Body and Health in Irish

Overview

Talking about your body and health is a practical necessity in any language. In Irish, body parts are straightforward vocabulary items, but describing illnesses and physical sensations uses a distinctive grammatical pattern that you will encounter again and again: the Tá + noun + ar + person construction.

Just as Irish expresses emotions by saying they are "on" a person (Tá áthas orm — happiness is on me), physical ailments follow the same logic. Tá tinneas cinn orm literally means "a headache is on me" — in other words, "I have a headache." This pattern uses the prepositional pronouns of ar (on), which you will already be familiar with from expressing feelings.

Learning body vocabulary also introduces you to some important gender patterns. Many body parts are feminine nouns — lámh (hand/arm), cos (foot/leg), cluas (ear) — which affects how adjectives and articles interact with them. This makes body vocabulary excellent practice for reinforcing gender agreement.

How It Works

Body Parts

Irish	English	Gender
ceann	head	masculine
gruaig	hair	feminine
súil (pl. súile)	eye	feminine
cluas (pl. cluasa)	ear	feminine
srón	nose	feminine
béal	mouth	masculine
fiacail (pl. fiacla)	tooth	feminine
lámh (pl. lámha)	hand / arm	feminine
cos (pl. cosa)	foot / leg	feminine
droim	back	masculine
bolg	stomach	masculine
croí	heart	masculine

Illnesses and Pain with "ar"

Irish	English	Literal
Tá tinneas cinn orm.	I have a headache.	Head-sickness is on me.
Tá pian i mo dhroim.	I have a back pain.	Pain is in my back.
Tá slaghdán orm.	I have a cold.	A cold is on me.
Tá fiabhras orm.	I have a fever.	A fever is on me.
Tá tinneas fiacaile orm.	I have a toothache.	Tooth-sickness is on me.

At the Doctor

Irish	English
Caithfidh mé dul go dtí an dochtúir.	I must go to the doctor.
Cá bhfuil an pian?	Where is the pain?
Tá mé tinn.	I am sick.
Tá mé níos fearr anois.	I am better now.
An bhfuil tú ceart go leor?	Are you all right?

Examples in Context

Irish	English	Note
Tá tinneas cinn orm.	I have a headache.	"tinneas cinn" = head-sickness
Tá pian i mo dhroim.	I have a pain in my back.	"i mo" + lenition
Tá slaghdán air.	He has a cold.	"air" = on him
Caithfidh mé dul go dtí an dochtúir.	I must go to the doctor.	"caithfidh" = must
Tá mo chos tinn.	My foot is sore.	Feminine noun + lenition
An bhfuil tú tinn?	Are you sick?	Question form
Tá pian i mo bholg.	I have a stomach pain.	"bolg" → "bholg" after "mo"
Nigh do lámha!	Wash your hands!	Imperative + possessive
Tá sé breoite.	He is ill.	Alternative for sick
Tá tinneas cluaise uirthi.	She has an earache.	"uirthi" = on her

Common Mistakes

Translating "I have a headache" directly

• Wrong: Tá mé tinneas cinn or Tá tinneas cinn agam
• Right: Tá tinneas cinn orm.
• Why: Illnesses use the ar (on) construction, not ag (at/have). The sickness is "on" you, not "at" you.

Forgetting lenition after "mo"

• Wrong: Tá pian i mo droim
• Right: Tá pian i mo dhroim.
• Why: The possessive mo always causes lenition: droim → dhroim.

Confusing "tinn" and "tinneas"

• Wrong: Tá tinn orm
• Right: Tá mé tinn. (I am sick.) / Tá tinneas orm. (I have a sickness.)
• Why: Tinn is an adjective (sick) used with Tá mé. Tinneas is a noun (sickness) used with the ar construction.

Practice Tips

1. Point to different body parts and name them in Irish. Then create a sentence about each one: Tá pian i mo cheann (I have a pain in my head).
2. Role-play a doctor visit: one person asks Cá bhfuil an pian? and the other answers using the Tá + tinneas/pian + ar/i pattern.

Related Concepts

• Prepositional Pronouns — the "ar" forms used for expressing ailments and feelings