Welsh (Cymraeg) is a language spoken by 29% of the population, or around 870,000 people, in Wales (Cymru), according to a 2020 population survey. Welsh speakers are found in every part of Wales, but the highest percentages are in communities in the north and west of the country, where 50% or more use the language every day. There is a sizeable Welsh-speaking diaspora in the rest of the UK, but especially in England (Lloegr), along the border and in its larger cities. The language is also spoken by several thousand people in the Chubut province of Argentina (yr Ariannin), as well as by people scattered around the world. All Welsh speakers old enough to attend school in Wales also speak English, while those in Argentina speak Spanish.

Welsh is a Celtic language closely related to Breton and Cornish, and more distantly to Irish, Manx, and Scottish Gaelic. It has also adopted many loanwords from Latin, French, and English, although the spelling and pronunciation of such words has often been radically altered; for instance, the English verb to smoke and the Latin noun leo (lion) are barely recognisable as ysmygu or llew. The Welsh of Patagonia (Cymraeg y Wladfa) has taken on some loanwords from Spanish not found in British dialects.

Pronunciation guide

Welsh is a relatively phonetic language, with most letters having only one pronunciation. Complications may arise with the various consonantal digraphs, particularly "dd" which is represented in English as "th" as in "breathe", while "th" is represented in English as "th" as in "think"; "ll" is a famously difficult (and common) sound for non-Welsh speakers to produce - made by positioning the tongue at the top front of the mouth and blowing, and represented here as "lh". "Ch" is always pronounced like the German name "Bach" or the Scottish "loch"; the sound which appears in the English word "church" is represented by "ts".

There are relatively minor pronunciation differences between northern and southern Welsh, most notably that "i" on the one hand and "u" and "y" are two distinct sounds on the other in the north, while in the south these letters are pronounced identically as the sound of "i".

Unless overridden by an accent mark, the stress in Welsh words nearly always falls on the last but one syllable of a word. As syllables get added to words, for example to denote a plural or a female person of a particular occupation, the sound of a word can change dramatically.

Welsh is written in a version of the Latin alphabet containing 29 letters, including 8 digraphs which count as separate letters for collating purposes (and crossword puzzles): a, b, c, ch, d, dd, e, f, ff, g, ng, h, i, j, l, ll, m, n, o, p, ph, r, rh, s, t, th, u, w, y.

The letters v, x and z do not exist in normal Welsh usage, but have been adopted from English for limited use e.g. in personal names. "K" is regarded as redundant in Welsh as the sound is always represented by "c", but it is found in the prefix "kilo-", although "cilo-" is always acceptable.

Vowels

Vowels in Welsh can have accent marks, most commonly the circumflex (^), called the to bach (little roof), which lengthens the sound of the vowel, and the acute (´), which shortens it. Occasionally the diaeresis (¨) appears, dividing two vowel sounds from each other. Vowel sounds tend to resemble those of major continental European languages rather than English.

There are seven vowels in Welsh, which have both short and long forms. The following sounds are only approximations in English:

a

like "pat"

â

like "father"

e

like "pet"

ê

like "pear"

i

like "pit"

î

like "machine"

o

like "pot"

ô

"port"

u

like "pit" (South Wales)

like a French "u" as in "tu" (North Wales)

û

like "machine" (South Wales)

longer version of French "u" as in "tu" (North Wales)

w

when followed by a consonant or at the end of a word, like "u" in "put"

when followed by a vowel, like "w" in "well"

ŵ

like "oo" as in "moon"

y

when the only or last vowel in a word, like "i" in "pit"

when earlier in a word, like "u" in "put"

NB: in a few common words, such as fy (my) and dy (your), y is pronounced as in "put"

ŷ

like "machine"

Consonants

b

like "b" in "bed".

c

like "c" in "cat".

ch

like "ch" in German "Bach" or Scottish "loch".

d

like "d" in "death".

dd

like "th" in "the".

f

like "v" in "van".

ff

like "f" in "fun".

g

like "g" in "garden".

ng

like "ng" in "pong". Sometimes, like in "finger".

h

like "h" in "heart".

j

like "j" in "jump"

l

like "l" in "link".

ll

place the tongue at the top of the mouth, and blow.

m

like "m" in "meet".

n

like "n" in "news".

p

like "p" in "pen".

ph

like "ph" in "philosophy".

r

like "r" in "red" (well rolled, as in Scottish pronunciation).

rh

an aspirated, breathy "r".

s

like "s" in "state".

si + vowel (not a consonant, but a sound)

like "sh" in "shore".

t

like "t" in "time".

th

like "th" in "think".

ts + vowel (not a consonant, but a sound)

like "ch" in "chocolate"

Common diphthongs

Only southern forms unless otherwise stated. English approximations are also given.

ae

like "eye".

ai

like "eye".

au

like "aye", with a rounded closing sound. When used as the plural marker, often pronounced "ah" in the north and "eh" in the south.

aw

like "ow!".

ei

like "ey" in "hey!"

eu

like "ey" in "hey!", but with a rounded closing sound.

ew

like "eh-oo" said quickly.

ey

like "ey" in "hey!".

iw

like "you".

oe

like "oy" in "boy".

oi

like "oy" in "boy".

ou

like "oy" in "boy".

uw

like "you".

wy

like "oo-ee".

yw

like "you" (in monosyllables).

yw

like "uh-oo" (in polysyllabics).

The differences between some of the diphthongs are often very subtle.

Grammar

Grammatically, Welsh is relatively complex with two grammatical genders, masculine and feminine, which all nouns are assigned to, and also masculine and feminine forms of the numbers "two" "three" and "four" which have to match the gender of the object being counted; there are also two separate counting systems, decimal (base 10) and the more traditional vigesimal (base 20). The phenomenon of mutation is a characteristic of the Celtic languages, where the initial letters of words change depending on the grammar of the sentence, which can make tracking words down in a dictionary difficult.

Phrase list

Basics

Hello.

Helo. (Hello)

Hello. (informal)

S'mae. (s-my) (north) / Shwmae (shoo-my?) (south))

How are you? (formal)

Sut ydych chi? (north) Shwd ych chi? (south)

How are you? (informal)

Sut wyt ti? (north) Shwd wyt ti? (south)

Fine, thank you.

Iawn, diolch. (yown, DEE-ol'ch)

What is your name? (formal)

Be' ydy'ch enw chi? (bay UHdi'ch ENoo ch'ee?)

What is your name? (informal)

Be' ydy dy enw di? (bay UHdi duh ENoo dee?)

My name is ______ .

______ ydy f'enw i. (_____ you ven-oo ee.)(South) ______ (North)

Nice to meet you.

Braf cwrdd â chi. (Brahv corth ah khi)

Please.

Os gwelwch chi'n dda. (Ahs guWELLuch in tha)

Thank you [very much].

Diolch [yn fawr]. (DEE-ol'ch [un vowr])

You're welcome.

Croeso. (CROY-so)

There are no exact equivalents of "yes" and "no" in Welsh; the concept is conveyed grammatically with regard to agreement between the person and tense by indicating agreement or disagreement e.g. "yes there is" or "no there is not", which is said in different ways depending on how the question was phrased. If the question begins "Oes...?" or "A oes...?" ("Is there...?") then the reply is "oes" or "nac oes"; if the question begins "Ydy...?" ("Is...?") then the reply is "ydy" or "nac ydy" etc

Yes.

Ie (ee-yeah)

No.

Na (Nah)

Excuse me. (getting attention)

Esgusodwch fi. (es-gis-OD-oo'ch vee)

Excuse me. (begging pardon)

Esgusodwch fi. (es-gis-OD-oo'ch vee)

I'm sorry.

Mae'n ddrwg gen i. (My uhn th'roog gen ee)

Goodbye (Formal)

Da bo chi. (Da BO ch'ee)

Goodbye (Informal)

Hwyl! (hooill)

I can't speak Welsh [well].

Alla i ddim siarad Cymraeg [yn dda]. (Alh'a ee thim SHARad kym-RYE-g [uhn tha])

Do you speak English?

Ydych chi'n siarad Saesneg? (UD-ich ch'een SHARad SAYES-neg?)

Is there someone here who speaks English?

Oes rhywun yma sy'n siarad Saesneg? (Oyss RHEEW-in UMma seen SHARad SAYES-neg?)

Help!

Help! (Help)

Look out!

Hendiwch! (HEN-dyoo'ch!)

Good morning.

Bore da. (BOR-eh dah)

Good afternoon.

Prynhawn da. (PROINhaun dah) (North)

Good evening.

Noswaith dda. (NOSS-why-th thah) (South) (NOSS-waith-thah) (North)

Good night.

Nos da. (NOHS dah)

Good night (to sleep)

Nos da. (NOHS dah)

I don't understand.

Dw i ddim yn ddeall. (DWEE thim in THEEall)

Where is the toilet?

Ble mae'r tŷ bach? (Blay my'r tee bahch?)

Numbers

0

dim (dim)

1

un (een)

2

dau (die) (m); dwy (doo-ey) (f)

3

tri (tree) (m); tair (tire) (f)

4

pedwar (PED-war) (m); pedair (PED-ire) (f)

5

pump (pimp); pum (pim) before a noun

6

chwech (ch'way'ch); chwe (ch'way) before a noun

7

saith (sayeth)

8

wyth (oo-ith)

9

naw (now)

10

deg (day-g); deng (deng) before a noun

From this point, the first term is the vigesimal form, the second is the decimal form. Replace "dau", "tri" and "pedwar" with "dwy", "tair", and "pedair" as appropriate.

11

un ar ddeg (een ar thayg); un deg un

12

deuddeg (DAY-theg) deuddeng (DAY-theng)before a noun; un deg dau

13

tri ar ddeg (tree ar thayg); un deg tri

14

pedwar ar ddeg (PED-war ar thayg); un deg pedwar

15

pumtheg (PUM-theg), pumtheng (PUM-theng)before a noun; un deg pump

16

un ar bymtheg (een ar BUM-theg); un deg chwech

17

dau ar bymtheg (die ar BUM-theg); un deg saith

18

deunaw (DAY-now); un deg wyth

19

pedwar ar bymtheg (PED-war ar BUM-theg); un deg naw

20

ugain (IG-ine); dau ddeg

21

un ar hugain (een ar IG-ine); dau ddeg un

22

dau ar hugain (die ar HIG-ine); dau ddeg dau

23

tri ar hugain (tree ar HIG-ine); dau ddeg tri

30

deg ar hugain (DAYG ar HIG-ine); tri ddeg

40

deugain (DAY-gine); pedwar deg

50

hanner cant (HAN-ner kant); pum deg

60

trigain (TRIG-ine); chwe deg

70

deg a thrigain (DAYG ah THRIG-ine); saith deg

80

pedwar ugain (PED-war IG-ine); wyth deg

90

deg a phedwar ugain (DAYG ah FED-war IG-ine); naw deg

91

un ar ddeg a phedwar ugain (een ar thayg ah FED-war IG-ine); naw deg un

100

cant (KANT); can (can) before a noun

200

dau gant (die gant)

300

tri chant (tree ch'ant)

1000

mil (meel)

2000

dwy fil (doo-eey veel)

1,000,000

miliwn (MIL-ioon)

number _____ (train, bus, etc.)

rhif _____ (Rheev)

half

hanner (HAN-ner)

less

llai (lhie)

more

mwy (moo-ee)

Time

now

rŵan (ROO-an)[North]; nawr (NOW-r) [South]

later

hwyrach (HOOIR-ach)

before

cyn (kin)

after

wedi (weddy)

morning

bore (BOR-eh)

in the morning

yn y bore (un uh BOR-eh)

afternoon

prynhawn (PRUN-hown) - commonly pronounced p'nown

evening

noswaith (NOSooaith); noson (nosson)

in the evening

gyda'r nos (Gudar nohs)

night

nos (nohs)

Clock time

one o'clock AM

un o'r gloch y bore (een oh'r glo'ch uh bor-eh) - 1:00 y.b.; 01:00

two o'clock AM

dau o'r gloch y bore (die oh'r glo'ch uh bor-eh) - 2:00 y.b.; 02:00

noon

hanner dydd (HAN-ner DEE-th) - 12:00 pm

one o'clock PM, 13:00

un o'r gloch y p'nawn (een oh'r glo'ch uh p'nown) - 1:00 y.p.; 13:00

two o'clock PM, 14:00

dau o'r gloch y p'nawn (die oh'r glo'ch uh p'nown) - 2:00 y.p.; 14:00

quarter to seven, 18:45

chwarter i saith - 6.45 y.h.

quarter past seven, 19:15

chwarter wedi saith - 7.15 y.h.

half past seven, 19:30

hanner wedi saith - 7:30 y.h.

midnight

hanner nos (HAN-ner nohs) 12:00 y.b.

Duration

_____ minute(s)

_____ munud(au) (MINNID(eh))

_____ hour(s)

_____ awr, pl. oriau (our, plural OR-yai)

_____ day(s)

_____ dydd(iau) (DEEth, plural DUTH-yai)

_____ week(s)

_____ wythnos(au) (OOITH-noss, plural ooith-NOSS-eye)

_____ month(s)

_____ mis(oedd)(mees, plural MIS-oeth)

_____ year(s)

_____ blwyddyn, pl. blynyddoedd (BLOOITH-in, plural blun-UTH-oeth)

daily

yn ddyddiol (uhn dhuh-iol)

weekly

yn wythnosol (uhn ooith-NOSS-ol)

monthly

yn fisol (uhn VIS-ol)

yearly

yn flynyddol (uhn vluh-NUTH-ol)

Days

today

heddiw (HETH-you)

yesterday

ddoe (THOY)

tomorrow

yfory (uh-VOR-ee)

last night

neithiwr (NAI-thee-uhr)

the day before yesterday

echdoe (ECH-doy)

the night before last

echnos (ECH-nos)

this week

yr wythnos hon (uhr WITH-nos hon)

last week

yr wythnos diwethaf (uhr WITH-nos dyoo-ETH-av (commonly pronounced "dyoo-ETHA"))

next week

yr wythnos nesaf (uhr WITH-nos NESS-av (commonly pronounced "nessa"))

Monday

Dydd Llun (deethe lheen)

Tuesday

Dydd Mawrth (deethe MOW-rth)

Wednesday

Dydd Mercher (deethe MER-cher)

Thursday

Dydd Iau (deethe IAI)

Friday

Dydd Gwener (deethe GWEN-er)

Saturday

Dydd Sadwrn (deethe SAD-oorn)

Sunday

Dydd Sul (deethe seel)

The word nos can be combined with the names of the days (minus dydd) to mean 'Monday night', 'Tuesday evening', and so on. Because nos is a feminine noun, it mutates some of the following names of days:

Monday evening / night

Nos Lun (nos leen)

Tuesday evening / night

Nos Fawrth (nos VOW-rth)

Wednesday evening / night

Nos Fercher (nos VER-cher)

Thursday evening / night

Nos Iau (nos IAI)

Friday evening / night

Nos Wener (nos WEN-er)

Saturday evening / night

Nos Sadwrn (nos SAD-oorn)

Sunday evening / night

Nos Sul (nos seel)

Months

January

Ionawr (ION-our)

February

Chwefror (CHWEV-ror)

March

Mawrth (MOWRTH)

April

Ebrill (EB-rilh)

May

Mai (MY)

June

Mehefin (me-HEV-in)

July

Gorffennaf (gor-FEN-nav)

August

Awst (OWST)

September

Medi (MED-ee)

October

Hydref (HUD-rev)

November

Tachwedd (TACH-weth)

December

Rhagfyr (RAG-vir)

It's sometimes necessary to put the word mis (month) in front of the name, as some have other common meanings. For instance, Mawrth means both "Tuesday" and "Mars", while hydref means "autumn".

Writing time and date

Dates are written day/month/year. So if you see 04-12-2003, you know that's y pedwerydd o Rhagfyr, not April 12. A date (18-12-1963) fully spelled out is y deunawfed o Ragfyr mil naw chwe tri (you specify the number of thousands, then the individual number of the hundreds, tens, and units; for years from 2000 onwards say "dwy fil" (two thousand) followed by the significant number, omitting the zeroes - thus 2005 is "dwy fil a phump" (two thousand and five), compared with 1987 which was "mil naw wyth saith" ((one) thousand nine eight seven).

The ordinals are as follows. The feminine form is given with feminine nouns.

1st - 1af, cyntaf

2nd - 2il, ail

3rd - 3ydd, trydydd (m.), trydedd (f.)

4th - 4ydd, pedwerydd (m.), pedwaredd (f.)

5th - 5ed, pumed

6th - 6ed, chweched

7th - 7fed, seithfed

8th - 8fed, wythfed

9th - 9fed, nawfed

10th - 10fed, degfed

Times are either written in the 24 hour clock or with hours and minutes separated by a colon or dot and suffixed by "y.b." (y bore),"y.p." (y p'nawn) or "y.h." (yr hwyr) equivalent to "a.m." and "p.m.".

Seasons

spring

gwanwyn (GWAN-win)

summer

haf (haav)

autumn

hydref (HUD-rev)

winter

gaeaf (GAI-yav)

Colours

black

du (dee)

white

gwyn (m) / gwen (f) (gwin/gwen)

grey

llwyd (lh'oo-id)

red

coch (KO'ch)

blue

glas (glaas) - note that this word is also used to describe the colour of grass.

yellow

melyn (MELLIN)

green

gwyrdd (m) / gwerdd (f) (gwirth/gwer'th)

orange

oren (ORRen)

pink

pinc (pink)

purple

porffor or glascoch (POR-for or GLASko'ch)

brown

brown (brown)

silver

arian (AR-yan)

gold

aur (ire)

Transportation

Bus and train

How much is a ticket to _____?

Faint yw tocyn i _____ ? (Vy-nt yoo TOK-in ee)

One ticket to _____, please.

Tocyn i _____, os gwelwch yn dda. (TOK-in ee ____ oss GWEL-ookh uhn thah)

Where does this train/bus go?

Ble mae'r trên/bws hwn yn mynd? (blay mire trayn/boos hoon uhn mind?)

Where is the train/bus to _____?

Ble mae'r trên/bws i _____ ? (blay mire trayn/boos i ____)

Does this train/bus stop in _____?

Ydy'r trên/bws hwn yn galw yn _____ ? (Uh deer trayn/bws hoon uhn GA-loo uhn _____)

When does the train/bus for _____ leave?

Pryd mae'r trên/bws i ______ yn gadael? (preed mire trayn/boos i _______ un GAD-ile)

When will this train/bus arrive in _____?

Pryd fydd y trên/bws hwn yn cyrraedd _____ ? (preed veeth uh trayn/boos hoon un KUHR-ithe _____)

a one-way ticket

tocyn sengl

a return/round trip ticket

tocyn dwy ffordd

Directions

Bilingual place names As Wales is bilingual, many places in the country have both a Welsh name and an English name. Very often, these closely resemble one another: Caerphilly (English) ― Caerffili (Welsh) Ruthin ― Rhuthun Sometimes the names are quite different, but you can see the etymological connection: Barmouth ― Abermaw Newtown ― Y Drenewydd Other times, however, the names are completely unalike: Brecon ― Aberhonddu Mold ― Yr Wyddgrug

Where is the _____?

Ble mae'r _____ ? (blay my'r _____)

abbey

abaty (a-BA-tee)

beach

traeth (tryth)

bus/railway station

orsaf fysiau/reilffordd (OR-sav vuh-SHY / RAIL-fordh) (NB: orsaf is a mutation; the base form you'll see on signs is gorsaf)

castle

castell (cas-DELH)

church / cathedral

eglwys / eglwys gadeiriol (eg-LOIS / eg-LOIS ga-DAY-reeol)

farm

fferm (ferm)

house / cottage

tŷ / bwthyn (tee / BUH-thin)

hotel

gwesty (GWES-dee)

island

ynys (UN-iss)

lake

llyn (lheen)

library

lyfrgell (luvr-GELH) (NB: mutation; base form is llyfrgell)

market hall

neuadd y farchnad (NAY-adh uh VARKH-nad)

mountain

mynydd (MUN-idh)

museum / gallery

amgueddfa / oriel (am-ghee-EDH-va / OR-yel)

park / garden

parc / ardd (parc / ardh) (NB: ardd is a mutation; base form is gardd)

port / harbour

porth (porth)

pub

dafarn (da-VARN) (NB: mutation; base form is tafarn)

river / stream

afon / nant (A-von / nant)

town/city centre

canol y dref/ddinas (CAN-ol uh drev / DHI-nas)

North

Gogledd (GOG-ledh')

South

De (day)

East

Dwyrain (DOOY-rine)

West

Gorllewin (gor-LH'EW-in)

Turn left / right

Trowch i'r chwith / dde (trowch eer chweeth / dhe)

Taxi

Taxi

Tacsi

Lodging

hotel

gwesty

bed & breakfast

gwely a brecwast

campsite

gwersyll / maes gwersylla

tent

pabell (pl: pebyll)

caravan

carafán

self-catering

hunan arlwyo

Money

Pound

Punt (peent)

Penny

Ceiniog (CAY-neeog)

Punt and ceiniog are both feminine nouns, meaning the feminine forms of numbers must be used where they exist (i.e. for 2, 3 and 4). Nouns following numbers never pluralise, so whether you're spending one pound or one hundred pounds, you only say punt. The words for 'two' (dau/dwy) do cause the following noun to soft mutate, however:

one pound

un punt (een peent)

two pounds

dwy bunt (doo-ee peent)

two pence

dwy geiniog (doo-ee GAY-neeog)

three pounds

tair punt (tire peent)

four pounds

pedair punt (PED-ire peent)

twenty pence

ugain ceiniog (IG-ine peent)

Eating

bread

bara

potatoes

tatws

chips (i.e. fries)

sglodion

fish

pysgod

poultry

ffowlyn

meat

cig

lamb

cig oen

sausage

selsig

bacon

bacwn

vegetables

llysiau

cabbage

bresych

carrots

moron

cauliflower

blodfresych

garlic

garlleg

laverbread

bara lawr

leeks

cennin

mushrooms

madarch

parsnips

pannas

peas

pys

swede / turnip

maip

tomato

tomato

fruit

ffrwyth

apple

afal

orange

oren

cheese

caws

eggs

wyau

cake

cacen (south), teisen (north)

chocolate

siocled

sweets

losin

butter

menyn

coffee

coffi

tea

te

water

dŵr

juice

sudd

milk

llaeth (south), llefrith (north)

Welsh produce

bwyd o Gymru

sugar

siwgr

salt

halen

pepper

pupur

Bars

pub

tafarn

beer

cwrw

bitter

chwerw

real ale

cwrw go iawn

cider

seidr

wine

gwin

white wine

gwin gwyn

red wine

gwin coch

whisky

chwisgi

vodka

fodca

rum

rym

coke

cola

lemonade

lemonêd

A bottle / Half a bottle

Potel / haner potel

A pint / Two pints, please

Peint / Dau beint, plîs.

crisps (potato chips)

creision (tatws)

nuts

cnau

Cheers! (good health)

Iechyd da!

Shopping

shop / shops

siop / siopau

supermarket

archfarchnad

market

marchnad

dairy

llaethdy

bakery

popty

butcher

cigydd

change

newid

open

ar agor

closed

ar gau

buy

prynu

sell

gwerthu

Driving

road

ffordd

motorway

traffordd

services

gwasanaethau

car park

maes parcio

insurance

yswiriant

accident

damwain

Is there a petrol station here?

Oes na orsaf petrol fan hyn?

Where's the road to Pandy?

Ble mae'r ffordd i'r Pandy?

The road via Gwersyllt is quicker.

Mae'r ffordd drwy Gwersyllt yn gyflymach.

Try to avoid Cefn-y-Bedd.

Ceisiwch osgoi Cefn-y-Bedd.

Is there a prettier route to Brymbo?

Oes ffordd perta i fynd i Frymbo?

Turn left at the old steel works.

Trowch i'r chwith ger yr hen waith dur.

There's nothing to see there.

Does dim byd yna i weld yno.

There's a petrol station in Rossett but Sainsbury's is cheaper.

Mae na orsaf petrol yn Yr Orsedd ond mae Sainsbury's yn rhatach

You can park in Heol Hyfryd for free.

Gewch chi barcio yn Heol Hyfryd am ddim.

Don't park in Bryn Hyfryd it's a rough area.

Peidiwch â pharcio ym Mryn Hyfryd - mae'n ardal ryff.

Authority

police

heddlu (HEDH-lee)

fire station

gorsaf dân (GOR-sav daan)