bean bhreá
The Irish word for an attractive person (babe) is bean bhreá. Wiktionary also lists fear breá and spéirbhean.
Meaning: attractive person (noun)
Ways to say it
| Irish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| bean bhreá | ||
| fear breá | /fʲaɾˠ bʲɾʲɑː/ (word by word) | |
| spéirbhean | feminine |
If you are using 'babe' as an informal term of endearment for a loved one, the expression is a mhuirnín.
Which one should you use?
spéirbhean is specifically used for a beautiful woman (feminine). fear breá is used for an attractive man.
Did you know?
- The word spéirbhean literally translates to 'sky woman', suggesting a beauty that is celestial or otherworldly.
- The word fear used for a man is a distant relative of the Old English word 'wer' found in 'werewolf'.
Examples in context
- Conas atá tú, a mhuirnín?How are you, babe?
- Bhain mé taitneamh as an dinnéar inné, a mhuirnín.I enjoyed dinner last night, babe.
- Ba mhaith liom bheith leat, a stór.I want to be with you, babe.
- Táim ag dul go dtí an siopa, a stór.I am going to the shop, babe.
- Go raibh maith agat as an gceol, a stór.Thank you for the music, babe.
Example conversation
Oisín and Siobhán are talking about a girl at a party.
- OisínCé is an cailín sin?Who is that girl?
- SiobhánIs bean bhreá í, nach ea?She is a babe, isn't she?
- OisínTá sí an-álainn.She is very beautiful.
- SiobhánTá sí go hiontach.She is wonderful.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “babe” translations and entries spéirbhean, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (fear, breá) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bean, breá, fear, spéirbhean, CC BY-SA 4.0.
