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 …
Our Welsh word of the day today is helynt (trouble). This noun can mean trouble as in difficulty or bother, and it can also mean trouble more as in a specifically trafferthus (troublesome) situation, like a predicament. It doesn’t mean trouble as in someone’s worries or things that are troubling them; this would be pryderon …
If you’ve been learning Welsh for a while, you may have already encountered our word of the day today, which is afon (river). The plural is afonydd (rivers). This –ydd is a fairly common plural ending in Welsh; for example, it’s used in chwiorydd (sisters). Many, but not all, nouns that are pluralised with –ydd …
The past two months, I’ve been suffering with what seems like a never-ending peswch, the Welsh word for cough. I’ve been given a cwrs o wrthfiotigau (course of antibiotics), so now it’s just a matter of waiting for them to kick in! peswch cough The plural of this masculine noun is pesychiadau. Notice how the …
How do you like to cadw’n heini (keep fit / stay active)? Heinifrwydd or, more commonly, ffitrwydd (physical fitness) is a complex subject since there are many factors – personal and societal – that influence someone’s level of iechyd (health) and abledd (ability). And the word heini is a complex word, too, since though it’s …
Today’s Welsh word is very much associated with llewod (lions), as well as other anifeiliaid (animals), but can also be used to emphasise the uchder (volume) or ffyrnigrwydd (ferocity) of a person’s llais (voice). The verb in question is rhuo, meaning to roar or to bellow. rhuo to roar Above is rhuo pronounced in an …
Nyddu is our Welsh word of the day today. This verb means to spin, in the sense of making edafedd (thread, yarn). It can also be used to describe the actions of a corryn (spider), though gweu (to knit) is also common here, and non-literally to talk about composing barddoniaeth (poetry). nyddu to spin The …
If you’ve been learning Welsh for a while, you may have done a double-take at the title of this article – “What? Royalty isn’t breindal!” In fact, it is, but only in a specific context. A breindal is a royalty as in a tâl (payment) made to someone, like an awdur (author) or dyfeisydd (inventor), …
Eiddew (ivy) is a type of planhigyn prennaidd (woody plant) common across much of the world. It’s known for clinging close either to pridd (soil) or coed (trees). In many European cultures, the fact that eiddew is bythwyrdd (evergreen) means that people associate it with resilience and other spiritual properties. That’s likely the reason behind …