Lessons

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Wikiversity's Department of Irish Studies

Food and Sickness

Dialogue

Seán: Tá ocras orm. Ar mhaith leat itheadh liom?

Síle: Ba mhaith.

Seán: Cén sort bialann ar mhaith leat?

Síle: Is cuma liom, ithim gach cineál bia.

Seán: Ceart go leor, ní ithim feoil.

Síle: Ar mhaith leat deoch?

Seán: Ba mhaith, caife dubh le do thoil.

Síle: Cé mhéad sin?

Freastalaí:Trí euro le do thoil.

Seán: I'm hungry. Would you like to eat with me?

Síle: I would

Seán: What type of restaurant would you like?

Síle: I don't mind, I eat every type of food.

Seán: Ok, I don't eat meat.

Síle: Would you like a drink?

Seán: I would, a black coffee, please

Síle: How much is that?

Waiter: Three euro please

Tá ocras orm - I'm hungry

This phrase literally means 'Hunger is on me'. In Irish, to express an emotional state, the preposition on is used.

Examples

Tá tart orm - I'm thirsty

Tá fearg air - He's angry

Cuireann sé brón uirthi - It makes her sad (lit. It puts sadness on her)

Ar - On

orm - on me

ort - on you (singular)

air - on him

uirthi - on her

orainn - on us

oraibh - on you (plural)

orthu - on them

Food Vocabulary

Where to find food

Cá bhfuil....? = Where is.....?

...an bhialann = the restaurant

...an t-ollmhargadh = the supermarket

...an tábhairne = the pub

...an chistin = the kitchen

...an freastalaí = the waiter

How to ask for things: method I

An féidir liom ... a bheith agam? = May I have...?

...bord = a table

...béile = a meal

...deoch = a drink

...biachlar = a menu

How to ask fo things: method II

Cad ba mhaith leat? = What would you like?

Ba mhaith liom... = I would like...

...(gloine) uisce = a (glass of) water

...(gloine) fíon ( bán / dearg) = a (glass of) (white / red) wine

...sú (oráiste) = a (orange) juice

...(pionta) beoir = a (pint of) beer

....(cupán) caife / tae = a (cup of ) coffee / tea

...(le /gan ) bainne = (with / without) milk

....siúcra = sugar

How to ask for things: method III

Beidh ... agam, le do thoil. = I will have ... , please.

... sailéad = a salad

...ceapaire = a sandwich

...(le / gan) maonáis, cáis = (with / without) mayonaisse, cheese

...arán (tosta) = (toasted) bread

...le him / gan im = with butter / without butter

...subh = jam

...muiceoil = pork

...mairteoil = beef

...iasc = fish

...sícín (friochta) = (fried) chicken

, agus ... freisin. = , and ... also.

...práta / prátaí = a potato / potatoes

...sceallóga = chips / french fries

...torthaí (úr) = (fresh) fruit

.....glasraí (áitiúil) = (local) vegetables

Likes, Wants

Níl .... uaim. = I don’t want...

...feoil = meat

...milseog = dessert

... anlann = sauce/dressing

Is veigeatóir / veigeán me. = I’m a vegetarian / vegan.

Tá ailléirge orm le .... = I have an allergy to ...

Ní maith liom... = I don’t like....

...cabáiste = cabbage

Is maith liom... = I like ...

...uachtar reoite = ice cream

Sin é an-blasta. = That is very tasty

Kinds of food

Cén cinéal ... atá agaibh? = What kind of .... do you have?

...anraith = (of) soup

...milseoige = of dessert

...glasra = (of) vegetable

piseanna = pea(s)

cáca / císte = cake

pióg (úll) = (apple) pie

bia mara = seafood

How to ask for things: method IV

Teastaíonn ... uaim. = I need ...

...pláta (eile) = a (another) plate

...forc (eile) = a (another) fork

...deoch (eile) = a (another) drink

...scian = a knife

... babhla = a bowl

...spunóg = a spoon

...an salann = the salt

...an piobar = the pepper

...tuilleadh caife = more coffee

....tuilleadh scealloga = more chips/fries

...an bille = the bill

Cé mhéid atá air? = How much is it?

Verbs

Tá mé ag ithe bricfeasta = I am eating breakfast.

Tá tú ag ithe lón = You are eating lunch.

Tá sé ag ithe dinnéar. = He is eating dinner.

Tá sí ag ól deoch. = She is drinking a drink.

Támid ag cócaireacht an béile. = We are cooking the meal.

Tá sibh ag ceannach an bhia. = You (plural) are buying the food.

Quantity

Ba mhaith linn... = We would like...

ceapaire, ceapairí = a sandwich, sandwiches

... dhá cheapaire = two sandwiches

gloine, gloiní = a glass, glasses

...trí ghloine... = three glasses (of...)

punta, puntaí = a pound, pounds

...ceithre phunta ... = four pounds (of...)

cileagram, cileagraim = a kilogram, kilograms

...cuig chileagram ... = five kg. (of...)

ubh, uibheacha = an egg, eggs

cupla ubh = a couple of eggs

Na hUimhreacha - Numbers

Numbers on their own are called ordinal numbers, e.g. one, two three. In Irish, the numeral partical 'a' is placed in front of the number when using the number on its own.

Examples:

A hAon - One

A Dó - Two

A Trí - Three

A Ceathar - Four

A Cúig - Five

A Sé - Six

A Seacht - Seven

A hOcht - Eight

A Naoi - Nine

A Deich - Ten

When we use numbers with a noun, however (e.g. four cups, two euro), we don't use the numeral particle, and we use a different form of one and two. Also, the numbers 1-6 lenite the next word (add a h), while the numbers 7-10 add an urú. Also, ceathar becomes ceithre and you use the singular form of the noun, not the plural.

Examples:

Aon chupán amháin - One cup (the 'aon' here is optional)

Dhá chupán - Two cups

Trí iasc - Three fish

Ceithre phrátaí - Four potatoes

Cúig ghloine - Five glasses

Sé deoch - Six drinks

Seacht bhfreastalaí - Seven waiters

Ocht mbiachlár - Eight menus

Naoi euro - Nine euro

Deich mbialann - Ten restaurants

On top of this, their is a different form of the numbers used when counting people, as follows.

Duine (amháin) - One person

Beirt - Two people

Triúr - Three people

Ceathrar - Four people

Cúigear - Five people

Seisear - Six people

Seachtar - Seven people

Ochtar - Eight people

Naonúr - Nine people

Deichniúr - Ten people

Dialogue

Seán: Níl mé ag mothú go maith

Síle: Cad é atá ort?

Seán: Tá pian i mo bholg agam.

Síle: A chréatúir, suigh síos ansin.

Seán: Go raibh maith agat

Síle: An bhfuil sé níos fearr?

Seán: Tá, go raibh maith agat.

Seán: I don't feel well

Síle: What's wrong?

Seán: I have a pain in my stomach

Síle: You poor thing! Sit down there

Seán: Thanks

Síle: Is it better?

Seán: Yes, thank you

Níos fearr - Better

To compare something to something else, we use the words 'níos' and 'is', for example, 'níos fearr' means better as we saw above and 'is fearr' would mean 'best'. Another example is bright, which is 'geal' in Irish. This becomes 'níos/is gile' - 'brighter/brightest'. 'gile' here is the feminine genetive form of the adjective. We will discuss nouns and adjectives and their cases more in the next lesson, but the genetive will not be dealt with until later modules. For the moment, here are some examples of adjectives and their comparative forms.

Examples:

Deas - Níos/Is deise - Nice - Nicer/Nicest

Mór - Níos/Is mó - Big - Bigger/Biggest

Beag - Níos/Is lú - Small - Smaller/Smallest

Olc - Níos/Is measa - Bad - Worse/Worst

Ard - Níos/Is airde - Tall - Taller/Tallest

Sean - Níos/Is sine - Old - Older/Oldest

Óg - Níos/Is óige - Young - Younger/Youngest

Álainn - Níos/Is áille - Beautiful - More/Most beautiful

Mall - Níos/Is moille - Slow. - Slower/Slowest

Mo - My

The words 'my, your, his, her, etc' are called possessive pronouns. In Irish they are as follows:

Mo - My

Do - Your (singular)

A - His

A - Her

Ár - Our

Bhur - Your (plural)

A - Their

Mo, Do and A when it means 'his' are all followed by lenition (adding 'h' to the following word). 'A' when it means her does not modify the following noun and Ár, Bhur and A when it means 'their' are all followed by eclipsis (adding an urú to the following word).

Irish Lessons

1 — 2 — 3 — 4 — 5 — 6 — 7