Lessons
Spelling and Pronunciation - Grammar
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Wikiversity's Department of Irish Studies
This lesson is part of Unit 3 of WikiBooks Irish, a comprehensive open-source course in the Irish language. Lessons in Unit 3 are intended for the advanced Irish learner and contain specialized vocabulary and language notes for specific subject areas.
Talking About Animals
| Vocabulary | ||
|---|---|---|
| animal | ainmhí | pronunciation |
When discussing ainmhí (animals) as gaeilge, bear in mind the following:
Pronouns
Because Irish has no neutral pronouns, animals take the pronoun appropriate to the grammatical gender of the word in question. Most general names for animal species are masculine.
Eating Animals
As in English, in some cases different words are used for the animal's meat when used as food than when discussing the living animal. These words will be considered separately in the Unit 3 lesson on food.
Peataí
| Vocabulary | ||
|---|---|---|
| peata | pet | pronunciation |
| cat | cat |
| dog | madra |
| kitten | puisín |
| puppy | coileán |
Ainmhithe na hÉireann
| bird | éan |
| butterfly | féileacán |
| deer | fia |
| duck | lacha |
| mouse | luch |
| owl | ulchabhán |
| spider | damhán alla |
| rabbit | coinín |
| rat | francach |
| seal | rón |
| turtle | turtar |
Ainmhithe na feirme
| Vocabulary | ||
|---|---|---|
| feirme | farm | pronunciation |
| cow | bó |
| calf | lao, gamhain |
| foal | searrach |
| goat | gabhar |
| hen | cearc |
| horse | capall |
| pig | muc |
| lamb | uan |
| sheep | caora |
Ainmhithe an zú
| Vocabulary | ||
|---|---|---|
| zú | zoo | pronunciation |
| giraffe | sioráf |
| crocodile | crogall |
| bear | béar |
| elephant | eilifint |
| hippopotamus | dobhareach |
| kangaroo | cangarú |
| wolf | mac tíre |
| zebra | séabra |
| koala | cóála |
| lion | leon |
| monkey | moncaí |
| panda | panda |
| penguin | piongain |
| tiger | tíogar |
Ainmhithe uisceach
| cod | trosc |
| crab | portán |
| dolphin | deilf (f) |
| fish | iasc |
| lobster | gliomach |
| salmon | bradán |
| shark | siorc |
| whale | míol mór |
See also
Other Unit 3 lessons relevant to animals may include:
- Food (culinary names for animals' meat)
- Sport (terms related to horse and dog racing)