How To Say Leg And Foot In Irish

Learners of the Irish language are often surprised to find that in Irish we use the same word, cos /kuss/ to refer to both the foot and the leg.

There is, in fact, there is another word for foot, troigh /trrig/ , but it is seldom used other than to speak of the imperial unit of measurement (i.e. twelve inches). So, while it may seem less than ideal to use the same word for both foot and leg, you will find that Irish does have plenty of nice words to name specific parts of the foot and leg. Let’s take a bitesized look at some of these anatomical terms!

We will start at the top of the leg and gradually work our way down to the tips of our toes.

Firstly, the thigh. One word for thigh in Irish is ceathrú /ka-her-oo/

Another common term for thigh is leis /lesh/

Confusingly for learners, this word is spelled in exactly as the little word that means ‘also’ (not to mention the prepositional pronoun meaning ‘with him/belonging to him’). As is often the case with the irish language, context is everything!

The term for thigh bone is cnámh na leise /kuh-vawv nuh lesh-eh/

Here cnámh means ‘bone’, and an leis (‘the thigh’) is it’s genitive singular form na leise.

Halfway down the leg we reach the knee. The Irish for knee is glúin /guh-loo-in/

This word can also mean ‘generation’ (as in, a cohort of people). When we speak in Irish of songs and folklore being passed from one generation to the next we use the expression ó ghlúin go glúin /oh ghuh-loo-in guh guh-loo-in/

Next stop on our journey down the lower leg is the calf. The Irish word for calf is colpa /kul-pah/

The shin is on the front of the lower leg. The word you need for this in Irish is lorga /lurr-og-ah/

The Irish for ankle is rúitín /roo-it-een/

The term for heel is sáil /saw-il/

And the word for sole is bonn /bown/

So, the sole of the foot is bonn na coise /bown nuh kush-eh/

A term in Irish for toe in Irish is ladhar /ly-er/

We have big toes and little toes (and the ones in-between, if we are lucky!)

The Irish for big toe is ladhar mhór /ly-er voor/

And little toe is, as one would expect, ladhar bheag /ly-er vyug/

Which brings us to my own least favourite part of my anatomy, the toe nail!

The Irish for toenail is ionga laidhre /ung-uh ly-reh/