Every single day, we make penderfyniadau (decisions) – from the little things, like what to have for brecwast (breakfast), to the life-changing, like what gyrfa (career) to pursue or whether to enter into a priodas (marriage). Those are the kind of things you can’t penderfynu ar amrantiad (make a snap decision) about!
Penderfynu (to decide) is a really important verb in Welsh that you’ll use in a wide variety of situations. Read on to master this piece of key vocabulary.
penderfynu
to decide
The etymology of this word is quite interesting. It comes from terfynu (to terminate or to conclude), which kind of implies an understanding of deciding something as bringing about a resolution, or ending a deliberating process. The prefix pen means head and is often used to refer to the end or the top of something. Penderfynu was first recorded in Welsh-language texts in the 1600s.
As is often the case, further words have gone on to be derived from penderfynu itself. I’ve already mentioned penderfyniad (decision), but there’s also penderfynwr (decider), penderfynol (resolute), and even penderfyniaeth (determinism).
It’s worth knowing, too, that a judicial decision is often called a dyfarniad (judgement) instead of a penderfyniad, although either word is fine.
Here are the different mutations this word is subject to:
Soft mutation
benderfynu
Nasal mutation
mhenderfynu
Aspirate mutation
phenderfynu
And let’s quickly go over some example phrases where penderfynu would mutate. First and most common is the soft mutation – this could happen to a verb like penderfynu in a wide variety of situations. One common example would be after the word i (to), such as in the sentence dyn ni’n mynd i benderfynu (we are going to decide).
Secondly, the aspirate mutation would most likely be produced after a (and). For example, in a phrase like trafod a phenderfynu (to discuss and decide).
While it’s not technically impossible for penderfynu to undergo a nasal mutation, it’s highly unlikely. Any sentence that caused this to happen would be grammatically awkward or overly contrived.
Wyt ti wedi penderfynu eto?
Have you decided yet?
Just as we say decide on or decide between in English rather than leaving the word on its own, penderfynu in Welsh is often paired with ‘little words’ – mostly prepositions.
- penderfynu ar = to decide on
- penderfynu rhwng = to decide between
- penderfynu o blaid = to decide in favour of
- penderfynu bod = to decide that
- penderfynu am = to decide about
- penderfynu yn erbyn = to decide against
One important exception is decide to. The literal translation of this would be penderfynu i, but in Welsh you don’t need to add the i. So you can insert penderfynu directly before the phrase describing the decision that’s been made, e.g. penderfynu mynd adref (to decide to go home) or penderfynu prynu’r sgidiau (to decide to buy the shoes).
If you want to be able to recognise and use this word in conversation, the other thing you need to be aware of is its conjugation patterns.
| Future | Conditional | Past | |
| First person singular | Penderfyna (i) I will decide | Penderfynwn (i) I would decide | Penderfynais (i) I decided |
| First person plural | Penderfynwn (ni) We will decide | Penderfynen (ni) We would decide | Penderfynon (ni) We decided |
| Second person singular / informal | Penderfyni (di) You will decide | Penderfynet (ti) You would decide | Penderfynaist (ti) You decided |
| Second person plural / formal | Penderfynwch (chi) You will decide | Penderfynech (chi) You would decide | Penderfynoch (chi) You decided |
| Third person singular | Penderfyniff/ Penderfynith (ef/hi) He/she will decide | Penderfynai (ef/hi) He/she would decide | Penderfynodd (ef/hi) He/she decided |
| Third person plural | Penderfynan (nhw) They will decided | Penderfynen (nhw) They would decided | Penderfynon (nhw) They decided |
As I’m sure you know by now, it’s quite normal in Welsh to use periphrastic conjugations, where the core verb itself doesn’t actually change, but the tense is conveyed by auxiliary verbs. For example, you can say wnes i benderfynu instead of penderfynais i (she decided), or byddi di’n penderfynu instead of penderfyni di (you will decide). In a lot of cases, this actually sounds more natural.
Dyn ni wedi penderfynu cael baban arall!
We have decided to have another baby!
Of course, you can also use synonyms and other similar words to switch it up when talking about penderfyniadau (decisions) – like dewis (to choose), trefnu (to order, to arrange, or to settle), and even pigo (to pick). Words like terfynu and torri (to break) are used when discussing penderfynu rhwng (deciding between) conflicting opinions.
One option I’m particularly fond of is pennu, which also comes from the word pen. It means to set or to establish. Just as we say to set a date when talking about a wedding or other big event in English, we say pennu dyddiad or pennu diwrnod in Welsh.
Are you ystyried (considering) making any big penderfyniadau at the moment? Or perhaps you’d like to share in the comments what made you penderfynu dysgu Cymraeg (decide to learn Welsh)? We’d love to hear from you!
