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 of the top attractions of Cymru (Wales) as a holiday destination, or a place to build a home, has got to be all the amazing cerdded (walking) that you can do! Whether it’s the awe-inspiring peaks of Eryri (Snowdonia) and y Bannau Brycheiniog (the Brecon Beacons), or the picturesque clifftops of Wales’ 1,700 miles …
Hardd is a common Welsh word meaning beautiful. It can be used to describe all kinds of people and things, and it shows up often in barddoniaeth (poetry), cerddoriaeth (music), and llên grefyddol (religious writings). hardd beautiful This word likely comes from the word ardd meaning a high place, which is ultimately derived from the …
For today’s word of the day, I want to sôn about the word sôn. This is a really useful Welsh word that in various contexts could be translated as to tell, to talk, to say, or to mention. It’s included in loads of common colloquial phrases. sôn to tell Sôn actually used to be spelt …
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 …
