Reference Guide

Gaelic Glossary for Hillwalkers

Decode the language of Scottish mountains. Every word below appears in real Munro names — with pronunciations, meanings, and links to the routes where you'll find them.

Scottish mountain names aren't just labels — they're descriptions, written in Gaelic by people who lived among the hills. Stob Dubh is the "black peak". Coire Gaothach is the "windy corrie". Learn the vocabulary below and you'll start reading the landscape itself. For a deeper dive into how these words fit together, see our full guide to understanding Gaelic mountain names.

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Pronunciation tip: Scottish Gaelic spelling follows its own rules. The letter combinations bh and mh are pronounced like v. A ch is a guttural sound like in "loch". Lenition — when an h appears after the first consonant — softens the sound. If a word looks unpronounceable, the table below will help.