bh
sounds like v / w
slender bh = v, broad bh = w
bhfuil "is" (a form of)
ᚁ A reader's compass
Irish reads differently from how it looks.
Most of the surprises in Irish pronunciation are not letters by themselves — they are pairs. Once you recognise the pairs, the rest reads gently. None of this is hard. Treat it like a small key in your pocket.
ᚂ Two big rules first
Caol & leathan
Slender & broad
Every consonant in Irish has two flavours — slender (a touch of y in it) when next to e or i, and broad (rounder, plainer) when next to a, o or u. The vowels are doing extra work: they tell you how the consonant sounds, not just how the vowel sounds.
An séimhiú
The little softening h
When you see a consonant followed by h, the consonant is lenited — softened, breathed, sometimes silent. Nine pairs do the heavy lifting. The next section is the whole list.
ᚃ Consonant + h
Séimhiú · the softening h
mh
sounds like v / w
just like bh
mháthair mother
ch
sounds like kh
a hiss from the throat — Scottish loch
ach but
dh
sounds like y / silent
soft yawn before slender vowels, otherwise vanishes
dhá two
gh
sounds like y / silent
identical twin of dh
ghrá love
th
sounds like h
a clean English h — never a thick th
tháinig came
sh
sounds like h
also just an h
sheas stood
fh
sounds like —
completely silent
fhear man
ph
sounds like f
like English phone
phost job, post
ᚄ One letter swallows another
Urú · eclipsis
After certain little words (like i, meaning "in"), the front consonant of the next word is replaced — you write both letters, but only the first one is heard.
bp
sounds like b
b takes over from p
i bPáirc in a park
dt
sounds like d
d takes over from t
i dteach in a house
gc
sounds like g
g takes over from c
i gcarr in a car
mb
sounds like m
m takes over from b
i mbaile in a town
nd
sounds like n
n takes over from d
i nDoire in Derry
ng
sounds like ng
as in English "sing"
i ngluais in a glossary
bhf
sounds like w / v
the bh rules win — f is silent
i bhfuinneog in a window
ᚅ Vowels in pairs
When two vowels make one sound
ae
sounds like ay
a long English "ay" (face)
Gaeilge Irish language
ao
sounds like ee / ay
usually "ee", sometimes "ay"
aon one
aoi
sounds like ee
a long English "ee"
naoi nine
eo
sounds like oh
often with a soft y- in front
ceol music
ia
sounds like ee-uh
a small dip from ee into uh
biadh food
ua
sounds like oo-uh
a small dip from oo into uh
uan lamb
ui
sounds like ih
a short i — i is just colouring
cuid some, share
oi
sounds like eh
i softens the consonants around it
oíche night
ᚆ And that is the trick of it
Cluinfidh tú é.
You'll hear it. None of this sticks from a page — it sticks the third time you play a phrase. Head back to a chapter, press the round button, and listen for the pairs you just met.
Back to the chapters