Language/Irish/Vocabulary/Countries-and-Continents

A map of the world.

In this lesson, you will learn about the different Irish names for countries and continents around the world. Some place names in Irish are vastly different from what they're called in English, so it's important you know this kind of info. In this lesson, you will also learn about the various county and place names within the island of Ireland.

Continents

As you may know, there are 7 continents across the world: Asia, Africa, Antarctica, Europe, North America, Oceania, and South America. The Irish names for these continents don't deviate too much from the English names, so remembering them won't be a hassle. Please know that these may be pronounced differently depending on the dialect or accent.

Continents of the World (Irish vs. English)

Irish	English	IPA
An Eoraip	Europe	/ən joːɾəp/
An Áise	Asia	/ən ɑːʃə/
An Aigéine	Oceania	/ən əˈgeːɪɲə/
An Afraic	Africa	/ən afɾɪk/
Antartaice	Antarctica	/anˈtaɾtɪkə/
Meiriceá Thuaidh	North America	/mɛɾɪkɑː huə/
Meiriceá Theas	South America	/mɛɾɪkɑː has/

European Countries

Most of the Irish names for the countries of Europe don't differ much from English. Again, these may be pronounced differently depending on the accent or dialect.

Here are some of the countries of Europe:

Countries of Europe (Irish vs. English)

Irish	English	IPA
Éire	Ireland	/eːɾə/
An Ríocht Aontaithe	The U.K.	/ən ɾɪəxt eːntɪhə/
Íoslainn	Iceland	/iːslən/
An Fhrainc	France	/ən ɾaŋk/
An Spáinn	Spain	/ən ʃpʌɪɴ/
An Ghearmáin	Germany	/ən ɣɚmʌɪn/
An Bheilg	Belgium	/ən vɛlg/
An Iodáil	Italy	/ən ɪˈdɑːl/
An Phortaingéil	Portugal	/ən ˈfɔɾtɪŋˌgeːl/
An Danmhairg	Denmark	/ən ˈdanvaːɾg/
An tSualainn	Sweden	/ən ʧulɪn/
An Iorua	Norway	/ən jɚuə/
An Fhionlainn	Finland	/ən jənlɪn/
An Pholainn	Poland	/ən folɪ/
An Ghréig	Greece	/əf ɣɾeːg/
An Ísiltír	The Netherlands	/ənˈisəlˌtiɾ/
An Rúis	Russia	/ən ɾuːs/
An Úcráin	Ukraine	/ən uˈkrʌɪn/

Asian Countries

Most of the Irish names for the modern countries of Asia were borrowed from English.

Here are some of the Asian countries:

Countries of Asia (Irish vs. English)

Irish	English	IPA
An tSín	China	/ən ʧiːn/
An tSeapáin	Japan	/ən ʧapɑːn/
An Chóiré Theas	South Korea	/ən xoːɾeː has/
An Chóiré Thuaidh	North Korea	/ən xoːɾeː huə/
An Mhongóil	Mongolia	/ən vɑŋgoːl/
Vítneam	Vietnam	/viːtˌnaːm/
An Téalainn	Thailand	/ən teːlən/
Maenmar	Myanmar	/mɛnmaɾ/
An Indinéis	Indonesia	/ən ɪndɪˈneːʃ/
Brúiné	Brunei	/bɾuːneː/
Indía	India	/ɪndɪə/
An Phacastáin	Pakistan	/ən fakɪʃtɑːn/
Iaráin	Iran	/iɾɑːn/
An Iaráic	Iraq	/ən ɪɾɑːk/
An Araib Shádach	Saudi Arabia	/ən aɾɪb hɑːdɑx/
An Tuirc	Türkiye	/ən tɪɾk/

Oceanic Countries

The many territories and countries of Oceania don't particularly have Irish names, but shown here are some of the ones that do:

Countries of Oceania (Irish vs. English)

Irish	English	IPA
Haváí	Hawai'i	/havʌɪ/
An Astráil	Australia	/ən əstrɑːl/
An Nua-Shéalainn	New Zealand	/ən nuə heːlɪn/
Nua-Ghuine Phapua	Papua New Guinea	/nuə ɣɪnɛ fapuə/
An Mhicrinéis	Micronesia	/ən vicɾɪneːʃ/
Ciribeas	Kiribati	/kɪɾɪbas/
Polainéis na Fraince	French Polynesia	/pɑlɪneːʃ nə fraŋkə/
Fídsí	Fiji	/fiːʤiː/

African Countries

Like with Oceania, many of the names for the countries of Africa don't have a unique Irish equivalent, but here are some of them that do:

Countries of Africa (Irish vs. English)

Irish	English	IPA
An Algéir	Algeria	/ən algeːɾ/
An Nígir	Niger	/ən niːgəɾ/
An Nigéir	Nigeria	/ən niˈgeːɾ/
An Afraic Theas	South Africa	/ən afɾɪk has/
An Ghuine Mheánchriosach	Equatorial Guinea	/ən ɣɪnɛ vɑːnxrəsɑx/
An Mháratáin	Mauritania	/ən vɑːɾɪtɑːn/
An Bhotsuáin	Bostwana	/ən vɑtswɑːn/
An tSiombáib	Zimbabwe	/ən ʧəmbɑːb/
Sáír	D.R. Congo	/sʌɪɾ/
Poblacht na hAfraice Láir	C. African Republic	/pəblaxt nə hafɾikə lɑːɾ/
An Ghabúin	Gabon	/ən ɣabuːn/

North & South American Countries

The situation with the African and Oceanic countries still applies, but more so than before. Only a few countries have a distinct name.

Countries of the Americas (Irish vs. English)

Irish	English	IPA
Na Stáit Aontaithe Mheiriceá (SAM)	The U.S.A.	/nə stɑːt eːntihə vɛɾɪkɑː/
Meicsiceo	Mexico	/mɛksikoː/
An Bheilís	Belize	/ən veːliːʃ/
Iamáice	Jamaica	/jəmɑːkə/
An Ghuáin	Guyana	/ən ɣuɑːn/
Suranam	Suriname	/suɾənam/ d
Háití	Haiti	/hʌɪtiː/

Ireland & the Celtic Realm

Within the Celtic Nations, place names differ quite a lot from their English counterparts. This is especially true in Ireland, where a lot of the town names are completely different in Irish from their Anglicized names on all the road signs.

Ireland / Éire

In Irish, the names of places may change form depending on case. This mainly happens with Irish place names.

Irish Provinces

Irish	Genitive Form	English	IPA
Ulaidh	Cúige Uladh	Ulster	/ʊlə/
Mumhain	Cúige Mumhan	Munster	/məvɪn/
Laighin	Cúige Laighean	Leinster	/laɣɪn/
Connachta	Cúige Chonnacht	Connacht	/kɑnəxtə/

Irish Counties

Irish	Genitive Form	English	IPA
Aontroim	Contae Aontroma	Antrim	/eːntɾəm/
Ard Mhacha	Contae Ard Mhacha	Armagh	/aɾd vaxə/
An Cabhán	Contae an Chabhán	Cavan	/ən cavɑːn/
Doire	Contae Dhoire	Derry	/dəɾə/
An Dún	Contae an Dhún	Down	/ən duːn/
Dún na nGall	Contae Dhún na nGall	Donegal	/duːn nə ŋɑl/
Fear Manach	Contae Fhear Manach	Fermanagh	/faɾ manɑx/
Muineachán	Contae Mhuineachan	Monaghan	/mɪnəxɑːn/
Tír Eoghain	Contae Thír Eoghain	Tyrone	/tiːɾ oːn/
Baile Átha Cliath	Contae Bhaile Átha Cliath	Dublin	/baʎɛ ɑːhə kʎə/
Ceatharlach	Contae Cheatharlach	Carlow	/cahɚlax/
Cill Dara	Contae Chill Dara	Kildare	/kɪl daɾə/
Cill Mhantáin	Contae Chill Mhantáin	Wicklow	/kɪl vantɑːn/
An Iarmhí	Contae an Iarmhí	Westmeath	/ən iɾviː/
Laois	Contae Laoise	Laois	/liʃ/
Loch Garman	Contae Loch Garman	Wexford	/lɑx garmən/
Longfort	Contae Longfoirt	Longford	/lɑŋfɔɾt/
Lú	Contae Lú	Louth	/luː/
An Mhí	Contae an Mhí	Meath	/ən viː/
Uíbh Fhailí	Contae Uíbh Fhailí	Offaly	/iːv ali/
Gailimh	Contae Ghailimh	Galway	/gaʎɪv/
Liatroim	Contae Liatroim	Leitrim	/litrəm/
Maigh Eo	Contae Mhaigh Eo	Mayo	/maɪ oː/
Ros Comáin	Contae Ros Comáin	Roscommon	/ɾəs cəmɑːn/
Sligeach	Contae Sligeach	Sligo	/ʃligax/
Ciarraí	Contae Chiarraí	Kerry	/kɪɾi/
An Clár	Contae an Chláir	Clare	/ən klɑːɾ/
Corcaigh	Contae Chorcaí	Cork	/kɔɾkɪɣ/
Luimneach	Contae Luimnigh	Limerick	/lɪmnɑx/
Cill Chainnigh	Contae Chill Chainnigh	Kilkenny	/kɪl canɪɣ/
Port Láirge	Contae Phort Láirge	Waterford	/pɔɾt lʌɪɾgə/
Tiobraid Árann	Contae Thiobraid Árann	Tipperary	/təbɾɪd ɑːɾən/

Scotland / Albain

Some of the names for Scottish places are borrowed from Scots Gaelic.

Scottish Places

Irish	English	IPA
Mhoireibh	Moray	/voɾeːv/
Na Garbhchríocha	The Highlands	/nə gaɾvcrɪəxa/
Obar Dheathain	Aberdeen	/obɚ jahɪn/
Dún Éideann	Edinburgh	/duːn eːdɪn/
Inbhir Nis	Inverness	/ɪnvɚ nɪʃ/
Glaschú	Glasgow	/glasxuː/
An Eaglais Bhreac	Falkirk	/ən aglɪs vɾak/
Oileáin Thiar	Eileann Siar	/olɑːn hiɾ/

Wales / An Bhreatain Bheag

Some of the name for Welsh places are borrowed from Welsh.

Welsh Places

Irish	English	IPA
Inis Món	Anglesey	/ɪnɪʃ moːn/
Caerduidh	Cardiff	/kɛɾdɪɣ/
Sír Benfró	Pembrokeshire	/ʃiɾ bɛnfɾoː/
Beannchar	Bangor	/banxaɾ/
Baile Uí Fhiacháin	Newport	/baʎɛ iː jaxɑːn/

Other Areas

Other Areas of the Celtic World

Irish	English	IPA
Corn na Breataine	Cornwall	/kɔɾn nə bɾatɪnə/
Bhriotáin		Brittany	/vɾɪətɑːn/
Oileán Mhanann		Mann	/olaːn vanɪn/
Inse Shealtainn		Shetland	/ɪnʃə haltɪn/
Inse Orc	Orkney	/ɪnʃə ɔɾk/
Dubhghlas		Douglas	/dəvɣlas/
Trúrú	Truro	/tɾuːɾuː/
Reinnes	Rennes	/ɾeːn/