Love & Terms of Endearment
Love is one of those complex concepts, isn’t it. Love is abstract so it is no wonder that there are so many ways to express how you feel about another.
1. Types of Love
There are many different nouns. Here is a rough guide. Nouns are in nominative form.
Grá – This is the generic word for love. From love of person, an abstract concept, your country, between lovers, neighbourly love…
Grá a bheith agat ar dhuine or Grá a bheith agat do duine – To love someone.
Bheith i ngrá le duine – To be in love with someone.
Grá na fírinne – Love of truth
Ar ghrá ruda or de ghrá ruda – For love of a thing, for the sake of a thing
Fíorghrá – True love
Amhrán grá – Love song
Bheith i bpian an ghrá or Bheith á c(h)loí le grá – To be lovesick
Others: Verbal Noun of Gráigh; Charity; Beloved Person; (Literature) Aos Grá – Confidents, chosen followers.
Cion – Love as in “affection”.
Cion croí a dhéanamh le leanbh – To hug a child to one’s bosom.
Ainm ceana – Pet name.
Other: Regard, Esteem; Effect, Influence
Gean – Affection. Less widely used than Cion.
Also: Gean gáire – Smile.
Searc – Love (between lovers)
Searc a thabhairt do dhuine – To love someone.
Le searc air – For love of him
Céadsearc – First love
Also: Beloved one.
Páirt – Fellowship, friendship, affection.
Lucht gaoil agus páirte – Relatives and friends.
A leanbh na páirte – My Dear Child.
Also: Part, Portion, Region, Participation, Party to a dispute; Partnership, association, alliance.
Cumann – Friendship, love; companionship.
Mo lucht cumainn – My Friends, companions.
Cumann a dhéanamh le duine or dul i gcumann le duine – To associate with or make friends with someone.
Also: Darling, Sweetheart; Company, fellowship, community.
2. Ways to express love
Often times people interchange these expressions. Note the differences.
First person singular I
Tá grá agam duit – I love you, I have love for you
Gráím thú – I love you (Not used often because Irish has been traditionally more of a prepositional language than a verbal one).
Tugaim cion duit – I give you affection
Tá cion agam ort – I have affection for you
Tá mé ceanúil ort – I’m loving/affectionate towards you
Táim i ngrá leat – I am in love with you
Is tú mo ghrá – You are my love
Is breá liom… – I love… (a thing/ activity)
However I must say my favourite is:
Tá mo chroí istigh ionat – My heart is within you
3. Endearments
(This list is not exhaustive)
NB: Mo (the Irish word for My) has been changed to A in places. This often happens with terms of endearment. It is what is known as the vocative form of the noun. This is used when calling people, be in physically or at the start of a letter. At any rate I would pick the A ones over the MO ones.
Lovers:
A Ghrá mo Chroí (ah hraw muh hree) = My Heart’s Beloved, My Darling
A Ghrá Geal (ah hraw gal) = My Bright Love, Boy(/Girl)friend
A Ghrá (ah hraw); Mo Ghrá (muh hraw) = My Love
A Rún (ah ruin); Mo Rún (muh ruin) = My Dear
Mo Mhuirnín (muh wer-neen); A Mhuirnín (ah wer-neen) = My Dear
A Stór (ah store) = My Darling (NOTE, exception to lenition rule)
Mo Shearc (muh hark) = My Love
A Thaisce (ah hash-keh) = My Treasure
A Chumann (ah hom-un)= My Darling, Sweetheart.
Other and/ or Lovers:
A Stóirín (ah store-een) = My little darling.
Is í an t-aingeal í (iss e un tangil e) = She’s a little darling.
Peata (pet-ah) – A mother’s darling. / A Pheata (ah fet-eh) My…
Seanleannán liom (shan-lan-auwn lum) – An old love of mine.
Written by: éanna
“My Beloved is Mine”
(from The Song of Songs)
This is a quote from the Song of Songs 2:16
Dodi li v’ani lo (Hebrew)
The Irish translation of this line is: Liomsa mo ghrá agus leis-sean mise
So, your phrase “My beloved is mine” would be
Is liomsa mo ghrá
If you wanted to use “muirnín” it would be
Is liomsa mo mhuirnín
But the translators of the Bible opted for “grá” so I see no reason not to follow them!
Eventhough “muirnín” IS closer in meaning to “dod” than “grá is.
ontributed by: oisin718, GrainneBhaoil, Redwolf
sarah prendergast said,
June 20, 2007 @ 11:02 am
mo anam cara – my soul mate
CeltPrincess said,
September 22, 2007 @ 5:51 pm
Great Post! Very helpful! Thanks!
Meghann said,
October 4, 2007 @ 8:51 pm
For the ‘My beloved is mine’ post, is there a difference between the masculine and feminine versions of words? I only ask because my soon-to-be husband and I each want to get tattoos of this before our wedding, and it would look pretty funny (in a bad way) if, when we go to Ireland for our honeymoon, we get people “in the know” laughing at an incorrect -and permanent- marking on our bodies!
Thanks for all of you hard work on this site, it is beautiful!
Meghann
Méabh said,
December 14, 2007 @ 3:01 am
“Mo Anam Cara” is incorrectly spelled. In Irish, mo elides to m’ when preceding a vowel (like in French). Anam Cara written as two separate words is also incorrect. The correct spelling is: m’anamchara
Susan said,
January 3, 2008 @ 1:07 am
I have seen Anam cara and Aman cara. Are they both acceptable spellings?
Julie said,
January 18, 2008 @ 4:40 am
I was wondering, what’s the pronunciation for “ta mo chroi istigh ionat” ? I know that “mo chroi” is “muh hree,” so “istigh ionat” is what I really need to know. Thanks!
Angela said,
February 14, 2008 @ 2:49 am
I require the correct spelling and pronunciationand meaning of a word seen on the back of her boxing jacket in the movie Million Dollar Baby. The spelling I have managed to get from movie is Moceish but this is incomplete. The meaning is meant to be my love, darling, family. Is this correct? I would appreciate the missing letters and confirmation of the meaning. I tried to find this word on your site but couldn’t find it.
Yours sincerely,
Angela
Eoin said,
February 14, 2008 @ 10:38 am
Angela: we actually have a page dedicated to Million Dolloar Baby.
t.claybourne said,
February 17, 2008 @ 2:24 am
Actually the phrase aman cara how ever it is correctly spelled means my soul friend. Which tends to change the meaning a bit from the romantic Idea of mate.
Jessica said,
March 19, 2008 @ 5:13 am
how is “Tá mo chroí istigh ionat” pronounced?
Victoria said,
April 4, 2008 @ 3:19 am
This is a wonderful place to learn the language of my mothers homeland.
Thank you for allowing such a great site.
Victoria
carolyn hudgens said,
April 5, 2008 @ 11:27 pm
I need the irish words for perfectly flawed
carolyn hudgens said,
April 5, 2008 @ 11:29 pm
I don’t know what URI is
Eoin said,
April 13, 2008 @ 3:34 pm
carolyn hudgens: please ask on our site’s free translation forum.
erskine04 said,
May 2, 2008 @ 5:03 am
how would you say
love you always
i just had a good friend pass and it would be very helpful.. thanks
s.
Eoin said,
May 3, 2008 @ 10:39 am
erskine04: more people will see your requestion on out site’s translation forum.
sondawi said,
May 27, 2008 @ 5:22 pm
I need the translation for John3:16. My daughter is doing a 5th grade project. thank you
David said,
June 5, 2008 @ 2:36 pm
i have a friend getting married, and I wanted a good, short toast. I would like to get this translated:
Rare indeed is the blessing of love, but rarer still is that of a soul mate. Your happiness has lifted the spirits of all those around you. May your lives be forever filled with the joy of this moment.
thanks for the help!
Audrey Kost said,
June 6, 2008 @ 7:27 pm
Thank you so much for your very helpful page. My mother decended from the Gaels and I was extremly curious on the meaning and backround of the Gaelic language. She often says things like A ghra. A amhain.( My love. My only) She says that to my father. My father is German so it is incomprehensible to him, but the way she speaks it tells him what she is basiclly saying. Thank you once again for providing me a way to explore and understand my family’s heritage.
Thank You,
AMK
Steven Redmond said,
June 26, 2008 @ 1:52 am
How do I say Thank You?
Newaz said,
July 9, 2008 @ 11:30 pm
sombody can translate this for me? i would be verry greatfull ” i will be the happyest person in this world if u would accept a dinner with me”
meghan said,
July 20, 2008 @ 8:58 pm
Please translate “no other” for me. It pertains to my significate other. Or if in a sentence…”there is no other”.
Gray said,
August 10, 2008 @ 11:44 pm
I’m American, getting married to an Irishman, and a wedding tradition of South Carolinians (and University of South Carolina graduates) is to include part of the school hymn in our ceremonies, in my case inscribed on the rings- the text is “forever to thee” in English, is there a close approximation in Irish?
chris said,
August 21, 2008 @ 6:19 pm
My husband and I have custody of our niece and are looking for a special name she can call us. She has been with us for 2 years and wants to call us mommy and daddy since we are expecting our first child together. We are trying to find a special name so she does not feel left out when the baby comes and so she can differient us the her other Aunts and Uncles but also does not upset her biological parents. Does anyone know of a tearm of endearment that may mean guardian, caretaker etc?
carolyn said,
August 30, 2008 @ 5:02 pm
my husband has pasted away and i would like a ancklet tattoo saying, my love or lover , my friend forever chalie, if chalie is no translateable his nick name was mad dog.
Chris said,
January 29, 2009 @ 4:32 pm
How do you say “Hello beautiful”?? ty
Keri said,
February 6, 2009 @ 6:08 am
I am looking for a saying to put on my ring that i will be recieving. I want to know if there
a spelling for my nickname “karebear”?
baileymcnamara said,
March 4, 2009 @ 2:40 am
hello, im wondering if this is the correct spelling for this phrase, mind u i dont have the accents on the correct words
LET LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP REIgn – i was told i coudl say it like this
Go mbeadh reimeas ag gra cairdeas
or
biodh an gra agus an caurdeas chun tosaigh
ne one know what one is right it is for a tatoo so i dont want it to be wrong
tx
Leah said,
April 8, 2009 @ 5:16 pm
I am an Amreican getting married to an Irish man and wanted to get something Irish engraved on his ring, I was thinking about “The one I love now and forever” or “Blessed we are in love”. or “Lets get it on!” Can someone please help me our wedding is in 12 days and I left it a little late!
Thanks so much
Edward said,
May 28, 2009 @ 5:28 am
Can Eternal Love be translated into Gaelic
Chip said,
July 16, 2009 @ 6:25 am
If im not mistaken Edward to say eternal love in irish gaelic it would be síorghrá and for my eternal love its mo shíorghrá or to phrase it as forever my eternal love it would be go síoraí mo shíorghrá i hope that helps
Kayte said,
August 10, 2009 @ 2:04 am
Hi, I was to get a four leaf clover tattooed on my arm and have mother and eternal love on it. I have been doing some research and I keep finding different words for those. Could someone, if possible, please clarify that to me and let me know what they are? Thanks a lot
Meghan said,
December 21, 2009 @ 8:40 pm
could you possibly find some physical terms of endearment? for example, people from the middle east dont typically show affection in public where if you were to see your italian grandmother she would kiss you on both cheeks and give you a big hug.
Diane said,
January 24, 2010 @ 9:32 am
Would you normally use the term “anam cara” when referring to a friend vs. “Mo anam cara” being a lover? I’m confused between the two.
Heather said,
March 26, 2010 @ 3:22 am
Can anyone tell me what ‘Mo ghra fior’ means?
PLEASEEEE, my boyfriend keeps calling my that and im not sure what it means.
Sarah said,
March 28, 2010 @ 4:00 pm
I’m not sure what mo ghra fior’ means but no these just means my love so its probibly something sweet
cory said,
May 3, 2010 @ 8:55 am
im pretty sure “Mo ghra fior” translates to “my true love”
ashley wade said,
May 6, 2010 @ 10:10 pm
thank you for this page! my boyfriend fell in love with this language years ago. he comes up to me and says of these things to me and i can never understand but now i can come to him with a few new ones that i have learned on my own.
MtDew said,
June 10, 2010 @ 12:06 pm
.Is leatsa mo ghr’a go bra’ch… Ta’ m chroi’ istigh ionat
rodgin said,
July 14, 2010 @ 10:19 am
its good
vikki said,
August 9, 2010 @ 8:58 pm
thanks for this page has been helpful for wording of a tattoo im getting
Tanya said,
August 20, 2010 @ 12:39 pm
I would like to get some tattoos of my childrens names….could you please write the gaelic form of BOTH their name and meaning…..
Ruairi (means “red-haired king”)
Rian (means “little king”)
Sophia (Greek means “wise”)
Thanks again