⚠️ Mature language content
This page is for adults. It covers swearing, insults, and explicit vocabulary in Scottish Gaelic — presented for its genuine linguistic and cultural value, the same way a dictionary of profanity in any language would be. If that's not what you're after, no bother — the Grammar and Resources pages are right next door.
Registers of politeness are marked throughout, but use your own judgement: none of this will land the same everywhere, especially with older folk in rural areas. What you do with any of it is on you.
Swearing and politeness both depend on the context you're in. It isn't polite to say "Hey, pal!" to the King, but it's perfectly fine with a friend, or even a stranger, down the pub. In the same way, it's quite impolite to say "Jesus!" in a church or among strongly religious people — but not in most other settings.
In Gaelic specifically, because there hasn't been a Gaelic-speaking nobility for over 200 years, and there aren't many ministers or priests with Gaelic left either, the highest registers of the language are fading. The lowest registers are disappearing too, in much the same way: swearing is normally picked up from peers, not taught by parents or at school. Because Gaelic isn't much used among young people any more, and now feels natural only in specific settings — church, school, semi-formal community events — there's little chance left to socialise in the kind of casual, unguarded company where swearing gets learned. Historically, women would swear (or at least talk more freely) while washing or waulking cloth together, and men while out on the hill or at sea — informal, friendly company, in both cases.
What counts as swearing at all is also a matter of cultural heritage. Gaelic tradition is closely tied to Christianity, so swearing that invokes religion carries noticeably more weight in Gaelic than the equivalent does in English.
💩 Tapagan (Swears)
Exclamations — the Gaelic equivalent of "damn it!" through to much stronger stuff.
Religious oaths — not fine in church or with strongly religious folk, but safe enough generally.
Be careful with these!
💀 Droch-bheul (Insults)
Words for insulting or cursing someone, plus the terms of abuse themselves.
- mallaich, a' cur mallachd air — to curse/insult somebody
- a' cur tàmailt air — to insult
- fhuair mi droch-bheul — I was insulted
- a' toirt droch-ghuidhe do — to wish ill on somebody
Droch abairtean eile (Other bad expressions)
Everyday frustration and emphasis — the Gaelic "bloody" and "fucking".
Invoking the Devil's name is far stronger in Gaelic than English's fairly mild "the devil" — treat it like the F-word.
Facail ceangailte le feis (Sex-related words)
Words used neutrally for animals (mating, breeding) are always rude when applied to people — that shift matters more in Gaelic than it does in English.
- Bigein — genitalia (general)
- Clachan — testicles (neutral)
- Drabasta — lewd, obscene
- Drabastachd — obscene/lewd material
| Register | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| Neutral | Ball | Ròmag; brillean (clitoris) |
| Informal | Crann; slat | Croiteag; faighean; duille; bodach beag a' bhàta (clitoris) |
| Impolite | Bod | Pit, clais |
| Child language | Clibean; gille | Peàrrsag |
| Register | Verb (to have sex) | Noun (coitus) |
|---|---|---|
| Neutral | Co-laigh, a' co-laighe; co-ghin, a' co-ghineadh | Co-laighe; cleamhnas; co-ghineadh; co-riatain |
| Informal | Maistir, a' maistreadh; marcaich, a' marcachd | Maistreadh; marcachd; obair na h-oidhche; seinn an clàrsaich (lit. "playing the harp") |
| Impolite | Dàir, a' dàireadh | Bogadh; dàir; piteireachd; reitheachas; slataireachd |
References
- MacAoidh, Peadar, & Iain S. Mac a' Phearsain. 2016. An Leabhar Liath – 500 Years of Gaelic Love and Transgressive Verse (Dùn Èideann: Luath Press).
- Newton, Michael. 2014. The Naughty Little Book of Gaelic (Baile Shidni: Cape Breton University Press).