The Irish language has the best weird translations of common animal names

There’s a popular saying in the Gaeilgeoir, or Irish Speaker, community: “Is fearr linn Gaeilge briste, ná Béarla cliste,” which basically means “Broken Irish is better than clever English.”

I’m American, but I heard this refrain many times when I had the privilege of curating an Irish language Twitter account one week. I was nervous, as I’ve been learning the language as a casual hobby over the last few years. But the native speakers were remarkably encouraging—they were just happy to use the language at all, and to share its musicality with others. (I think the language is having a bit of a renaissance right now, as people in their 20s-40s feel a longing for a cultural connection that their Boomer parents neglected in their eagerness to assimilate).

This is all to say that: I can assure you that these Irish translations of common animal names are absolutely real. And while they’re not broken Irish, they’re still far more clever than anything our bastard mutt English tongue could ever come up with:

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This isn’t like in English, where we giggle about “titmice” and “cocks” because of the unintended double entendre. “Cíoch” is actually breast. “Bod” is in fact a penis. These are pretty literal translations; no hidden suggestive meanings about it.

And, if you ask me, they’re more accurate than our English names for them.

If you’re interested in more weird and irreverent Irish translations, my friend Darach Ó Séaghdha runs a Twitter account called The Irish For, where he shares things like this:

He also has a book out called “Motherfoclóir” (“foclóir” being the Irish word for dictionary or, well, “words”) and another one called “Craic Baby” (“craic” being an Irish word with no direct translation, but that basically means fun or good times).