Weather and Feelings in Irish

Overview

Weather and feelings are two of the most common everyday conversation topics, and in Irish they share a fascinating grammatical connection. Both rely heavily on the verb tá and on prepositional structures that are quite different from English patterns.

For weather, Irish uses the simple structure Tá sé + adjective or verbal noun: Tá sé fuar (It is cold), Tá sé ag cur báistí (It is raining). The subject sé (it/he) is used impersonally, much like English "it" in weather expressions.

Feelings in Irish use a distinctive construction where the emotion is described as being "on" the person rather than something the person "is." The structure is Tá + emotion + ar + person: Tá áthas orm literally means "happiness is on me," which translates as "I am happy." This pattern uses prepositional pronouns — combined forms of prepositions with pronouns — making it essential to learn the forms of ar (on).

How It Works

Weather Expressions

Irish	English
Tá sé fuar.	It is cold.
Tá sé te.	It is hot.
Tá sé fliuch.	It is wet.
Tá sé tirim.	It is dry.
Tá sé gaofar.	It is windy.
Tá sé grianmhar.	It is sunny.
Tá sé ag cur báistí.	It is raining.
Tá sé ag cur sneachta.	It is snowing.
Tá ceo ann.	It is foggy. (There is fog.)

Feelings with "ar"

Irish	English	Literal
Tá áthas orm.	I am happy.	Happiness is on me.
Tá brón orm.	I am sad.	Sadness is on me.
Tá eagla orm.	I am afraid.	Fear is on me.
Tá fearg orm.	I am angry.	Anger is on me.
Tá ocras orm.	I am hungry.	Hunger is on me.
Tá tart orm.	I am thirsty.	Thirst is on me.
Tá tuirse orm.	I am tired.	Tiredness is on me.
Tá iontas orm.	I am surprised.	Surprise is on me.

Prepositional Pronouns of "ar"

Person	Form	Example
mé (I)	orm	Tá áthas orm.
tú (you sg.)	ort	Tá ocras ort.
sé (he)	air	Tá eagla air.
sí (she)	uirthi	Tá brón uirthi.
muid (we)	orainn	Tá tuirse orainn.
sibh (you pl.)	oraibh	Tá tart oraibh.
siad (they)	orthu	Tá fearg orthu.

Examples in Context

Irish	English	Note
Tá sé fuar inniu.	It is cold today.	Basic weather + time
Tá sé ag cur báistí.	It is raining.	Progressive construction
Tá áthas orm.	I am happy.	Emotion "on" me
Tá eagla orm.	I am afraid.	Same pattern
An bhfuil ocras ort?	Are you hungry?	Question form
Níl tuirse orm.	I am not tired.	Negative form
Tá sé go breá inniu.	It is lovely today.	"go breá" = lovely
Tá an-áthas orm bualadh leat.	I am very happy to meet you.	"an-" intensifier
Bhí sé fliuch inné.	It was wet yesterday.	Past tense weather
Tá brón orm faoi sin.	I am sorry about that.	"faoi" = about

Common Mistakes

Translating feelings directly from English

• Wrong: Tá mé áthasach (I am happy-adjective)
• Right: Tá áthas orm.
• Why: Irish expresses most feelings with the "Tá + noun + ar + person" structure rather than "Tá + person + adjective."

Using the wrong prepositional pronoun

• Wrong: Tá ocras orm when talking about "her"
• Right: Tá ocras uirthi.
• Why: Each person has a specific prepositional pronoun form. The feminine third-person form of ar is uirthi, not orm.

Confusing weather and feeling structures

• Wrong: Tá fuar orm (intending "I am cold")
• Right: Tá mé fuar. / Tá fuacht orm.
• Why: Physical sensations of temperature on a person use either "Tá mé fuar" or "Tá fuacht orm" (cold is on me), not mixing the two patterns.

Practice Tips

1. Each morning, describe the weather in Irish using two or three sentences: Tá sé fuar inniu. Tá sé ag cur báistí. Níl sé grianmhar.
2. Throughout the day, check in with yourself and state your feelings in Irish: Tá ocras orm before lunch, Tá tuirse orm in the evening.

Related Concepts

• Prepositional Pronouns — the combined preposition-pronoun forms essential for expressing feelings