tá mé tuirseach
To say "I am tired" in Irish, say tá mé tuirseach.
Use tá mé tuirseach to say that you feel worn out and need rest or sleep.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is made of tá (is, the verb "to be"), the pronoun mé (me) and the adjective tuirseach (tired). Word for word it reads "is me tired".
Is it said differently in some regions?
Tá mé tuirseach is the form you will typically hear in Ulster. In other areas, especially Munster, speakers often join the verb and the pronoun into a single word instead.
How does it change in a sentence?
To change who is tired, swap the pronoun. tá sí tuirseach means "she is tired" and tá tú tuirseach means "you are tired" when talking to one person.
Did you know?
- The word tuirseach originally meant 'mournful' or 'sorrowful' in Old Irish. Over time, the meaning shifted from the emotional exhaustion of grief to the physical exhaustion of being tired.
- While you use tuirseach for physical tiredness, Irish has separate, specific adjectives to distinguish between being 'sleepy' and being 'spent' from exertion.
- While tuirseach is standard, some Irish speakers use idioms related to 'weight' or 'burden' to express extreme fatigue.
Examples in context
- Tá mé tuirseach anocht.I am tired tonight.
- Ó, tá mé tuirseach anois.Oh, I am tired now.
Example conversation
Cian and Siobhán are sitting in the living room at night.
- CianAn bhfuil tú sásta, a Siobhán?Are you happy, Siobhán?
- SiobhánTá, ach tá mé tuirseach go leor.Yes, but I am quite tired.
- CianAn bhfuil tú ag dul a chodladh?Are you going to sleep?
- SiobhánTá, oideachas maith agat, a Chian.Yes, thank you, Cian.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries mé, tuirseach, CC BY-SA 4.0.
