Common Adjectives in Irish
Adjectives follow the noun they describe: “a big house” is teach mór, not “mór teach.” After many nouns the adjective also changes form to agree. The everyday adjectives are below, with pronunciation and sources.
Search just within Common Adjectives entries. Type an English word or an Irish one — accents optional.
| Irish | Ogham | How to say it | English | Source | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mór | ᚛ᚋᚑᚏ᚜ | MOHR | big | TatoebagaelspellGrimoire XI.4 | Big. Comparative níos mó, bigger. The single most-used adjective in the language. |
| beag | ᚛ᚁᚓᚐᚌ᚜ | BAG | small | WiktionaryTatoebagaelspellFoclóir | Small. Comparative níos lú, smaller, irregular. |
| maith | ᚛ᚋᚐᚔᚈᚆ᚜ | MAH | good | TatoebagaelspellGrimoire XI.4 | Good. Comparative níos fearr, better, irregular. Also a noun: an mhaith, the good. |
| olc | ᚛ᚑᚂᚉ᚜ | ULK | bad | WiktionaryTatoebagaelspellGrimoire XI.4 | Bad. Comparative níos measa, worse, irregular. |
| sean | ᚛ᚄᚓᚐᚅ᚜ | SHAN | old | WiktionaryTatoebagaelspellFoclóir | Old. As a prefix sean- it lenites: sean-fhocal, old word, meaning a proverb. |
| óg | ᚛ᚑᚌ᚜ | OHG | young | WiktionaryTatoebagaelspellGrimoire XI.4 | Young. Tír na nÓg is the country of the young. |
| nua | ᚛ᚅᚒᚐ᚜ | NOO-uh | new | WiktionaryTatoebagaelspellFoclóir | New. The same root as English novelty. |
| ard | ᚛ᚐᚏᚇ᚜ | AWR-d | tall/high | WiktionaryTatoebagaelspellFoclóir | Tall or high. Ard-Rí is the High King. |
| fada | ᚛ᚃᚐᚇᚐ᚜ | FAD-uh | long | WiktionaryTatoebagaelspellFoclóir | Long. The síneadh fada, the long mark, names the accent that lengthens vowels. |
| gearr | ᚛ᚌᚓᚐᚏᚏ᚜ | GYAR | short | WiktionaryTatoebagaelspellFoclóirTeanglann | Short. Same word also means cut, as a verb. |
| te | ᚛ᚈᚓ᚜ | CHEH | hot | WiktionaryTatoebagaelspellGrimoire XI.4 | Hot. |
| fuar | ᚛ᚃᚒᚐᚏ᚜ | FOO-ur | cold | WiktionaryTatoebagaelspellFoclóirTeanglann | Cold. Tá sé fuar, it is cold. |
| dorcha | ᚛ᚇᚑᚏᚉᚆᚐ᚜ | DUR-uh-khuh | dark | WiktionaryTatoebagaelspellGrimoire XI.4 | Dark. |
| geal | ᚛ᚌᚓᚐᚂ᚜ | GAL | bright/white | WiktionarygaelspellGrimoire XI.4 | Bright or shining. Bán is white, geal is bright. Snow is bán, the moon is geal. |
| deas | ᚛ᚇᚓᚐᚄ᚜ | JASS | nice/right | WiktionaryTatoebagaelspellGrimoire XI.4 | Nice. The most everyday compliment. |
| álainn | ᚛ᚐᚂᚐᚔᚅᚅ᚜ | AW-lin | beautiful | WiktionaryTatoebagaelspellFoclóir | Beautiful. The word a poem reaches for. |
| láidir | ᚛ᚂᚐᚔᚇᚔᚏ᚜ | LAW-jir | strong | WiktionaryTatoebagaelspellFoclóir | Strong. |
| lag | ᚛ᚂᚐᚌ᚜ | LOG | weak | WiktionarygaelspellFoclóir | Weak. |
| trom | ᚛ᚈᚏᚑᚋ᚜ | TRUM | heavy | TatoebagaelspellFoclóir | Heavy. |
| éasca | ᚛ᚓᚐᚄᚉᚐ᚜ | AYS-kuh | easy | WiktionaryTatoebagaelspellGrimoire XI.4 | Easy. |
| deacair | ᚛ᚇᚓᚐᚉᚐᚔᚏ᚜ | JAK-ur | difficult | WiktionaryTatoebagaelspellFoclóir | Difficult. |
| sásta | ᚛ᚄᚐᚄᚈᚐ᚜ | SAW-stuh | satisfied/happy | WiktionaryTatoebagaelspellFoclóir | Satisfied or happy. Tá mé sásta, I am content. |