iontach
/ˈuːn̪ˠt̪ˠəx/
The Irish word for wonderful is iontach.
iontach is an adjective used to describe something that is excellent or extremely impressive.
Meaning: excellent, extremely impressive (adj)
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective iontach is invariant, so it does not change its form to agree with gender or number. When you want to use it as an adverb to describe how something is (for example, 'it is wonderful'), you add the particle go before it, resulting in the form go hiontach.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈuːn̪ˠt̪ˠəx/
Did you know?
- The core of iontach is actually rooted in the Old Irish word ingnad, which refers to a 'deed' or 'act'.
- Unlike English, where you say 'a wonderful day', in Irish you must place iontach after the noun it is describing.
- In Irish, the concept of 'wonderful' is often tied to the idea of something being 'out of the ordinary'. This makes iontach a description of uniqueness as much as quality.
Examples in context
- Tá an t-amhrán seo go hiontach.This song is wonderful.This sentence shows how to use iontach to describe a song.
- Á, iontach.Ah, wonderful.This sentence shows a short way to express appreciation using iontach.Tatoeba #7801388 by eo_as, translation #273928 by zzxjoanw
- Chomh iontach!How wonderful!This sentence shows how to express excitement using iontach.Tatoeba #7801368 by eo_as, translation #36125 by CM
- Tá an radharc iontach!The view is wonderful!
- Bhí an scéalaíocht ar fheabhas!The storytelling was excellent!
Example conversation
Siobhán and Cian are discussing a new movie they watched.
- SiobhánAn raibh an scannán sin go hiontach?Was that movie wonderful?
- CianBa iontach é, go a linn!It was wonderful, indeed!
- SiobhánTá an t-aisteoir ansin iontach.The actor there is wonderful.
- CianTá mé agreed leat, a Siobhán.I agree with you, Siobhán.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “wonderful” translations and entries iontach, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries iontach, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0, Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
