Today’s article is all about Siôn Corn (Father Christmas)! The Welsh Santa Claus is named after corn simnai (a chimney-stack) – translated literally into English, he would be called something like John Stack. You may also hear some people borrow the English name Santa Claus directly into Welsh, spelt Santa Clôs. Siôn Corn Father Christmas …
Have you had anything cyffrous (exciting) to dathlu (celebrate) recently? Well, read on to learn how to talk about it in Welsh with today’s word of the day! dathlu to celebrate Dathlu has one of the most curious etymologies of any word we’ve discussed on this blog so far. That’s because it was literally made …
Today’s Welsh word of the day is llawen, a festive adjective that I normally translate as joyful, but that you could also read as merry or jolly. It’s most familiar in the expression Nadolig Llawen, which is the Welsh way of saying Merry Christmas. llawen joyful Sometimes in North Wales, you’ll hear it pronounced like …
Reason as a noun in Welsh is rheswm. The plural form of it is rhesymau (reasons), and the verb form is rhesymu (to reason). Then there’s also direswm (without reason, gratuitous), rhesymol (reasonable), and its antonym afresymol (unreasonable). rheswm tongue rhesymau reasons The word can also sometimes be used more broadly – as in to …
Do you often find yourself getting tripped up by false friends in Welsh? If so, one to get familiar with so you can make sure this doesn’t happen is ffynnon. At first glance, it doesn’t look like an English word, but when being said quickly in conversation it often sounds like funnel. But that’s not …
The most common Welsh word for shelf is silff. This is a feminine noun with the plural silffoedd (though some people say silffiau instead). silff shelf silffoedd shelves Although silff is a loan word from English, it doesn’t actually come directly from shelf. Interestingly, it was borrowed from an obsolete Cornish dialectical variant of it, …
One of the most amusing quirks of growing up in Wales is that many students who stay in Welsh-language education throughout high-school won’t know the English words for certain scientific and technical vocabulary. While, as a general rule, all Welsh speakers today also speak English fluently, there are often certain blind spots for words you’d …
Today’s Welsh word of the day is ceisio, a verb which has a few usages, but which more often than not means to try. Read and on we’ll discuss how you can ceisio – and hopefully llwyddo (succeed) – to incorporate this word into your vocabulary. ceisio to try Ceisio is the verbal form of …
Now, I’ll be the first to argue that the joke that ‘Welsh has no vowels’ isn’t really true, but occasionally a word comes up where even I have to admit that an extra vowel or too wouldn’t go amiss. Abl (able or able-bodied) is one such word, which is probably why many speakers, especially in …
What’s your favourite diod (drink) to order at a caffi (café) or bwyty (restaurant)? There’s not many as danteithiol (delicious / indulgent) as an ysgytlaeth (milkshake). Multiple milkshakes are ysgytlaethau, though remember that we don’t use the plural when counting nouns in Welsh. So to order two milkshakes for yourself and your date, you’d simply …