Irish Words for Love, Courage & Gratitude
Pronunciations below are a rough guide for English speakers — Irish has several dialects, so the exact sound varies a little by region.
Grá
love
say it roughly: graw
In endearments: a ghrá (my love), a ghrá mo chroí (love of my heart).
Misneach
courage, spirit, heart
say it roughly: MISH-nyokh
Affirmation: Tá misneach agam — “I have courage.”
Buíochas
gratitude, thanks
say it roughly: BWEE-uh-khus
To say thanks: go raibh maith agat — “may you have good.”
Dóchas
hope
say it roughly: DOH-khus
Tá dóchas agam — “I have hope.”
Suaimhneas
peace, calm, tranquillity
say it roughly: SOO-iv-nyus
The quiet kind of peace — rest for the mind.
Sonas
happiness, good fortune
say it roughly: SUN-us
A warm, contented sort of happiness.
Grá — the Irish word for love
Grá is love in its broadest sense: romantic love, the love of family, the love of a place. You’ll meet it most often in endearments — a ghrá (my love) and the beautiful a ghrá mo chroí, “love of my heart.” To tell someone you love them, you say Tá grá agam duit — literally, “I have love for you.”
Misneach — the Irish word for courage
Misneach means courage, but also spirit and heart — the inner steadiness that keeps you going. To hearten someone is to put misneach in them. As an affirmation, Tá misneach agam means “I have courage,” a good line to keep for the mornings you need it most.
Buíochas — the Irish word for gratitude
Buíochas is gratitude or thanks. It’s the root of the everyday go raibh maith agat (thank you — literally “may you have good”) and go raibh míle maith agat (thanks a thousand times over). As an affirmation, Tá mé buíoch simply means “I am grateful.”
Three more to keep close
Dóchas (hope), suaimhneas (calm) and sonas (happiness) round out a small vocabulary of well-being — enough Irish to name how you’d like to feel, one morning at a time.
Common questions
- What is the Irish word for love?
- The Irish word for love is grá (pronounced roughly “graw”). It appears in everyday endearments such as a ghrá (my love) and a ghrá mo chroí (love of my heart), and in “Tá grá agam duit” — I love you.
- What is the Irish word for courage?
- The Irish word for courage is misneach (roughly “MISH-nyokh”). It can also mean spirit or heart, as in heartening someone. The affirmation “Tá misneach agam” means “I have courage.”
- What is the Irish word for gratitude?
- The Irish word for gratitude is buíochas (roughly “BWEE-uh-khus”). To say thank you, you say “go raibh maith agat,” which literally means “may you have good.”
- How do you pronounce grá?
- Grá is pronounced like the English word “graw” — one syllable, with a long “aw” sound. The á carries a fada (accent), which lengthens the vowel.
- What does “a ghrá” mean?
- “A ghrá” is a term of endearment meaning “my love” or “dear.” The g softens to a “gh” sound when you address someone directly. You will also hear “a ghrá mo chroí” — love of my heart.
Get a line of Irish every morning
Lá Maith is organised around moods like these — Misneach (courage), Buíochas (gratitude) and Grá (love) are three of its eight collections. Choose how you want to feel, and get a line of Irish to match. Free on the App Store.