One of the best things about being bilingual is being able to slip between ieithoedd (languages) to best convey whatever you’re feeling or saying in the moment. There are some words and phrases I pretty much always say in English, no matter who I’m talking to, and some that I always say in Welsh. A …
Now, I have to admit that the reason I’ve chosen today’s Welsh word of the day is very shallow – I just think it looks and sounds fun! The word in question is onglog, meaning angular. onglog angular As you can hear from the pronunciation clip above, the central ng sound is gentle like in …
Today’s Welsh word of the day is the verb credu (to believe). You may not immediately find credu an easy word to cofio (remember), because it’s quite different from its English translation. But it’ll instantly become a lot easier when you realise that it comes from the exact same root as the similar English nouns …
Today’s Welsh word of the day is a bit of a quirky one, and one you may not even have come across before! It’s deiliant, and it means foliage, or sometimes more specifically newly sprouted leaves. deiliant foliage There is no plural of deiliant. This is for two reasons. Firstly, it originally comes from the …
Today’s Welsh word of the day is adduned (plural: addunedau), a feminine noun which means resolution. This word is most commonly used in the phrase adduned Blwyddyn Newydd (New Year’s resolution), but adduned can also mean vow, as in addunedau bedydd (baptismal vows) or addunedau priodas (wedding vows). adduned resolution addunedau resolutions The word adduned …
I’ve nattered on here plenty of times about how Cymru (Wales) is gwlad y gân (the land of song), but only because it’s true! Today, I thought we’d discuss a very specific kind of cân (song), that being a child’s hwiangerdd (lullaby). Hwiangerdd is a feminine noun with the plural form hwiangerddi (lullabies). hwiangerdd lullaby …
What was your favourite tegan (toy) to chwarae (play) with as a plentyn (child)? Try telling me in Welsh – and if that sounds like a step too far right now, don’t worry. Sit back and read on, and we’ll give it another go at the end of the article! 😉 Tegan, of course, is …
Today’s word of the day is carw (plural: ceirw) which is the Welsh word for deer or reindeer. This is a masculine noun that is susceptible to all three mutations. carw deer / reindeer Soft mutationgarw Nasal mutationngharw Aspirate mutationcharw At this time of year, you’re probably hearing quite a lot about ceirw Siôn Corn …
Today’s article is all about Siôn Corn (Father Christmas)! The Welsh Santa Claus is named after corn simnai (a chimney-stack) – translated literally into English, he would be called something like John Stack. You may also hear some people borrow the English name Santa Claus directly into Welsh, spelt Santa Clôs. Siôn Corn Father Christmas …
Have you had anything cyffrous (exciting) to dathlu (celebrate) recently? Well, read on to learn how to talk about it in Welsh with today’s word of the day! dathlu to celebrate Dathlu has one of the most curious etymologies of any word we’ve discussed on this blog so far. That’s because it was literally made …