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.
Our Welsh word of the day today is rheoli, which has a whole range of different meanings. To rule, to manage, to govern, to direct, to control, to regulate – they can all be expressed in some way or another through the one simple word rheoli. rheoli to rule / to manage Rheoli is the …
Today’s Welsh word of the day is unig. It’s a fun one because it actually has two meanings: only and lonely. You may think this would lead to a lot of confusion, but there’s actually a simple trick to tell them apart which we’ll get to in a moment. unig only / lonely Unig probably …
Today’s Welsh word of the day is rhaglen. It means programme – that’s program for many of our readers outside the UK, and in computing contexts – and its plural is rhaglenni (programmes). I’m afraid I have no rhaglen for the cynnwys (contents) of this erthygl (article), so if you’re keen to know where this …
We all know that Welsh is full of loanwords. But a common misconception regarding Welsh loan words is that they’ve all been pinched directly from modern spoken English very recently. In actuality, many of them are much older borrowings, having been taken from Latin or from Old English hundreds of years ago. Variants of eclipsio …
When you get the chance to speak Welsh with someone after all that practice, do you llyncu (gulp) with anxiety and find yourself unable to speak? Or are you excited to face your fears and llyncu’ch balchder (swallow your pride) if something goes wrong? Be it gulping or swallowing, the verb llyncu is what you …
Did you know that gwenu (smiling) is the first golwg (expression) that humans ever learn? Though babanod (babies) don’t begin to gwenu consciously and in recognition of others until they are about two months old, from the moment we’re born we’re able to produce automatic gwenau (smiles) in response to pleasurable teimladau (sensations). gwenu to …
One way to remember the Welsh word for to complain is that it sounds like a cross between the two most common words for a fox – cadno and llwynog. I don’t know if foxes are known for cwyno (complaining), but either way, it’s quite a fun mnemonic. cwyno to complain You won’t be surprised …
Carthu is an interesting Welsh word meaning to purge or to cleanse. It works well in descriptive language, particularly if you’re trying to be poetic. It also becomes useful in a couple of set phrases. Because carthu finishes with the mysterious Welsh letter u, its pronunciation differs between North and South Wales. In the latter, …
Are you able to explain how you’re teimlo (feeling) in Welsh? If not, it might be time to incorporate this very useful verb into your vocabulary. teimlo to feel Teimlo refers both to someone’s state of meddwl (thought / mind) and emotions, and to physically touching and feeling the byd (world) around us using our …
I only had one other friend from Wales at university, and she didn’t come from a Welsh-speaking family or go to Welsh-medium school. However, in Wales, all students do have to learn Welsh as a second-language, as you might learn French or German. I was quite intrigued to know what words and phrases she had …
