Ways to say it
| Irish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| go raibh maith agat | /ɡəɾˠəˈmˠahəɡət̪ˠ/ /ɡəɾˠəmˠəˈhaɡət̪ˠ/ |
addressee singular |
| go raibh maith agaibh | [ɡəɾˠəˈmˠahəɡəvʲ] (narrow) [ɡəɾˠəmˠəˈhaɡəvʲ] (narrow) |
go raibh maith agat is the most common and standard way to say "thank you" in Irish. If you want to be more emphatic, you can use go raibh míle maith agat, which translates to "May you have a thousand good things" (thank you very much). You can say Tá mé fíor-bhuíoch duit, meaning "I am truly thankful to you".
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase go raibh maith agat literally translates to "may good be at you".
Which one should you use?
The choice between forms depends on how many people you are addressing. Use go raibh maith agat for one person and go raibh maith agaibh for more than one person. If you are thanking a whole group, you can also use go raibh maith agaibh go léir, which means "Thank you all".
How does it change in a sentence?
The singular form go raibh maith agat is used when addressing a single person, while the plural form go raibh maith agaibh is used when addressing multiple people.
How do you pronounce it?
/ɡəɾˠəˈmˠahəɡət̪ˠ/
Did you know?
- While English speakers use 'thank you' as a standard social transaction, the Irish phrase is fundamentally a blessing for the recipient.
- The word maith in the phrase is a cognate of the Welsh word mad and the Cornish word mas, meaning 'good'.
- While go raibh maith agat is the standard way to give thanks, Irish has a separate word buíoch to describe the actual feeling of being thankful.
Examples in context
- Go raibh maith agat.Thank you!This example shows how to use the singular form go raibh maith agat.Tatoeba #4554673 by Choctaw_Irish, translation #374827 by sysko
- Go raibh maith agat as an tcabhair.Thank you for the help.
- Go raibh maith agat as an saol.Thank you for life.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Niamh gives Oisín a book.
- NiamhSeo an leabhar, a Oisín.Here is the book, Oisín.
- OisínGo raibh maith agat, a Niamh.Thank you, Niamh.
- NiamhNí dhearbh túYou're welcome.
- OisínFeicfidh mé anois tú.I will see you now.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “thank you” translations and entries go raibh maith agat, go raibh maith agaibh, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries agaibh, agat, go, go raibh maith agaibh, go raibh maith agat, maith, raibh, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
