maith thú
/mˠɑh huː/word by word
The Irish phrase for "good job" is maith thú.
The phrase is used to praise for a good job or efforts.
Meaning: a phrase used to praise for a good job or efforts (intj)
What does it mean word for word?
Literally translated, maith thú means "good you".
Which one should you use?
To say 'good job' to more than one person, or to use a polite/formal register, use maith sibh instead of maith thú.
How does it change in a sentence?
To address a group of people or to use a polite/formal register, replace thú with sibh to say maith sibh.
How do you pronounce it?
/mˠɑh huː/
Did you know?
- The phrase maith thú is an example of a 'nominal sentence' where the verb 'to be' is omitted, which is a common feature of the Irish language.
- In Irish, the word maith can function as both an adjective meaning 'good' and a verb meaning 'to praise'.
- The word maith shares a root with the Welsh word mad and the Breton word mad, showing a common Celtic ancestor for the concept of 'good'.
Examples in context
- Maith thú as an rás a bhuachan!Good on you for winning the race!
- Maith thú ar an obair.Good job on the work.
Example conversation
Cathal is praising Aoife for finishing her homework.
- CathalAn bhfuil an obair teasca críochnaithe?Is the homework finished?
- AoifeTá, d'fhéachas ar gach rud.Yes, I looked at everything.
- CathalMaith thú, a Aoife!Good job, Aoife!
- AoifeGo raibh maith agat, a Chathail.Thank you, Cathal.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry maith thú, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (maith, thú) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries maith, thú, CC BY-SA 4.0.
