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FÁILTE · WELCOME

Three dialects.
One language.
Come learn it.

Say Dia duit, count to fiche and find your county’s name in Irish. Every word here is copied from Foras na Gaeilge’s dictionaries, Gaelchultúr’s free sample lessons or the official place-names order, and linked so you can check it.

Start with hello Meet the dialects
Free to explore. No account needed. Learn at your own pace.
SCROLL TO EXPLORE FIRST WORDS, EVERY ONE SOURCED
✳ A LITTLE IRISH FOR TODAY
Dia duitHello (literally, God to you)
WHY START HERE?

A few words can
open a whole world.

Irish, or Gaeilge, is a Celtic language. The Constitution of Ireland, enacted by the people on 1 July 1937, says in Article 8: “The Irish language as the national language is the first official language.” English is recognised as a second official language. Irish Statute Book: Constitution of Ireland ↗

In Census 2022, 1,873,997 people in the State said they could speak Irish: 40% of people aged 3 and over who answered the question. 71,968 spoke it daily outside the education system. Central Statistics Office: Census 2022 Summary Results, Education and Irish language ↗

In Northern Ireland’s Census 2021, 12.4% of people aged 3 and over (228,600 people) had some ability in Irish, up from 10.7% in 2011. NISRA: Census 2021 main statistics for Northern Ireland, phase 1 ↗

Read the story
12BEGINNER LESSONS
124WORDS & PHRASES
3MAIN DIALECTS
26COUNTY NAMES IN IRISH
LEARN

Your first words
in Irish.

YOUR JOURNEY0 of 12 lessons
Progress stays on this device.

Short lessons with flip cards and a quick check of what you’ve learned. Each card links to the dictionary or lesson it came from, and to teanglann.ie, where native speakers say words in the Connacht, Ulster and Munster dialects. We don’t write our own “sounds like” spellings.

Loading the lessons… If they do not appear, reload this page or open Gaelchultúr’s free sample lessons.

✦ New to Irish? Start with hello and work your way along.
WORDS & PHRASES · PHRASEBOOK

Something to say.

Search the English or the Irish, then tap a card to turn it over.

A LITTLE PRACTICE

Ready to put your
Irish to the test?

Twelve quick questions from all the lessons. No pressure, no scores shared.

CONNACHT · MUNSTER · ULSTER

One question,
three ways to ask.

teanglann.ie’s Pronunciation Database lets you hear words in the three major dialects, Connacht, Ulster and Munster, spoken by native speakers from each dialect. Foras na Gaeilge, teanglann.ie: Pronunciation Database (Connacht, Ulster and Munster recordings) ↗

Which one should I learn? Gaelchultúr’s beginners’ course says you can choose one of the three “How are you?” greetings and learn to say it properly: you only need to understand the other two. Gaelchultúr, Ranganna.com: Gaeilge gan Stró! Beginners Level sample unit, Useful information 2: How are you? ↗

Gaelchultúr also reminds learners that most people who learn Irish speak a mixture of dialects, and that the most important thing is mastering the sounds so people understand you. Gaelchultúr, Ranganna.com: Gaeilge gan Stró! Beginners Level sample unit, Useful tips for learners ↗

For the Connacht question, Gaelchultúr notes that the first two words run together and that the a before bhfuil is not heard. Gaelchultúr, Ranganna.com: Gaeilge gan Stró! Beginners Level sample unit, Useful information 2: How are you? ↗

The only English-letter sound guides on this site are Gaelchultúr’s own two, for the Ulster and Munster questions. Gaelchultúr, Ranganna: How are you? ↗ Gaelchultúr, Ranganna: What’s your name? ↗

THE STORY OF IRISH

An old language,
a living one.

Irish belongs to the Goidelic group of Celtic languages, with Manx and Scottish Gaelic. Britannica says the Goidelic languages originated in Ireland. Britannica: Goidelic languages ↗

The other group of Celtic languages, Brythonic, includes Welsh, Breton and Cornish. Britannica: Irish language ↗

THE CELTIC LANGUAGE FAMILY

Three Gaelic cousins.

CELTIC LANGUAGES
GOIDELIC / GAELIC
IrishScottish GaelicManx
BRYTHONIC
WelshBretonCornish
Introductory highlights only, each from the source linked with it.

Britannica: “Like Scottish Gaelic, Manx was an offshoot of Irish, and it is closely related to the easternmost dialects of Irish and to Scottish.”

Britannica: Manx language ↗

Culture Vannin’s Learn Manx: “Manx is a Goidelic (Gaelic) Celtic language descended from an old form of Irish. It is very similar to modern Irish and Scottish Gaelic.”

Culture Vannin, Learn Manx: Discover the story of Manx ↗

The earliest record of Manx is a version of the Book of Common Prayer, translated in 1610 by a Welsh bishop who used a spelling system based on English.

Britannica: Manx language ↗

Manx is the Goidelic language of the Isle of Man, where this site is made. The quotes above are in the sources’ own words.

PLACE NAMES

The map
in Irish.

The four provinces and the 26 counties of the State, with the official Irish names set out in S.I. No. 519/2003. Pick one to see its Irish name.

CHOOSE A PLACECúige ChonnachtConnacht

Every name comes from the order itself.

gov.ie says: “The Gaeltacht covers areas in counties: Donegal, Mayo, Galway, Kerry, Cork, Meath and Waterford.” Government of Ireland, gov.ie: Gaeltacht affairs ↗

Read S.I. No. 519/2003 (Irish Statute Book)
PROVINCES & COUNTIES

We don’t give place-name meanings here, only the official names.

CONTINUE THE JOURNEY

Learn from the
people who know.

irish.languages.im is an independent introduction, not a replacement for teachers or the organisations below. Go to them for real voices and for anything beyond first words.

01 · LISTEN

teanglann.ie · Pronunciation Database

Native speakers say words in the Connacht, Ulster and Munster dialects.

Listen ↗ 02 · LOOK UP

focloir.ie · New English-Irish Dictionary

Foras na Gaeilge’s English-Irish dictionary, with sound files.

Open the dictionary ↗ 03 · LOOK UP

teanglann.ie · Dictionaries

Ó Dónaill’s Irish-English and de Bhaldraithe’s English-Irish dictionaries, free online.

Search teanglann ↗ 04 · LEARN

Gaelchultúr · Ranganna.com

A free sample unit of the Gaeilge gan Stró! beginners course, with recordings.

Try the sample ↗ 05 · TECHNOLOGY

abair.ie · ABAIR

Irish speech technology from Trinity College Dublin. Its voices are computer-made, not recordings.

Visit ABAIR ↗ 06 · GAELTACHT

gov.ie · Gaeltacht affairs

Where the Gaeltacht is, from the Government of Ireland.

Read more ↗

Our promise: every Irish word on this site is copied from a source linked beside it (checked 30 October 2026), and words we couldn’t source were left out. For pronunciation, please listen to native speakers on teanglann.ie. We don’t offer our own audio or invented sound-alike spellings. See all sources.

PRINTABLES · SUPPORT

Take a little Irish off the screen.

irish.languages.im is free, with no adverts. Our Irish printables (worksheets, puzzles and colouring in A4 and US Letter) help keep it going, and there’s a free sample to try first. Every Irish word in them comes from the same sources as this site.

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Free sample

Free Irish printables sample, 7 pages. Pick your paper size:

A4 280 KBUS Letter 280 KB
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Every language is a way of
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SLÁN GO FÓILL · GOODBYE FOR NOWLearn your next word
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