Food and Drink in Irish: From Tae to Prátaí
Everyday Irish words for meals, food and drink, with phrases for being hungry, ordering tea and talking about what you like to eat.
Food vocabulary is useful the moment you sit down with an Irish speaker. This guide covers staples, drinks and the phrases you need to express what you want.
Meals
| English | Irish |
|---|---|
| breakfast | bricfeasta |
| lunch | lón |
| dinner | dinnéar |
| food | bia |
| drink | deoch |
Food
| English | Irish |
|---|---|
| bread | arán |
| butter | im |
| cheese | cáis |
| egg | ubh |
| meat | feoil |
| fish | iasc |
| potatoes | prátaí |
| vegetables | glasraí |
| fruit | torthaí |
| apple | úll |
| orange | oráiste |
| sugar | siúcra |
| salt | salann |
Drinks
| English | Irish |
|---|---|
| water | uisce |
| milk | bainne |
| tea | tae |
| coffee | caife |
| juice | sú |
| beer | beoir |
Useful phrases
- Tá ocras orm. — I'm hungry.
- Tá tart orm. — I'm thirsty.
- Ba mhaith liom cupán tae. — I'd like a cup of tea.
- An bhfuil bainne agat? — Do you have milk?
- Is maith liom prátaí. — I like potatoes.
- Ní maith liom iasc. — I don't like fish.
Notes on usage
Hunger and thirst work like illness: ocras (hunger) and tart (thirst) are "on you", so you say tá ocras orm rather than "I am hungry".
Irish tea culture is strong, and cupán tae (a cup of tea) is an offer you're likely to hear.
Tips
- Learn food words in groups.
- Practise ordering phrases.
- Use the dictionary to find words for regional dishes.
English Irish Dictionary
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