By Katelyn Gaughan
It’s no secret that the use of the Irish language has been becoming increasingly popular as of late. Some people credit Kneecap and their catchy lyrics, others credit Irish designers and their comfy clothes. Regardless, many people are looking for ways to make use of their cúpla focal. Let’s look at some of the easiest words and phrases ‘as Gaeilge’ to incorporate into a conversation while speaking English.
Easy words to replace their English counterparts with:
Anois – Now
Siopa – Shop
Foirfe – Perfect
Beagnach – Almost
Slán – Goodbye
Cupán tae/ caife – Cup of tea/ coffee
Some examples of bilingual sentences featuring some of these words include:
I might just go there anois.
Do you need anything in the siopa?
Are you ready? Beagnach!
Further words and phrases which can quite easily be incorporated into a bilingual conversation include:
Fan nóiméad – Wait a minute
Trí chéile – Messy
Is cuma liom – I don’t mind
lean ar aghaidh – Go on
Aon scéal? – Any news?
Lá fada – Long day
Comhghairdeas – Congratulations
Oíche mhaith – Goodnight
Déan deifir – Hurry up
Cén fáth? – Why?
Cad a tharla? – What happened?
Más é do thoil é / Le do thoil – Please
Go raibh maith agat- Thank you
Cinnte – Certainly
Geoite – Cute
Álainn – Lovely
Grá – Love
Teanglann.ie offers audio pronunciations of all of these words as well as an online dictionary full of plenty more words as Gaeilge for anyone looking for more options.
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