irlandés
/iɾlanˈdes/masculine
irlandés is the Spanish word for Irish, referring to the language.
The word irlandés can be used as a noun to name the Irish language, or as an adjective to describe someone or something originating from Ireland. For example, you can use it to describe Irish coffee or an Irish person.
Meaning: the language (name)
Which one should you use?
The masculine form irlandés is used for the language and for masculine nouns or people. Use irlandesa for feminine nouns, irlandeses for masculine plural nouns or groups of people and irlandesas for feminine plural nouns or groups of women.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
As an adjective, the form changes to match the gender and number of the noun it describes: irlandesa is used for feminine singular nouns, such as la cultura irlandesa. irlandeses is used for masculine plural nouns or to refer to Irish people as a group. And irlandesas is used for feminine plural nouns or to refer to Irish women.
How do you pronounce it?
/iɾlanˈdes/
Did you know?
- In Spanish, when using adjectives of nationality like irlandés, they are typically not capitalized unless they start a sentence, unlike in English.
- A person from Ireland is an irlandés, but Spanish also uses hiberno as a more formal or literary adjective to describe things related to Ireland.
- The suffix '-és' in irlandés is a linguistic fossil that connects the word to Latin roots used across many Romance languages to denote origin.
Examples in context
- El irlandés es un idioma hermoso.Irish is a beautiful language.This sentence describes the beauty of the language using irlandés.Tatoeba #2717712 by cueyayotl, translation #2714870 by CN
- Solo hay dos géneros en irlandés.There are only two genders in Irish.This sentence refers to the number of genders within irlandés.Tatoeba #5990735 by indef, translation #3945042 by AlanF_US
- A Tom no le gusta el café irlandés.Tom doesn't like Irish coffee.This sentence uses irlandés to describe coffee.Tatoeba #1439766 by marcelostockle, translation #1026018 by CK
- Mi amigo es irlandés y viene de Dublín.My friend is Irish and comes from Dublin.
- El músico es un hombre irlandés muy talentoso.The musician is a very talented Irish man.
- Visitamos un pub irlandés en la ciudad.We visited an Irish pub in the city.
- 15 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sofía and Mateo are discussing linguistic studies at a library.
- Sofía¿Estudias el irlandés ahora?Are you studying Irish now?
- MateoSí, es un idioma muy complejo.Yes, it is a very complex language.
- Sofía¡Qué interesante es el irlandés!How interesting Irish is!
- MateoEs difícil, pero me gusta mucho.It is difficult, but I like it a lot.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “irish” translations and entries irlandés, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries irlandés, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
