We all know that Welsh is full of loanwords. But a common misconception regarding Welsh loan words is that they’ve all been pinched directly from modern spoken English very recently. In actuality, many of them are much older borrowings, having been taken from Latin or from Old English hundreds of years ago. Variants of eclipsio …
When you get the chance to speak Welsh with someone after all that practice, do you llyncu (gulp) with anxiety and find yourself unable to speak? Or are you excited to face your fears and llyncu’ch balchder (swallow your pride) if something goes wrong? Be it gulping or swallowing, the verb llyncu is what you …
Did you know that gwenu (smiling) is the first golwg (expression) that humans ever learn? Though babanod (babies) don’t begin to gwenu consciously and in recognition of others until they are about two months old, from the moment we’re born we’re able to produce automatic gwenau (smiles) in response to pleasurable teimladau (sensations). gwenu to …
One way to remember the Welsh word for to complain is that it sounds like a cross between the two most common words for a fox – cadno and llwynog. I don’t know if foxes are known for cwyno (complaining), but either way, it’s quite a fun mnemonic. cwyno to complain You won’t be surprised …
Carthu is an interesting Welsh word meaning to purge or to cleanse. It works well in descriptive language, particularly if you’re trying to be poetic. It also becomes useful in a couple of set phrases. Because carthu finishes with the mysterious Welsh letter u, its pronunciation differs between North and South Wales. In the latter, …
Are you able to explain how you’re teimlo (feeling) in Welsh? If not, it might be time to incorporate this very useful verb into your vocabulary. teimlo to feel Teimlo refers both to someone’s state of meddwl (thought / mind) and emotions, and to physically touching and feeling the byd (world) around us using our …
I only had one other friend from Wales at university, and she didn’t come from a Welsh-speaking family or go to Welsh-medium school. However, in Wales, all students do have to learn Welsh as a second-language, as you might learn French or German. I was quite intrigued to know what words and phrases she had …
We’re almost at the end of another November, so what better time to talk about this common word? The Welsh word for November is ‘Tachwedd’, which is the eleventh month of the Gregorian calendar. Gweiadur states that the original definition of ‘Tachwedd’ was probably ‘Tynnu tua’r diwedd’, which means the end is near, i.e. the …
Today’s Welsh word of the day is sglodion (chips). Most people know sglodion as the tasty salty treat made of tatws (potatoes). It can also refer to chips or shavings of wood, or of any material really – though a lot of people instead call these naddion, which comes from the same root as the …
Did you know that in Welsh, there is just one for word for marriage as a concept, a marriage, and a wedding? The word in question is priodas, and marriages or weddings is priodasau. priodas marriage / wedding priodasau marriages / weddings I don’t know of any common synonyms for priodas in either sense – …