wa, we, wi, wo, wy, (‘clear’ y),
wy, (‘obscure’ y).
CONSONANTS
Only those which differ from English need to be noted.
| CH | (following C in the alphabet), as Scottish loch. |
| DD | (following D in the alphabet), as th in English this, breathe. |
| F | as English v. |
| FF | as English f. |
| G | always as in English go. |
| NG | (following G in the alphabet), as in English sing. |
| | In some words (e.g. dangos), however, it is sounded ng-g, as in English longer. Alphabetically this follows after N. |
| LL | produced by placing the tongue to pronounce l, then emitting breath without voice. |
| PH | (following P in the alphabet), as English f. |
| TH | always as th in English thin. |
ACCENT
Welsh words are generally accented on the last syllable but one. There are certain exceptions:
| 1 | The reduplicated personal pronouns myfi, tydi, efe, efô, hyhi, nyni, chwychwi, hwynt-hwy, accented on the final syllable. |
| 2 | Verbs in -(h)au, -(h)oi, -eu, accented on the final syllable. |
| 3 | A few dissyllabic words beginning y + consonant, accented on the final syllable. |
| 4 | Certain polysyllabic words with a diphthong resulting in contraction in the final syllable, such as Cymraeg. |
| 5 | Some borrowed words accented as in the language of origin, generally English. |
MUTATIONS
Mutations, or letter changes, can occur at the beginning of Welsh words. Mutations are caused by the preceding word. There are three different mutations:
| Llythyren wreiddiol | Treiglad meddal | Treiglad trwynol | Treiglad llaes |
| Original letter | Soft mutation | Nasal mutation | Aspirate mutation |
| | changes to: | changes to: | changes to: |
| P | b | mh | ph |
| t | d | nh | th |
| c | g | ngh | ch |
| b | f | m | |
| d | dd | n | |
| g | - | ng | |
| ll | l | | |
| m | f | | |
| rh | r | | |
COMMON WORDS CAUSING SOFT MUTATION – TREIGLAD MEDDAL
| ei | his |
| dy | your |
| dau / dwy | two (masculine / feminine) |
| pa | which |
| neu | or |
| rhy | too |
| yn | before an adjective |
| Adjectives which come before the noun: | For example: |
| Mae’r hen ddyn yn byw yn y tŷ. | The old man lives in the house. |
| Dyma fy hoff gân. | This is my favourite song. |
| Some prepositions: | For example: |
| Mae’r bws yn mynd i Gaerdydd. | The bus is going to Cardiff. |
| Maen nhw’n chwarae dros dîm yr ysgol. | They play for the school team. |
| Certain words which come before a feminine noun: |
| y and ’r | the |
| un | one |
| Mae castell yn y dref. | There’s a castle in town. |
| Mae’r ddinas wedi gwella. | The city has improved. |
| Dim ond un broblem sydd ar ôl. | There’s only one problem left. |
| Any feminine noun which has an adjective immediately after it: |
| merch dda | a good girl |
COMMON WORDS CAUSING NASAL MUTATION – TREIGLAD TRWYNOL
COMMON WORDS CAUSING ASPIRATE MUTATION – TREIGLAD LLAES
| a | and |
| â | as/to/with |
| chwe | six |
| ei | her |
| gyda | with |
| tri | three |
| tua | approximately |
| ABBREVIATIONS | | BYRFODDAU |
| abbreviation | abbr | byrfodd |
| adjective | adj | ansoddair |
| anatomy | Anat | anatomeg |
| automobile | Aut | moduro |
| auxiliary verb | aux vb | berf atodol |
| British English | BRIT | Saesneg Prydain |
| collective noun | coll n | enw torfol |
| computing | Comput | cyfrifiadureg |
| conjunction | conj | cysylltiad |
| contraction | contr | cywasgiad |
| cookery | Culin | coginio |
| definite article | def art | bannod bendant |
| demonstrative | dem | dangosol |
| emphatic | emphat | pwyslais |
| exclamation | excl | ebychiad |
| formal | form | ffurfiol |
| (phrasal verb) where | fus | (berf ymadroddol) |
| the particle is | | lle na all y |
| inseparable | | rhangymeriad gael |
| | | ei wahanu |
| imperative | imper | gorchmynnol |
| indefinite article | indef art | bannod amhendant |
| indeterminate | indeter | amhenderfynadwy |
| colloquial usage | inf(!) | defnydd llafar |
| (offensive) | | (anweddus) |
| grammar, | Ling | gramadeg, |
| linguistics | | ieithyddiaeth |
| masculine | m | gwrywaidd |
| mathematics | Math | mathemateg |
| medical term | Med | term meddygol |
| modal auxiliary verb | mod aux vb | berf atodol moddol |
| music | Mus | cerddoriaeth |
| noun | n | enw |
| noun dual | nd | enw deuol |
| number | num | rhif |
| old-fashioned | old | hen ffasiwn |
| derogatory, | pej | difrïol |
| pejorative | | |
| plural | pl | lluosog |
| past participle | pp | rhangymeriad |
| | | gorffennol |
| politics | Pol | gwleidyddiaeth |
| prefix | pref | rhagddodiad |
| preposition | prep | arddodiad |
| pronoun | pron | rhagenw |
| past tense | pt | amser gorffennol |
| relative | rel | perthynol |
| singular | sing | unigol |
| Telecommunications | Tel | Telathrebu |
| American English | US | Saesneg America |
| verb | vb | berf |
| impersonal verb | vb imper | berf amhersonol |
| intransitive verb | vi | berf gyflawn |
| transitive verb | vt | berf anghyflawn |
