The word gwyn (white) crops up a lot in Welsh poetry, proverbs, and folklore. This is because, as well as being the simple word for a common lliw (colour), it carries religious and mythical undertones relating to blessings and sacredness. gwyn white Its etymology, on the other hand, is fairly mundane. It comes directly from …
Do you have a favourite kind of mwyar / aeron (berries)? I have to admit I find it pretty hard to choose, especially living in the UK where we have so many wonderful options right on our doorstep! One particularly delicious kind of mwyaren (berry) is the sweet and nutritious mafonen (raspberry). Mafon (raspberries) is …
Today’s Welsh Word of the Day is cwmwl (cloud). Along with glaw (rain), clouds are probably the most consistent feature of Welsh weather. Growing up, awyr las (a blue sky) was a rare sight, but it never bothered me; I remember going to the traeth (beach) on grey overcast days and having a great time …
In modern Welsh, the most commonly used word for witch is probably gwrach. Its plural is gwrachod. gwrach witch The etymology of gwrach is uncertain. It seems to come from the Celtic *urakka, but prior to that, the derivation is unclear. An interesting comparison is the word gwraig, which means wife or sometimes woman, and …
Today’s word of the day is sebon, meaning soap. It’s a masculine noun, and the plural form is sebonau, or sometimes, though much more rarely, sebons. You’re more likely to need the plural of bar sebon (a bar of soap), though – which is barrau sebon. sebon soap You might have noticed how similar sebon …
Few animals have had such a great impact on British civilisation as the humble ceffyl (horse). The domestication of horses began in Britain by the 25th century BC. Over the years, they have been used for warfare, agriculture and transportation. Today, horses are kept mostly for recreational purposes, but they remain a much-loved animal across …
One of the top attractions of Cymru (Wales) as a holiday destination, or a place to build a home, has got to be all the amazing cerdded (walking) that you can do! Whether it’s the awe-inspiring peaks of Eryri (Snowdonia) and y Bannau Brycheiniog (the Brecon Beacons), or the picturesque clifftops of Wales’ 1,700 miles …
Hardd is a common Welsh word meaning beautiful. It can be used to describe all kinds of people and things, and it shows up often in barddoniaeth (poetry), cerddoriaeth (music), and llên grefyddol (religious writings). hardd beautiful This word likely comes from the word ardd meaning a high place, which is ultimately derived from the …
For today’s word of the day, I want to sôn about the word sôn. This is a really useful Welsh word that in various contexts could be translated as to tell, to talk, to say, or to mention. It’s included in loads of common colloquial phrases. sôn to tell Sôn actually used to be spelt …
When you’re learning a new iaith (language), it’s tempting to focus on memorising lots of nouns and adjectives. They’re easier to relate to everyday life, and much less likely to present confusing grammatical challenges. But adverbs, prepositions and conjunctions are just as important. They’re key if you ever want to be able to use Welsh …