cearc
/kʲʰɛɾk/feminine
The Gaelic word for chicken is cearc. Wiktionary also lists eireag.
Meaning: bird (noun)
Ways to say it
| Gaelic | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| cearc | /kʲʰɛɾk/ /kʲʰɛɾxk/ |
feminine |
| eireag | /ˈeɾʲak/ | feminine |
The term refers to a chicken as a bird.
Which one should you use?
cearc and eireag are both forms of the word for chicken.
How does it change in a sentence?
Both cearc and eireag are feminine nouns.
How do you pronounce it?
/kʲʰɛɾk/
Did you know?
- The Sanskrit word pippakā, which describes a type of bird, is considered a very distant relative of the Gaelic eireag.
- In many Gaelic-speaking contexts, the choice between a word like cearc and another might depend on whether one is discussing the bird as a living animal or as food.
Examples in context
- Tha cearc beag aig an t-agrach.The farmer has a small chicken.
Example conversation
Callum and Mairead are looking at farm animals.
- CallumSeall air a' chearc sin, a Mhàiread!Look at that chicken, Mairead!
- MaireadO, tha i gu math beag.Oh, she is very small.
- CallumCiamar a sgrìobhaidh tu 'cearc'?How do you write 'chicken'?
- MaireadSgrìobh e mar a tha e.Write it as it is.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “chicken” translations and entries cearc, eireag, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries cearc, eireag, CC BY-SA 4.0.
