We’ve all been there. You’re finally building up the courage to speak Irish out loud, and then — bam — something just doesn’t sound right. Maybe you said mé ith instead of Itheann mé, or you used mo teach when you really meant ár dteach. (Oops.)
The good news? Everyone makes mistakes when learning Irish — and most of them are easy to fix once you know what to watch for.
Here are 10 common mistakes in Irish that learners run into again and again — plus a few tips to help you steer clear of them.
1. Forgetting That Verbs Come First
❌ Mé ith arán.
✅ Itheann mé arán.
Irish isn’t English in disguise — the sentence order is different. In Irish, the verb always comes first, followed by the subject and then the object. This is called VSO (Verb–Subject–Object) word order. It takes some getting used to, but it’s non-negotiable.
🧠 Quick Fix: Think “Do – Who – What” instead of “Who does what.”
2. Not Using Lenition When Needed
❌ Mo bean
✅ Mo bhean
Lenition (adding an “h” after the first consonant) isn’t just a spelling change — it changes how the word sounds and even what it means. Many possessive pronouns (mo, do, a) trigger lenition, and skipping it is one of the most common beginner slip-ups.
🧠 Quick Fix: Learn which pronouns and grammatical structures cause lenition. A cheat sheet doesn’t hurt.
3. Mixing Up “a” for His / Her / Their
❌ a madra — but whose dog??
✅ a mhadra = his dog
✅ a madra = her dog
✅ a gcat = their cat
The possessive a is sneaky. It looks the same for his, her, and their — but it causes different mutations depending on who’s doing the owning. Context (and consonant changes!) matter here.
🧠 Quick Fix:
- a + lenition = his
- a + nothing = her
- a + eclipsis = their
4. Using English Word Order in Questions
❌ An tú chonaic é?
✅ An bhfaca tú é?
Irish doesn’t just flip a few words for questions — the verb still comes first, and many verbs change form in the question structure. Using An often requires lenition or eclipsis, too.
🧠 Quick Fix: Practice forming yes/no questions using An + verb + subject.
5. Overusing “is maith liom” for Everything
❌ Is maith liom an bia seo (every time)
✅ Taitníonn an bia seo go mór liom.
Yes, Is maith liom (“I like”) is easy and useful — but it’s just one way to express preference. There are richer, more expressive alternatives in Irish.
🧠 Quick Fix: Explore verbs like taitin, is aoibhinn liom, or ba mhaith liom for variety.
6. Ignoring Prepositional Pronouns
❌ Le mé
✅ Liom
Prepositions and pronouns in Irish don’t hang out separately — they morph into one word. You’ll need to learn these combos, or you’ll sound like a walking error message.
🧠 Quick Fix: Drill common prepositional pronouns (liom, leat, leis, liom féin, etc.) with flashcards or repetition exercises. Try our flashcards here.
7. Using “agus” Like Commas in English
❌ Bhí sé ag caint agus ag ól agus ag gáire agus ag canadh…
✅ Bhí sé ag caint, ag ól, ag gáire, agus ag canadh.
Just because agus means “and” doesn’t mean you should use it ten times in a row. Irish can be more fluid — sometimes even dropping agus in short lists.
🧠 Quick Fix: Use agus thoughtfully. Vary your sentence structures for better flow.
8. Literal English-to-Irish Translations
❌ Tá mé fuar.
✅ Tá fuacht orm.❌ Tá mé tuirseach ar mo sháith.
✅ Tá tuirse orm.
English says “I am cold,” but Irish says “Cold is on me.” Emotions and states are often expressed through prepositional phrases, not adjectives.
🧠 Quick Fix: Learn the most common expressions with Tá ___ orm/agat/air… and think in Irish structure, not English logic.
9. Saying “Tá sé go maith” for Everything
❌ Tá sé go maith
✅ Tá sé go hiontach / go dona / go deas / ar fheabhas
Go maith is fine, but overusing it makes your Irish sound bland. There’s a world of colorful adjectives and adverbs to try instead.
🧠 Quick Fix: Expand your vocab with our essential Gaelic phrases guide.
10. Not Speaking Out Loud
❌ Reads everything silently, never practices pronunciation
✅ Speaks Irish every day — even alone in the kitchen
A lot of learners delay speaking out loud because they feel self-conscious. But speaking regularly is the fastest way to improve your fluency, confidence, and comprehension.
🧠 Quick Fix: Read a sentence out loud every day. Better yet, speak into your phone and listen back — you’ll pick up on patterns fast.
🎁 Bonus: Want Help Catching These Mistakes?
You don’t have to fix everything on your own.
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Final Thoughts
Learning Irish isn’t about being perfect — it’s about showing up, making mistakes, and learning from them. The mistakes above? They’re all totally normal. In fact, making them means you’re actually trying — and that’s something to be proud of.
Keep speaking. Keep learning. And remember:
Nobody speaks perfect Irish at first — but everyone can improve.
Go n-éirí leat! 💚
