Do you remember, remember the 5th of November? I don’t know about you, but that old rhyme is permanently ingrained in my mind. I’ve always loved the cyffro (excitement) of watching the tân gwyllt (fireworks), smelling the cŵn poeth (hot dogs), hearing the plant (children) shouting as they whirl sbarclyr (sparklers) through the air, and …
Today’s Welsh word of the day is glân, which means clean or, more rarely, pure. glân clean, pure Glân starts with a g, so it’s susceptible to y treiglad meddal (the soft mutation) and y treiglad trwynol (the nasal mutation). In practice, though, you’re very unlikely to see an adjective undergo the nasal mutation, and …
Some words seem simple at first glance, yet conceal a remarkable depth of meaning within their origins. The Welsh phrase ar ôl is a perfect example – rich with layers that might bamboozle even the most experienced of Welsh learners! ar ôl after / left But first, a little about the etymology. Ar ôl comprises …
Today’s Welsh word of the day is traws. This little word has a few different uses, and often appears as a prefix meaning across; it’s very similar to the English prefix trans. traws trans / cross Traws is used as a prefix in words such as trawsblannu (to transplant), trawsgyweirio (to modulate/transpose) and trawstorri (to …
For a long time, I wasn’t certain that having children – or plant in Welsh – was the right path for me. Even into my mid-30s, the idea felt overwhelming, especially since I still felt, in many ways, like a child myself! But my son has brought such immense joy and meaning into my life …
A common phrase that many Welsh learners start out with is dw i’n hoffi coffi (I like coffee) since a lot of people are amused by the fact that it rhymes. It certainly makes it easier to remember! Coffi is a masculine noun. It can be pluralised, and the plural form is coffïau or, informally, …
Are you revelling in the cosy nights? Have you filled your Pinterest boards with the latest autumnal trends? Are you cwtched up on the sofa with a piping cup of siocled popeth (hot chocolate). Perhaps you’ve already cranked up the gwres (heating)! Yr Hydref (autumn) is my favourite time of year. From crisp mornings to cosy evenings in with …
Today’s Welsh word of the day is rhag. This little word is quite difficult to translate; it can have so many different meanings, including against, before, from and lest. In broad terms, rhag is used when discussing precautions and prevention. You will often see rhag appear where the prefix pre- appears in English. rhag against …
Have you ever heard the Welsh folk song Cyfri’r Geifr, also known as Oes Gafr Eto?One of the first words I picked up at the beginning of my Welsh learning journey was from this song – cynffon – which means tail or appendage. The plural is the very regular cynffonnau. cynffon tail / appendage cynffonnau …
Coginio (cooking) is supposed to be about getting everything just right – not too much or too little of anything, be it halen (salt), pupur (pepper) or tsili (chilli). When it comes to garlleg (garlic), though, I just can’t bring myself to take that advice. Any pryd o fwyd (meal), in my opinion, is improved …