Family and People in Irish

Overview

Family vocabulary is one of the most practical and personally meaningful areas of language learning. In Irish, talking about your family involves not just learning the words for relatives but also understanding how possessive adjectives interact with the initial consonants of those words through a process called lenition.

Irish uses the possessive adjectives mo (my), do (your), and a (his/her) before nouns. A key feature is that mo and do cause lenition (the softening of the initial consonant), so athair (father) becomes m'athair (my father) and d'athair (your father). The third-person possessive a causes lenition for "his" but eclipsis for "her," creating important distinctions.

When counting family members, Irish uses special counting forms. For example, beirt (two people) is followed by a lenited noun: beirt mhac (two sons). These patterns might seem complex at first, but they become second nature with practice.

How It Works

Core Family Vocabulary

Irish	English	Gender
athair	father	masculine
máthair	mother	feminine
deartháir	brother	masculine
deirfiúr	sister	feminine
mac	son	masculine
iníon	daughter	feminine
tuismitheoir	parent	masculine
seanathair	grandfather	masculine
seanmháthair	grandmother	feminine
uncail	uncle	masculine
aintín	aunt	feminine

Possessive Adjectives with Family Words

Possessive	Example	English
mo (my) + lenition	mo mháthair	my mother
do (your) + lenition	do dheirfiúr	your sister
a (his) + lenition	a athair (a athair)	his father
a (her) + eclipsis	a hathair	her father
ár (our) + eclipsis	ár n-athair	our father
bhur (your pl.) + eclipsis	bhur n-athair	your (pl.) father
a (their) + eclipsis	a n-athair	their father

Expressing "to have" with Family

Irish does not have a verb for "to have." Instead, you use tá ... ag (is at):

Irish	English
Tá mac agam.	I have a son.
Tá beirt deirfiúr agam.	I have two sisters.
Tá triúr páistí aici.	She has three children.
Níl deartháir ar bith agam.	I don't have any brother.

Examples in Context

Irish	English	Note
Seo í mo dheirfiúr.	This is my sister.	"mo" causes lenition: d → dh
Tá beirt mhac agam.	I have two sons.	"beirt" + lenition
Cad is ainm do d'athair?	What is your father's name?	"do" before vowel becomes "d'"
Tá mo mháthair ina cónaí i gCorcaigh.	My mother lives in Cork.	Lenition after "mo"
An bhfuil deartháireacha agat?	Do you have brothers?	Plural of deartháir
Is í Síle mo dheirfiúr is sine.	Síle is my oldest sister.	Copula for identification
Tá páistí óga ag mo dheartháir.	My brother has young children.	"ag" for possession
Cé mhéad duine atá i do theaghlach?	How many people are in your family?	Common question
Tá grá mór agam do mo theaghlach.	I love my family very much.	"grá" = love
Is é an duine is óige sa chlann é.	He is the youngest in the family.	Copula + superlative

Common Mistakes

Forgetting lenition after mo/do

• Wrong: mo mathair
• Right: mo mháthair
• Why: The possessive adjectives mo and do always cause lenition of the following consonant.

Confusing "a" (his) and "a" (her)

• Wrong: a athair for "her father"
• Right: a hathair (her father) vs. a athair (his father)
• Why: "His" causes lenition (or no visible change before vowels), while "her" prefixes h before vowels and causes no mutation before consonants.

Using English-style "have"

• Wrong: Tá agam mac
• Right: Tá mac agam.
• Why: The thing possessed comes before agam/agat/aige, not after it.

Practice Tips

1. Draw your family tree and label each person in Irish, using the correct possessive: mo mháthair, mo dheartháir, etc. Say each one aloud.
2. Practice the "Tá ... agam" structure by describing different families: "Tá beirt mhac agus iníon amháin ag Seán" (Seán has two sons and one daughter).

Related Concepts

• Possession — the possessive structures that underpin family vocabulary