This post covers how to say and pronounce the different colors in Irish Gaelic.
Learning the colors is super important as it allows you to accurately describe things, expand your conversations and understand others better.
So what are the colors in Irish?
Table of Contents
Colors In Irish Gaelic
The main colors in Irish are:
- Red – Dearg (Jar-ug)
- Blue – Gorm (Gurum)
- Green (of grass, leaves) – Glas (Glas)
- Green (bright, unnatural) – Uaine (Oo-in-yeh)
- Yellow – Buí (Bwee)
- Black – Dubh (Du)
- White – Bán (Bahn)
- Gray – Liath (Lee-ah)
- Orange – Oráiste (Ur-ish-tah) / Flannbhuí (Flan-vwee)
- Purple – Corcra (Kor-krah)
- Pink – Bán dearg (Bahn jar-ug)
- Brown – Donn (Don)
- Cream – Bánbhuí (Bahn-vwee)
- Beige – Béasa (Bay-sa)
- Maroon – Marúin (Mah-roon)
- Mauve – Bánchorcra (Bahn-kor-krah)
- Lilac – Liathchorcra (Lee-ah-kor-krah)
- Turquoise – Turcaid (Tur-kij)
- Indigo – Plúirín (Plu-reen)
- Gold – Ór (Or)
- Silver – Airgead (Ah-ir-ged)
- Amber – Ómra (Ohm-rah)
- Burgundy – Burgúine (Bur-goo-in)
Some other related color words are:
- Color – Dáth (Dah)
- Colors – Dáthanna (Dah-ah-nah)
- Colorful – Dathannach (Dah-ah-nokh)
- Multicolored – Ildaite (Il-dah-teh)
To hear the pronunciation of the colors in Irish by a native speaker, check out the below video:
Red
In the list above, red has been listed as dearg but there is another word that is used for red in some situations. This word is rua (pronounced roo-ah).
Rua is used to refer to the color red when talking about red hair on a person or animal. It can also be used to describe red colors in nature e.g. red leaves.
Dearg is more commonly used when referring to an object or color of paint.
Green
There are also two words for green. Glas tends to refer to natural green colors like the color of grass or leaves – essentially anything green found in nature.
Uaine also means green but is used more for an unnatural green color. For example, when talking about painted walls, a flag, a car etc.
Gray
Something else to remember is that although liath means gray, when referring to an animal which has gray hair, you would use glas instead.
Black
The word for black, which is dubh is pronounced slightly different in different parts of Ireland.
In the north, it is pronounced as ‘du’ but elsewhere in Ireland, it is pronounced as ‘duv’.
Silver
Although airgead literally means silver, this word isn’t often used to describe the color silver.
Instead you can use liath which means ‘gray’ or geal (pronounced gyal) which means ‘light’.
Interestingly, airgead is also the word for ‘money’ in Irish.
Shades of Colors in Irish
To describe different shades of colors in Irish Gaelic, you can use the following words:
- Light – Geal (Gyal)
Simply place the word for light before the color to indicate that it is light.
For example:
- Light gray – Geal-liath (Gyal-lee-ah)
To say that something is light in color, you can also place the word for white, which is bán in front of the color.
For darker colors, use:
- Dark – Dorcha (Dor-kha)
Simply place the word for dark after the color to indicate that it is a darker shade.
For example:
- Dark green – Glas dorcha (Glas dor-kha)
To say that something is dark in color, you can also use the word dú (pronounced doo) in front of the color.
Color Questions
One question relating to colors that you may be asked is:
- What is your favorite color? – Cén dáth is fearr leat? (Ken dah is fahr laht)
You can answer by saying:
- My favorite color is… – Is é … an dáth is fearr liom (Is ay … on dah is fahr lom)
Just add your favorite color into this sentence.
For example:
- My favorite color is blue – Is é gorm an dath is fearr liom (Is ay gurum on dah is fahr lom)
Thanks for reading this post which covers the Irish words for colors.
Knowing how to say the different colors in Irish Gaelic is super important as it helps to accurately describe things and understand Irish speakers better.
Learn more about the Irish language here.
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