Heather is passionate about everything language-related. Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, she holds a TEFL certification from Aberystwyth University and a Bachelor's degree in Linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. Along with her native English, she speaks Italian, Welsh, and a smattering of Japanese and French.
Anyone who knows me is well aware that I love languages, so much in fact that I spent six years living and breathing the Japanese language, another six years living in Italy (where I met my wonderful husband Mathieu), and as of this summer, four years studying what the Welsh fondly call “iaith y nefoedd” – the language of heaven.
As you cross the border from England into Wales, you will be greeted by the expression “Welcome to Wales” or “Croeso i Gymru” on most signs.
Are you fed up with using the same old hackneyed expression “Iawn, diolch!” whenever someone asks how you are in Welsh?
To be fair, it is by far the most common response to << sut wyt ti >>, even when native Welsh speakers talk amongst themselves, but if, as a learner, you’d like to spice things up a bit, why not give one of the following ten expressions a try!
In standard Welsh, there are different ways of saying “home” depending on the context of the sentence.
The first word cartref, or cartrefi in its plural form, is the generic noun for “home” and is often used in the sense of ‘a home’.
The Welsh word for “blue” is glas or las in its mutated form following feminine nouns.
Dark blue is glas tywyll or dulas, whereas light blue is glas golau or goleulas.
Washed-up jellyfish on the beach are a very common sight in Wales, especially during the summer months. Despite their fearsome reputation, most species are actually quite harmless, inflicting just a mild sting. That said, there are a vicious few such as the Lion’s Mane Jellyfish that can do plenty of damage, even posthumously, so unless you know your jellyfish really well, it’s probably best to avoid touching them!
Have you ever been talking to someone about Welsh, only for them to joke all-knowingly about the total absence of vowels in the language? I know I have, on more than one occasion!
If you’re searching for the Welsh word for love, you probably want to say one of four things:
The Welsh word for dog is ci, or cŵn in the plural form. Because it is a masculine noun, it never mutates after the definite pronoun ‘y’. (e.g. Y ci du – The black dog)
ci
dog
Tywyn is a small town on the Cardigan Bay coast. Located at the southern tip of North Wales near the Dyfi Estuary, it is a popular seaside resort for visitors from all over the UK and abroad thanks to its beautiful stretch of golden beach and close proximity to Snowdonia National Park.
