Welsh/Useful Phrases

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Useful phrases[edit | edit source]

Greetings
Cymraeg English
Croeso (i Gymru) Welcome (to Wales)
Helo/Shwmae Hello
Bore da Good morning
Prynhawn da; P'nawn da Good afternoon
Noswaith dda Good evening
Sut dych chi How are you
Iawn Right/Fine
Da iawn Very good/Well done
Go lew Fine
Ddim yn ddrwg Not bad
Gwael! Awful!
Diolch Thanks
Beth amdanoch chi? What about you?
Hwyl fawr! Goodbye!
Hwyl fawr am nawr! Goodbye for now!
Wela i chi! See you later!
Please and thanks
Cymraeg English
Da Good
Drwg Bad
Mae'n ddrwg gyda fi I'm sorry
Esgusodwch fi Excuse me
Iechyd da! Cheers! (good health)
Dw i ddim yn deall I don't understand
Dw i ddim yn gwybod I don't know
Beth yw ... yn Saesneg? What is ... in English?
Beth yw ... yn Gymraeg? What is ... in Welsh?
Ydych chi'n siarad ...? Do you speak?
Saesneg English
Ffrangeg French
Almaeneg German
Sbaeneg Spanish
Eidaleg Italian
Beth yw hwn? What is this?
Beth yw hwnnw? What is that?
Beth yw hwn (hwnnw) yn Gymraeg? What is this (that) in Welsh?
Sut ydych chi'n dweud ... yn Gymraeg? How do you say ... in Welsh?
Os gwelwch yn dda Please
Diolch yn fawr Thanks very much
Dim problem No problem
Croeso (You're) welcome
Ydych chi'n iawn? Are you OK?
Beth sy'n bod? What's the matter?
Does dim ots It doesn't matter
Dim byd Nothing
Dim byd o gwbl Nothing at all
Ble mae ...? Where is ...?
Ble mae'r ty bach? Where is the toilet?

Yes and No[edit | edit source]

Welsh doesn't have a single word to use every time for yes and no questions. The word used depends on the form of the question. You must generally answer using the relevant form of the verb used in the question, or in questions where the verb is not the first element you use either 'ie' / 'nage'. "Ie" is often pronounced "ia" in northern dialects of Welsh.

Cymraeg English
Ie / Ia Yes
Na No
Oes There is/are
Nag oes There is/are not
Ydy It is
Nag ydy It isn't
Ydw I am
Nag ydw I'm not
  • Oes and Nag oes are used to answer questions regarding a quantity or existence of an object (i.e. the 3 sg. present indicative of the existential verb).
  • Ydy and Nag ydy are the 3 sg. present indicative of the substantive verb 'to be' used, e.g., where the sentence involves a predicate.
  • Ydw and Nag ydw are the 1 sg. present indicative of the substantive verb, used either existentially or in the case of predicates.

Examples[edit | edit source]

Cwestiwn ac Ateb Question and Answer Literal Translation
Oes ci gyda chi? Oes. (southern Welsh)
Oes gennych chi gi? Oes. (northern Welsh)
Do you have a dog? Yes. Is there a dog with you? There is. (southern Welsh)
Do you have a dog? Yes. (northern Welsh)
Oes ci gyda chi? Nac oes. (southern Welsh)
Oes gennych chi gi? Nag oes. (northern Welsh)
Do you have a dog? No. Is there a dog with you? There is not.
Ydy hi'n oer? Ydy. Is it cold? Yes. Is it (fem.) cold? It is.
Ydy hi'n oer? Nag ydy. Is it cold? No. Is it (fem.) cold? It isn't.
Ydych chi'n hoffi siocled? Ydw. Do you like chocolate? Yes. Are you liking chocolate? I am.
Ydych chi'n hoffi siocled? Nag ydw. Do you like chocolate? No. Are you liking chocolate? I'm not.

Numbers[edit | edit source]

Numeral Vigesimal System
1 un
2 dau (m.)
dwy (f.)
3 tri (m.)
tair (f.)
4 pedwar (m.)
pedair (f.)
5 pum(p)
6 chwe(ch)
7 saith
8 wyth
9 naw
10 deg
11 un ar ddeg/Un deg un
12 deuddeg/Un deg dau
13 Un deg tri
14 Un deg pedwar
15 Un deg pump
16 un deg chwech
17 un deg saith
18 un deg wyth
19 un deg naw
20 ugain. Dau deg

Days of the week[edit | edit source]

When referring to the evening or night of a particular day, Nos precedes the name of the day (and a soft mutation takes place), otherwise the name of the day is preceded by Dydd.

English Cymraeg (Dydd) Cymraeg (Nos)
Monday Dydd Llun Nos Lun
Tuesday Dydd Mawrth Nos Fawrth
Wednesday Dydd Mercher Nos Fercher
Thursday Dydd Iau Nos Iau
Friday Dydd Gwener Nos Wener
Saturday Dydd Sadwrn Nos Sadwrn
Sunday Dydd Sul Nos Sul

Months of the year[edit | edit source]

Cymraeg English
Ionawr January
Chwefror February
Mawrth March
Ebrill April
Mai May
Mehefin June
Gorffennaf July
Awst August
Medi September
Hydref October
Tachwedd November
Rhagfyr December

Seasons of the year[edit | edit source]

Cymraeg English
Gwanwyn Spring
Haf Summer
Hydref Autumn
Gaeaf Winter

Common phrases[edit | edit source]

  • Welsh (language): Cymraeg (kum-RAig / kum-ra:g)
  • English (language): Saesneg (SAY-sneg / SIS-neg)
  • Good morning!: Bore da! (bo-re da)
  • Good afternoon!: P'nawn da! (p'nown da)
  • Welcome!: Croeso! (KROY-so)
  • Goodbye!: Da boch chi! (da BO-khi)
  • Cheerio!: Hwyl fawr! (hooil vowR)
  • Good night!: Nos da! (no:s da)
  • Please: Os gwelwch chi'n dda (oss GWEL-oo-khin dha)
  • Thank you: Diolch (DEE-olkh)
  • Thank you very much: Diolch yn fawr (DEE-olkh'n vowR)
  • You're welcome: Croeso (krojso)
  • No thank you: Dim diolch (dim dee-olkh)
  • Yes: Ie (EE-eh), Do (do:), Oes (oyss / o:s), Ydy (UD-ee) etc.

There are many different ways of saying “yes” or no, depending on the context

To answer “yes” you must use a response which is in grammatical agreement with the question.

“Oes...?” (Is there...?) is answered with “Oes” (Yes there is).

“Ydy...?” (Is he/she...?) is answered with “Ydy” (Yes he/she is).

“Ydw...?” (Am I...?) would however be answered appropriately with “Ydych” (Yes you are) and vice versa.

“Ie” (Yes) is used when the verb is not the initial element of the question.

“Do” (Yes I did, Yes you did, etc.) is used in reply to questions in the past tense, although in several dialects it is also used in the present tense.

  • No: Na (nah)

To contradict someone or to give a more definite “no” you can however precede the words for “yes” with “na” or “nag”, e.g. “Nag oes!” (No there isn’t!) (The opposite of Do is Naddo.)

  • (I’m) sorry!: Mae'n flin gen i! (mai'n vleen Gen ee)
  • Isn’t it? Wouldn’t it? Aren’t they? Won’t we? etc.: Ynte? (un-teh)
  • Cheers! Good health!: Iechyd da! (YEKH-id dah)