oíche mhaith
/iː ˈwa/
The English phrase "good night" is translated into Irish as oíche mhaith.
oíche mhaith is used as a farewell phrase when saying good night to someone.
Meaning: a farewell (phrase)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of oíche (night) and maith (good).
How do you pronounce it?
/iː ˈwa/
Did you know?
- The word oíche is thought by some linguists to potentially relate to the Sanskrit word andha, which means 'blind'.
- The sound of the 'mh' in mhaith is not pronounced like an 'm' but is instead a soft 'v' or 'w' sound.
- Because oíche mhaith is a farewell, using it when you first enter a house at night would be confusing to a native speaker.
Examples in context
- Oíche mhaith!Good night!This example shows how to use oíche mhaith as a farewell.Tatoeba #7804527 by eo_as, translation #426950 by Pun_intended
- Oíche mhaith agat, a chara.Good night to you, friend.
- Slán agus oíche mhaith.Goodbye and good night.
Example conversation
Conor and Siobhán are leaving a small gathering at a friend's house.
- ConorSlán leat, Siobhán.Goodbye, Siobhán.
- SiobhánSlán, Conor, oíche mhaith agat.Goodbye, Conor, good night to you.
- ConorOíche mhaith!Good night!
- SiobhánSlán!Bye!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “good night” translations and entries oíche mhaith, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries oíche, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
