Basic Irish Letters

Vowels
Letter	IPA	Valve Phoneme	EX	Phonetic Example
a	/a/	AA	<AudioButton></AudioButton>	father, spa
á	/ɑ:/	AO	call, far
e	/ɛ/	EH	tell, get
é	/e:/	EY	bait, pay
i	/ɪ/	IH	in, hit
í	/i:/	IY	tree, mean, he
o	/ɔ/	AH	tug, wonder
ó	/o:/	OW	roll, toe, road
u	/ʌ/	UH	good, pull
ú	/u:/	UW	too, rude

Broad Consonants
Letter	IPA	Valve Phoneme	Phonetic Example	Notes
b	/bˠ/	B	broom, boy
c	/k/	K	cut, key
d	/d̪ˠ/	D	do, under
f	/fˠ/	??	??
g	/ɡ/	G	goo, egg
h	/h/	HH	honey, hello	Neither broad nor slender
l	/l/; also frequently /l̪ˠ/	??	??
ll	/l̪ˠ/	??	??
m	/mˠ/	M	moo, woman
n	/nˠ/; also frequently /n̪ˠ/	N	not, under
p	/pˠ/	??	??
r	/ɾˠ/	??	??	always broad word-initially; always broad in rd, rl, rn, rr, rs, rt, rth, sr
s	/sˠ/	??	??
t	/t̪ˠ/	??	??
v	/w/~/vˠ/	??	??	loan consonant
z	/zˠ/	??	??	loan consonant

Slender Consonants
Letter	IPA	Valve Phoneme	Phonetic Example	Notes
b	/bʲ/	??	??
c	/c/	??	??
d	/dʑ/	JH	fidget, fridge	/dʲ/ in other dialects
f	/fʲ/	??	??
g	/ɟ/	??	??
h	/h/	HH	honey, hello	Neither broad nor slender
l	/lʲ/	??	million, will you
ll	/l̪ʲ/; also frequently /lʲ/	??	??
m	/mʲ/	??	??
n	/nʲ/	N Y	sinew, minion
p	/pʲ/	??	??
r	/ɾʲ/	??	??	always broad word-initially; always broad in rd, rl, rn, rr, rs, rt, rth, sr
s	/ɕ/	SH	sip, wish	/ʃ/ in other dialects
t	/tʲ/	??	??
v	/vʲ/	??	??	loan consonant
z	/ʑ/	ZH	vision	loan consonant; /ʒ/ in other dialects

Lenited Broad Consonants
Letter	IPA	Valve Phoneme	Phonetic Example	Notes
bh	/w/	W	wow, tower
ch	/x/	??	loch (Scottish), Nacht (German)
dh	/ɣ/ word-initially; silent after a long vowel	—	(no equivalent)
fh	silent	<SIL>	(silent)
gh	/ɣ/ word-initially; silent after a long vowel	—	(no equivalent)
mh	/w/	W	wow, tower
ph	/fˠ/	F	follow, telephone
sh	/h/	HH	honey, hello
th	/h/	HH	honey, hello	Silent if at the end of a syllable

Lenited Slender Consonants
Letter	IPA	Valve Phoneme	Phonetic Example	Notes
bh	/vʲ/	V	village, eve
ch	/ç/; /h/ between vowels	??	hue (pronounced strongly); ??
dh	/ʝ/	Y	yell, eye?
fh	silent	<SIL>	(silent)
gh	/ʝ/	Y	yell, eye?
mh	/vʲ/	V	village, eve
ph	/fʲ/	??	??
sh	/h/	HH	honey, hello
th	/h/	HH	honey, hello	Silent if at the end of a syllable

Eclipsed Broad Consonants
Letter	Additive	Original	IPA	Valve Phoneme	Phonetic Example	Notes
bhf	bh	f	/w/	W	wow, tower
bp	b	p	/bˠ/	B	broom, boy
dt	d	t	/d̪ˠ/	D	do, under
gc	g	c	/ɡ/	G	goo, egg
mb	m	b	/mˠ/	M	moo, woman
nd	n	d	/nˠ/; also frequently /n̪ˠ/	N	not, under
ng	n	g	/ŋ/	NG	wing, thing

Eclipsed Slender Consonants
Letter	Additive	Original	IPA	Valve Phoneme	Phonetic Example	Notes
bhf	bh	f	/vʲ/	V	village, eve
bp	b	p	/bʲ/	??	??
dt	d	t	/dʑ/	JH	fidget, fridge	/dʲ/ in other dialects
gc	g	c	/ɟ/	??	??
mb	m	b	/mʲ/	??	??
nd	n	d	/nʲ/	N Y	sinew, minion
ng	n	g	/ŋ/	NG	wing, thing