The fastest way to learn Irish is to spend most of your study time on Irish you can mostly understand. That kind of Irish is called comprehensible input. What you read and listen to should change as you improve, so the plan below shows what to do at each level and how to split an hour of study.
What to Do at Each Level
Find the level that sounds like you. Its bar shows how to spend an hour of study.
- Level 1
I'm just starting out or know only a few words.
Read and listen 35 min. Review 15 min. Speak 10 min.
Listen to the beginner version of Gaeilge Weekly, which is in Irish and English, and say a few lines out loud. Look up new words on Teanglann to hear them in all three dialects.
- Level 2
I can read simple sentences.
Read and listen 40 min. Review 10 min. Speak 10 min.
Read Short Stories in Irish for Beginners along with its audiobook, and watch Cúla4 shows with Irish subtitles. Start short talks with a tutor or a friend.
- Level 3
I can read short stories and messages.
Read and listen 40 min. Review 5 min. Speak 15 min.
Follow Nuacht Mhall's slow weekly news with the full text from each episode's notes, then listen once more without the text. Talk about what you heard for longer.
- Level 4
I can read longer texts about everyday life.
Read and watch 45 min. Review 5 min. Speak 10 min.
Watch Ros na Rún on the TG4 Player with Irish subtitles, one episode a week. Read the learner activities that Tuairisc.ie builds from its news articles.
- Level 5
I can follow complex topics, but miss some details.
Read and listen 50 min. Speak 10 min.
Listen to RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta to hear all three dialects at natural speed, and read the news on Tuairisc.ie. Look up only the words that block the story.
- Level 6
I can follow detailed arguments and different writing styles.
Read and watch 50 min. Speak 10 min.
Read Irish novels, such as ClubLeabhar's book of the month, and watch TG4 without subtitles, for their own sake.
Move up a level when the Irish you read and hear starts to feel easy, and move back down if you lose the thread by the third line.
How Long Does It Take to Learn Irish?
The U.S. Foreign Service Institute does not list Irish, so the best guide comes from TEG, the Irish exams for adult learners run by Maynooth University, and its numbers add up to about 2,300 hours of study to reach C1, an advanced level. No other Celtic language is on the FSI list either, so the list has no close relative of Irish to compare with.
| Language | FSI group | Full-time weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Spanish | Category I | 30 |
| German | Category II | 36 |
| Russian | Category III | 44 |
| Japanese | Category IV | 88 |
| Irish | Not listed | No estimate |
TEG recommends 80 to 100 hours of study for A1, then 160 to 200 more for A2, 350 to 400 more for B1, 500 to 600 more for B2 and 1,000 more for C1. Adding the top of each range gives 300 hours to reach A2, 700 to reach B1 and 2,300 to reach C1. Here is how long those take at different amounts of study a week:
| Study per week | TEG A2 (300 hours) | TEG B1 (700 hours) | TEG C1 (2,300 hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3½ hours | About 20 months | About 3¾ years | About 12⅔ years |
| 7 hours | About 10 months | About 23 months | About 6⅓ years |
| 14 hours | About 5 months | About 11½ months | About 3¼ years |
| 28 hours | About 2½ months | About 6 months | About 19 months |
These are hours of study and practice, so treat them as a rough guide. Time you spend understanding Irish on your own counts too.
What Slows Learners Down
- Guessing Sounds From EnglishIrish spelling follows its own rules, and bh and mh often sound like v or w. Hear each new word before you say it.
- Mutation Tables AloneThe first sound of an Irish word changes after some words, so mac (son) becomes mhac in mo mhac (my son). A table of these changes is hard to use until you have read each one in many sentences.
- Content Far Too HardAn Irish radio show where you know one word in five teaches you very little.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Irish app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Irish, start with Bubblegum. Poppy writes lessons at your level about things you like. Our Irish app comparison covers courses, tutors and speaking apps too.
Can I learn Irish in three months?
You can learn enough Irish to greet people and talk about yourself. At 14 hours a week, three months is about 180 hours, which is more than TEG suggests for A1 and part of the way to A2.
How much should I study Irish each week?
Aim for three to five hours a week of Irish you understand, in sessions of at least 15 to 30 minutes. A longer session lets you get lost in a story, which teaches more than five minutes a day, and steady time each week matters more than a daily streak. Our post on deep sessions over daily streaks explains why.
Is Irish hard for English speakers?
The Foreign Service Institute does not list Irish, so it has no FSI group. Irish puts the verb first, so Bhuail sé mé (he hit me) begins with bhuail (hit). That order starts to feel natural once you have read and heard it in a lot of Irish you understand.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn. It holds lessons that other learners asked Poppy for. A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- U.S. Department of State, Foreign Language Training (FSI language categories)
- Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge (TEG), Centre for Irish Language at Maynooth University: TEG Levels (hours of study recommended at each level)
- Teanglann.ie: Irish Pronunciation Database (Connacht, Ulster and Munster recordings)
- Wikipedia: Irish orthography (bh and mh)
- Wikipedia: Irish initial mutations (mo mhac, my son)
- Wikipedia: Irish grammar (verb–subject–object word order)
