Beirt

About this word

This is a personal numeral meaning two people.

Notes

The explicit reference to 'people' is included in the word itself. Beirt daoine would be wrong. However, forms with greater specificity such as beirt bhan (two women), beirt fhear (two men), beirt aibhléiseóirí (two electricians) and so on are perfectly correct.

In parts of Ulster, beirt is also used to refer to animals or inanimate objects. There are gramatical subtleties however. Tá dhá ghloine agam (I have two glasses) is correct. Tá beirt ghloine agam is not. But where the noun is not specified, for instance in reply to being asked how many glasses you had, beirt on its own would be correct.

The personal numbers between one and twenty-three in Irish are:

  1. duine
  2. beirt
  3. triúr
  4. ceathrar
  5. cúigear
  6. seisear
  7. seachtar (also mór-sheisear)
  8. ochtar
  9. naonúr
  10. deichniúir
  11. aon duine dhéag
  12. dáréag
  13. triúr déag
  14. ceathrar déag
  15. cúigear déag
  16. seisear déag
  17. seachtar déag
  18. ochtar déag
  19. naonúr déag
  20. fiche duine
  21. duine is fiche
  22. beirt is fiche
  23. triúr is fiche

Do not confuse seisear (six people) with the similar word seisrach (a team of six horses).