Likes and Dislikes in Irish

In Brief

Irish does not use a direct equivalent of the English verb “like” in its basic preference pattern. Instead, say Is maith liom + thing or activity: Is maith liom ceol means “I like music.” Change liom to leat, leis, léi, linn, libh, or leo to show who has the preference; use Ní maith, Is breá, or Is fuath for “do not like,” “love,” or “hate.”

Overview

Likes and dislikes are among the most useful A1 topics. They let you talk about food, music, sport, weather, travel, and hobbies, and they give you an easy way to keep a conversation going: An maith leat caife? “Do you like coffee?”

The Irish structure differs from English. English makes the person the subject—the person or thing the sentence is about—in “I like music.” Irish uses the copula is (a linking word rather than an ordinary action verb), an adjective such as maith “good,” and a form of the preposition le “with.” A useful literal memory aid for Is maith liom ceol is “Music is good with me,” although the natural translation is simply “I like music.”

The person is contained in a prepositional pronoun (a preposition and a pronoun combined into one word): liom is historically le “with” plus mé “me.” English speakers often want to insert mé or conjugate a verb for “I,” but neither is needed here. Once you know the seven forms of le, the whole pattern is highly regular.

How It Works

The four core patterns

Irish pattern	Natural meaning	Strength
Is maith liom X.	I like X.	positive
Ní maith liom X.	I do not like X.	negative
Is breá liom X.	I love X. / I really like X.	strongly positive
Is fuath liom X.	I hate X.	strongly negative

Replace X with the thing or activity concerned:

• Is maith liom ceol. — I like music.
• Is breá liom an samhradh. — I love summer.
• Ní maith liom an fhuacht. — I do not like the cold.
• Is fuath liom torann. — I hate noise.

Maith, breá, and fuath do not change according to the person. The form of le does that work.

Who likes it? The forms of le

Person	Form of le	Preference phrase	English
mé	liom	Is maith liom	I like
tú	leat	Is maith leat	you like (one person)
sé	leis	Is maith leis	he likes
sí	léi	Is maith léi	she likes
muid / sinn	linn	Is maith linn	we like
sibh	libh	Is maith libh	you like (more than one person)
siad	leo	Is maith leo	they like

Irish distinguishes singular tú/leat from plural sibh/libh. Modern English usually uses “you” for both, so remember to choose according to the number of people addressed.

Do not build these forms word by word. Learn liom, leat, leis, léi, linn, libh, leo as a spoken sequence and notice the long vowel in léi.

Statements, negatives, and questions

The positive statement begins with Is:

• Is maith leat tae. — You like tea.
• Is breá leo an áit seo. — They love this place.

For a negative statement, replace Is with Ní:

• Ní maith liom caife. — I do not like coffee.
• Ní maith léi an bháisteach. — She does not like the rain.

For a yes-or-no question, replace Is with An:

• An maith leat peil? — Do you like football?
• An breá leis an scannán? — Does he love the film?
• An fuath libh an aimsir fhuar? — Do you all hate cold weather?

A negative question begins with Nach:

• Nach maith leat seacláid? — Don’t you like chocolate?

A natural short answer repeats the preference phrase rather than using a single universal word for “yes” or “no”:

• An maith leat tae? — Is maith. / Is maith liom. — Do you like tea? — Yes, I do.
• An maith leat caife? — Ní maith. / Ní maith liom. — Do you like coffee? — No, I don’t.

Repeating liom makes the answer explicit and is especially helpful for beginners.

Things, pronouns, and activities

A noun (a word naming a person, place, thing, or idea) can follow the phrase directly:

• Is maith linn bia Iodálach. — We like Italian food.
• Ní maith leis madraí. — He does not like dogs.

If the thing has already been mentioned, use é for a masculine singular noun, í for a feminine singular noun, and iad for a plural noun. These forms can mean “it,” “him,” “her,” or “them,” depending on context:

• An maith leat an leabhar? Is maith liom é. — Do you like the book? I like it.
• An maith leat an pheil? Is breá liom í. — Do you like football? I love it.
• An maith leo na hamhráin? Is maith leo iad. — Do they like the songs? They like them.

For an activity, Irish often uses a verbal noun (an action form that works somewhat like English “-ing”):

• Is maith liom snámh. — I like swimming.
• Is maith léi léamh. — She likes reading.

You will also hear a bheith ag + verbal noun, literally “to be at doing”:

• Is maith liom a bheith ag siúl. — I like walking.
• Is breá leo a bheith ag cócaireacht. — They love cooking.

The longer form is particularly useful when you mean enjoying the experience of doing an activity.

Articles and spelling changes

The words after the preference expression follow ordinary Irish noun rules. The definite article an means “the,” but it can cause an initial mutation—a spelling and sound change at the beginning of the next word. That is why you see an fhuacht from fuacht “cold,” an bháisteach from báisteach “rain,” and an pheil from peil “football.” These changes belong to the noun phrase, not to Is maith liom itself.

At first, concentrate on keeping the preference frame correct. Learn frequent combinations as complete chunks: an fhuacht, an bháisteach, and an pheil.

Examples in Context

Irish	English	Note
Is maith liom ceol traidisiúnta.	I like traditional music.	Basic positive statement
Is breá liom an samhradh.	I love summer.	Strong positive feeling
Ní maith liom an fhuacht.	I do not like the cold.	Basic negative
Is fuath liom torann san oíche.	I hate noise at night.	Strong negative feeling
An maith leat peil?	Do you like football?	Question to one person
An maith libh an bhialann seo?	Do you all like this restaurant?	Question to several people
Is maith leis caife, ach ní maith léi é.	He likes coffee, but she does not like it.	Contrasts leis and léi
Is breá linn an áit seo.	We love this place.	First-person plural
Ní maith leo an aimsir fhliuch.	They do not like wet weather.	Third-person plural
An maith leat an leabhar? Is maith liom é.	Do you like the book? I do.	Masculine singular pronoun
An maith leat an pheil? Is breá liom í.	Do you like football? I love it.	Feminine singular pronoun
Is maith liom snámh ar maidin.	I like swimming in the morning.	Activity as a verbal noun
Is breá léi a bheith ag léamh.	She loves reading.	Activity with a bheith ag
Nach maith leat seacláid?	Don’t you like chocolate?	Negative question

Common Mistakes

Treating “like” as an ordinary verb

• Wrong: Mé maith ceol.
• Right: Is maith liom ceol.
• Why: Irish uses the complete copula pattern Is maith + form of le. Mé cannot replace liom here.

Using le mé instead of liom

• Wrong: Is maith le mé tae.
• Right: Is maith liom tae.
• Why: A preposition and a personal pronoun combine in Irish. Learn liom as one word, not as two separate English-style words.

Keeping liom for every person

• Wrong: Is maith liom tae when you mean “She likes tea.”
• Right: Is maith léi tae.
• Why: The form of le identifies the person: liom is “with me,” while léi is “with her.”

Using is in a negative or question

• Wrong: Is ní maith liom é. / Is an maith leat é?
• Right: Ní maith liom é. / An maith leat é?
• Why: Ní and An replace Is; they are not added after it.

Confusing peil and peile

• Wrong: An maith leat peile?
• Right: An maith leat peil?
• Why: The standalone word for “football” is peil here. Peile is a genitive form (a form often used where English has “of football”), as in cluiche peile, “a football match.” With the article, say an pheil.

Translating “love” too literally in every context

• Awkward for romantic love: Is breá liom tú if you specifically mean “I am in love with you.”
• Better: Tá grá agam duit.
• Why: Is breá liom tú can express strong fondness and may suit people in some contexts, but Tá grá agam duit explicitly says “I love you” in the emotional or romantic sense. Is breá liom is especially straightforward for things and activities.

Usage Notes

Is maith liom is neutral and broadly useful. It can describe a mild preference or ordinary enjoyment; context and voice show how enthusiastic you are. Is breá liom is warmer and stronger. English “love” is frequently used casually for food, songs, and places, and Is breá liom works naturally in many of those settings.

Is fuath liom is emphatic. Use it when “hate” is really what you mean. If you merely do not enjoy something, Ní maith liom sounds less harsh. Irish also allows you to soften an opinion with Ní maith liom mórán é, “I don’t like it much.”

The short question An maith leat…? is useful for both information and invitations. An maith leat caife? asks about a general preference, whereas offering someone coffee normally needs a different expression, such as Ar mhaith leat caife? “Would you like coffee?” The form Ar mhaith leat belongs to the past/conditional copula pattern and should be learned as a polite chunk; do not substitute it automatically for every general question about likes.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master the following forms at A1, but they connect this simple pattern to Irish you will meet later.

Preference between two choices

Use Is fearr liom X ná Y for “I prefer X to Y.” Fearr means “better,” and ná introduces the second choice:

• Is fearr liom tae ná caife. — I prefer tea to coffee.
• Is fearr léi siúl ná tiomáint. — She prefers walking to driving.

This is more precise than saying that you like one thing and do not like the other.

“Would like” is not the same as “like”

Ba mhaith liom means “I would like.” Before a vowel sound, ba may appear as b’ in other copula expressions. In questions, the common form is Ar mhaith leat…?:

• Ba mhaith liom cupán tae. — I would like a cup of tea.
• Ar mhaith leat teacht linn? — Would you like to come with us?

Despite the similar word maith, these forms express a wish or polite request, not simply an established preference.

The verb taitin

Irish also uses taitin le, literally “appeal to” or “please.” The thing that appeals comes before the le form in a typical present-tense sentence:

• Taitníonn an scannán liom. — I like the film. / The film appeals to me.
• Ní thaitníonn an aimsir seo léi. — She does not like this weather.
• Ar thaitin an ceol leat? — Did you like the music?

This pattern is especially useful when talking about how you found a particular experience, including in the past. Its tense forms and initial mutations make it a later step; at A1, Is maith liom remains the dependable general-purpose pattern.

Pronouns can be emphatic

Irish can add emphasis when contrasting people’s tastes. Forms such as liomsa, leatsa, and leisean mean roughly “with me,” “with you,” and “with him” with extra stress:

• Is maith liomsa tae, ach is fearr leatsa caife. — I like tea, but you prefer coffee.

These endings are common in natural Irish, but beginners can communicate perfectly well with the basic forms first.

Practice Tips

1. Learn the frame and the person forms separately. Say Is maith, Ní maith, Is breá, and Is fuath aloud, then cycle through liom, leat, leis, léi, linn, libh, leo. Combining two small sets is easier than memorizing dozens of complete sentences.
2. Make a real preference list. Write two true examples each about food, music, weather, and activities. Include a positive, a negative, and one strong opinion. Personal facts are easier to recall than invented textbook statements.
3. Practise question-and-answer pairs. Ask An maith leat…? and answer with Is maith liom or Ní maith liom. Then change the person: An maith léi…?, An maith leo…? This prevents liom from becoming a fixed but wrongly overused ending.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: The Copula (Is) — explains the linking word at the beginning of Is maith liom and its negative and question forms.
• Next step: Expressing Opinions and Preferences — develops comparison with Is fearr liom and introduces broader ways to state an opinion.
• Later connection: Copula in Past and Conditional — covers Ba mhaith liom “I would like” and related question forms.