There's no better way to impress a crowd than with your Irish language skills, and as we get ever closer to the spookiest day of the year, you can start showing off. Halloween is, after all, a Celtic holiday!
With great help from those at Irish Culture and Customs, we put together a list of 30 Halloween words in Irish, along with their pronunciations.
So now you can finally call your friend a Hobgoblin in Irish, you can tell your Irish gran to watch out for that ghostly, sinister, supernatural werewolf, or teach your trick-or-treaters the Gaelic spin on their favorite door-to-door greeting.
Trick or Treat: Cleas nó cóir (class noh koh-ir)
Witch/Witch's Broomstick: Cailleach/scuab chaillí (kyle-yeukh/scoob khyle-ee)
Bat: Ialtóg (ee-al-toe-g)
Sinister: Drochthuarach (druk-who-er-ukh)
Scared: Scanraithe (skahn-rah-heh)
Ghost: Púca or taibhse (pookah or tie-v-sheh)
Moon: Gealach (gi-ahl-ukh)
Hobgoblin: Bobodha (bub-owe-gah)
Turnip: Tornapa (tur-nah-pah)
Pumpkin: Puimcín (pim-keen)
Pumpkin: Puimcín (pim-keen)
Ghostly/spooky: Taibhsiúil (tyev-shool)
Banshee: Bean Sí (ban-shee)
Scream/shriek: scréach (shkraykh)
Shadow: scáth or scáil (skawh or skaw-il)
Tomb: Tuama (to-a-mah)
Graveyard: Reilg (rell-ig)
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Coffin: Cónra (cohn-rah)
Skeleton: Creatlach (krat-lukh)
Ghost story: Scéal taibhsí (sshkale tie-v-she)
Halloween: Oíche Shamhna (ee-ha how-na)
Costume: Culaith (cull-ah)
Costume: Culaith (cull-ah)
Nightmare: Tromluí (trum-lee)
Vampire: Vaimpír (vam-peer)
Blood: Fuil (fwill)
Werewolf: Coinriocht (kon-ree-ukt)
Devil/Demon: Diabhal (jowl)
Death: Bás (baws)
Terror/Terrifying: Uafás/uafásach (oo-faws/oo-faws-ukh)
Spider/spiderweb: Damhán/damhán alla (dow-awn/dow-awn ah-lah)
Supernatural: Osnádúrtha (uss-naw-duur-hah)
What is your favorite Irish Halloween word? Let us know in the comments!
* Originally published in 2014. Updated in 2024.
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