abairt
/ˈabˠəɾˠtʲ/
The English phrase "a sentence" is abairt in Irish.
abairt is used to refer to a grammatical sentence, but it is also the standard word for a phrase or an expression.
How does it change in a sentence?
abairt is a feminine noun and therefore takes the feminine definite article an to form an abairt (the sentence). The plural form is abairtí (the sentences), and the genitive form is abairte (of a sentence). Note that Irish often follows a Verb-Subject-Object (VSO) word order.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈabˠəɾˠtʲ/
Did you know?
- In Irish, you can form a complete and grammatically correct abairt using only a single verb, whereas English usually requires a subject.
- While English uses 'sentence' to mean a legal judgment, the Irish word abairt stays strictly in the realm of speech and linguistics.
- The word abairt is built directly from the verb abair, which means 'to say'.
Examples in context
- Is abairt í seo.This is a sentence.This sentence is useful for identifying what a sentence is using abairt.Tatoeba #3961153 by turklehceleri, translation #396738 by FeuDRenais
- An bhfuil cead agam dul go dtí an leithreas, más é do thoil é?May I go to the restroom, please?
- Ní féidir liom an abairt a thuigse.I cannot understand the sentence.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Aoife and Cathal are studying Irish in a classroom.
- AoifeCathal, an bhfuil an abairt seo ceart?Cathal, is this sentence correct?
- CathalTá sí ceart, a Aoife.It is correct, Aoife.
- AoifeGo raibh maith agat.Thank you.
- CathalNí neoprene fada í.It isn't a long one.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry abairt, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries abairt, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
