Broad (a, o, u) Slender

Consonant Irish Pronunciation English Irish

b bád bawd boat beoir
bh mo bhád muh wawd my boat an bheoir
Broad “bh” is almost always “w.” Slender "bh" is always "v"
mb I mbaile ih mall-yuh in a town ocht mbeoracha
c cat kot cat ceann
ch mo chat muh khot my cat mo cheann
Broad “ch” is a rough sound not found in English, but Slender “ch” is pronounced fu
common in German, Russian, Hebrew, Greek. Think of mouth, and is similar to the En
Scottish “loch,” German composer Bach, the Jewish “Hugh,” and “human,” only br
holiday Chanukkah. familiar with German, it’s the

gc seacht gcarr shahkht gar seven cars I gceann

d doras DOR-uss door deoch
Broad “d” sounds more or less just like English. Slender “d” can sound like an
dh mo dhoras muh GHOR-uss my door mo dheoch
Broad “dh” is a sound not found in English, but Slender “dh” sounds exactly l
common in Dutch and Greek. It is the voiced
counterpart to the broad “ch,” and is a very deep,
guttural, throat-clearing sound.
nd naoí ndoirse knee nehr-she nine doors go ndéarna mé
f fada FAH-duh long fear
fh an-fhada un-AH-duh very long don fhear
“fh” is silent everywhere. “fh” is silent everywhere.
bhf an bhfuil tú un (v)will too are you i bhfiacha
Broad “bhf” is almost always a slurred vw but can be Slender "bhf" is always "v"
just a "w"
g gairdín GAR-jeen garden geata
gh sa ghairdín suh GHAR-jeen in the garden mo gheata
“gh”– both broad and slender — behaves just like “dh” so . .
Broad “gh” is a sound not found in English, but Slender “gh” sounds exactly l
common in Dutch and Greek. It is the voiced
counterpart to the broad “ch,” and is a very deep,
guttural, throat-clearing sound.
wur N(ih)ROO-
ng bhur ngrúpa puh your (pl) group bhur ngeata
This version on "ng" is used at the beginning of words as it is the eclipsis form of "g".
h hata HAH-tuh hat
l lón loan lunch leabhar
ll balla BALL-Luh wall bille
m máthair MAW-hur mother méar
mh mo mháthair muh WAW-hur my mother mo mhéar
“mh” — both broad and slender — behaves exactly like “bh” so
Broad “mh” is almost always “w” but "mh" at the end Slender "mh" is always "v"
of a word is often pronounced as a "v".
n naomh neev saint neamh
nn donn down brown binneas
ng rang rangue class daingean
"ng" at the end of a word is almost has the ghost of a In the middle of a word with s
"uh" following it sounded with the first syllable
over to start the following syll
p Pádraig PAW-drig Patrick peann
ph a Phádraig uh FAW-drig Oh, Patrick! mo pheann
bp deich bpunt jehkh boont ten pounds deich bpinn
r romhar ROH-hur bicycle rince
As in English
Slender “r”– when it does not
word — has a strange “rzh” q
easily described. The best wa
to native speakers.
s salach SAH-lukh dirty sean
As in English Slender “s” is pronounced “sh
end of words.
sh ró-shalach row HAH-lukh too dirty ró-shean
“sh” is always pronounced like “h”
ts ar an tsráid ar un (s)TRAWJ on the street sa tslí
"ts" is mostly a "T" sound but there can be a bit of a slurred "s" either before or after
transition
t Tomás TUM-awss Thomas teach
As in English Slender “t” is pronounced like
th a Thomáis uh HUM-awsh Oh, Thomas! mo theach
“th” is always pronounced like “h”
dt ocht dtaobhanna okht dee-wah-na eight sides ár dteach
 Slender (e, i)
Pronunciation English
byohr beer
un vyohr the beer
Slender "bh" is always "v"
okht myor-akhah eight beers
kyawn head
muh hyawn my head
Slender “ch” is pronounced further forward in the
mouth, and is similar to the English sound in “hew,”
“Hugh,” and “human,” only breathier. If you are
familiar with German, it’s the same sound as in “Ich.”

ih gyawn at the end of

jukh drink
Slender “d” can sound like an English “j”
muh yukh my drink
Slender “dh” sounds exactly like English “y.”

guh nyayr-na may that I did

fyar man
dun AR for the man
“fh” is silent everywhere.
ih vih-ah-khah in debt
Slender "bhf" is always "v"

GYAH-tuh gate
muh YAH-tuh my gate
road and slender — behaves just like “dh” so . . .
Slender “gh” sounds exactly like English “y.”

wur nyah-tuh You (pl) gate

ginning of words as it is the eclipsis form of "g".

lyow-er book
bill-yah bill
myair finger
muh vair my finger
road and slender — behaves exactly like “bh” so . . .
Slender "mh" is always "v"

nyav heaven
 sweetness
BIN-yuhss (sound)
DANG-gyun fort
In the middle of a word with slender vowels the ng is
sounded with the first syllable and the the "g" drifts
over to start the following syllable in a slender fashion.
pyawn pen
muh fyawn my pen
jehkh byin ten pens
RING-kuh dance
Slender “r”– when it does not come at the start of a
word — has a strange “rzh” quality to it that can’t be
easily described. The best way to pick it up is to listen
to native speakers.
shan old
Slender “s” is pronounced “sh”. This is also true at the
end of words.
row HAN too old
“sh” is always pronounced like “h”
(t)SLEE in the way
an be a bit of a slurred "s" either before or after the "t" to help ease the

chakh house
Slender “t” is pronounced like English “ch.”
muh hakh my house
“th” is always pronounced like “h”
awr djakh our house