Colloquial Welsh adjectives

Colloquial Welsh adjectives deals with the adjectives (Welsh: ansoddair) of the colloquial Welsh language, the spoken register of the modern Welsh language as spoken in Wales by first-language speakers. This page does not deal with the literary standard forms of adjectives nor any dialect which may have arisen outside of Wales. Welsh has two standardised forms: Literary Welsh – a conservative language reserved for literary purposes which retains some features of older Welsh; and Colloquial Welsh – the Welsh one will hear being spoken in Welsh speaking areas. For the most part the two languages share adjectives, though for some of them their usages can differ and the literary register may use alternative spellings as well as preserving gender distinction where it has been lost in the colloquial tongue. The usages given below outline how adjectives are used in modern colloquial Welsh.

Definition of adjectives

Adjectives are words which describe people, objects, and ideas.[1][2] In a broad sense, they answer the question 'what kind of... ?': 'what kind of man is he?' – 'he is a tall man' – the adjective here is 'tall'. 'What kind of ball is it?' – 'a red ball'; 'what kind of book is it?' – 'a Welsh book', etc.

Adjectives are usually adjectives in their own right, but other words can be used as adjectives when they are used for describing or narrowing down. Nouns and verbs are the most likely candidates for this in both English and Welsh ('what kind of room?' – 'a living room' ystafell fyw (verb); 'a bedroom' ystafell wely (noun).[1]

Welsh also uses a special set of adjectives to show ownership or belonging, so-called possessive adjectives and these can be thought of as equating to the English possessive pronouns (my, our, your, his, her, its, their) but it must be emphasised that in Welsh these are adjectives and not pronouns and are dealt with below.

Position of adjectives

In Welsh, the usual position for adjectives (adjs.) is after the noun it qualifies, like French and unlike English.[1] Examples:

  • car newydd – 'a new car'
  • yr ysgol fawr – 'the big school'
  • y tŷ bychan – 'the small house'

With sequences of adjs. like 'the big red bus' or 'dear little children', Welsh is more consistent than English, preferring always to place the size-term closest to the noun: bws mawr coch (mawr 'big', coch 'red'); plant bach annwyl (bach 'small', annwyl 'dear').

Initial consonant mutation of adjectives
Main article: Colloquial Welsh morphology § Initial consonant mutation
See also: Colloquial Welsh nouns

The Welsh initial consonant mutations are not outlined here; familiarity with them is assumed for the purposes of this article.

Adjectives following a feminine singular noun take the soft mutation (Welsh: treiglad meddal).[1] Neither masculine nouns (singular or plural) nor feminine plural nouns cause any mutation:[1]

  • bwrdd – 'table' (masculine): bwrdd mawr – 'a big table'
    byrddau – 'tables': byrddau mawr – 'big tables'.
  • torth – 'loaf' (feminine): torth fawr – 'a big loaf'
    torthau – 'loaves': torthau mawr – 'big loaves'.

This rule holds good regardless of whether or not the noun is used with the definite article (y / yr / 'r) – but this, of course, causes soft mutation to singular feminine nouns itself:[1]

  • y bwrdd mawr – 'the big table'
    y byrddau mawr – 'the big tables'.
  • y dorth fawr – 'the big loaf'
    y torthau mawr – 'the big loaves'.

Nouns and verbs used adjectively (that is, to describe another noun) are subject to the same rule.[1] If they are used to qualify (i.e. describe) a singular feminine noun, they must undergo soft mutation. See the following examples, all with feminine nouns:[1]

  1. ystafell – 'room' + byw (verb 'to live') = ystafell fyw – 'living room'.
  2. cyllell – 'knife' + bara (noun 'bread') = cyllell fara – 'bread knife'.
  3. siop – 'shop' + blodau (noun 'flowers') = siop flodau – 'flower shop'.
  4. rhaglen – 'programme' + teledu (noun 'television') = rhaglen deledu – 'television programme'.

but the plurals: ystafelloedd byw; cyllyll bara; siopau blodau; rhaglenni teledu.

Other internal changes and points of note
  1. Due to a rule of Welsh orthography, word-final -n and -r are usually doubled when an ending is added.[1] Therefore, byr – 'short' becomes byrrach and gwyn – 'white' becomes gwynnach.
  2. Some adjectives change an internal -w- to -y- and -aw- to -o- as they add endings:[1] trwm – trymach; tlawd – tlotach.

Adjective modifiers

Welsh has about ten adjective modifiers in use in everyday speech. These are:[1]

The modifier iawn 'very' comes after the adjective it modifies:[1]

  • ysgol fawr iawn – 'a very big school'.
  • plant hapus iawn – 'very happy children'.
  • rhaglen wael iawn – 'a very poor programme'.

The other adj. modifiers generally come before the adj.:[1]

  • Mae'r gadair 'ma'n rhy isel i mi – 'This chair is too low for me'.
  • Oedd petrol yn eitha rhad bryd hynny – 'Petrol was fairly cheap in those days'.
  • Ddes i'n reit agos fan'na – 'I came really close there'.
  • Pur anaml y bydda i'n mynd yno dyddiau 'ma – Very rarely do I go there now'.
  • Sut dach chi heddiw? – Yn o lew, diolch – 'How are you today? – Okay, thanks'. [< go]

In braidd yn 'rather...', the yn is an integral part of the phrase and the two cannot be separated.[1] Compare:

  • Mae'r parsel yn eitha trwm – 'The parcel is quite heavy'.
  • Mae'r parsel braidd yn drwm – 'The parcel is rather heavy'.

The yn is required with braidd where it would not be needed otherwise:[1]

  • Parsel either trwm – 'Quite a heavy parcel'.
  • Parsel braidd yn drwm – 'A rather heavy parcel'.

With mae... sentences there is an alternative method when using braidd – and that is to place it after the adj.:

  • Mae'r parsel yn drwm braidd – 'The parcel is rather heavy'.

The modifier mor 'so' has its own peculiarities and is dealt with below.

Feminine forms of adjectives

In most cases the gender of the noun makes no difference to the form of the adj., but in older forms of Welsh many one-syllable and some two-syllable adjs. had different forms for masculine and feminine.[1] In the modern colloquial language only a few have preserved this distinction:[1]

Masculine Feminine English
gwyn gwen white
byr ber short
bychan bechan small
crwn cron round
trwm trom heavy
tlws tlos pretty
cryf cref strong
gwyrdd gwerdd green
llym llem severe
melyn melen yellow

According to the rules governing soft mutation, Welsh singular feminine nouns cause soft mutation to a following adj. The table below gives examples of the adjs. above in context with nouns. Masculine nouns must take the masculine adj. (with no mutation) and feminine nouns must take the feminine adj. (with soft mutation following singular nouns):

Masculine Feminine
Welsh English Welsh English
cyfnod byr a short period stori fer a short story
tŷ bychan a small house gardd fechan a small garden
parsel trwm a heavy parcel ergyd drom a heavy blow
adeilad crwn a round building ffenest gron a round window
dyn llym a severe man profedigaeth lem a severe trial
ceffyl cryf a strong horse caseg gref a strong mare

However, feminine plural nouns do not cause mutation to the adj.:[1]

  • storïau ber – 'short stories'.
  • gerddi bechan – 'small gardens'.
  • ergydion trom – 'heavy blows'.
  • ffenestri cron – 'round windows'.
  • profedigaethau llem – 'severe trials'.
  • cesig cref – 'strong mares'.

and masculine plurals never cause mutation:

  • tai bychan – 'small houses', etc.

However, these feminine forms of adjs. often revert to their masculine forms when separated from the noun by other words,[1] especially yn:

  • Stori fer – 'a short story', but:
    Roedd y stori'n fyr iawn – 'the story was very short'. (The masculine form byr is used with soft mutation following yn.)
  • Pêl wen – 'a white ball', but:
    Roedd y bêl yn wyn – 'the ball was white'. (Masculine gwyn instead of feminine gwen.)

Plural forms of adjectives

Some Welsh adjs. have plural forms. As with feminine adjs., this phenomenon was more widespread in older forms of the language and is very much the exception today.[1] Many of these plurals are formed by the addition of the suffixes -ion or -on, by changing an internal vowel, or both. Examples:[1]

  • doethion – 'wise' (singular: doeth).
  • bychain – 'small' (singular: bychan).
  • deillion – 'blind' (singular: dall).
  • gwyrddion – 'green' (singular: gwyrdd).
  • ifainc – 'young' (singular: ifanc).

These plural adjs. are more commonly found by themselves, rather than to qualify a noun, to denote ... people:[1]

  1. y parchusion – 'the respectable (people)'. [< sing. parchus]
  2. y tlodion – 'the poor' [< sing. tlawd]
  3. y cyfoethogion – 'the rich' [< sing. cyfoethog]
  4. cŵn y deillion – 'guide-dogs' (lit.: 'dogs of the blind')
  5. yr enwogion – 'the famous; celebrities' [< sing. enwog]
  6. y gwybodusion – 'the experts; people in the know' [< sing. gwybodus]
  7. y ffyddloniaid – 'the faithful' [< sing. ffyddlon]
  8. yr ifainc – 'the young'
  9. meddwon – 'drunks; drunkards' [< sing. meddw]
  10. y meirw; y meirwon – 'the dead' [< sing. marw]

In these cases where adjs. are used as nouns, English often prefers the singular: 'the blind', 'the rich', 'the poor', etc. but in some cases both English and Welsh use the plural: bwytwch eich gwyrddion! – 'eat your greens!'.

Otherwise, plural forms of adjs. are confined to set phrases, e.g. mwyar duon – 'blackberries' (sing. du); gwyntoedd cryfion – 'strong winds' (sing. cryf. But in normal everyday speech (and writing) 'black horses' would be ceffylau du not ceffylau duon; 'strong objections' would be gwrthwynebiadau cryf not ... cryfion.[1]

Arall

One adjective, however, which is always changed to the plural form is arall – 'other, another'.[1] The plural form is eraill and usually pronounced as erill (Welsh pronunciation: [/ˈɛr.ɪɬ/]).[1] Examples using merch(ed) – 'girl(s)':[1]

  • merch arall – 'another girl'
  • y ferch arall – 'the other girl'
  • merched eraill – 'other girls'
  • y merched eraill – 'the other girls'

But note that it is not usual to say * yr eraill for 'the others',[1] even though we have seen that this strategy is perfectly good for other adjectives above. For this we must use rhai: y rhai eraill – 'the others' ('the other ones') or the pronoun y lleill is used.[1] Similarly, 'the other one' can be either y llall or yr un arall.[1] The word rhai can be thought of as an irregular plural of un – 'one'. Examples:

  1. This cat is young, but the other (one) is old.
    1. Mae'r gath 'ma'n ifanc, ond mae'r llall yn hen.
    2. Mae'r gath 'ma'n ifanc, ond mae'r un arall yn hen.
  2. These letters came today, but the others (the other ones) came yesterday.
    1. Ddaeth y llythrau 'ma heddiw, ond ddaeth y lleill ddoe.
    2. Ddaeth y llythrau 'ma heddiw, ond ddaeth y rhai eraill ddoe.

Comparison of adjectives

As in English, there are two methods for this in Welsh and the decision on which to choose is largely based on a word's length. Words of one or two syllables usually add the suffixes -ach and -a[1] (in the literary register this is always spelt as -af but word-final -f /v/ is usually omitted in colloquial Welsh.) These suffixes correspond to the English '-er' and '-est', these forms are usually called 'comparative' and 'superlative'.[1] Examples:

Adjective Comparative Superlative
coch – red cochach – redder cocha – reddest
ysgafn – light (weight) ysgafnach – lighter ysgafna – lightest
tal – tall talach – taller tala – taller
hardd – beautiful harddach – more beautiful hardda – most beautiful

Note how, in the last example, the English translation does not use suffixes, but uses 'more' and 'most' because it is a longer word – we can say 'prettier' but not '*beautifuller'.[1] The same rule applies in Welsh, if the word is longer than two syllables the words mwy – 'more' and mwya – 'most' must be used:[1]

Adjective Comparative Superlative
cyfforddus – comfortable mwy cyfforddus – more comfortable mwya cyfforddus – most comfortable
siaradus – talkative mwy siaradus – more talkative mwya siaradus – most talkative
darllenadwy – legible mwy darllenadwy – more legible mwya darllenadwy – most legible

Again, as with English, two-syllable words fall on the line and can often be used with a suffix or mwy/mwya, though there may be a local preference:[1]

Adjective Comparative Superlative
hapus – happy hapusach / mwy hapus – happier / more happy hapusa / mwya hapus – happiest / most happy
doniol – funny doniolach / mwy doniol – funnier / more funny doniola / mwya doniol – funniest / most funny

If in doubt which to use, the safest option is to use mwy/mwya as most derived adjectives invariably use it.[1]

Use with 'than'

The Welsh for 'than' is na (nag before vowels) and it should cause aspirate mutation (Welsh: treiglad llaes) to a following word, though in reality this mutation is not as wide-spread in speech as the literary standard would have us believe;[3] only C /k/ is regularly mutated while T and P are often left unmutated.[3]

  • Mae aur yn fwy gwerthfawr nag arian.
    Gold is more valuable than silver.
  • Roedd y ffermwyr yn dlotach na'r dinasyddion.
    The farmers were poorer than the city-dwellers.
  • Bydd rhaid inni fod yn gyflymach na hynny.
    We will have to be quicker than that.
  • Ysgafnach nag aer.
    Lighter than air.

Other points of note
  1. 'even ...er' and 'even more ...' is expressed by adding fyth to the comparative adjective, e.g. tlotach fyth – 'even poorer'; mwy cyfoethog fyth – 'even richer'.[1]
  2. 'much ...er' and 'much more ...' can be expressed by putting llawer – 'much' before the adj., or o lawer – 'by much' after the adj.: llawer gwlypach / gwlypach o lawer – 'much wetter'; llawer mwy doniol / mwy doniol o lawer – 'much funnier'.[1]
  3. 'a bit ...er' or 'a bit more ...' requires ychydig or tipyn before the adj.: ychydig rhatach – 'a bit/little cheaper'; a very common colloquial alternative is bach yn: bach yn oerach – 'a bit colder', bach yn fwy defnyddiol – 'a bit more useful'.[1]
  4. 'rather ...' or 'somewhat ...' is usually rhywfaint – 'a certain amount': rhywfaint mwy costus – 'rather more expensive'.[1]

Final consonant mutation with -ach and -a

The suffixes -ach and -a cause a 'hard mutation' to the final consonants -b, -d, and -g which become -p, -t, and -c, respectively.[1] The term 'hard mutation' is often used and is similar to that of the Cornish hard mutation - however this is not a term used by all grammarians for this phenomenon in Welsh, some refer to 'hardening' or 'fortition' or 'fortis/lenis pairs'.

  • gwlyb – 'wet'; gwlypach – 'wetter'; gwlypa – 'wettest'.
  • rhad – 'cheap'; rhatach – 'cheaper'; rhata – 'cheapest'.
  • teg – 'fair'; tecach – 'fairer'; teca – 'fairest'.

Equative adjectives (as X as Y)

The English 'as... as...' is differently expressed in Welsh, but is just as simple. It is expressed by mor... â/ag....[1] The complexity here lies in the fact that mor causes soft mutation[1] and â causes aspirate mutation[1] (ag used before vowels).

  • mor wyn ag eira.
    as white as snow.
  • mor ddu â'r fran.
    as black as a (the) crow.
  • mor dal â choeden.
    as tall as a tree.
  • mor gystadleuol ag erioed. as competitive as ever.
  • mor dlawd â llygoden eglwys. as poor as a church mouse.

There exists also a more stylised way of expressing 'as X as Y', where mor is replaced by cyn and the suffix -ed is attached to the adj. itself.[1] (cyn also causes soft mutation):

  • mor ddu â'r fran. or cyn ddued â'r fran.
    as black as a (the) crow.

But the cyn -ed method is, nowadays, found only in set expressions in the colloquial language.:[1]

  • cyn belled â...
    as far as...
    • Cyn belled ag y gwela i, does dim gobaith am welliant.
      As far as I can see, there's no hope of any improvement. (This is a rather literary register construction.)
  • cyn gynted ag y bo modd
    as soon as possible
    • Danfonwch y siec ata i cyn gynted ag y bo modd.
      Send me the cheque as soon as possible.

and can be used with certain, very common, irregular adjs.[1] In normal speech, mor is by far the most commonly heard option.[1]

The phrase mor belled, a combination of the two methods, is commonly used for 'so far':

  • Mae pethau'n mynd yn dda. – Ydyn, mor belled.
    Things are going well. – Yes they are, so far.

In some Welsh speaking areas of Wales, one may hear a third option for 'as X as Y', using the very colloquial fatha (corruption of fath â) and can be translated as 'like'. Fatha causes aspirate mutation.:

  • Oedd o'n wan fatha chath.
    He was as weak as a cat [lit: 'He was weak like a cat'].

Other points of note
  1. English 'just as X as Y', or 'every bit as X as Y' is normally expressed in Welsh with lawn [< llawn]:
    1. Dw i lawn mor grac â ti. – 'I'm just as cross as you.'
    2. Mae hyn lawn mor bwysig â'r hyn wedsoch chi. – 'This is every bit as important as what you said.'
    3. Yn anffodus, mae'r sianeli eraill lawn cynddrwg. – 'Unfortunately, the other channels are just as bad.'
  2. Mor also means 'so' and can be used without â/ag:
    1. Mae'r peth 'ma mor drwm, alla i ddim gario fe. – 'This thing is so heavy, I can't carry it.'
      It is important to remember that in sentences of this type mor is replacing the expected yn. Compare:
  • Mae'r peth 'ma'n drwm. – 'This thing is heavy.'
  • Mae'r peth 'ma mor drwm. – 'This thing is so heavy.'
    Cyn, however, does not have this double use.
  1. English 'how ...?' with adjs. is pa mor ...? in Welsh:
    1. Pa mor fawr yw'ch tŷ newydd, te? – 'How big is your new house, then?'
    2. Pa mor anodd ydi'r Wyddeleg o'i chymharu a'r Gymraeg? – 'How difficult is Irish compared with Welsh?'
    3. Pa mor ddrud ydy Ffindir? – 'How expensive is Finland?'
      Remember that sut? – 'how?' is not appropriate here. The English 'how?' coveres two distinct meanings: in what way? (= sut?) and (with adjs.) to what extent? (= pa mor?).
  2. There exists a convenient colloquial way to say 'not much ...-er' involving fawr.
    1. Oeddan ni fawr nes i'r bwthyn ar ôl awr o gerdded – 'After an hour of walking we were not much nearer (Welsh: nes) to the cottage.'
    2. Wedi'r holl siarad 'na, dan ni fawr gallach. – 'After all that talk, we're not much (the) wiser.'
  3. Mor generally does not mutate words beginning with ll- or rh-.
    1. mor llawn. – 'so full'.
    2. mor rhad. – 'so cheap'.

Comparison of adjectives – irregular forms

A few adjs. have irregular comparative (-er) and superlative (-est) forms that must be learnt as they are encountered.

Adjective Comparative Superlative Equative
da – good gwell – better gorau – best cystal – as good
drwg – bad gwaeth – worse gwaetha – worst cynddrwg – as bad
mawr – big mwy – bigger mwya – biggest cymaint – as big
bach – small llai – smaller lleia – smallest cynlleied – as small
uchel – high uwch – higher ucha – highest n/a
isel – low is – lower isa – lowest
hen – old hŷn – elder hyna – eldest
ifanc – young iau – younger fenga – youngest
hawdd – easy haws – easier hawsa – easiest
agos – near nes – nearer nesa – nearest

In the colloquial language, hen, ifanc, hawdd, agos are all often heard with regular forms instead, e.g. hena – 'oldest'; ifanca – 'youngest'; hawdda – 'easiest'; and agosa – 'nearest', due to morphological levelling.

Other points of note
  1. hŷn is often replaced by henach, especially when the sense is 'older' rather than 'elder':
    1. Dw i'n henach na chi – 'I am older than you'
    2. Brawd hŷn – 'an elder brother'
  2. ifanc presents the learner of Colloquial Welsh with a variety of forms: iau is often replaced by ifancach (regular formation), but this is often heard as fancach, fangach, or fengach. Similarly, fenga is sometimes heard as ienga or ieuenga. These differences are often regional and will cause the learner no problems when the preferred local variant has been ascertained.
  3. Nowadays, in many parts of Wales, haws and hawsa appear to be less current than the regularised variants hawddach and hawdda. To some extent, the same can be said for nes and nesa (replaced by agosach and agosa) – this may have something to do with the fact that nesa also means 'next' and this meaning has come to dominate:
    1. Pwy sy nesa? – 'Who's next?'
    2. Ble mae'r blwch post agosa? – 'Where's the nearest post box?'
  4. It is important to remember that mwy and mwya double for 'more/bigger' and 'most/biggest' respectively:
    1. Roedd ein tŷ ni'n fwy na'u tŷ nhw. – 'Our house was bigger than their house.'
    2. Roedd ein tŷ ni'n fwy moethus na'u tŷ nhw. – 'Our house was more luxurious than their house.'

'Less X than'/'the least'

Llai – 'smaller' and lleia – 'smallest' also do the work of 'less' and 'least' – in much the same way as mwy and mwya do for 'bigger/more' and 'biggest/most'. Compare:

  • Mae'r llyfr 'ma'n llai.
    This book is smaller.
  • Mae llyfrau cloriau meddal yn llai costus na chloriau caled.
    Paperbacks are less expensive than hardbacks.
  • Hwn ydy'r un lleia.
    This is the smallest (one).
  • Hwn ydy'r un lleia costus.
    This is the least expensive (one).

Adjectives which precede the noun

The vast majority of Welsh adjs. come after the noun, however, there are some which always come before the noun and some which can be placed in either position, like in French.[1]

Adjs. which precede the noun always cause the soft mutation, except for pob.[1] Examples: hen gastell 'an old castle' [< castell], Prif Weinidog 'Prime Minister' [< Gweinidog], ambell air 'an occasional word' [< gair]. However, pob dyn 'every man' (no mutation), pob gardd 'every garden'.

There is, however, an alternative for 'all' – i gyd which follows the noun:

  • yr holl blant or y plant i gyd – 'all the children'.

But in some cases, particularly with pronouns, only i gyd can be used:

  • chi i gyd – 'all of you'
  • y gweddill i gyd – 'all the rest'

The most common adjs. which always come before the noun are:[1]

  • hen – 'old'
  • ambell – 'occasional'
  • pob – 'every, each'
  • prif – 'main, chief'
  • holl – 'all'

Examples:

  1. hen ddyn – 'old man' [< dyn]
  2. ambell gawod – '(the) occasional shower' [< cawod]
  3. pob gair – 'every word'
  4. prif bwrpas – 'main purpose' [< pwrpas]
  5. yr holl blant – 'all the children' [< plant]

The interrogative adj. pa 'which... ?' always precedes the noun and causes the soft mutation:[1]

  1. Pa lyfr brynu di? – 'Which book will you buy?' [< llyfr]
  2. Ym mha wlad mae hi'n byw bellach? – 'What (which) country does she live in now?' (note the nasal mutation of pa to mha)
  3. Pa ieithoedd dach chi'n siarad yn rhugl? – 'Which languages do you speak fluently?'
  4. Pa fath o gar sy gynnoch chi dyddiau 'ma? – 'What kind of car have you got these days?'

It is worth noting that English will often substitute what...? for which...?,[1] but the Welsh pa and never beth 'what' is always required.[1] In some areas of South Wales many people substitute pwy for pa: Pwy lyfr... ?[1]

In addition to those above, the following are prefixed to a noun or placed before it to form the following meanings (prefixes have a dash attached):

  • cyn- – 'ex-, former'
  • dirprwy – 'deputy'
  • uwch – 'senior, superior'
  • is- – 'sub-, vice'

For example: cyn-lywydd 'former president' [< llywydd]; dirprwy bennaeth 'deputy head' [< pennaeth]; uwch olygydd 'senior editor' [< golygydd]; is-lywydd 'vice-president'.

Cryn 'considerable', used in certain quantity expressions, always precedes the noun: cryn dipyn (o) 'quite a bit (of)'; cryn nifer (o) 'quite a number (of)'.[1]

Where preceding and following adjs. are used at the same time, they will go in their proper places:

  • hen dŷ gwag – 'an old empty house'.
  • pob iaith Geltaidd – 'every Celtic language'.

Pob

Pob always comes before the noun and does not cause mutation.[1] It corresponds to English 'every' or 'each' and must not be confused with pawb 'everyone'. Examples:

  1. Ofer oedd pob ymdrech i wrthdroi'r penderfyniad – 'Every attempt to overturn the decision was in vain'.
  2. Mae pob ffordd trwy'r pentre bellach ar gau – 'Every road through the village is now closed'.
  3. Pob llwyddiant! – 'Good luck!' (lit. 'every success!')

The combination yn 'in' + pob is usually written, and pronounced, as ymhob:[1]

  1. Bydd hyn yn flaenoriaeth ymhob ardal – 'This will be a priority in every region/all regions'.

Pob also appears in a number of common idioms, sometimes with a fixed soft mutation (i.e. as bob:

  1. bob dydd – 'every day'
  2. bob wythnos – 'every week'
  3. pob dim – 'every (single) thing'
  4. bob yn ail – 'alternatively'
  5. yn ôl pob tebyg – 'in all likelihood'
  6. pobman/ymhobman – 'everywhere'
  7. bob amser – 'always'

(Yr) hen

(Yr) hen is often used colloquially in terms of address, either as an insult or as a term of endearment.[1] In either case it has no bearing on age and does not really mean 'old' but corresponds to English 'you...':

  1. Yr hen fochyn! – 'You pig!'
  2. Yr hen blentyn bach! – 'You poor little child!'

It can sometimes be used as an intensifier:[1]

  1. Hen lol! – '(What) nonsense!'
  2. Hen bethau gwirion! – 'Stupid things!'

Possessive adjectives

In Welsh, possession is shown by placing two nouns (or noun phrases) together with the possessor as the second element: ci Dafydd – Dafydd's dog.[1] However, Welsh also makes use of possessive adjectives, these help to identify who possesses something. It should be remembered that these adjs. are required in the literary language, but there is much variation in the colloquial register.[1] The most "correct" form of 'my dog' is fy nghi fi but one will hear 'y nghi; nghi, or very colloquially ci fi – though the latter is generally avoided.[1]

Forms and mutation patterns

The poss. adjs. equate to the possessive pronouns of English (my, our, your, his, her, its, their)[1] and are placed before the noun with an optional pronoun following it – effectively "sandwiching" the noun between a poss. adj. and a pronoun. This would be akin to saying "my cat me, our cat us" in English. In the below table optional elements are written in parentheses:[1]

Singular Plural
Welsh English Welsh English
1st fy ...(i)
(y)n ...(i)		 my ein ...(ni) our
2nd dy ...(di) your eich ...(chi) your
3rd ei ...(e/fe)
ei ...(o/fo)		 his eu ...(nhw) their
ei ...(hi) her

Examples of mutation patterns with plant – 'children':

Singular Plural
Welsh English Welsh English
1st 'y mhlant (i) my children ein plant (ni) our children
2nd dy blant (di) your children eich plant (chi) your children
3rd ei blant (e) his children eu plant (nhw) their children
ei phlant (hi) her children

Examples of mutation patterns with cath – 'cat':

Singular Plural
Welsh English Welsh English
1st 'y nghath (i) my cat ein cath (ni) our cat
2nd dy gath (di) your cat eich cath (chi) your cat
3rd ei gath (e) his cat eu cath (nhw) their cat
ei chath (hi) her cat

Examples of mutation patterns with tŷ – 'house':

Singular Plural
Welsh English Welsh English
1st 'y nhŷ (fi) my house ein tŷ (ni) our house
2nd dy dŷ (di) your house eich tŷ (chi) your house
3rd ei dŷ (fo) his house eu tŷ (nhw) their house
ei thŷ (hi) her house

As can be seen from the above table, the plural forms do not cause consonant mutation, but all of the singular forms cause mutations – but remember: not all consonants are affected.

The above mutation patterns are considered "standard" for the spoken language and are what would be taught in adult learners' classes, however, there are variations from region to region – mostly with regards to the nasal and aspirate mutations which are often avoided by many speakers.[1] Thus, it is commonplace to hear variants like ei plant hi for 'her children' and even plant fi for 'my children'[1] (the latter example is definitely considered to be sub-standard but is gaining ground in areas of South Wales with younger speakers[1]). The soft mutation, however, is an integral part of the language[1] and one would wholly expect to hear ei blant e for 'his children' rather than anything else.[1]

h-prothesis with ei, ein and eu

In the Literary language it is compulsory to add an initial h- to vowel-initial words when they follow ei ('her' only!), ein and eu:[1] ei hafal hi 'her apple', ein hafal ni 'our apple', and eu hafal hwy 'their apple' (notice that the third person plural pronoun hwy is different from the colloquial nhw).

In Colloquial Welsh, however, there is no consistency with this and many speakers simply do not do it.[1] Many learners often make the mistake of using it after eich 'your' (*eich hysgol chi) which is incorrect and must be avoided.[1]

'Echoing' pronouns

The use of an 'echoing' pronoun placed after the possessed noun (ei hafal hi) is commonplace throughout the spoken language[1] and may have arisen as a means of disambiguating between ei and eu[1] which sound the same (/iː/) in many areas.[1] Thus ei iechyd – /iː ˈjɛχ.ɪd/ could mean 'his health', 'her health', or 'their health'. Adding the 'echoing' pronoun removes the ambiguity: ei iechyd e, ei iechyd hi, eu iechyd nhw. The use of the 'echoing' pronoun is completely optional in the spoken language[1] as consonant mutations and context will often remove any ambiguity.

Fy; '(y)n – 'my'

The word fy is possibly the only Welsh word whose spelling in no way resembles its actual pronunciation. Its standard pronunciation, /və/,[1] is almost never heard in natural, unaffected speech at all and its use seems to only precede an unmutated /m/,[1] e.g. fy mam /və mam/. Regardless, fy is the standard spelling.[1]

'yn /ən/ reflects the actual pronunciation more closely[1] even though it is rarely seen so written. This is how fy is pronounced when the following word cannot undergo nasal mutation or where nasal mutation is avoided in speech.[1] So, fy ewythr i generally sounds like 'yn ewythr i – 'my uncle'. Fy siop i as 'yn siop i – 'my shop'; fy llaw i as 'yn llaw i – 'my hand'.[1] This 'yn pronunciation is a relic from an older form of Welsh where the word for 'my' was fyn, the final -n being the cause of the nasal mutation.

If the nasal mutation is used, fy tends to disappear altogether, leaving the mutation to do the job:[1] instead of fy mhlant (i) – 'my children' or 'y mhlant (i), one is more likely to hear mhlant (i).[1] In fact, the usual expression for 'my father' is simply nhad[1] [< tad].

Dy – 'your' (singular)

There are only two points of note concerning dy 'your':

  1. the 'echoing' pronoun used is a mutated variant di and never ti.[1]
  2. before vowels the dy is usually shortened in speech to d'.[1] The literary standard, however, always calls for dy:
    1. Lle wyt ti wedi rhoi d' arian di? – 'Where have you put your money?'

Ei – 'his/her'; eu – 'their'

A change occurs in these words when they are preceded by the preposition i – 'for/to' – they are replaced by 'w,[1] and so pronounced. Examples:

  1. Roddes i ddeg punt i'w frawd e ('i' + 'ei frawd e')
    I gave his brother £10 [lit.: 'gave £10 to his brother']
  2. Mae Sioned yn debyg iawn i'w chwaer hi ('i' + 'ei chwaer hi')
    Sioned is very like her sister [lit/: 'similar to her sister]
  3. Gawson ni wahoddiad i'w priodas nhw ('i' + 'eu priodas nhw')
    We got an invitation to their wedding.

Eich – 'your' (plural) and ein – 'our'

Ein is yet another Welsh word which sounds as if it were written as yn /ən/.[1] Partly for this reason it is almost always found with its echoing pronoun, ni.[1]

Similarly, eich sounds as though it were written ych /əχ/.[1]

Both of these words lose their ei- element when they follow a word ending in a vowel:[1]

  1. Ewch â'ch sbwriel adre (â + eich)
    Take your rubbish home.
  2. Dyn ni eisiau helpu'n plant ni (helpu + ein)
    We want to help our children.

There are no mutations with eich or ein.[1]

Possessive adjectives as pronoun objects of verbnouns

Where the object of a verbnoun (VN) is a pronoun, this is usually expressed by the corresponding possessive adjective.[1] That is, 'see(ing) him' will literally be 'his seeing' – ei weld (VN gweld 'see'). This usage will be encountered:

  1. in periphrastic tenses involving an auxiliary verb + VN[1]
  2. where the VN stands on its own, either:
    1. because it shares its subject with a preceding inflected verb,[1] or:
    2. because the action of the verb is itself the subject of the sentence.[1]

In all cases, the consonant mutation patterns after possessive adjectives remain unchanged,[1] e.g. (fy) nanfon 'send(ing) me' [< danfon 'send']; ei danfon 'send(ing) her'; ei ddanfon 'send(ing) him', etc.

The 'echoing' pronoun usually appears after the VN in speech (but not always),[1] but is frequently omitted in writing.[1] Some speakers go a stage further and omit the possessive adjective and keep the echoing pronoun, resulting in a pattern much more similar to English.[1]

Examples of types (1) and (2) above:

  1. periphrastic tenses involving an auxiliary verb + VN:
    1. Wyt ti'n ngweld i? – 'Can you see me?' [lit.: 'are you my seeing me?']
    2. Dw i am eu cynnwys nhw – 'I want to include them' [lit.: 'I am for their including them']
    3. Oedd hi'n ei dwyllo fe – 'She was deceiving him' [li.: 'She was his deceiving him']
    4. Alla i'ch helpu chi? – 'Can I help you?'
  2. where the VN stands on its own because it shares its subject with a preceding inflected verb, or because the action of the verb is itself the subject of the sentence.
    1. Llenwch y ffurflen a'i dychwelyd erbyn diwedd y mis – 'Fill in the form and return it by the end of the month
    2. Mi fyddai eu hargyhoeddi (nhw) yn anodd ar ôl be' ddigwyddodd ddoe – 'Convincing them would be difficult after what happened yesterday.

Rhyw, rhai – 'some'

Rhyw and rhai both translate the English 'some',[1] but with this distinction of meaning: rhyw is always followed by a singular noun, and so corresponds to English 'some ... (or other)';[1] rhai is always followed by a plural noun and is simply the plural of un 'one'.[1] Rhyw causes soft mutation, but rhai does not cause mutation.[1] Compare:

  • Mae rhyw ddyn wedi syrthio oddiar y llong.
    Some man [or other] has fallen off the ship.
  • Mae rhai dynion wedi syrthio oddiar y llong.
    Some men [more than one] have fallen off the ship.

However, if English 'some' does not correspond to either of these possibilities, then it should probably be left untranslated:[1]

  • Rhaid i mi fynd allan i brynu bara.
    I must go out to buy [some] bread.
  • Dw i angen dillad newydd.
    I need [some] new clothes.

In these two sentences, the word 'some' is present because it performs the function of a plural indefinite article. Welsh has no indefinite article (English 'a/an') and so here 'some' goes untranslated.

The use of rhai also extends to being used a plural tag from which to hang other adjectives.[1] As discussed above, plural adjectives can be used as nouns to mean a general term for all of something, i.e. y cyfoethogion 'the rich' as in 'all the rich people' as a whole, but if we wish to speak of specific rich people we can say y rhai cyfoethog (singular adjective!) – 'the rich ones'.[1]

  • Maen nhw i gyd yn hardd, ond well gen i'r rhai coch.
    They're all beautiful, but I prefer the red ones.

This highlights the use of rhai as a plural of un 'one', the same as English 'ones'.[1] The singular version of the above example would be:

  • Maen nhw i gyd yn hardd, ond well gen i'r un coch.
    They're all beautiful, but I prefer the red one.

Sometimes rhai 'some' contrasts with eraill 'others' (pl. of arall):[1]

  • Mae rhai'n cerdded, tra bod eraill yn dod ar y bws.
    Some are walking, while others are coming by bus.
  • Bydd rhai'n mynd, ac eraill yn aros.
    Some will go, and others will stay.

Or the rhai can be repeated, as in English 'some ..., some ...' with eraill added optionally:[1]

  • Roedd rhai'n siarad Ffrangeg, rhai (eraill) yn siarad Almaeneg.
    Some were speaking French, some were speaking German.

A noteworthy word involving rhwy is unrhyw 'any':[1]

  • unrhyw lyfr. – 'any book'.

Several, occasional; such a ...; the same

Amryw, ambell – 'several, occasional'

Amryw means 'several' (and causes soft mutation).[1] It is followed (in the modern language) by a plural noun: amryw ddynion 'several men'; amryw lyfrau 'several books'.[1]

Ambell means 'occasional' (and causes soft mutation).[1] It is most commonly heard, nowadays, in the expressions ambell un 'an occasional (one)' and ambell waith 'occasionally, sometimes'.[1] The latter is similar in meaning to the expression o bryd i'w gilydd.[1]

Y cyfryw, y fath – 'such a ...', 'as such'

Y cyfryw means 'such a ...' and is not as common as it once was.[1] It is mostly heard in the set expression ... fel y cyfryw '... as such':[1]

  • Does gen i ddim cysylltiad â'r byd addysg fel y cyfryw.
    I have no connection with the world of education as such.

For 'such a ...' the modern expression is usually y fath ...,[1] so 'such a thing' which may be encountered in writing as y cyfryw beth,[1] is more likely to be heard as y fath beth in modern speech:[1]

  • Dw i erioed wedi clywed y fath beth.
    I've never heard such a thing.

A very colloquial alternative to y fath is the loanword ffasiwn 'fashion' (causing soft mutation):[1]

  • Ddylwn i ddim dweud ffasiwn beth, na ddylwn?
    I shouldn't say such things, should I?

Yr un – the same

While un means 'one', yr un specifically means 'the same'.[1] Its usage corresponds closely to its English equivalent:

  • O'n i yn yr un stafell â ti heb wybod.
    I was in the same room as you without knowing it.
  • Mae'r stafell 'ma'n edrych yr un ag oedd hi ugain mlynedd yn ôl.
    This room looks the same as it did twenty years ago.

Yr un can also mean 'not one' and 'each', but these do not fall within the scope of this article.

Demonstrative adjectives

Welsh lacks direct equivalents of the English demonstrative pronouns 'this' and 'that'. In colloquial Welsh 'this ...' is phrased as 'the ... here', and 'that ...' as 'the ... there'.[1] The definite article ('the' in English) is placed before the noun and the adjectives 'ma 'here' and 'na 'there' are placed after it.[1] These are contractions of the words yma and yna. Examples:

  • Y llyfr 'ma – 'this book' [lit.: 'the book here']
  • Y llyfr 'na – 'that book' [lit.: 'the book there']

With this phrasing there is no need to worry about grammatical number, that is there is no difference between this and these, or between that and those.[1] The plural forms are achieved by using a plural noun in the phrase:[1] y llyfrau 'ma 'these books' [lit.: the books here]. Examples:

  • y car 'ma – 'this car' [lit.: 'the car here']
  • y ceir 'ma – 'these cars' [lit.: 'the cars here']
  • y car 'na – 'that car' [lit.: 'the car there']
  • y ceir 'na – 'those cars' [lit.: 'the cars there']

In formally spoken and written Welsh, however, a different set of demonstrative adjectives is generally used.[1] They work in the same way as the above demonstrative adjectives in that the noun is still preceded by the definite article and followed by a demonstrative adj.[1] However, they have masculine and feminine forms in the singular:[1]

Singular Plural
this that these those
Masculine hwn hwnnw hyn hynny
Feminine hon honno

Examples:

Masculine Feminine
y llyfr hwn this book y daflen hon this leaflet
y llyfr hwnnw that book y daflen honno that leaflet
y llyfrau hyn these books y taflenni hyn these leaflets
y llyfrau hynny those books y taflenni hynny those leaflets

These forms of the demonstrative adjs. also function as pronouns ('this one, that one', etc.),[1] in which case they are also part of the colloquial language.[1]

Adjectives derived from nouns and verbs

Aside from the suffixes -adwy and -edig (see below), it is difficult to determine specific meanings for most of the adjective suffixes used in modern Welsh today.[1] It is easier for the learner to learn the meanings of individual adjectives as encountered.[1]

-(i)ol

The most productive suffix, by far, is -(i)ol which forms a vast number of Welsh adjs.,[1] mostly from nouns:[1]

  • anobeithiol – 'hopeless' – [an- 'un-' + gobaith 'hope']
  • beirniadol – 'critical' – [beirniad 'critic']
  • cydwybodol – 'conscientious' – [cydwybod 'conscience']
  • gogleddol – 'northerly' – [gogledd 'north']
  • ieithyddol – 'linguistic' – [ieithydd 'linguist']
  • moesol – 'moral' – [moes 'morality']
  • perthnasol – 'relevant' – [perthynas 'relationship']
  • swyddogol – 'official' – [swyddog '(an) official']
  • troseddol – 'criminal' – [trosedd 'crime']
  • wythnosol – 'weekly' – [wythnos 'week']

but also from verbs:[1]

  • anfarwol – 'immortal' – [an- 'un-' + marw 'die']
  • cefnogol – 'supportive' – [cefnogi 'support']

-aidd

The suffix -aidd can be added to adjectives to moderate their sense, as with English -ish:[1]

  • oeraidd – 'coldish'
  • trymaidd – 'heavy, close (of weather)' [trwm 'heavy']

or to a noun, deriving an adj.:[1]

  • plentynaidd – 'childish'
  • benywaidd – 'feminine'
  • hafaidd – 'summery'
  • rhamantaidd – 'romantic' (not *rhamannaidd)

In borrowed words it often corresponds to English -ic(al):[1]

  • biwrocrataidd – 'bureaucratic'
  • economaidd – 'economic'
  • piwritanaidd – 'puritanical'
  • stoicaidd – 'stoic(al)'

-adwy

The suffix -adwy is added to verb-stems,[1] and corresponds to English -able, -ible:[1]

  • anghredadwy – 'unbelievable' – [an- 'un-' + credu 'believe']
  • annealladwy – 'incomprehensible' – [an- 'un-' + deall 'understand']
  • annarllenadwy – 'illegible' – [an- 'un-' + darllen 'read']
  • clywadwy – 'audible' – [clywed 'hear']
  • cofiadwy – 'memorable' – [cofio 'remember']
  • gweladwy – 'visible' – [gweld 'see']
  • trosglwyddadwy – 'transferable' – [trosglwyddo 'transfer']

-edig

The -edig suffix can be added to hundreds of verbs to mean -ed,[1] but is more restricted in use than its English counterpart in that it is used strictly as an adj. to qualify a noun[1] and not as a participle:

  • amgaeëdig – 'enclosed' – [< amgau]
  • blinedig – 'tired' – [< blino]
  • cyfyngedig – 'limited' – [< cyfyngu]
  • unedig – 'united' – [< uno]

In many cases in Welsh, other constructions involving wedi and i'w also translate English -ed, depending on the circumstances.[1] Compare:

  1. Y llywydd etholedig. – 'The president-elect.' [i.e. 'the elected president' - adjectival use]
  2. Mae'r llywydd wedi'i ethol. – 'The president has been elected.' ['the president is after his electing']
  3. Mae'r llywydd i'w ethol. – 'The president is to be elected.' ['the president is to his electing']

These alternative constructions go beyond the scope of this article and are not dealt with further here.

-gar

The suffix -gar forms adjs. mostly from verbs and denotes possession of the quality:[1]

  • dioddefgar – 'patient, forebearing' [< diodde(f) 'suffer']
  • enillgar – 'lucrative' [< ennill 'gain, win, earn']
  • meddylgar – 'thoughtful, pensive' [< meddwl 'think']
  • anfaddeugar – 'unforgiving' [< maddau 'forgive']
  • gweithgar – 'active' [< gweithio 'work']
  • gafaelgar – 'enthrilling, gripping' [< gafael 'grip, grasp']
  • ymroddgar – 'eager to apply oneself' [< ymroi 'apply oneself']

but also from nouns:[1]

  • blaengar – 'prominent' [< blaen 'front']
  • cyfeillgar – 'friendly' [< cyfaill 'friend']
  • croesawgar – 'welcoming' [< croeso 'welcome']
  • dialeddgar – 'vengeful' [< dialedd 'vengeance']
  • gwlatgar – 'patriotic' [< gwlad 'country']

-ig

The suffix -ig (as opposed to -edig – see above) forms adjs. from nouns,[1] often displaying changes within the word:[1]

  • brwydfrydig – 'enthusiastic' [< brwydfryd 'enthusiasm']
  • gwledig – 'rural' [< gwlad 'country']
  • lloerig – 'lunatic' [< lloer, an archaic word for 'moon']

It appears in many loanwords from English adjs. ending in -ic:[1]

  • academig – 'academic'
  • awtomatig – 'automatic'
  • athletig – 'athletic'
  • deinamig – 'dynamic'

but some -ig adjs. are not derived from any obvious base-noun:[1]

  • gwrthnysig – 'rebellious'
  • styfnig – 'stubborn'

-lon

The -lon suffix forms a limited number of adjs. from nouns:[1]

  • anghyfreithlon – 'illegal' [< an- 'un-' + cyfraith 'law']
  • ffrwythlon – 'fruitful, fertile' [< ffrwyth 'fruit']
  • heddychion – 'peaceful' [< heddwch 'peace']
  • maethlon – 'nourishing' [< maeth 'nutrition, nourishment']
  • prydlon – 'punctual' [< pryd 'time']

-llyd / -lyd

The suffixes -llyd / -lyd form adjs. mostly from nouns, sometimes from verbs:[1]

  • cysglyd – 'sleepy' [< cysgu 'sleep' verb, cwsg 'sleep' noun]
  • drewllyd – 'stinking' [< drewi 'stink']
  • dychrynllyd – 'frightful' [< dychryn 'fright, frighten']
  • rhagfarnllyd – 'prejudiced' [< rhagfarn 'prejudice']
  • seimlyd, seimllyd – 'greasy' [< saim 'grease']
  • swnllyd – 'noisy' [< sŵn 'noise']

-og

The -og suffix forms adjs. mostly from nouns.[1] It often has the sense of 'possessing a quality':[1]

  • barfog – 'bearded' [< barf 'beard']
  • cyfoethog – 'rich, wealthy' [< cyfoeth 'wealth']
  • galluog – 'able, capable' [< gallu 'ability']
  • gwyntog – 'windy' [< gwynt 'wind']
  • niwlog – 'foggy' [< niwl 'fog']

-us

The -us suffix forms adjs. from nouns:[1]

  • anffodus – 'unfortunate' [< anffawd 'misfortune, accident']
  • arswydus – 'horrible, horrific' [< arswyd 'horror']
  • blasus – 'tasty' [< blas 'taste']
  • dawnus – 'gifted, talented' [< dawn 'gift, talent']
  • dolurus – 'painful, grievous' [< dolur 'pain']
  • gelyniaethus – 'hostile' [< gelyniaeth 'hostility']
  • llwyddiannus – 'successful' [< llwyddiant 'success']
  • peryglus – 'dangerous, perilous' [< peryg(l) 'danger, peril'

but a few adjs. in -us are from verbs:[1]

  • drwgdybus – 'suspicious' [< drwgdybio 'suspect']
  • gwybodus – 'informed' [< gwybod 'know (a fact)']
  • siaradus – 'talkative, loquacious' [< siarad 'speak, talk']

References
  1. King, Gareth (2016) [1993]. "93-118 Adjectives". Modern Welsh – A Comprehensive Grammar (Third ed.). London and New York: Routledge. pp. 78–104. ISBN 978-1-138-82630-4.
  2. "Cambridge Dictionary". Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  3. King, Gareth (2016) [1993]. "443-476 Prepositions". Modern Welsh – A Comprehensive Grammar (Third ed.). London and New York: Routledge. pp. 335–373. ISBN 978-1-138-82630-4.
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