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.
Sometimes the littlest words are the most useful! One example of a ‘little word’ that can definitely come in handy when speaking Welsh is er. In English, people tend to use this word when they’re not sure what to say next. In Welsh, it means although. er although The exact same word exists in Cornish, …
One thing that’s pretty hard to get used to when you’re first learning Welsh is the sheer level of dialectical variation. On a basic level, vocabulary and grammar tend to vary between the North and South parts of the country, but it’s not as simple as that! In fact, fairly often, a word might be …
How did you discover today’s article? Was it via Gwgl (Google)? Were you sent it gan ffrind (by a friend)? Or, maybe, have you been derbyn (receiving) word-of-the-day email updates from us? derbyn to receive If you’re not subscribed to our cylchlythyr (newsletter), do sign up now – you’ll get sent an e-bost (e-mail) each …
Wy is the Welsh word for egg, and it’s our word of the day today. wy egg The evolution of the word wy is uncertain, but it’s hypothesised that it (and similar words in other Celtic languages) come from a proto-Celtic root word that was something like *auio or *awyom. Catchy! Wy first appeared in …
There’s perhaps no view as universally beloved as that of the enfys (rainbow), a pattern of colours in the sky caused by the movement of light through airborne water. Often seen as symbolising hope, luck, and prosperity, enfysau / enfysoedd (rainbows) inspire artists and dreamers everywhere. enfys rainbow Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru (The University of Wales …
What foods can you think of that people either love or hate? The most popular example has got to be Marmite, but other controversial foodstuffs include olewydd (olives), pysgod (fish), and the subject of today’s article, madarch (mushrooms). madarch mushrooms Before we begin, I’ve got to make my allegiance clear – dw i’n hoffi madarch …
Today’s Welsh word of the day is a bit of a mouthful, but it’s worth getting to grips with as it’s a really useful bit of vocabulary. It’s defnyddio, a verb-noun which means to use. defnyddio to use Defnyddio comes from the combination of the noun defnydd (use) with the suffix -io, which is commonly …
As with most languages, the kind of Welsh you should use depends on the situation you’re in and who you’re talking to. A lot of this depends on how ffurfiol (formal) you need to be. ffurfiol formal Ffurfiol is formed from the noun ffurf (form), combined with the suffix –iol, which is used a lot …
Something very important to consider when designing buildings, planning events, or creating resources is accessibility. This means generally how easy and convenient it is for people to make use of what you’re creating, but it’s often used specifically to refer to accessibility for disabled people. The Welsh word for accessible is hygyrch. hygyrch accessible The …
I always say I wish I had more time in the day to get all my housework done, or to have time to focus on hobbies… but realistically, if you gave me a few extra hours, I’d probably just use it for cysgu (sleeping). cysgu to sleep Cysgu is the verb form of the noun …
