One of the most annoying things for someone trying to learn a new language is when two words sound very similar. Even worse when those two words actually translate back to the same thing in your native language, but can’t be confused in your target language! An example of this for English speakers learning Welsh …
In Welsh, many ‘states of being’ are conveyed with the use of verbs, paired with wedi (after / past): think wedi marw (dead), wedi cynhyrfu (excited), or wedi blino (tired). In some cases the verbs used aren’t ones that have a commonly used single-word equivalent in English, but in Welsh they can be important and …
Did you know that adar (birds) aren’t the only kind of anifail (animal) that build nythod (nests)? Gwenyn / cacwn (wasps) also do the same, as do llygod (mice) and even, bizarrely, aligatorod (alligators). But the nyth (nest) of an aderyn (bird) is distinctive and particularly complex. It can be constructed from a wide variety …
Mis Gorffennaf (July) has to be one of the loveliest misoedd (months) of the blwyddyn (year), and I promise I’m not just biased because it’s my penblwydd (birthday). Gorffennaf July Theoretically, mis Gorffennaf is heulog (sunny), cynnes (warm) and braf (fine). Prime time, then, for gwyliau (holidays), teithio (travel), partis (parties), and spending time in …
One of the most universal experiences when learning a new language – or, to be honest, speaking in any language! – is baglu [dros eich] geiriau (tripping over words). Baglu means to trip or to stumble. It can be very literal, as in baglu dros eich traed (tripping over your feet), or metaphorical, as in …
Recently, I’ve been looking forward to visiting my parents’ house even more than normal, since they recently got a ci bach. Ci bach means puppy, but it is also literally a small dog. In reality Penny (that’s her name) is going to be a very big ci indeed, because she’s a ci Labrador (Labrador). Specifically, …
Do you have any Welsh words you’ve learnt that you think are particularly hyfryd (lovely)? If so, we’d love to hear about them – and you never know, maybe one will be our next word of the day! But today’s word of the day is hyfryd itself, an adjective that’s pronounced like this: hyfryd lovely …
Llipa is a word that to me really sounds like what it means – limp, flaccid, or floppy. It can also be used in a non-literal sense to mean that something is weak or feeble, as in the phrase esgus llipa (a feeble excuse). Antonyms for llipa could include caled (hard) and cryf (strong), since …
I’ve always loved the Welsh word clustog, meaning cushion or pillow, because I find it so unique, with the first part of the word clust meaning ear. You’d think that naming pillows after ears wouldn’t be that common, but in actuality I was wrong – clustog’s not unique because French has the very same construction …
Our Welsh word of the day today is gwag. This is an adjective which means empty – including empty-headed! It can also, for some contexts, mean vain. The antonym is llawn or llond (full), depending on the context. gwag empty Gwag has been a Welsh word for a very long time, appearing in Old Welsh …