The 200 most common words in the Irish language
Linguists at Oxford counted up the words used in modern English (in books, blogs, emails, and conversation) and found that 100 words cover about 50% of everyday speech. 400 words cover 75%. 1,000 words cover over 80%.
That’s not unique to English. It’s how every language works. A small core of words does most of the work, every day, in every conversation. Including as Gaeilge.
Below, you can see what the top 200 most frequent words are in the Irish language. If you can recognise these on sight, you’re well on your way to understanding what you see and here every day.
A note for parents helping with school homework: this list overlaps heavily with the words your child is meeting in their first readers. So while this isn’t specifically a school-vocab list, it’ll help you read alongside them.
Every word is linked to teanglann.ie so you can hear it spoken in all three dialects (Connacht, Ulster, and Munster) by native speakers. Click any word.
I've split them into the four word types: pronouns and connectors, verbs, nouns, and adjectives. Within each section, the order is roughly by frequency.
One thing to know before you start. Irish words change shape depending on what's around them. Madra (dog) becomes mhadra after some words. Bí (be) becomes bhí in the past tense. The teanglann audio is on the dictionary root form (the headword you'd find if you looked it up), so that's what each entry shows.
I've also added a rough pronunciation guide in italics inside square brackets after each word, like [shay] for sé. These are simplified phonetics based on standard/Connacht Irish, written in English-style spelling. They're a starting point, not perfect. Always trust the teanglann audio over my best guess.
Right. Here we go.
70 most common pronouns, prepositions, articles and connectors
The bits of glue that hold every Irish sentence together. These are the highest-frequency words in the language by a wide margin.
- an [un] — the
- ar [er] — on
- agus [OG-uss] — and
- is [iss] — is (copula)
- ag [eg] — at
- le [leh] — with
- na [nuh] — the (plural)
- do [duh] — to / for / your
- go [guh] — to / that
- de [deh] — of / from
- sé [shay] — he / it
- sin [shin] — that
- ó [oh] — from
- é [ay] — him / it
- seo [shuh] — this
- mar [mar] — like / as
- ach [okh] — but
- faoi [fwee] — under / about
- nó [noh] — or
- féin [fayn] — self
- ní [nee] — not
- as [oss] — out of / from
- chun [khun] — to / towards
- eile [EL-eh] — other
- mé [may] — I / me
- sí [shee] — she / it
- ná [naw] — than / nor / don't
- siad [SHEE-ud] — they
- iad [EE-ud] — them
- amach [uh-MOKH] — out / outside
- mo [muh] — my
- cé [kay] — who
- nach [nokh] — not / isn't
- gach [gokh] — every
- tú [too] — you (singular)
- í [ee] — her / it
- trí [tree] — three / through
- féidir [FAY-dir] — possible (in is féidir)
- chuig [hig] — to / towards (a person)
- anois [uh-NISH] — now
- arsa [AR-sa] — said
- síos [shees] — down
- suas [SOO-us] — up
- isteach [iss-TYOKH] — in / inside
- ansin [on-SHIN] — there / then
- arís [uh-REESH] — again
- níor [neer] — did not (past)
- anseo [on-SHUH] — here
- cad [kod] — what
- muid [mwidge] — we
- mise [MISH-eh] — me (emphatic)
- liom [lum] — with me
- linn [ling] — with us
- leat [lat] — with you
- leis [lesh] — with him
- léi [lay] — with her
- agam [OG-um] — at me / I have
- agat [OG-ut] — at you / you have
- aige [EG-eh] — at him / he has
- aici [EK-ee] — at her / she has
- orm [OR-um] — on me
- ort [urt] — on you
- air [air] — on him
- uirthi [IR-hee] — on her
- freisin [FRESH-in] — also
- inniu [IN-yoo] — today
- amárach [uh-MAW-rokh] — tomorrow
- sa [suh] — in the
- san [son] — in the (before vowels)
- i [ih] — in
Prepositional pronouns can be tricky, but they're so important for putting sentences together. Words like liom, leat, leis, léi, linn (with me, with you, with him, with her, with us) come from the preposition le (with) plus a pronoun, all squished into one word. Same with agam, agat, aige, aici (at me, at you, at him, at her), which is how Irish does possession. Tá madra agam literally means "is dog at me" (I have a dog).
Worth learning these as a set. They turn up constantly.
50 most common verbs
Children's stories happen in the past, and so does most of the news, so verbs in Irish frequently turn up in past-tense form. The dictionary headword is the imperative (the command form: bí, be! téigh, go!), so that's what each entry links to. The form you'll actually meet in a sentence might look very different.
For example, bí (to be) shows up as tá (is), bhí (was), níl (is not), bhfuil (is, in questions), raibh (was, in questions), atá(that is), and beidh (will be). All the same verb. Once you spot the pattern, a huge chunk of Irish reading falls into place.
- bí [bee] — be
- déan [jayn] — do / make
- tar [tahr] — come
- cuir [kir] — put
- téigh [tay] — go
- abair [OB-ir] — say
- tabhair [tor] — give
- faigh [fy] — get
- feic [feck] — see
- bain [bawn] — take / extract / win
- caith [kah] — spend / wear / throw
- féach [FAY-okh] — look
- amharc [OW-rk] — look (especially Ulster)
- breathnaigh [BRAH-nee] — look (especially Connacht)
- tóg [tohg] — take / build / raise
- siúil [SHOO-il] — walk
- rith [rih] — run
- léim [laym] — jump
- stop [stup] — stop
- ól [ohl] — drink
- ith [ih] — eat
- oscail [USS-kil] — open
- dún [doon] — close
- imigh [IM-ee] — leave / go away
- fan [fon] — wait / stay
- tit [tit] — fall
- suigh [see] — sit
- seas [shass] — stand
- luigh [lee] — lie down
- tuig [tig] — understand
- labhair [LOW-ir] — speak
- clois [klish] — hear
- scríobh [SHKREEV] — write
- léigh [lay] — read
- ceannaigh [KAN-ee] — buy
- díol [jeel] — sell
- tosaigh [TUSS-ee] — start
- críochnaigh [KREE-uhk-nee] — finish
- foghlaim [FOH-lim] — learn
- cabhraigh [KOW-ree] — help
- smaoinigh [SMWEE-nee] — think
- creid [kredge] — believe
- caoin [kween] — cry
- gáir [gawr] — laugh
- súgradh [SOO-gruh] — play (verbal noun)
- codail [KUD-il] — sleep
- dúisigh [DOO-shee] — wake up
- snámh [snawv] — swim (verbal noun)
- beir [ber] — catch / grab / bear
- buail [BOO-il] — hit / beat / meet
Irish only has 11 truly irregular verbs (the rest follow predictable patterns), so they're worth learning as a set. The big ones in this list are bí (be), téigh (go), tar (come), abair (say), tabhair (give), faigh (get), feic (see), and beir (catch).
60 most common nouns
The everyday stuff: people, places, time, the body, the home.
- duine [DIN-eh] — person
- bliain [BLEE-un] — year
- lá [law] — day
- oíche [EE-heh] — night
- maidin [MOJ-in] — morning
- seachtain [SHOKH-tin] — week
- mí [mee] — month
- am [om] — time
- uair [oor] — hour / time (occurrence)
- áit [awtch] — place
- rud [rud] — thing
- scéal [shkayl] — story / news
- focal [FUK-ul] — word
- ceist [kesht] — question
- obair [UB-ir] — work
- scoil [skull] — school
- teach [tyokh] — house
- doras [DUR-uss] — door
- seomra [SHOH-mruh] — room
- bord [bord] — table
- cathaoir [KAH-heer] — chair
- leaba [LAB-uh] — bed
- leabhar [LYOW-er] — book
- carr [kar] — car
- bóthar [BOH-her] — road
- siopa [SHUP-uh] — shop
- baile [BAL-eh] — home / town
- tír [teer] — country
- saol [sayl] — life
- domhan [DOW-un] — world
- fear [far] — man
- bean [ban] — woman
- páiste [PAWSH-tcheh] — child
- cailín [KAH-leen] — girl
- buachaill [BOO-uh-khil] — boy
- máthair [MAW-her] — mother
- athair [AH-her] — father
- mac [mok] — son
- iníon [IN-een] — daughter
- cara [KAR-uh] — friend
- múinteoir [MOON-chor] — teacher
- lámh [lawv] — hand
- cos [kuss] — foot / leg
- súil [SOO-il] — eye
- béal [bayl] — mouth
- croí [kree] — heart
- uisce [ISH-keh] — water
- bainne [BON-yeh] — milk
- tae [tay] — tea
- arán [uh-RAWN] — bread
- bia [BEE-uh] — food
- airgead [AR-uh-gud] — money
- ainm [AN-im] — name
- eolas [OH-luss] — information / knowledge
- teanga [TANG-uh] — language
- ceol [kyohl] — music
- grá [graw] — love
- Gaeilge [GAYL-geh] — Irish (the language)
- cóta [KOH-tuh] — coat
- bróg [brohg] — shoe
A note on dialect: the standard word for house is teach, used in Connacht and Ulster. In Munster, you'll hear tigh (the historical dative form, now used for everything). So if you're in Kerry, Cork or Waterford, expect to see and hear tigh a lot. Other dialect-specific words show up further down the list too. Teanglann gives you all three dialects on every word, so you can hear the version your area uses.
20 most common adjectives
Adjectives in Irish come after the noun they describe. So cat mór means "big cat", literally "cat big". They also change shape based on the gender of the noun, but don't worry about that yet. Just learn the words.
- maith [mah] — good
- mór [mohr] — big
- beag [byug] — small
- nua [NOO-uh] — new
- sean [shan] — old
- óg [ohg] — young
- fada [FOD-uh] — long
- gearr [gyar] — short
- ard [ord] — high / tall
- láidir [LAW-jir] — strong
- lag [log] — weak
- te [tcheh] — hot
- fuar [FOO-ur] — cold
- tirim [TIR-im] — dry
- fliuch [flukh] — wet
- deas [jass] — nice
- álainn [AW-lin] — beautiful
- sásta [SAW-stuh] — happy / satisfied
- bocht [bokht] — poor
- ceart [kyart] — right / correct
How to use this list
Don't try to memorise all 200 in one go. That's a recipe for giving up by Wednesday.
Pick five words today. Click each one, listen to the dialect that sounds easiest to your ear, say it out loud three times. Try to use it once before bed, even just to yourself. Tá mé sásta. Tá an cat mór.
Tomorrow, pick five more.
Forty days from now, you'll have heard, said, and started to recognise the 200 most common words in the language. That's not fluency. It's recognition. The foundation everything else gets built on.
What people tell me, again and again: once they know these words, the language stops feeling like a foreign country and starts feeling like somewhere they've been before. Bedtime stories make sense. Road signs make sense. The cúpla focal you hear in your everyday life starts to land.
That's the goal.
Get the Free 200 Irish Words PDF here to keep forever.
P.S. I'm curious. Which words from this list do you already know without realising you knew them? Reply and let me know.
Le dea-ghuí,
Jenny
Founder of Gaelscoil Online
