SectionHiker.com Backpacking Gear Reviews and FAQs If you want to hike in Scotland, you need to learn some basic Gaelic words so you can read a map. The maps of Scotland published by the UK’s Ordnance Survey are full of Gaelic place names like Lairg Ghru, Beinn Bhreas, and Monadh Mor. Once translated, these names can give you important clues about the terrain you are likely to encounter and how to match what you are seeing in the landscape to your map.
The most important words to lean are those that describe mountains, rivers and streams, lakes, mountain passes and notches, valleys and colors. They’re easy to pick up with a little practice and prove invaluable when route planning and navigating.
Here’s a glossary of the basic Gaelic words that you need to read an OS map of Scotland. If I’ve left out any words that you think are important to add, be sure to leave a comment.
| Gaelic | Translation |
|---|---|
| a', an | the |
| abhainn, amhainn | river |
| allt | stream |
| aonach | ridge, steep hill |
| ban, bhan | white, fair |
| beag, beg, bheag | small |
| bealach | pass, glen, gap |
| ben, beinn, bheinn | mountain, peak |
| bidean, bidein | peak |
| braigh, brae | hill-top |
| buidhe, bhuidhe | yellow |
| carn | cairn, hill, pile of stones |
| clach | stone, stony |
| cluaine | meadow, lawn |
| cnoc | round hill, knoll |
| coille | wood |
| coire, choire | corrie, hollow |
| creag | crag, cliff, rock |
| còinneach | moss |
| dearg | red |
| donn | brown |
| drum, druim | ridge |
| dubh | black, dark |
| dìollaid, dìollaide | saddle |
| eag, eige | notch, gap |
| eas | waterfall |
| fionn | white, blessed, holy |
| fliuch | wet |
| gaoithe | wind |
| garbh | rough |
| geal | white |
| geodha | chasm, ravine |
| glac | small valley |
| glas, ghlas | grey, green |
| gleann | glen, valley |
| gorm | blue |
| lairig | pass |
| laogh, laoigh | calf |
| leacach | bare summit |
| liath | grey |
| linn | pool, pond, channel |
| lochan | small loch |
| maol | bare top |
| meadhoin | middle, center |
| meall | rounded hill |
| monadh | moor, heath |
| mor, mhor | big, large |
| mòine | peat, mor |
| na, nam, nan | the, of, of the |
| odhar | dun-colored, yellow |
| ruadh | red |
| rèidh | level ground |
| sgurr, stob, stuc | rocky peak |
| srath, strath | wide valley |
| stob, stuib | point, stake |
| tobar, tobair, tobrach | well, spring |
| torr | hill, mountain, mound |
| tur, tuir | tower |
| uaine | green |
| àileach | breezy |
Written 2010.
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I hope you get to see a tàrmachan. They can be hard to spot.
My vetter describes my attempts at gaelic names as a "brave but futile struggle"
They sound absolutely nothing like the words as written down y'know….. I think they make it up as they go along.
Most of the consonants are silent near as I can tell.
bh and mh are pronounced like an English v. th and dh are like an h from the back of the throat. ao is a bit like the flat ü in German with the umlaut. If you treat Gaidhlig as another language and try to learn it you´ll have fun. If you try to pronounce it like English you´ll crash and burn. Sláinte agus beannachd!
Good grief! No attempt to assist with pronunciation?
God no. I swallowed all my marbles the last time I tried to pronounce Gaelic!