beag
/bʲeɡ/
The Irish word beag means small.
beag is used to describe something that is small in size or small in amount.
How does it change in a sentence?
beag is the masculine singular form of the adjective.
How do you pronounce it?
/bʲeɡ/
Did you know?
- While beag means 'small', it is frequently used in Irish folk tales to describe 'little people' or fairies, where it implies a magical nature rather than just physical size.
- The word beag is a cognate of the Breton word bihan, meaning they share a common ancestor despite the languages being separated by the English Channel.
- The spelling of beag is highly sensitive to the 'lenition' process. When it follows certain particles or precedes certain sounds, the 'b' might sound like a 'v', changing the entire phonetic profile of the word.
Examples in context
- Tá an madra beag.The dog is small.
- Is maith liom na plandaí beaga.I like the small plants.
- Bean bheagA small woman
Example conversation
Saoirse and Cathal are looking at a piece of cake.
- SaoirseAn bhfuil tú ag iarraidh slice beag?Do you want a small slice?
- CathalTá, le do thoil.Yes, please.
- SaoirseSeo é an slice beag.Here is the small slice.
- CathalGo raibh maith agat, a Saoirse.Thank you, Saoirse.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry beag, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries beag, CC BY-SA 4.0.
