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.
When you’re learning a new iaith (language), it’s tempting to focus on memorising lots of nouns and adjectives. They’re easier to relate to everyday life, and much less likely to present confusing grammatical challenges. But adverbs, prepositions and conjunctions are just as important. They’re key if you ever want to be able to use Welsh …
There are two words you could use to translate the word season into Welsh. One of these is adeg, which refers more generally to either a period of time or a specific of time. The other word, which is the subject of this article, is tymor. Its plural is tymhorau (seasons). tymor season / term …
Living in the UK, I know I’m very lwcus (lucky) to have access to free healthcare through y Gwasanaeth Iechyd Gwladol (the National Health Service). But did you know that the NHS was actually founded by a Cymro (Welshman)? Aneurin Bevan was health minister of the UK’s post-World War Two llywodraeth (government). He spearheaded the …
When learning a new language, the numbers one to ten are definitely some of the most useful words to have in your arsenal! Today we’re going to talk about the Welsh number pump, which means five. pump five In old Welsh writings, this word was more likely to appear as pymp or pimp, but pump …
The word ennill is a good example of how languages can’t always be easily mapped onto each other, as there’s no one English word that sums up all of its meanings. Ennill means to earn, to win, or to gain. ennill to earn / to win / to gain We don’t know what the exact …
Wouldn’t it be nice if the English word for Cymru, Wales, had something to do with whales? In fact, it comes from an old German word meaning foreigner, and Cymru means just the opposite – compatriot. Neither has anything to do with the large marine mammals that in Cymraeg (Welsh) we call morfilod (whales). morfil …
Did you know that there are a whopping 40,000 churches in the United Kingdom? They’re buildings that are important to many of us, whether that’s for religious reasons, or simply because they’re a space to engage with community, admire beautiful architecture, and take time to reflect. The same is true in Wales, which is home …
There are two words for to wake up in Welsh: deffro and dihuno. As is often the case with common alternatives, the difference comes down to regional dialects—one is more common in the North, and the other in the South. Admittedly, I have a soft spot for the way I speak, and in this case, …
The Welsh word meaning to move is symud, although as you’ll see, it’s not really as broad as its English equivalent. Read on to discover when to use it and when to symud i ffwrdd (move away) from this simple word! symud to move The above clip is me pronouncing symud in my mid-Wales accent. …
One of my absolute favourite feelings in the world is boarding the trên (train) at Amwythig (Shrewsbury) when traveling from England to Wales. That moment marks the start of my journey on Rheilffordd Canol Cymru (The Heart of Wales Line), and it never fails to make me smile. It’s a sleepy, scenic little llinell (line), …
