Weather and Feelings in Irish

In Brief

Irish commonly describes weather with Tá sé (“it is”) followed by an adjective or weather expression: Tá sé fuar (“It is cold”) and Tá sé ag cur báistí (“It is raining”). Many feelings are expressed as a noun “on” someone: Tá áthas orm literally has the structure “Joy is on me” and means “I am happy.” Learn each expression as an Irish pattern rather than translating English word by word.

Overview

Talking about the weather and saying how you feel are among the first practical skills you need in Irish. At A1, two short patterns cover a great deal: Tá sé plus a weather description, and Tá plus a feeling noun plus a form of ar (“on”). They let you discuss a cold morning, ask whether somebody is worried, or say that you are happy, hungry, or afraid.

The two patterns use tá, the present form of bí, the verb used for states and conditions. In Tá sé fuar, sé is the impersonal “it” familiar from English weather sentences. In Tá áthas orm, however, the person is not presented as the grammatical subject (the person or thing the sentence is about grammatically). The subject is áthas (“joy”), while orm identifies the person experiencing it.

This second structure can feel unusual to an English speaker. Irish does not simply replace English “I am” with Tá mé in every sentence. Some states use an adjective with the person, but many emotions and bodily sensations use a noun with a prepositional pronoun—a single word combining a preposition and a pronoun. Thus ar + mé becomes orm, not two separate words.

How It Works

Weather with Tá sé

For basic weather descriptions, use this structure:

Tá sé + adjective or weather phrase.

Function	Irish pattern	Example	Meaning
Statement	Tá sé + description	Tá sé gaofar.	It is windy.
Negative	Níl sé + description	Níl sé fuar.	It is not cold.
Question	An bhfuil sé + description?	An bhfuil sé tirim?	Is it dry?

The forms níl (“is not”) and an bhfuil? (“is...?”) belong to the verb bí. Do not form these by putting a simple negative or question word before tá.

Common weather adjectives include:

Irish	English
fuar	cold
te	warm or hot
fliuch	wet
tirim	dry
gaofar	windy
grianmhar	sunny
scamallach	cloudy
ceomhar	foggy
dorcha	dark

You can add a time expression without changing the core structure: inniu (“today”), anocht (“tonight”), or ar maidin (“in the morning”). For example, Tá sé scamallach inniu means “It is cloudy today.”

Irish can also name the weather directly with an aimsir (“the weather”): Tá an aimsir go deas (“The weather is nice”). Notice go deas, a common adverbial form used after tá in this kind of evaluation. For a beginner, it is best to remember Tá sé deas and Tá an aimsir go deas as established patterns rather than assuming every adjective behaves identically in every construction.

Rain, snow, and sunshine

Not every weather event is expressed by a single adjective. Rain and snow commonly use ag cur, literally a progressive construction involving the verbal noun of cuir (“put”). A verbal noun is the verb form used after ag to describe an action in progress.

Pattern	Irish	Natural English
Rain	Tá sé ag cur báistí.	It is raining.
Snow	Tá sé ag cur sneachta.	It is snowing.
Heavy rain	Tá sé ag cur báistí go trom.	It is raining heavily.
Sunshine	Tá an ghrian ag taitneamh.	The sun is shining.

The word báistí in ag cur báistí is a special form of báisteach (“rain”) used in this expression. Treat the whole phrase as one unit; translating “raining” as a standalone Irish verb is likely to produce an unnatural sentence.

Feelings with a noun + ar

Many emotions and sensations follow this order:

Tá + feeling or state + ar + person.

Because ar combines with personal pronouns, you need the following forms:

Person	Form of ar	Example with áthas	Meaning
me	orm	Tá áthas orm.	I am happy.
you, singular	ort	Tá áthas ort.	You are happy.
him	air	Tá áthas air.	He is happy.
her	uirthi	Tá áthas uirthi.	She is happy.
us	orainn	Tá áthas orainn.	We are happy.
you, plural	oraibh	Tá áthas oraibh.	You are happy.
them	orthu	Tá áthas orthu.	They are happy.

The feeling noun does not change when the experiencer changes. Only the form of ar changes: Tá eagla orm, Tá eagla ort, Tá eagla uirthi, and so on.

Useful nouns in this pattern include:

Irish expression	Natural English meaning
áthas ar	to be happy / glad
brón ar	to be sad / sorry
fearg ar	to be angry
eagla ar	to be afraid
imní ar	to be worried / anxious
náire ar	to be ashamed / embarrassed
ocras ar	to be hungry
tart ar	to be thirsty
codladh ar	to be sleepy
fuacht ar	to feel cold

Although hunger, thirst, sleepiness, and cold are not emotions, Irish packages these bodily sensations in the same way. This makes the pattern especially useful in everyday conversation.

Questions and negatives about feelings

The normal question and negative forms again use an bhfuil and níl:

Function	Irish	English
Statement	Tá eagla ort.	You are afraid.
Question	An bhfuil eagla ort?	Are you afraid?
Negative	Níl eagla ort.	You are not afraid.

The noun remains between the verb and the form of ar. In English, the person appears near the beginning—“Are you afraid?”—but Irish keeps the experiencer at the end: An bhfuil eagla ort?

If a noun names the person, use ar + noun rather than a prepositional pronoun: Tá eagla ar an bpáiste (“The child is afraid”). The exact initial change after ar an belongs to the broader system of prepositions, articles, and regional usage; beginners can first master the pronoun forms in the table above.

Not every feeling uses ar

The ar pattern is important, but it is not a universal formula for every English adjective. Some common states are ordinary adjectives used with the person:

Irish	English	Structure
Tá mé sásta.	I am happy / satisfied.	tá + person + adjective
Tá mé tuirseach.	I am tired.	tá + person + adjective
Tá sí socair.	She is calm.	tá + person + adjective
Tá siad buartha.	They are worried.	tá + person + adjective

This gives Irish more than one natural way to cover an English idea. Tá áthas orm emphasizes joy or gladness, while Tá mé sásta commonly means that you are happy, content, or satisfied. Vocabulary and grammar must therefore be learned together.

Examples in Context

Irish	English	Note
Tá sé fuar inniu.	It is cold today.	Basic weather adjective.
Níl sé gaofar ar maidin.	It is not windy in the morning.	Negative with níl.
An bhfuil sé grianmhar anois?	Is it sunny now?	Weather question.
Tá an aimsir go deas inniu.	The weather is nice today.	Names an aimsir directly.
Tá sé ag cur báistí.	It is raining.	Fixed weather pattern with ag cur.
Tá sé ag cur sneachta sna sléibhte.	It is snowing in the mountains.	Snow uses the same pattern.
Tá an ghrian ag taitneamh.	The sun is shining.	The sun is the stated subject.
Tá áthas orm tú a fheiceáil.	I am happy to see you.	áthas + orm.
Tá eagla ar an bpáiste.	The child is afraid.	A noun follows ar.
An bhfuil imní ort?	Are you worried?	Singular “you”: ort.
Níl fearg uirthi.	She is not angry.	“On her” is uirthi.
Tá brón orainn faoin nuacht.	We are sad about the news.	“On us” is orainn.
Tá ocras orthu tar éis na siúlóide.	They are hungry after the walk.	A bodily state with orthu.
Tá tart orm, ach níl ocras orm.	I am thirsty, but I am not hungry.	Contrasts two states.
Tá mé tuirseach agus tá codladh orm.	I am tired and sleepy.	Adjective pattern plus ar pattern.

Common Mistakes

Translating “I am happy” word for word

• Wrong: Tá mé áthas.
• Right: Tá áthas orm.
• Also natural in a different sense: Tá mé sásta.
• Why: Áthas is a noun (“joy”), not an adjective placed after mé. With áthas, Irish identifies the experiencer through ar.

Keeping ar and the pronoun separate

• Wrong: Tá eagla ar mé.
• Right: Tá eagla orm.
• Why: A simple preposition and a personal pronoun combine into one prepositional-pronoun form: ar + mé → orm.

Using orm for everyone

• Wrong: Tá fearg orm when you mean “She is angry.”
• Right: Tá fearg uirthi.
• Why: orm means only “on me.” Match the ending to the experiencer: ort for you, air for him, uirthi for her, and so forth.

Forming questions with tá

• Wrong: Tá eagla ort? as the neutral grammatical form of “Are you afraid?”
• Right: An bhfuil eagla ort?
• Why: Intonation may sometimes turn a statement into a confirming question in conversation, but the standard question form of tá is an bhfuil. Learn that form first.

Inventing a rain verb from English

• Wrong: a literal translation built around an assumed verb meaning “to rain.”
• Right: Tá sé ag cur báistí.
• Why: Irish normally expresses ongoing rain with the established phrase ag cur báistí. Memorize it as a complete chunk.

Using Tá sé for your own sensation

• Wrong: Tá sé fuar when you mean specifically “I feel cold.”
• Right: Tá fuacht orm.
• Why: Tá sé fuar describes the weather or general surroundings. Tá fuacht orm says that you personally feel cold.

Usage Notes

Tá sé te can cover both “It is warm” and “It is hot”; context supplies the degree. Likewise, everyday weather talk often favors short, reusable expressions rather than elaborate meteorological wording. A time phrase can make a simple statement useful: Tá sé fuar anocht (“It is cold tonight”).

Irish has regional varieties, and speakers may differ in vocabulary, pronunciation, and mutations after a preposition plus the article. The core forms orm, ort, air, uirthi, orainn, oraibh, orthu are standard and widely understood. Focus on using those confidently before trying to reproduce every dialect detail.

English often uses one adjective where Irish offers several constructions. Compare Tá imní orm and Tá mé buartha, both of which can mean “I am worried.” They are grammatically different: imní is a noun in the “on me” pattern, whereas buartha functions adjectivally after the person. This is normal variation, not a contradiction.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master the following points at A1, but they explain forms you will meet later.

Weather can be expressed without impersonal sé when a specific weather noun is the subject: Tá an ghaoth ag séideadh (“The wind is blowing”) and Tá an ghrian ag taitneamh (“The sun is shining”). These are ordinary progressive sentences, not versions of the Tá sé + adjective frame.

States expressed with ar can be expanded by a cause or topic. For example, Tá brón orm faoin scéal means “I am sad about the story,” and Tá eagla orm roimh mhadraí means “I am afraid of dogs.” The extra preposition depends on the relationship being expressed; the original orm still marks the experiencer.

Irish can distinguish a passing sensation from a description of a person or thing. Tá fuacht orm presents cold as something you experience, whereas Tá mo lámha fuar means “My hands are cold.” In the same way, learning whether Irish selects a noun construction or an adjective gives your speech a more natural perspective, not merely different word order.

In past and future contexts, the pattern remains but the form of bí changes: Bhí eagla orm (“I was afraid”) and Beidh áthas orthu (“They will be happy”). The prepositional pronoun stays linked to the same person. Once you learn those tenses, you can reuse the vocabulary from this article rather than learning a new emotion pattern.

Practice Tips

1. Build two sets of phrase cards. Put weather chunks such as Tá sé fuar in one set and state chunks such as Tá ocras orm in another. Say the whole phrase aloud rather than memorizing isolated words.
2. Rotate the experiencer. Take one noun—eagla, for example—and say orm, ort, air, uirthi, orainn, oraibh, orthu in sequence. Then turn each statement into a question with An bhfuil...?
3. Give a daily report. Each day, say one sentence about the weather and one about yourself: Tá sé scamallach inniu. Tá áthas orm. Add a negative or question when those become easy.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Prepositional Pronouns — explains why ar combines with pronouns as orm, ort, air, and the other forms.