Some Welsh words are incredibly tricky for me to remember, but today’s word – dibynnu (a verb-noun meaning to depend or to rely) – isn’t one of them! I always link it to the phrase “the bunny,” said as if I were speaking an urban Brooklyn accent. If you can find little memory hooks like this, no matter how silly they seem, they can make learning new vocabulary so much easier!
dibynnu
to depend / to rely
Dibynnu is thought to derive from the Middle Welsh dibynnu of the same spelling, which in turn comes from Proto-Brythonic *dibɨnnɨd, from the Latin dēpendeō. The inflected colloquial forms of the verb-noun can be found below, but be aware that it is just as acceptable to use the corresponding periphrastic forms (e.g. ‘Wnes i ddibynnu = I depended; ‘Wna i ddibynnu = I will depend), especially in colloquial Welsh.
| Future | Conditional | Past | |
| First person singular | Dibynna (i) I will depend | Dibynnwn (i) I would depend | Dibynnais (i) I depended |
| First person plural | Dibynnwn (ni) We will depend | Dibynnen (ni) We would depend | Dibynnon (ni) We depended |
| Second person singular / informal | Dibynni (di) You will depend | Dibynnet (ti) You would depend | Dibynnaist (ti) You depended |
| Second person plural / formal | Dibynnwch (chi) You will depend | Dibynnech (chi) You would depend | Dibynnoch (chi) You depended |
| Third person singular | Dibynniff/ Dibynnith (ef/hi) He / she will depend | Dibynnai (ef/hi) He/she would depend | Dibynnodd (ef/hi) He/she depended |
| Third person plural | Dibynnan (nhw) They will depend | Dibynnen (nhw) They would depend | Dibynnon (nhw) They depended |
Dibynnu is subject to just two of the three kinds of mutation:
When using the word dibynnu, you’ll often see it paired with the prepositions ar (on) and am (for), as in the phrase dibynnu ar (rhywun) am (rhywbeth) – meaning to depend/rely on (someone) for (something). Ar changes form when combined with a pronoun, if a pronoun is present, of course.
- arnaf fi / arna i = on me
- arnat ti = on you (singular)
- arno ef/fe/fo = on him
- arni hi = on her
- arnom ni / arnon ni = on us
- arnoch chi = on you (plural/formal)
- arnynt hwy = on them (formal)
- arnyn nhw = on them (colloquial)
Dw i’n dibynnu arnat ti.
I’m relying on you.
Mae lot o bobl yn dibynnu ar y rhwydwaith iechyd meddwl am help.
A lot of people rely on the mental health network for help.
From dibynnu, we get a number of derived terms that will certainly enrich your vocabulary if you can remember them! Dibynadwy means dependable or reliable, while the opposite is annibynadwy, meaning undependable or unreliable. Dibynnol is the word for dependent, and dibyniaeth is dependence or reliance.
Finally, we have dibyn, which means a precipice or cliff. A cliff, you ask? What does that have to do with depending or relying on something? Well, it all ties back to an older, now obsolete meaning of dibynnu (to hang or dangle). (In modern Welsh, this meaning has mostly been replaced by the verb-nouns hongian and crogi.) Interestingly, when dibyn is used as an adjective, it means hanging, dangling, suspended, or steep. If this little etymological adventure is making you feel a bit dibyn-dobyn (topsy-turvy), I wouldn’t blame you one bit!
