Nia is an aspiring writer from Powys, Wales. She attended Welsh-medium primary and secondary school, and is passionate about preserving the beautiful Welsh language and culture. She speaks some French, and is currently learning Arabic.
One fascinating feature of the Welsh language is the use of reflexive verbs, which are formed by adding the prefix ym– to the beginning of a verb. This prefix indicates that the subject of the action is also its recipient, making the verb reflexive in nature. Of course, words change over time, and some words …
One of my favourite walks as a child was to Water-Break-Its-Neck in Warren Wood, near New Radnor. I loved to watch the fierce white dŵr (water) cascade over the cerrig (rocks), amidst thick green mwsogl (moss). Water-Breaks-Its-Neck, of course, is an example of a rhaeadr (waterfall). It’s far from the only one worth visiting in Wales …
When I was about eight or nine, one of my friends from England came to stay with my family and me during the school term, and she even came into school with me for one day. It was definitely a very confusing day for her, as all our lessons were in Welsh! I’m not sure …
Everyone knows that modern Welsh is full of English loan words. This is definitely expected given that Wales and England sit next to each other, and it’s almost inescapable when you consider the history of the Welsh language’s endangerment under English linguistic dominance. For better or for worse, English loanwords are part of the fabric …
Cymru (Wales) is famous for its miles and miles of arfordir (coast) – 1680 to be exact. In fact, aside from the land border with Lloegr (England), this small country is surrounded entirely by moroedd (seas). Môr Iwerddon (the Irish Sea), Môr Celtaidd (the Celtic Sea), Môr Cymru (St George’s Channel / Welsh Sea), and …
Do you have a hoff liw (favourite colour)? A lot of people go for porffor (purple). In Welsh as in English, this word functions mainly as an adjective, though it can also be used as a masculine noun. porffor purple It’s no coincidence that porffor starts with the letter p, just like the English translation. …
What’s the single best thing you can do to improve your skills and confidence when speaking a new language? The answer, without a doubt, is sgwrsio (chatting). sgwrsio chatting Since this word comes from sgwrs (a conversation), you might initially be temped to translate it as conversing. This is a fine translation, but I think …
The Welsh word hudol can be used in a variety of ways. Most simply, it means magical, a synonym of dewinol. But it’s also very often used to mean enchanting / bewitching, either in a literal way or to describe attractiveness. As an extension of this, people historically might have also translated it along the …
A few months ago, we published an article about the Welsh word hawdd (easy). I’m sure many of you read that article and thought the word anodd (difficult) would be much more relevant to your everyday life! anodd difficult Most likely, it originally comes from the word hawdd itself, with a negative prefix added to …
If there’s one thing that’s enwog (famous) about Cymru (Wales), it’s got to be y tywydd gwael (the bad weather)! As you can see from that phrase, the Welsh word for weather is tywydd. The concept of weather is generally considered uncountable, so it’s not normal to need to use a plural for it. However, …
