Gwen is a freelance Welsh tutor from Powys, Wales. She was raised in a bilingual family speaking both Welsh and English, which gave her a love of languages. She recently graduated from Oxford University and now uses her free time to learn French and Turkish.
In this article, we’ll be taking a closer look at one of the most common Welsh words: mae. You probably know by now that mae can mean is as in Mae cinio’n barod! (Dinner is ready!) or are as in Mae Elen a Gwilym yn gadael (Elen and Gwilym are leaving). But did you know …
Today’s word of the day is mislif (plural: mislifoedd), which means period or menstruation. The menstrual period is also commonly referred to as misglwyf (plural: misglwyfau), so keep an eye out for both of these variations. mislif period Mislif is a masculine noun and is only susceptible to the soft mutation. Soft mutationfislif Nasal mutationN/A …
Today’s Welsh Word of the Day is cwmwl (cloud). Along with glaw (rain), clouds are probably the most consistent feature of Welsh weather. Growing up, awyr las (a blue sky) was a rare sight, but it never bothered me; I remember going to the traeth (beach) on grey overcast days and having a great time …
Ever since I can remember, fy hoff liw (my favourite colour) has been melyn (yellow). My earliest memory is of my childhood bedroom, which had yellow wallpaper decorated with blue and red teddies. melyn yellow Melyn is only susceptible to the soft mutation: Soft mutationfelyn Nasal mutationN/A Aspirate mutationN/A Melyn comes from the same Proto-Celtic …
Today’s Welsh Word of the Day is gofod, which means space. Just like the English word space, gofod (plural: gofodau) can refer to outer space or simply to a gap (e.g. leave a space for me!). gofod space Gofod is a masculine noun and is susceptible to the soft and nasal mutations. Soft mutationofod Nasal …
Today’s Welsh Word of the Day is man, which means place or spot. You might have seen this word pop up in place names such as Manafon (lit. river place) in Powys and Man-moel (lit. bare place) in Caerphilly. Man is an unusual word because it does not have a set grammatical gender; you can …
Today’s word of the day is pili-pala, which is the Welsh word for butterfly. These insects are many people’s favourite due to their adenydd lliwgar (colourful wings). It’s also a fun word to say out loud! pili-pala butterfly Pili-pala is a masculine noun and is susceptible to all three types of mutation: Soft mutationbili-pala Nasal …
Today’s word of the day is ci, which in English translates to dog. These furry friends are the most popular anifail anwes (pet or literally caress animal) in the UK, with 28% of British adults welcoming one or more dogs into their home, so it’s worth learning to talk about them in Welsh! ci dog …
While Welsh is in many ways more regular than English (for example, in its spelling system), lluosogion, or plurals are unfortunately an area in which Welsh is very irregular indeed! In Welsh, there are several ways of forming plurals, which are often used in combination with each other. BBC Bitesize provides a helpful list, which …
You may have heard the word llawn in the chorus of one of the best-known Welsh songs, Calon Lân: Calon lân yn llawn daioni. This translates to: a pure heart full of goodness. Having grown up in Wales, I’ve been singing these words since primary school, but it wasn’t until more recently that I gave …
