HeyRuaHow to say “sickly” in Irish
- Irish:
- meathbhreoite
- English:
- sickly
- Word type:
- adjective
- Sicklier:
- níos meathbhreoite
- Sickliest:
- is meathbhreoite
- Pronunciation:
- “ma-VRYO-cheh” /mˠaˈvʲɾʲoːtʲə/
What does “meathbhreoite” mean?
- sickly
- Somewhat ill, or often in poor health and never fully well.Also: ailing, poorly, unwell, delicate.
Other Irish adjectives for sickly: easláinteach (unhealthy)
“Meathbhreoite” after a noun
An Irish adjective comes after its noun. Here is meathbhreoite after páiste (child, masculine), after girseach (girl, feminine) and after a plural.
séimhiú (the h) the ending
After a feminine noun the adjective gets a séimhiú, an h after its first letter: girseach mheathbhreoite. After a masculine noun it stays as it is: páiste meathbhreoite.
With a plural noun the adjective takes its plural form, meathbhreoite. It also gets an h after a plural that ends in a slender consonant; after other plurals it does not: girseacha meathbhreoite.
Sicklier, sickliest, very sickly
Bhí sé níos meathbhreoite ná a dheartháir. He was more sickly than his brother.
| sicklier | níos meathbhreoite | in the past tense: ní ba mheathbhreoite |
|---|---|---|
| sickliest | is meathbhreoite | in the past tense: ba mheathbhreoite |
| as sickly as | chomh meathbhreoite le | no change after chomh |
| very sickly | an-mheathbhreoite | an- lenites, except d, t and s |
| too sickly | rómheathbhreoite | ró- lenites |
“Meathbhreoite” in a sentence: Irish examples
With a masculine noun, a feminine noun, a plural, a comparison and on its own.
Other adjectives in Irish
More everyday Irish adjectives to learn next.
Sickly in Irish: frequently asked questions
What is the Irish for sickly?
The Irish for sickly is meathbhreoite (pronounced “ma-VRYO-cheh”). It comes after the noun: páiste meathbhreoite, a sickly child; girseach mheathbhreoite, a sickly girl.
How do you say sicklier and sickliest in Irish?
níos meathbhreoite is sicklier and is meathbhreoite is sickliest. In the past tense they become ní ba mheathbhreoite and ba mheathbhreoite.
Why does meathbhreoite become mheathbhreoite?
After a feminine singular noun an adjective is lenited: it gets an h after its first letter. So girseach mheathbhreoite (a sickly girl) but páiste meathbhreoite (a sickly child), because páiste is masculine.
How do you say very sickly in Irish?
an-mheathbhreoite. Too sickly is rómheathbhreoite, and as sickly as is chomh meathbhreoite le.
How is 'meathbhreoite' different from 'breoite'?
'Breoite' means sick or ill, while 'meathbhreoite' adds the prefix 'meath-' (half, partly), giving the sense of somewhat ill or sickly.
