Irish Terms of Endearment: A Stór, Mo Chuisle, Acushla and More (With Pronunciation)

The most-loved Irish terms of endearment are a stór (my treasure), a chroí (my heart), a ghrá (my love), a chuisle (my darling, literally "pulse"), a mhuirnín (my darling) and a rún (my dear, literally "secret"). Irish speakers put the little word "a" in front when they're talking directly to someone, a bit like saying "O treasure" or "my treasure." Some of these words even crossed into English centuries ago, which is where "acushla," "asthore" and "mavourneen" come from.

This guide gives you each word in correct Irish spelling, a simple pronunciation, the meaning, and a short note on how it's used. Every Irish word here was checked in Foras na Gaeilge's official dictionaries: Ó Dónaill's Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla (Irish-English) on teanglann.ie and the New English-Irish Dictionary on focloir.ie. We also explain the two bits of grammar that make these words look different from their dictionary forms, so you'll never write one wrong on a card.

Irish terms of endearment at a glance

Here are the classic Irish terms of endearment you'll hear and read most often. The pronunciations are simple guides for English speakers. Irish has three main dialects (Connacht, Munster and Ulster), so you'll hear slightly different versions in different parts of Ireland. In the guides, "kh" is the throaty sound in Scottish "loch."

Irish	Say it like	Literal meaning	Used as
a stór	uh STORE	O treasure, store	darling, my dear
a chroí	uh KHREE	O heart	my dear, sweetheart
a ghrá	uh GHRAW	O love	my love, my dear
a chuisle	uh KHWISH-leh	O pulse, O vein	my darling
a mhuirnín	uh WUR-neen	O darling	my darling, my dear
a rún	uh ROON	O secret	my dear one, my love
a thaisce	uh HASH-keh	O treasure, hoard	my dear
a chuisle mo chroí	uh KHWISH-leh muh KHREE	O pulse of my heart	my heart's beloved
grá mo chroí	GRAW muh KHREE	love of my heart	my heart's beloved, my darling
mo mhíle stór	muh VEE-leh STORE	my thousand treasures	my dearest love

Two quick tips. First, "a" here is said like the "a" in "about," never like the letter A. Second, the "gh" in "a ghrá" is a soft, breathy sound made at the back of the throat. If that's hard, a gentle "g" will still be understood.

The grammar behind the words: "a," "mo" and the added h

If you look up "chroí" in a dictionary, you won't find it. You'll find croí. The extra "h" comes from a sound change called lenition (in Irish, séimhiú, pronounced SHAVE-oo). Lenition softens the first consonant of a word, and in writing it's shown by adding an h after that letter.

Two little words cause lenition in almost every endearment:

• a, the vocative particle. The vocative is the form you use when you speak directly to someone, as in "Come here, a stór." It has no exact English match, but it works like an old-fashioned "O" or a warm "my."
• mo, meaning "my." The Ó Dónaill dictionary entry for mo notes that it lenites the next word and is written m' before a vowel. Its own examples include Mo ghrá thú! ("I love you!") and m'anam ("my soul," used as an exclamation).

How lenition changes the letters

Dictionary form	After "a" or "mo"	Sound change	Example endearment
croí (heart)	chroí	k becomes the throaty "kh"	a chroí, mo chroí
grá (love)	ghrá	g becomes a soft, breathy "gh"	a ghrá, mo ghrá
cuisle (pulse)	chuisle	k becomes "kh"	a chuisle
muirnín (darling)	mhuirnín	m becomes "w" or "v"	a mhuirnín
taisce (treasure)	thaisce	t becomes "h"	a thaisce
searc (love)	shearc	s becomes "h"	mo shearc
peata (pet)	pheata	p becomes "f"	a pheata
stór (treasure)	stór (no change)	s before t doesn't change	a stór
rún (secret, dear one)	rún (no written change)	l, n and r don't take a written h	a rún

That's why "a stór" and "a rún" look unchanged while "a chroí" and "a ghrá" gain an h. Words starting with s plus t (and a few similar pairs, like sc and sp) don't lenite. Words starting with l, n or r change their sound slightly in some dialects, but the spelling stays the same.

The m' and the "mh" sound

When "mo" comes before a vowel, it shortens to m', as in m'anam. And "mh" and "bh" can sound like "v" or "w" depending on the vowels around them and the dialect. That's why mo mhíle stór sounds like "muh VEE-leh store," while a mhuirnín often sounds like "uh WUR-neen." The old English spelling "mavourneen" captures the "v" version.

A stór and a thaisce: calling someone your treasure

The single most famous Irish term of endearment is probably a stór. In the Ó Dónaill entry for stór, the word's main meaning is "store," as in a stock, an abundance, or riches. One sense is "treasure, riches," and the dictionary lists a separate sense as a term of endearment: A stór! "Darling!" and mo mhíle stór, "my dearest love." That last phrase literally means "my thousand treasures."

The English word "store" and Irish stór are close cousins, and the idea is lovely: the person you love is your wealth, the thing you'd save above everything else.

A thaisce works the same way. The dictionary defines taisce as a "store, treasure, hoard," including a bank deposit and the squirrel's cache of nuts, and it lists A thaisce! "My dear!" as a term of endearment. It's a little less common than a stór, which makes it a nice choice if you want something that feels personal.

Why so many treasure words?

Look back over the list and you'll notice a pattern. Stór (store, riches), taisce (hoard, savings) and maoineach (a treasured possession) all start as words about wealth and end up as words for people. Cuid, which means "part" or "share," also became an endearment, and the dictionary even lists "mo chuid den saol," "my earthly store, my all."

English does something similar with "treasure," "precious" and "my everything," but Irish leans into it with unusual warmth. The message behind these words is simple: of everything you own or could own, this person is what you value most. That makes them a thoughtful choice for anniversaries and wedding cards, where the idea of building a life together fits naturally.

Using a stór today

Here's a useful nuance from the official English-Irish dictionary. In the focloir.ie entry for "love," a stór and a chroí are given as forms of address, and the dictionary notes they can be used to someone you don't know. That's like the way some English speakers say "love," "dear" or "hon" to a customer. So you might hear "There you go, a stór" in a shop in an Irish-speaking area. Between partners, it's warmer, but it isn't strictly romantic.

A chroí, a chuisle and the heart words

Irish has a beautiful habit of calling loved ones by parts of the body that keep you alive: the heart, the pulse, the veins.

A chroí: my heart

Croí means "heart." The Ó Dónaill entry for croí runs long, covering the heart as an organ, the core of an apple and the essence of the truth. Near the end, it lists several endearments:

• A chroí! "My dear!"
• Mo chroí thú! (muh KHREE hoo) and Mo chroí (isteach) ionat! (muh KHREE ish-TYAKH UN-ut), both given as "I love you dearly!"
• A rún, a stór, mo chroí, "my heart's beloved."
• A dhuine chroí and a bhean chroí, "my dear man" and "my dear woman."

"Mo chroí thú" is a lovely phrase to know. It's literally "my heart, you," and it's a heartfelt way to say "I love you."

A chuisle: my pulse

Cuisle is one of the most poetic words in the Irish language. The Ó Dónaill entry for cuisle defines it as "vein," then "pulse," and also the forearm or wrist, where you'd feel a pulse. The same entry gives A chuisle mo chroí! as "My heart's beloved!" Literally, it's "O pulse of my heart."

Many Americans first heard this word in a Clint Eastwood boxing film, where it appears as "mo cuishle." In standard Irish spelling, it's mo chuisle (my pulse) or, when calling to someone, a chuisle. The "h" matters, since it's required after both mo and a.

A ghrá, a mhuirnín and a rún: love and darling

A ghrá: my love

Grá is the everyday Irish word for love. According to the Ó Dónaill entry for grá, it covers the love of a mother, of a place, of God, of country, of truth and even of sweets. It also means a "beloved person." The entry lists:

• A ghrá, "my love; my dear."
• Grá mo chroí, "my heart's beloved, my darling."
• A ghrá geal (uh GHRAW GYAL), "dearly beloved, sweetheart." Geal means "bright," so it's literally "bright love."
• Mo ghrá thú! (muh GHRAW hoo), "I love you!"

One fun detail: the dictionary notes that "Mo ghrá thú" can also be used ironically to a flatterer or fair-weather friend, glossed as "I love you while you have something to give." Tone matters in every language.

A mhuirnín: my darling

Muirnín means "darling, beloved, sweetheart," according to the Ó Dónaill entry for muirnín. The entry's examples include mo mhuirnín dílis, "my dearly beloved, my own true love," and a mhuirnín, "my darling, my dear." It can also describe a mother's pet. Dílis (DEE-lish) means "loyal, faithful, dear," so mo mhuirnín dílis is a lovely phrase for a wedding card.

A rún: my secret, my dear one

Rún means "mystery," "secret" and "intention" in everyday Irish. But the Ó Dónaill dictionary also lists the sense "loved one; dear one, friend," with the phrase a rún mo chroí, "oh, love of my heart; my darling." There's a sweet logic to it: the person you love is the secret you keep closest. In stricter grammar and some songs, you'll also see the vocative written a rúin (uh ROO-in). Both forms appear in dictionary examples.

The focloir.ie entry for "darling" confirms the core three nouns, stór, rún and muirnín, and shows them in natural sentences: "seo, a stór," "seo, a rún," "seo, a chroí" (here, darling), and "tar isteach, a chuisle," "tar isteach, a mhuirnín" (come in, my darling), plus "gabh isteach, a thaisce."

Older and less common Irish endearments

Beyond the famous six, Irish has a deep bench of tender words. These are all listed in Ó Dónaill's dictionary on teanglann.ie. Some are a bit old-fashioned or regional, which can make them feel extra special.

Irish	Say it like	Dictionary meaning	Notes
a chumann	uh KHUM-un	"My darling!"	Cumann means friendship, love, companionship; today it also means a club or society
mo shearc	muh HARK	"my love"	Searc is love or a beloved one; a shearc mo chroí is "O love of my heart"
céadsearc	KAYD-shark	first love; dearest one	Céad means "first," so it's literally "first love"
a chuid	uh KHWID	"My dear!"	Cuid means "part, share," so it's like "my portion"
a lao	uh LAY	"my dear"	Lao means calf; mo lao thú is "you are my darling"
a mhaoineach	uh WEEN-yukh	"My dear one! My darling!"	From a word for a treasured possession
a leanbh	uh LAN-uv	"My child! My darling!"	Leanbh means child; used tenderly for loved ones
a pheata	uh FAT-uh	pet, little darling	Peata means pet; peata beag a mháthar is "his mother's little darling"
a chara	uh KHAR-uh	"my friend"	Also the standard "Dear..." opening of a letter in Irish

A few words of caution. "A leanbh" and "a pheata" lean toward children, so between adults they sound playful or teasing. "A chara" is friendly rather than romantic. And "a lao" (calf) is affectionate in Irish even though "calf" wouldn't land well in English, a good reminder that endearments don't always translate word for word.

Words for love itself

If you're writing a card or a poem, it helps to know the plain nouns too. Grá is the everyday word for love. Searc is a more literary love, as in snaidhm seirce, a "true-love knot." Gean (GYAN) means "love, affection," and the dictionary gives the pair grá agus gean, "love and affection." Grámhar (GRAW-wur) means "loving, tender, affectionate."

How to say "I love you" in Irish

Irish doesn't have one single verb that works like English "love." Instead, you usually say that love is "at" you or that you're "in love with" someone. The focloir.ie entry for love gives these options:

Irish	Say it like	Literal meaning	English
Tá grá agam duit.	taw GRAW AH-gum ditch	Love is at me for you.	I love you.
Tá grá agam ort.	taw GRAW AH-gum ort	Love is at me on you.	I love you.
Tá mé i ngrá leat.	taw may ih NGRAW lat	I am in love with you.	I'm in love with you.
Grá mo chroí thú.	GRAW muh KHREE hoo	Love of my heart, you.	You're the love of my heart.
Mo ghrá thú.	muh GHRAW hoo	My love, you.	I love you.
Mo chroí thú.	muh KHREE hoo	My heart, you.	I love you dearly.

Notice "i ngrá," with an n in front of grá. That's another sound change, called eclipsis (urú), which happens after "i" (in). It's the same pattern in the phrase "thit siad i ngrá," "they fell in love," which focloir.ie also lists.

A worked example: writing a short card

Here's an illustrative card message built only from the dictionary phrases above. The names are made up.

A Sheáin, a ghrá,

Mo chroí thú.

Grá mo chroí go deo,

Áine

Line by line: "Seán, my love" (notice that Seán becomes Sheáin when addressed directly, because the vocative "a" lenites names too, and masculine names often change their ending). "I love you dearly." "Love of my heart forever" (go deo, guh JOE, means "forever"). If grammar like "a Sheáin" feels tricky, use a simple pattern instead: "a ghrá" plus your partner's name in a separate line.

Irish endearments for everyday moments

Endearments come alive in short, ordinary sentences. Here are some simple pairings you can use in texts, notes or out loud. Each one combines a common Irish phrase with an endearment from the dictionaries above.

Moment	Irish	Say it like	English
Saying hello	Dia duit, a stór.	DEE-uh gwitch, uh STORE	Hello, darling.
Handing something over	Seo, a chroí.	shuh, uh KHREE	Here, dear.
Welcoming them home	Tar isteach, a chuisle.	tar ish-TYAKH, uh KHWISH-leh	Come in, my darling.
Saying thanks	Go raibh maith agat, a ghrá.	guh rev MAH AH-gut, uh GHRAW	Thank you, my love.
Comforting them	Ná bí buartha, a thaisce.	naw bee BOOR-ha, uh HASH-keh	Don't worry, my dear.
Saying goodbye	Slán, a mhuirnín.	slawn, uh WUR-neen	Bye, darling.
Saying good night	Oíche mhaith, a ghrá. Codladh sámh.	EE-heh WAH, uh GHRAW. KUL-uh SAWV	Good night, my love. Sleep well.

"Seo, a stór," "tar isteach, a chuisle" and "gabh isteach, a thaisce" all appear as examples in the focloir.ie entry for "darling," so you're in good company using them. Mixing a short Irish line into an English text is also perfectly normal. A message like "Running late, a stór, see you soon" is the kind of thing bilingual families send every day. If you like short, sweet texting names, our guide to texting nicknames has more ideas.

Try it yourself: add the h

Here's a quick practice round to lock in lenition. Each word below is in its dictionary form. Write it the way it would appear after "a" (when calling to someone). Answers follow the list.

1. croí (heart)
2. grá (love)
3. stór (treasure)
4. taisce (treasure, hoard)
5. rún (secret, dear one)
6. cumann (friendship, darling)
7. muirnín (darling)
8. cuid (part, share)

Answers: (1) a chroí. (2) a ghrá. (3) a stór, with no change, because s before t doesn't lenite. (4) a thaisce. (5) a rún, with no written change, because r doesn't take a written h. (6) a chumann. (7) a mhuirnín. (8) a chuid.

Now try the same words after "mo." The rule is the same, so you'd write mo chroí, mo ghrá, mo stór, mo thaisce, mo rún, mo chumann, mo mhuirnín and mo chuid. If you got all of those, you can now spell the core Irish terms of endearment more reliably than plenty of souvenir shops.

Talking to someone versus talking about them

English uses "darling" both ways: "Hi, darling" and "She's my darling." Irish separates these more clearly. When you speak to your partner, use "a" plus the endearment: "Cá bhfuil tú, a ghrá?" (kaw will too, uh GHRAW), "Where are you, my love?" When you describe your feelings in a full sentence, use one of the "I love you" patterns, such as "Tá grá agam duit." And set phrases like "grá mo chroí" or "mo mhíle stór" can stand alone as a sweet line on a card.

From Irish to English: acushla, asthore and mavourneen

Long before most Americans heard Irish spoken, Irish endearments were traveling into English. Irish emigrants, songwriters and novelists wrote them down using English spelling, and some ended up in English dictionaries. Here's how the English forms map back to the Irish.

English spelling	Irish source	Meaning	Earliest known English use
acushla	a chuisle	darling (literally "O pulse")	1825, per Merriam-Webster
macushla	mo chuisle	darling (literally "my vein, my blood")	not given
asthore	a stór	treasure, as a term of endearment	not given
mavourneen	mo mhuirnín	my darling	1800, per Merriam-Webster

The Merriam-Webster entry for acushla traces it to Irish a cuisle, "oh darling," from a "oh" plus cuisle, "darling, literally pulse, vein," going back to Old Irish. It dates the first known use to 1825. The Merriam-Webster entry for mavourneen traces it to Irish mo mhuirnín and dates its first known use to 1800. Merriam-Webster also lists macushla (from mo chuisle) and asthore (from a stór).

These English spellings tell you how the words sounded to English ears two centuries ago. "Mavourneen" shows the "v" sound of mh, and "asthore" shows a stór said with the vowels drawn out. They also show something sweet: of all the Irish words English speakers could have borrowed, endearments were among the ones that stuck. For more English-language sweet talk from across the water, see our guide to British terms of endearment.

Pronunciation tips for Irish terms of endearment

Irish spelling looks intimidating, but it follows rules. Once you know a handful, these words get much easier.

• "ch" is like "loch." It's never "ch" as in "church." So chroí is "khree."
• "th" and "sh" are usually just "h." Thaisce is "HASH-keh," and shearc is "hark."
• "bh" and "mh" are "v" or "w." Next to a, o or u they often sound like "w" (a mhuirnín, "uh WUR-neen"). Next to e or i, they're usually "v" (mhíle, "VEE-leh").
• "ph" is "f." A pheata is "uh FAT-uh."
• The accent mark (síneadh fada) makes a vowel long. Stór has a long "o," grá has a long "aw," rún has a long "oo." A fada changes meaning, so don't drop it.
• "s" next to e or i often sounds like "sh." That's why cuisle is "KWISH-leh" and searc is "shark."
• Dialects differ. Connacht, Munster and Ulster Irish each have their own sounds. Teanglann.ie has recordings you can play for many words, which is the best way to hear them before you say them to someone.

Common mistakes with Irish endearments

Irish phrases are popular for tattoos, rings, wedding programs and cards. Here are the slips we see most often, so you can avoid them.

1. Dropping the h. "Mo croí" and "a cuisle" are wrong. After mo or a, it's mo chroí and a chuisle.
2. Adding an h where it doesn't belong. "A shtór" is wrong. S followed by t doesn't lenite, so it's a stór.
3. Dropping the fada. Stor, gra and run without accent marks are misspellings, and some fadas change the meaning of a word entirely.
4. Mixing "a" and "mo." Use "a" when you're talking to someone ("Come here, a ghrá"). Use "mo" for "my" inside a phrase or sentence, as in "grá mo chroí" (love of my heart) or "mo ghrá thú," which is a complete sentence meaning "I love you." Dropping "mo" into an English sentence ("He's mo ghrá") is fun, but it's a mix of two languages, not Irish.
5. Treating a stór or a chroí as always romantic. As focloir.ie notes, both can be used to people you don't know, like "dear" in English.
6. Copying film or song spellings. Spellings like "mo cuishle" come from scripts and lyrics, not dictionaries. Check any phrase against teanglann.ie or focloir.ie before it goes on anything permanent.

Do Irish endearments change for men and women?

Good news: the endearment itself doesn't change with the gender of the person you're talking to. "A ghrá," "a stór," "a chroí" and "a chuisle" work for a husband, a wife, a boyfriend, a girlfriend or any partner. The grammar follows the gender of the word (cuisle is feminine, stór and grá are masculine), not the gender of your sweetheart.

Names are different. When you call someone by name, the vocative "a" lenites the name too, and many masculine names also change their ending. So Seán becomes "a Sheáin," Pádraig becomes "a Phádraig," and Máire becomes "a Mháire." Feminine names usually just take the h. If you're unsure about a name, it's fine to use the endearment on its own, which needs no special spelling.

Same grammar, different feelings

The vocative "a" isn't only for sweet words. It's the ordinary way to address anyone in Irish. The Ó Dónaill dictionary's entry for this little particle lists examples like "a dhuine uasail" (Sir) and "a amadáin!" (you fool!). So the same grammar that gives you "a ghrá" also gives you polite and teasing forms of address.

That's worth knowing for two reasons. First, it explains why you'll hear "a" everywhere in Irish conversation, not just between couples. Second, it means the endearment word does all the emotional work. "A chara" (my friend) is how you'd start a formal letter, while "a chuisle" is something you'd only say to someone very dear. Choosing the word is choosing the feeling.

Choosing an Irish term of endearment for your partner

If you want to use one of these words with your own person, here's a simple way to choose.

• For everyday sweetness: a stór or a chroí. They're easy to say and widely understood.
• For something deeply romantic: a chuisle mo chroí, grá mo chroí, or mo mhíle stór.
• For a written card or vow: mo mhuirnín dílis ("my own true love") or a ghrá geal ("my bright love").
• For something less common: a thaisce, a rún or mo shearc.
• For a heritage nod in English: acushla, asthore or mavourneen.

If you have Irish family, ask an older relative which words they grew up hearing. Endearments are often passed down in families, and the version your grandmother used may have its own regional sound. You can also compare Irish with other languages in our guide to pet names from around the world, or with romance-language favorites like French pet names and Italian pet names.

How we checked every word

All Irish words and phrases in this guide were looked up in the dictionaries published by Foras na Gaeilge, the official body for the Irish language: Niall Ó Dónaill's Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla (1977), searchable at teanglann.ie, and the New English-Irish Dictionary at focloir.ie. Where a word's endearment sense wasn't listed in those dictionaries, we left it out. The English loanwords and their dates come from Merriam-Webster. Pronunciations are simplified guides, and since Irish has strong regional accents, we recommend listening to dictionary recordings before using a phrase out loud.

Wrap-up: the warmest words in Irish

Irish terms of endearment turn everyday words into love: a store becomes a treasure, a pulse becomes a darling, a secret becomes a sweetheart. The core set to remember is a stór, a chroí, a ghrá, a chuisle, a mhuirnín and a rún. Add the "h" after a and mo, keep the fadas, and you'll write them like a native speaker.

Looking for more names to call your person? Try our free nickname generator. You choose who it's for (boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, fiancé or fiancée, crush or partner), pick a vibe such as cute and sweet, romantic, funny, flirty, unique or classic, and add optional flavors. Each pick comes with a "why it works" note, and you can save favorites to a shortlist or try the Couple Name Mixer. For more inspiration, browse our full guide to terms of endearment or our ideas for nicknames for your partner.

Choosing an Irish Endearment at a Glance

This table matches the moments you might need an endearment for with the Irish terms the article suggests, and what each one means.

Occasion	Terms to try	What they mean
Everyday sweetness	A stór, a chroí	O treasure; O heart. Easy to say and widely understood
Something deeply romantic	A chuisle mo chroí, grá mo chroí, mo mhíle stór	Pulse of my heart; love of my heart; my thousand treasures
A written card or vow	Mo mhuirnín dílis, a ghrá geal	My own true love; my bright love
Something less common	A thaisce, a rún, mo shearc	O treasure or hoard; O secret or dear one; my love
A heritage nod in English	Acushla, asthore, mavourneen	Darling; treasure; my darling

Frequently Asked Questions

What does a stór mean in Irish?

A stór means darling or my dear. The word stór literally means store, stock or treasure, so calling someone a stór is like calling them your treasure. Ó Dónaill's Irish-English dictionary lists A stór! as Darling! and the phrase mo mhíle stór as my dearest love, literally my thousand treasures. It's pronounced roughly uh STORE. The official English-Irish dictionary notes that a stór can also be said to someone you don't know, much like dear or love in English, so it's warm but not always romantic.

What does mo chuisle mean?

Mo chuisle means my darling, and literally my pulse or my vein. Cuisle is the Irish word for a vein or pulse, and Ó Dónaill's dictionary gives the phrase a chuisle mo chroí as my heart's beloved, literally pulse of my heart. When you call someone directly, the usual form is a chuisle, said roughly uh KHWISH-leh. The English word acushla comes from a chuisle, and macushla comes from mo chuisle. A well-known Clint Eastwood boxing film used the spelling mo cuishle, but the standard Irish spelling is mo chuisle.

How do you say my love in Irish?

To call someone my love in Irish, say a ghrá, pronounced roughly uh GHRAW. Grá is the everyday Irish word for love, and the vocative particle a changes it to ghrá. Other ways to say it include grá mo chroí, love of my heart, and a ghrá geal, my bright love or sweetheart. To say the sentence I love you, the official English-Irish dictionary gives tá grá agam duit. You'll also hear mo ghrá thú, which Ó Dónaill's dictionary translates as I love you.

Why do Irish words add an h after a and mo?

The added h shows lenition, a sound change called séimhiú in Irish. Certain little words, including the vocative particle a and the possessive mo, meaning my, soften the first consonant of the next word. In writing, that softening is shown by an h after the letter, so croí becomes chroí and grá becomes ghrá. Some letters don't take the h. Words starting with s followed by t, like stór, stay the same, and words starting with l, n or r don't show a written change.

What is the difference between a chroí and mo chroí?

Both use croí, the Irish word for heart. A chroí is the form you use when speaking directly to someone, like saying my dear or sweetheart while talking to them. Mo chroí means my heart and is used inside phrases, as in grá mo chroí, love of my heart, or mo chroí thú, which Ó Dónaill's dictionary translates as I love you dearly. In both cases, croí becomes chroí because a and mo cause lenition. Neither is more correct; they just fit different kinds of sentences.

What does a rún mean in Irish?

A rún means my dear one or my love. The word rún normally means a secret, a mystery or an intention, but Ó Dónaill's Irish-English dictionary also gives the sense loved one, dear one or friend, with the phrase a rún mo chroí, oh love of my heart, my darling. It's pronounced roughly uh ROON. You may also see it written a rúin, the stricter vocative form, especially in older songs. The idea behind it is lovely: the person you love is the secret you hold closest to your heart.

How do you pronounce a mhuirnín?

A mhuirnín is usually pronounced uh WUR-neen, though in some areas the mh sounds more like a v, giving uh VUR-neen. The word means darling, beloved or sweetheart. The English word mavourneen comes from mo mhuirnín, and its spelling shows that v sound. Merriam-Webster dates mavourneen in English to 1800. A lovely phrase built on this word is mo mhuirnín dílis, which Ó Dónaill's dictionary translates as my dearly beloved, my own true love. It's a nice choice for a card or vow.

Where do acushla, asthore and mavourneen come from?

They are English spellings of Irish endearments. Acushla comes from a chuisle, my darling or literally O pulse, and Merriam-Webster dates its first known English use to 1825. Asthore comes from a stór, treasure. Mavourneen comes from mo mhuirnín, my darling, first recorded in English in 1800. Macushla comes from mo chuisle. Irish emigrants, songwriters and writers carried these words into English and spelled them the way they sounded to English ears, which is why they look so different from the Irish originals.

Is it okay to get an Irish term of endearment as a tattoo?

It can be a beautiful choice, but check the spelling carefully first. Common errors include dropping the h after mo or a, writing mo croí instead of mo chroí, and leaving off the accent marks called fadas, which can change a word's meaning. Spellings from films, songs and souvenir shops aren't always correct. Look the phrase up in Foras na Gaeilge's dictionaries at teanglann.ie and focloir.ie, and if you can, ask a fluent Irish speaker to confirm the exact wording before anything permanent is done.

Can I use these Irish words if I'm not Irish?

Yes. Irish speakers are generally glad to hear the language used, and endearments like a stór and a chroí are friendly, everyday words. The key is to use them with care: spell them correctly, try to pronounce them properly, and know what they mean. Some, like a leanbh, my child, or a pheata, pet, lean toward children, so they sound playful between adults. Others, like a chara, my friend, aren't romantic. Picking a word and learning its story is a thoughtful way to show affection.

Sources

We checked every source below while writing this guide. Last reviewed October 30, 2026, by Joan Ramos.

1. stór, Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla (Ó Dónaill, 1977) (Foras na Gaeilge (teanglann.ie))
2. croí, Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla (Ó Dónaill, 1977) (Foras na Gaeilge (teanglann.ie))
3. cuisle, Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla (Ó Dónaill, 1977) (Foras na Gaeilge (teanglann.ie))
4. grá, Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla (Ó Dónaill, 1977) (Foras na Gaeilge (teanglann.ie))
5. muirnín, Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla (Ó Dónaill, 1977) (Foras na Gaeilge (teanglann.ie))
6. mo, Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla (Ó Dónaill, 1977) (Foras na Gaeilge (teanglann.ie))
7. darling, New English-Irish Dictionary (Foras na Gaeilge (focloir.ie))
8. love, New English-Irish Dictionary (Foras na Gaeilge (focloir.ie))
9. acushla (Merriam-Webster)
10. mavourneen (Merriam-Webster)