Common Verbs in Irish
Irish puts the verb first: itheann sé arán is “he eats bread,” literally “eats he bread.” This verb-subject-object order is one of the language’s defining features. The most common verbs are below, each with pronunciation and its source.
Search just within Common Verbs entries. Type an English word or an Irish one — accents optional.
| Irish | Ogham | How to say it | English | Source | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| bí | ᚛ᚁᚔ᚜ | BEE | be | TatoebagaelspellGrimoire XI.3 | The verb to be, irregular and essential. Verbal noun bheith. |
| abair | ᚛ᚐᚁᚐᚔᚏ᚜ | AB-ur | say | WiktionaryTatoebagaelspellFoclóirTeanglann | Irregular verb meaning say or speak. The form deir is what you actually use in conversation. |
| déan | ᚛ᚇᚓᚐᚅ᚜ | JAYN | do/make | TatoebagaelspellFoclóir | Irregular verb meaning do or make. Like English do, it covers an enormous range. |
| faigh | ᚛ᚃᚐᚔᚌᚆ᚜ | FY (rhymes with “eye”) | get/find | WiktionarygaelspellGrimoire XI.3 | Irregular verb meaning get or find. The future stem is gheobhaidh. |
| feic | ᚛ᚃᚓᚔᚉ᚜ | FEK | see | WiktionaryTatoebagaelspellFoclóirTeanglann | Irregular verb meaning see. The form chonaic in the past tense looks unrelated, and isn’t. |
| tabhair | ᚛ᚈᚐᚁᚆᚐᚔᚏ᚜ | TOW-ur | give | WiktionaryTatoebagaelspellFoclóirTeanglann | Irregular verb meaning give. The verbal noun tabhairt is everywhere. |
| tar | ᚛ᚈᚐᚏ᚜ | TAR | come | WiktionaryTatoebagaelspellFoclóirTeanglann | Irregular verb meaning come. Verbal noun teacht. |
| téigh | ᚛ᚈᚓᚔᚌᚆ᚜ | TAY | go | TatoebagaelspellGrimoire XI.3 | Irregular verb meaning go. Verbal noun dul. The two forms barely look like the same verb. |
| clois / cluin | ᚛ᚉᚂᚑᚔᚄ ᚉᚂᚒᚔᚅ᚜ | KLUSH | hear | Grimoire XI.3 | Irregular verb meaning hear. Two forms in different dialects. |
| ith | ᚛ᚔᚈᚆ᚜ | IH | eat | TatoebagaelspellFoclóirTeanglann | Irregular verb meaning eat. Past tense d’ith mé, I ate. |
| cuir | ᚛ᚉᚒᚔᚏ᚜ | KIR | put/send | TatoebagaelspellFoclóir | Regular first-conjugation verb meaning put or send. One of the most common in the language. |
| buail | ᚛ᚁᚒᚐᚔᚂ᚜ | BOO-ul | strike/hit | WiktionarygaelspellFoclóir | First-conjugation verb meaning strike or hit. Also used idiomatically for meeting (bualadh le). |
| léigh | ᚛ᚂᚓᚔᚌᚆ᚜ | LAY | read | TatoebagaelspellFoclóirTeanglann | First-conjugation verb meaning read. Cognate with the Latin lego. |
| scríobh | ᚛ᚄᚉᚏᚔᚑᚁᚆ᚜ | SHKREEV | write | WiktionaryTatoebagaelspellFoclóir | First-conjugation verb meaning write. Borrowed from the Latin scribo when the monks arrived. |
| ceannaigh | ᚛ᚉᚓᚐᚅᚅᚐᚔᚌᚆ᚜ | KAN-ig | buy | gaelspellGrimoire XI.3 | Second-conjugation verb meaning buy. From ceann, head, originally meaning to take by the head. |
| ól | ᚛ᚑᚂ᚜ | OHL | drink | WiktionaryTatoebagaelspellFoclóir | First-conjugation verb meaning drink. Verbal noun also ól. |
| imir | ᚛ᚔᚋᚔᚏ᚜ | IM-ir | play (game) | WiktionaryTatoebagaelspellGrimoire XI.3 | Second-conjugation verb meaning play, of games. Sport and music both use it. |
| oibrigh | ᚛ᚑᚔᚁᚏᚔᚌᚆ᚜ | EB-ree | work | WiktionarygaelspellGrimoire XI.3 | Second-conjugation verb meaning work. The verbal noun is oibriú. |
| cabhraigh | ᚛ᚉᚐᚁᚆᚏᚐᚔᚌᚆ᚜ | KOW-rig | help | gaelspellGrimoire XI.3 | Second-conjugation verb meaning help. |
| fan | ᚛ᚃᚐᚅ᚜ | FAN | wait/stay | WiktionaryTatoebagaelspellFoclóir | First-conjugation verb meaning wait or stay. Imperative fan!, often heard. |
| siúil | ᚛ᚄᚔᚒᚔᚂ᚜ | SHOOL | walk | gaelspellFoclóirTeanglann | First-conjugation verb meaning walk. |
| rith | ᚛ᚏᚔᚈᚆ᚜ | RIH | run | WiktionaryTatoebagaelspellFoclóirTeanglann | First-conjugation verb meaning run. Verbal noun also rith. |
| labhair | ᚛ᚂᚐᚁᚆᚐᚔᚏ᚜ | LOW-ur | speak | WiktionaryTatoebagaelspellGrimoire XI.3 | Second-conjugation verb meaning speak. Distinct from abair: labhair is the act, abair is the words. |
| éist | ᚛ᚓᚔᚄᚈ᚜ | AYSHT | listen | WiktionaryTatoebagaelspellGrimoire XI.3 | First-conjugation verb meaning listen. |
| oscail | ᚛ᚑᚄᚉᚐᚔᚂ᚜ | US-kull | open | WiktionaryTatoebagaelspellGrimoire XI.3 | Second-conjugation verb meaning open. Imperative oscail!, the door-knock answer. |
| dún | ᚛ᚇᚒᚅ᚜ | DOON | close | TatoebagaelspellGrimoire XI.3 | First-conjugation verb meaning close. The model regular verb in every grammar book. |
| tuig | ᚛ᚈᚒᚔᚌ᚜ | TIG | understand | WiktionarygaelspellFoclóirTeanglann | First-conjugation verb meaning understand. Tuigim is I understand. |
| creid | ᚛ᚉᚏᚓᚔᚇ᚜ | KREJ | believe | WiktionarygaelspellGrimoire XI.3 | First-conjugation verb meaning believe. |
| cónaigh | ᚛ᚉᚑᚅᚐᚔᚌᚆ᚜ | KOH-nig | live/dwell | WiktionarygaelspellGrimoire XI.3 | Second-conjugation verb meaning live or dwell. Tá mé i mo chónaí, I am living. |