Speak Irish: Counting
By Bob Carney
Athbhliain Faoi Mhaise! Tá súil agam go bhfuil tú go maith. There are different number systems in Irish, just as there are in English. In English, we say one thing or two things if we’re counting something, but if we’re putting things in order we say the first or second thing and so on. In Irish, there is a basic set of numbers used for telling time, phone numbers or addresses or if you’re inclined to stand around on street corners and count out loud. A second system is used for counting things, while a third is used for counting people.
In the basic number system, if the number starts with a vowel, the letter h is placed in front of it. The numbers 0 thru 10 use a helper word in front of them, a (uh). In English, the numbers thirteen thru nineteen use a variant of the number ten, teen. In Irish, a variant of ten is also used. In the number twelve, the word for two causes lenition or softening to the word that follows it.
Basic Numbers in Irish
a náid (uh noyj) zero a sé (uh shay) six
a h-aon (uh hayn) one a seacht (uh shakht) seven
a dó (uh doe) two a h-ocht (uh hawkht) eight
a trí (uh tree) three a naoi (uh nee) nine
a ceathair (uh kya-her) four a deich (uh jeh)
a cúig (uh koo-ig) five
Basic numbers 11-20 in Irish
a h-aon déag (uh hayn jayug) eleven a sé déag (uh shay jayug) sixteen
a dó dhéag (uh doe yayug) twelve a seacht déag (uh shakht jayug) seventeen
a trí déag (uh tree jayug) thirteen a h-ocht déag (uh hawkht jayug) eighteen
a ceathair deag (uh kya-her jayug) fourteen a naoi déag (uh nee jayug) nineteen
a cúig déag (uh koo-ig jayug) fifteen fiche (fih-huh) twenty
Multiples of Ten in Irish
fiche (fih-huh) twenty seachtó (shahk-toe) seventy
tríocha (tree-kuh) thirty ochtó (awhk-toe) eighty
daichead (dah-khayd) forty nócha (no-kuh) ninety
caoga (kay-guh) fifty céad (kayd) hundred
seasca (shas-kuh) sixty
A pattern develops counting from twenty to a hundred, below are some examples.
fiche a dó (fih-huh uh doe) twenty-two
tríocha a trí (tree-kuh uh tree) thirty three
seachtó a cúig (shahk-toe uh koo-ig) seventy-five
*refer back to Nov.2021 iIrish for more on telling time using basic numbers
Counting Things in Irish
When counting things in english, not only do we use a number, but we also use the plural version of the thing we are counting, one box, two boxes. In Irish there is no need for that, but, softening and eclipsing can occur. Also if only one thing is being counted we add the word alone to it, as in one box alone.
aon (ayn) softens one seacht (shahkt) eclipses seven
dhá (ghaw) softens two ocht (awkht) eclipses eight
trí (tree) softens three naoi (nee) eclipses nine
ceithre (keh-ruh) softens four deich (jeh) eclipses ten
cúig (koo-ig) softens five amhain (uh-woyn) alone
sé (shay) softens six
Things to Count in Irish
bosca (bos-ka) box eochair (uhk-er) key
nóiméad (no-mayd) minute euro (yur-oh) euro
carr (karr) car cupán (kup-un) cup
bord (board) table cathaoir (ka-heer) chair
rud (ruhd) thing pionta (pyunt-uh) pint
Examples
aon bhosca amháin (ayn wuhss-ka uh- woyn) one box alone or one box
dhá bhord (ghaw word) two tables
trí charr (tree karr) three cars
ceithre chathaoir (keh-ruh ka-heer) four chairs
cúig phionta (koo-ig fyunt-uh) five pints
sé nóiméad (shay no-mayd) six minutes
seacht n-eochair (shahkt nuhk-er) seven keys
ocht gcupán (awkht gup-un) eight cups
naoi rud (nee ruhd) nine things
deich n-euro (jeh nuur-oh) ten euros
Notice that only words beginning with certain letters can be softened or eclipsed.
Counting Money in Irish
Cé mhéad sín? (kaw vayde shinn) How much is that?
dhá euro (ghaw yur-oh) two euros
dhá euro deich cent (ghaw yur-oh jeh sent) two euros and ten cents
dhá euro caoga cent (ghaw yur-oh kay-guh sent) two euros and fifty cents
cúig euro seachtó cent (koo-ig yur-oh shohkto sent) five euros and seventy cents
Counting Things Beyond Ten in Irish
Counting things above the number ten is a little different in Irish, from eleven to nineteen, the name of the thing you’re counting is inserted between the numbers. From twenty and beyond the word for and, agus (ah-gus) is also used but is almost always shortened to ‘s. For example, fifteen boxes would be five box ten, twenty-five boxes would be five box and twenty. Softening and eclipsing are still required.
Cé mhéad atá ann? (kah vayde uh-taw ahn) How many are there?
trí bhosca déag (tree wuhs-ka jay-ug) thirteen boxes
Tá trí bhosca déag. (taw tree wuhs-ka jay-ug) There are thirteen boxes.
ceithre bhosca ‘s fiche (keh-ruh wuhs-ka iss fih-huh) twenty-four boxes
Ní ceithre bhosca ‘s fiche. (nee keh-ruh wuhs-ka iss fih-huh) There are not twenty-four boxes.
seacht mbosca ‘s tríocha (shohkt mos-ka iss tree-uh-ka) thirty seven boxes
An bhfuil seacht mbosca ‘s tríocha? (ahn will shohkt mos-ka iss tree-uh-ka) Are there thirty-seven boxes?
cúig bhosca ‘s seasca (koo-ig wohs-ka iss shas-ka) sixty-five boxes
Nach bhfuil cúig bhosca ‘s seasca? (nahk will koo-ig wohs-ka shas-ka) Aren’t there sixty-five boxes?
Counting People in Irish
aon duine amháin (ayn din-uh uh-woyn) one person alone or one person
beirt (baerch) two people
triúr (tru-ihr) three people
ceathrar (kya hrer) four people
cúigear (kooih-gur) five people
seisear (shesh-er) six people
seachtar (shohk-tur) seven people
ochtar (awhk-tur) eight people
naonúr (nee-noor) nine people
deichniúr (jeh-noor) ten people
New session of Speak Irish Cleveland classes are starting January 11th, we’d love to see you there. Tóg go bog é!
*Bob Carney is a student of Irish history and language and teaches the Speak Irish Cleveland classes held every Tuesday at P.J. McIntyre’s. he is also active in the Irish Wolfhound and Irish dogs organizations in and around Cleveland. Wife Mary, hounds Morrighán and Rían and terrier Doolin keep the house jumping. He can be reached at [email protected]
