Local Drinks

1. tae

   Tea

   Usage

   Ireland has one of the highest per-head tea consumptions in the world. It is brewed strong and taken with milk by default, so asking for "tae" gets you tea with milk. A cup is a "cupán tae"

   Grammar Note

   Masculine noun; the genitive is also "tae"

2. caife

   Coffee

   Usage

   "Caife" covers both the drink and the café itself. Irish coffee is a different thing: it is called "deoch caife Gaelach"

   Grammar Note

   Masculine noun

3. bainne

   Milk

   Usage

   In everyday use it is what goes into tea. There is also the older expression "leann bó" (literally "cow-liquid") for milk, but "bainne" is the ordinary modern word

   Grammar Note

   Masculine noun

4. bláthach

   Buttermilk

   Usage

   The sour milk left after churning butter. It is what makes soda bread (arán sóide) rise, and it has long been drunk on its own. You will find it in the dairy aisle of any supermarket

   Grammar Note

   Feminine noun, genitive "bláthaí". Being feminine, it lenites a following adjective: "bláthach mhilis" (sweet buttermilk) and "bláthach ghéar" (sour buttermilk)

5. sú oráiste

   Orange juice

   Usage

   A glass of orange juice is "gloine sú oráiste"

   Grammar Note

   "Sú" (juice, masculine) followed by the genitive of "oráiste" (orange), which has the same form in the genitive

6. líomanáid

   Lemonade

   Usage

   In Ireland "lemonade" may bring you the local red lemonade; the clear kind is distinguished as "white lemonade". There is no set Irish term for this colour distinction, so name the colour in English if it matters

   Grammar Note

   Feminine noun, genitive "líomanáide"

7. leann sinséir

   Ginger ale

   Usage

   "Leann sinséir" is ginger ale. "Leann" on its own means ale or beer, but in this compound it names the non-alcoholic ginger drink

   Grammar Note

   "Leann" (masculine) followed by "sinséir", the genitive of "sinséar" (ginger)

8. uisce

   Water

   Usage

   Pubs and restaurants will give you tap water for nothing; a glass is a "gloine uisce". This is the "uisce" of "uisce beatha" (water of life), the phrase behind the English word "whiskey"

   Grammar Note

   Masculine noun

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