cailín álainn
/kɑˈlʲiːnʲ ˈɑːl̪ˠɪɲ/word by word
The Irish phrase for "beautiful girl" is cailín álainn.
cailín álainn is used to describe a young female person who is physically attractive.
How does it change in a sentence?
In this phrase, the adjective álainn follows the noun cailín.
How do you pronounce it?
/kɑˈlʲiːnʲ ˈɑːl̪ˠɪɲ/
Did you know?
- While cailín álainn means 'beautiful girl', adding the word go before álainn creates an intensive meaning like 'stunning' or 'exquisitely beautiful'.
- The word cailín contains the diminutive suffix -ín, a grammatical tool used in Irish to express endearment or smallness.
- In some Irish dialects, the word cailín can be used generically to describe a young woman in a way that is similar to 'lass' in Scotland.
Examples in context
- Is cailín álainn í.She is a beautiful girl.
- Chonaic mé cailín álainn sa pháirc.I saw a beautiful girl in the park.
- An cailín álainn sin?Is that the beautiful girl?
Example conversation
Conor and Saoirse are talking about a new classmate.
- ConorAn dtuig tú an cailín nua?Did you meet the new girl?
- SaoirseBaeps, tá sí ina cailín álainn.Yes, she is a beautiful girl.
- ConorTá sí an-chineáltach freisin.She is very kind as well.
- SaoirseTá sí go hiontach.She is wonderful.
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (cailín, álainn) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries cailín, álainn, CC BY-SA 4.0.
