Some emotions, like hapusrwydd (happiness) or cariad (love), we gladly welcome into our lives, while others, such as tristwch (sadness) or rhwystredigaeth (frustration), we tend to avoid or suppress, even though they, too, have important roles in helping us grow as individuals. One such unpleasant emotion is fear, known as ofn in Welsh.
ofn
fear
This masculine noun comes from the Middle Welsh ofuyn, which in turn owes its origin to Proto-Celtic *oβnus meaning fear. Its plural form is usually ofnau, but you may also encounter ofnawr or the rare form ofnion.
Because ofn begins with a vowel, there are no mutations. However, it is influenced by h-prosthesis, where words that begin with vowels sometimes add an h sound onto the beginning. This happens after ei (his/hers) when it is used to mean hers, after ein (our), and after eu (their). This means you would say ei hofn (her fear), ein hofnau (our fears) or eu hofnau (their fears).
Roedd ei hofnau yn gyfiawn.
Her fears were legitimate.
While in the north, ofn is pronounced as you hear it above, it is often heard as ofon in the south.
If you want to express the idea of being afraid of something, you can use the formula mae ofn [rhywbeth] ar [rywun], which can be literally translated as “the fear of [something] is on [someone].” Mae is the present tense, third-person conjugation of bod (to be).
Because ofn is the subject of the sentence, rather than the person who has the fear, this sentence will always be in the third person. So even if you are talking about yourself, you should still use mae.
The thing you are afraid of should come after ofn. As you can see below, the form of the preposition ar changes according to the person it is referring to.
- Mae ofn X arna i = I am afraid of X
- Mae ofn X arnat ti = You are afraid of X
- Mae ofn X arno fe / arno fo = He is afraid of X
- Mae ofn X arni hi = She is afraid of X
- Mae ofn X arnon ni = We are afraid of X
- Mae ofn X arnoch chi = You (all) are afraid of X
- Mae ofn X arnyn nhw = They are afraid of X
Mae ofn corrod arna i.
I am afraid of spiders.
Keep in mind that you can switch the order of ofn and ar. So, just as you can say mae ofn ar John, you can also say mae ar John ofn.
If that weren’t confusing enough, there are even more ways to say I’m afraid depending on whether you’re in the north or south of Wales. While bod ofn ar is the standard form, in the north, you might hear mae gen i ofn (literally “fear is with me”), whereas in the south, mae ofn (gy)da fi (also literally “fear is with me”) and dw i ofn (“I fear”) are more commonly used in everyday speech.
Did you know that…
Just as in English, the expression Mae ofn arna i (I’m afraid) can be used to express a polite or formal apology or regret.
Does dim te ar ôl, mae ofn arna i. = There’s no tea left, I’m afraid.
Related to ofn are several useful terms, including the verb-noun ofni (to fear), the adjective ofnus (fearful / scared), and the handy expression rhag ofn, which literally translates as for fear but means just in case.
Cefais y cot allan, rhag ofn y byddai’n bwrw glaw.
I got my coat out, just in case it rained.
If you want to say that you are beside yourself with fear, there are a few idiomatic expressions you can use in Welsh:
- Mae arna i ofn trwy waed fy nghalon = I have fear through the blood of my heart
- Mae arna i ofn drwy fy nhin = I have fear through my teeth
- Mae llond bola ofn ‘da fi = I have a stomach full of fear
