Not all words translate easily from one language to another, and mynnu is one of those in Cymraeg (Welsh). It usually means to insist on doing something or to persist in doing something, but can also seem more like to want or to wish.
mynnu
to insist
Mynnu comes from the proto-Celtic *menneti, meaning to will or to wish. It’s distantly related to cognition-related words in English such as mentality. There is also a word similar to mynnu in Cornish, which is mynnes, meaning to wish, to want, or to intend.
Soft mutation
fynnu
Nasal mutation
N/A
Aspirate mutation
N/A
It often refers to a course of action which a person intends and insists on, and so one of the most common ways to see mynnu used is followed by a verb:
- mynnu cael gwneud rhywbeth = to insist on getting to do something
- mynnu cael gwybod = to demand to know
- mynnu dod = to insist on coming
- mynnu siarad Cymraeg = to insist on speaking Welsh (something learners should do wherever possible!)
But it can also be followed by a noun phrase, concrete or abstract, representing what someone demands, requires, or insists on having:
- mynnu mwy o arian = to demand more money
- mynnu hyblygrwydd = to require flexibility
- mynnu cydweithrediad = to insist on co-operation
- mynnu gair = an idiomatic phrase meaning to beg a word with someone
Notice that when the English translation includes a preposition, e.g. to insist on, there is still no preposition included in the Cymraeg.
Mae’r cyngor yn mynnu mwy o amser i baratoi ar gyfer y digwyddiad.
The council are demanding more time to prepare for the event.
Lastly, it’s commonly paired with a dependent clause. You can read more about dependent clauses in Cymraeg here. They often start with bod, nad, or mai.
- mynnu nad yw’n wir = to insist that it’s not true
- mynnu bod rhaid iddo adael = to require that he must leave
- mynnu mai gweithiau mae o = to insist that he’s working
- mynnu eich bod chi’n gwrando arni = to demand that you listen to her
Other words that express similar meanings are taeru and haeru, which both mean to insist or to maintain, for example of a point, and amodi, which means to stipulate but is quite formal. Honni is another good one – to claim or to assert.
You can also use gofyn (to ask) in much the same way as mynnu when you are saying that you are requiring or demanding something of someone – gofyn rhywbeth gan rywun and mynnu rhywbeth gan rywun are essentially synonymous as phrases.
If you are talking about require more strictly as in to need, without the connotation of to demand, you’ll probably want to be using angen or eisiau. The former is more common in the North and you’ll hear both in the South. These two words are both technically nouns, not verbs, but are often used as verbs, so their grammar can be a bit confusing. You can read more about them both here.
Most of the examples I’ve given so far have referred to demanding or insisting on something, but I mentioned at the start of the article that mynnu can also mean wanting or wishing.
In modern Cymraeg, this is most frequently seen in the great phrase fel y mynnwch (as you wish), or equivalents of it with a different conjugation. For example, to leave someone to gwneud fel y mynnai is to leave them to do as he / she wishes.
Dwi’m yn mynd i wrando arnat ti. Wna i fel y mynna i.
I’m not going to listen to you. I’ll do what I want.
Have you come across the word mynnu before?
