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 – …
The primary school I went to had two separate ‘streams’, one taught in English with supplementary Welsh lessons, and one taught in Welsh with supplementary English lessons. I remember that the English stream kids used to find the Welsh word moron absolutely hilarious – because it sounds like the English moron meaning idiot. Of course, …
One of the best anrhegion (presents) I’ve ever received was something I didn’t even know existed until I opened it! My rhieni yng nghyfraith (parents in law) gave me a hedgehog house – basically a little shelter to put in yr ardd (the garden) along with food, to help out hedgehogs in the cold gaeaf …
Of all the flaws, one that I’d definitely love to remove from myself is diogi! This noun means laziness or sloth, and it also works as a verb meaning roughly to laze about. diogi laziness / to laze about Both senses of diogi are derived from the adjective diog (lazy). The addition of the -i …
There aren’t many things that evoke as much llawenydd (joy) as dawnsio (dancing), whether it’s at a clwb (club), a gwers (lesson / class), or just around your cegin (kitchen). I suppose that’s why we have the phrase dawnsio o lawenydd (to dance for joy) in both languages! One of my favourite Welsh-language canueon (songs) …
When learning a new language, one of the most useful types of vocabulary to get to grips with is the kind you’ll need for ysgrifennu (writing) things like llythyron (letters) and ebostiau (emails). And that’s where today’s word of the day comes in: annwyl – which means dear, but can also carry the meaning of …
The Welsh verb meaning to drink or drinking is yfed. It’s pronounced like this: yfed to drink But some people in the South say this instead: Yfed comes from the Old Welsh iben, and much, much, further back, from the proto-Indo-European root *pibeti. There’s no evolution in meaning, with the word having always referred to …