| Daughter | Iníon | f |
Time and days
You’ll constantly use these words to schedule events, tell stories, and describe your routine.
| English | Irish | Gender |
|---|---|---|
| Day | Lá | m |
| Morning | Maidin | f |
| Night | Oíche | f |
| Evening | Tráthnóna | m |
| Week | Seachtain | f |
| Month | Mí | f |
| Year | Bliain | f |
| Time | Am | m |
| Minute | Nóiméad | m |
| Hour | Uair | f |
| Second | Soicind | m |
| Weekend | Deireadh seachtaine | m |
| Season | Séasúr | m |
| Age | Aois | f |
| Date | Dáta | m |
Home and everyday objects
These are the physical items and spaces you interact with daily.
Labeling objects around your house with sticky notes is a fantastic way to commit these words to memory.
| English | Irish | Gender |
|---|---|---|
| House | Teach | m |
| Door | Doras | m |
| Window | Fuinneog | f |
| Table | Bord | m |
| Chair | Cathaoir | f |
| Bed | Leaba | f |
| Room | Seomra | m |
| Book | Leabhar | m |
| Car | Carr | m |
| Phone | Fón | m |
| Money | Airgead | m |
| Pen | Peann | m |
| Picture | Pictiúr | m |
| Clothes | Éadaí | m (plural) |
| Shoe | Bróg | f |
| Television | Teilifís | f |
| Key | Eochair | f |
Food and drink
Food vocabulary is essential for visiting restaurants, ordering at cafes, or talking about your favorite meals.
| English | Irish | Gender |
|---|---|---|
| Food | Bia | m |
| Water | Uisce | m |
| Milk | Bainne | m |
| Tea | Tae | m |
| Coffee | Caife | m |
| Bread | Arán | m |
| Butter | Im | m |
| Cheese | Cáis | f |
| Meat | Feoil | f |
| Fish | Iasc | m |
| Apple | Úll | m |
| Potato | Práta | m |
| Sugar | Siúcra | m |
| Salt | Salann | m |
| Soup | Anraith | m |
| Egg | Ubh | f |
Nature and places
Ireland has a deep connection to its landscape and environment.
You’ll see these words used frequently in Irish place names and local road signs.
| English | Irish | Gender |
|---|---|---|
| World | Domhan | m |
| Country | Tír | f |
| City | Cathair | f |
| Town | Baile | m |
| Street | Sráid | f |
| School | Scoil | f |
| Work | Obair | f |
| Place | Áit | f |
| Sun | Grian | f |
| Moon | Gealach | f |
| Tree | Crann | m |
| Dog | Madra | m |
| Cat | Cat | m |
| Road | Bóthar | m |
| Sea | Farraige | f |
| Bird | Éan | m |
| Animal | Ainmhí | m |
Body parts
Learning body parts is vital for describing physical feelings, visiting a doctor, or general everyday use.
| English | Irish | Gender |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Ceann | m |
| Eye | Súil | f |
| Ear | Cluas | f |
| Mouth | Béal | m |
| Nose | Srón | f |
| Hand | Lámh | f |
| Foot | Cos | f |
| Arm | Géag | f |
| Leg | Cos | f |
| Hair | Gruaig | f |
| Face | Aghaidh | f |
| Back | Droim | m |
| Heart | Croí | m |
| Tooth | Fiacail | f |
| Stomach | Bolg | m |
| Finger | Méar | f |
Using Irish nouns in sentences
Once you learn a few basic nouns, you’ll want to put them into context.
In Irish, the verb comes at the very beginning of the sentence.
This is different from English, where the subject usually comes first.
Here are a few simple examples combining the vocabulary from our lists.
Tá an teach mór.
Tá carr agam.
Tá an madra beag.
Focus heavily on listening and repeating these words out loud.
Take a handful of these nouns each week and practice forming your own short sentences.
