Ordinal Numbers and Quantities in Irish

In Brief

Irish uses ordinal numbers to put things in order: an chéad lá (“the first day”), an dara duine (“the second person”), and an tríú háit (“third place”). Learn an chéad and an dara as special forms; most ordinals from third to tenth end in -ú or -iú. For an inexact amount, common phrases include a lán (“a lot of”), roinnt (“some”), go leor (“enough” or “plenty of”), and beagán (“a little” or “a few”).

Overview

A cardinal number tells you how many: one, two, three. An ordinal number tells you a position in a sequence: first, second, third. In Irish, ordinal numbers are called orduimhreacha. You need them for dates, floors, chapters, attempts, competitions, school years, and any situation in which order matters.

This A2 topic builds on basic Numbers. The first two Irish ordinals are not predictable from aon (“one”) and dó/dhá (“two”), so they must be learned separately. Later forms are more regular, but Irish initial mutations—changes at the beginning of a word—still affect phrases such as an chéad cheist (“the first question”) and an t-ochtú lá (“the eighth day”).

The other half of this topic is quantity without an exact number. Instead of counting, you can say that there are a lot of people, some questions, enough time, or a little Irish. These expressions are extremely useful, although the noun after them may appear in the genitive case (a form often used for an “of” relationship). At A2, learn frequent combinations as whole phrases; the advanced section explains the underlying pattern.

How It Works

The basic ordinals

The following forms cover most beginner needs. An is the definite article “the.”

Position	Irish	English	Example
1st	an chéad	the first	an chéad lá
2nd	an dara	the second	an dara duine
3rd	an tríú	the third	an tríú háit
4th	an ceathrú	the fourth	an ceathrú seomra
5th	an cúigiú	the fifth	an cúigiú ceist
6th	an séú	the sixth	an séú bliain
7th	an seachtú	the seventh	an seachtú lá
8th	an t-ochtú	the eighth	an t-ochtú hurlár
9th	an naoú	the ninth	an naoú huair
10th	an deichiú	the tenth	an deichiú caibidil

The article adds t- before the vowel at the start of ochtú, giving an t-ochtú. The noun itself normally remains singular: compare English “the first day,” not “the first days.”

The special behavior of an chéad

An chéad is the form to memorize for “the first.” It normally causes lenition (séimhiú, a change that usually inserts h after the first consonant) on a following noun when that consonant can be lenited.

Dictionary form	With an chéad	Meaning
ceist	an chéad cheist	the first question
bliain	an chéad bhliain	the first year
maidin	an chéad mhaidin	the first morning
pictiúr	an chéad phictiúr	the first picture
lá	an chéad lá	the first day

The last example has no visible h because l is not written with lenition. A vowel also shows no lenition: an chéad uair (“the first time”). Do not copy the mutation onto later ordinals: an chéad cheist, but an dara ceist and an tríú ceist.

An dara and the forms in -ú/-iú

The second ordinal is an dara, not a form built regularly from dó or dhá. From the third onward, endings such as -ú and -iú are common. It is better to learn the complete forms than to try to manufacture them from cardinal numbers: trí → tríú, ceathair → ceathrú, cúig → cúigiú, deich → deichiú.

Before a noun beginning with a vowel, ordinals from dara onward commonly put h before that noun: an dara huair, an tríú háit, an ceathrú hurlár. This h belongs to the sound connection between the words; it is not part of the dictionary form uair, áit, or urlár.

Four core quantity expressions

English often adds “of” in “a lot of people.” Irish places the quantity expression directly before the noun.

Expression	Usual meaning	Example	Translation
a lán	a lot of, many, much	a lán daoine	a lot of people
roinnt	some, several	roinnt ceisteanna	some questions
go leor	enough; plenty of	go leor ama	enough time
beagán	a little; a small number of	beagán Gaeilge	a little Irish

These expressions work with both things that English normally counts and things it treats as a mass. Compare a lán daoine (“a lot of people”) with a lán oibre (“a lot of work”), or beagán cairde (“a few friends”) with beagán uisce (“a little water”). The English translation changes between “many/much” or “few/little,” but Irish can keep the same quantity expression.

Choosing between them

• Use a lán for a clearly large amount or number.
• Use roinnt for an unspecified but limited number or amount: “some” or sometimes “several.”
• Use go leor when the amount meets a need (“enough”), or when you mean “plenty of.” Context decides which English wording is best.
• Use beagán for a small amount or number. It is neutral unless the wider sentence makes the amount sound insufficient.

The quantity phrase does not replace the verb. Irish commonly uses Tá ... ann for existence: Tá a lán daoine ann literally has the pattern “A lot of people are there,” meaning “There are a lot of people.” For possession, use Tá ... agam: Tá beagán Gaeilge agam (“I have a little Irish”).

Examples in Context

Irish	English	Note
Ba é seo mo chéad lá sa phost.	This was my first day in the job.	céad follows possessive mo, so there is no an.
Léigh an chéad cheist go cúramach.	Read the first question carefully.	ceist → cheist after an chéad.
Tháinig an dara duine isteach.	The second person came in.	Special ordinal dara.
D’éirigh liom an tríú háit a bhaint amach.	I managed to achieve third place.	h appears before vowel-initial áit.
Táimid ar an gceathrú hurlár.	We are on the fourth floor.	The preposition and article affect ceathrú; hurlár follows the ordinal.
Seo an cúigiú ceist sa scrúdú.	This is the fifth question in the exam.	A regular ordinal phrase.
Chonaic mé é den chéad uair inné.	I saw him for the first time yesterday.	den chéad uair is a very common fixed phrase.
Tá a lán daoine ann anocht.	There are a lot of people there tonight.	Large number of countable people.
Tá a lán oibre le déanamh againn.	We have a lot of work to do.	Large amount of something uncountable.
Chuir roinnt daltaí ceist orm.	Some students asked me a question.	Unspecified group.
An bhfuil go leor ama agat?	Do you have enough time?	go leor means sufficient here.
Tá go leor siopaí sa bhaile.	There are plenty of shops in the town.	Positive sense: “plenty of.”
Tá beagán Gaeilge agam.	I have a little Irish.	A modest amount of language ability.
Cuir beagán bainne sa tae.	Put a little milk in the tea.	Small amount of a substance.

Common Mistakes

Building “first” from aon

• Wrong: an aon lá for “the first day”
• Right: an chéad lá
• Why: aon is associated with the cardinal “one”; the ordinary ordinal “first” is céad in this construction.

Forgetting lenition after an chéad

• Wrong: an chéad ceist
• Right: an chéad cheist
• Why: an chéad normally lenites a following consonant when that consonant can show lenition. Forms beginning with l, n, or r do not acquire a written h.

Leniting after every ordinal

• Wrong: an dara dhuine, an tríú cheist
• Right: an dara duine, an tríú ceist
• Why: The beginner lenition rule belongs specifically to an chéad. Do not extend it automatically to the rest of the series.

Dropping the connecting h before a vowel

• Wrong: an tríú áit
• Right: an tríú háit
• Why: After ordinals such as dara and tríú, a following vowel-initial noun commonly receives h: dara huair, tríú háit.

Translating “of” word for word

• Wrong: a lán de daoine when simply saying “a lot of people”
• Right: a lán daoine
• Why: The normal quantity construction places the noun directly after a lán. Irish may use de in other constructions, especially when identifying part of a definite group, but it is not required in this basic phrase.

Treating go leor as only “enough”

• Misleading translation: Tá go leor leabhar anseo = only “There are enough books here.”
• Better: Tá go leor leabhar anseo. = “There are plenty of books here” or “There are enough books here.”
• Why: Tone and context decide whether go leor emphasizes sufficiency or abundance.

Usage Notes

Ordinal phrases often occur inside larger combinations with the article and a preposition. Two especially useful chunks are den chéad uair (“for the first time”) and sa chéad áit (“in the first place”). Learn the whole chunk rather than trying to reconstruct every mutation while speaking.

When an ordinal follows a possessive word, English still says “my first,” but Irish does not use an: mo chéad lá (“my first day”), do dhara hiarracht (“your second attempt”). The exact initial change is then controlled by the possessive word as well as by the ordinal phrase. At A2, mo chéad..., do chéad..., and a chéad... are useful patterns to notice in real texts.

Quantity expressions are flexible, but translations are not always one-to-one. Roinnt can be “some” or “several.” Beagán can be “a little” with a mass noun and “a few” with a plural noun. English forces that distinction; Irish does not always do so in the quantity word itself.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master the following details at A2, but they explain forms you will meet later.

The noun after a quantity

Quantity expressions often govern a genitive relationship, roughly “a quantity of something.” This is why familiar nouns may change form:

• duine → daoine in a lán daoine (“a lot of people”)
• am → ama in go leor ama (“enough time”)
• airgead → airgid in roinnt airgid (“some money”)
• obair → oibre in a lán oibre (“a lot of work”)

A form such as daoine can also be the ordinary plural, so the grammar is not always visible. Genitive formation varies by noun and belongs to a later stage of Irish grammar. For now, record quantity phrases with the noun included: not just go leor, but go leor ama; not just roinnt, but roinnt daoine and roinnt airgid.

When referring to part of a definite group, Irish can also use structures with de, as in roinnt de na daoine (“some of the people”). This differs from plain roinnt daoine (“some people”): the first selects members from a known group.

Ordinals above ten

Higher ordinals are built from the same ordinal elements and number combinations, but their spelling and placement deserve to be learned from reliable examples rather than guessed. You will encounter forms such as an t-aonú lá déag (“the eleventh day”) and compound ordinals in dates, rankings, and formal labels. In everyday conversation, speakers may also rephrase a complicated ranking instead of producing a long ordinal.

Céad with and without the article

The form céad can mean “first” in an ordinal phrase but also “hundred” in counting contexts. The surrounding grammar distinguishes them: an chéad lá is “the first day,” whereas céad lá can mean “one hundred days.” The article and the mutation of the following noun are therefore meaningful, not decorative.

Practice Tips

1. Build a ten-step sequence. Label ten chapters, days, or places with an chéad, an dara, an tríú through an deichiú. Say each complete phrase aloud, including an t-ochtú.
2. Drill mutations in pairs. Contrast an chéad cheist / an dara ceist, an chéad bhliain / an tríú bliain, and an chéad uair / an dara huair. This prevents the rule for céad from spreading to every ordinal.
3. Collect quantity chunks. Make cards for a lán daoine, roinnt airgid, go leor ama, and beagán Gaeilge. Then replace only the verb or surrounding sentence until each noun form feels automatic.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Numbers — cardinal numbers and their basic mutations provide the foundation for ordinals.
• Related foundation: Lenition (Séimhiú) — explains the change in an chéad cheist and an chéad bhliain.
• Later study: The Genitive Case — explains noun forms such as ama, airgid, and oibre after quantities.
• Useful combination: Prepositions with the Article — helps with expressions such as den chéad uair and sa chéad áit.