Irish/Vocabulary/Animals
Lessons
Spelling and Pronunciation - Grammar
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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[edit | edit source]
| Vocabulary | ||
|---|---|---|
| animal | ainmhí | pronunciation |
When discussing ainmhí (animals) as gaeilge, bear in mind the following:
Pronouns[edit | edit source]
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[edit | edit source]
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[edit | edit source]
| Vocabulary | ||
|---|---|---|
| peata | pet | pronunciation |
| cat | cat |
| dog | madra |
| kitten | puisín |
| puppy | coileán |
Ainmhithe na hÉireann[edit | edit source]
| 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[edit | edit source]
| 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[edit | edit source]
| 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[edit | edit source]
| cod | trosc |
| crab | portán |
| dolphin | deilf (f) |
| fish | iasc |
| lobster | gliomach |
| salmon | bradán |
| shark | siorc |
| whale | míol mór |
See also[edit | edit source]
Other Unit 3 lessons relevant to animals may include: