Welsh Mynediad (Entry, A1) flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Bore da

Standard Welsh greeting meaning "good morning", used from waking until roughly midday. "Prynhawn da" replaces it in the afternoon and "noswaith dda" in the evening.

Dw i'n dod o

Means "I come from" and is followed by a place name. It is the standard formula for stating origin in a self-introduction, as in "Dw i'n dod o Gaerdydd".

Ydy / Nag ydy

Yes and no answers to a question beginning with "Ydy" (is/is it). Use "Ydy" to affirm and "Nag ydy" to deny; a bare "Ie" or "Na" does not match a verb-first question.

Oes gen ti

Question meaning "do you have", used with a following noun. Answer "Oes" for yes and "Nac oes" for no; the statement form is "Mae gen i" and the negative is "Does gen i ddim".

Penultimate stress rule

In Welsh, the stress normally falls on the second-to-last syllable of a word, so "ysgol" is stressed on "ys" and "Cymraeg" on "ym".

Hanner awr wedi

Time phrase meaning "half past", literally "half an hour after". "Hanner awr wedi dau" is 2:30; the opposite is "chwarter i", meaning quarter to the next hour.

Am ddim

Means "for free" or "free of charge" and appears on notices, tickets, and in shop dialogue. It is a listening cue that no price will follow.

I'r chwith / i'r dde

Mean "to the left" and "to the right" respectively. They are the standard direction phrases in spoken route instructions, alongside "yn syth ymlaen" for straight ahead.

Pum munud

Means "five minutes". Before a noun, "pump" shortens to "pum", so a listener hears "pum" rather than the counting form "pump".

Ddim as negative marker

The word "ddim" after the verb turns a statement negative, as in "Dw i ddim yn hoffi te". Hearing it means the speaker is denying rather than affirming.

Mae'n before adjectives

The contracted form "Mae'n" is used before an adjective or verb-noun, as in "Mae'n braf" and "Mae'n bwrw glaw"; "Mae" alone precedes a definite noun phrase.

Yr before vowels and h

The definite article is "yr" before a vowel or before h ("yr awyr", "yr haul"), "y" before other consonants, and "'r" after a word ending in a vowel.

Feminine nouns after the article

Singular feminine nouns take soft mutation after "y" or "yr": "cath" becomes "y gath", "merch" becomes "y ferch", "ffordd" becomes "y ffordd". The mutation reveals gender.

Nid yw / Dyw ddim

Two ways to write "is not". "Nid yw" is the formal literary form found in notices; "Dyw … ddim" is the colloquial spoken-style form common in short messages.

Gyda fi

Means "with me", a fused preposition plus pronoun. Welsh prepositions inflect for person, giving "gyda fi", "gyda ti", "gydag ef", and these appear as single units in text.

Plural endings -au and -oedd

Common Welsh plural endings include "-au" ("llyfrau", books) and "-oedd" ("misoedd", months). Recognising the ending helps identify a plural noun in a reading text.

Annwyl … / Yn gywir

Opening and closing pair for a short Welsh letter. "Annwyl [name]," opens it, and "Yn gywir," closes it formally; "Cofion gorau," is a warmer alternative closing.

Yn dda and soft mutation

Adverbial "yn" triggers soft mutation of the following adjective: "da" becomes "yn dda", "cyflym" becomes "yn gyflym", "mawr" becomes "yn fawr". Write the mutated form.

Circumflex in writing

The circumflex marks a long vowel and can distinguish words: "tŷ" (house), "dŵr" (water), "môr" (sea). Omitting it is a spelling error in written Welsh.

Verb-first questions

Welsh forms yes/no questions by putting the verb first: "Wyt ti'n hoffi coffi?", "Ydy hi'n athrawes?", "Oes bwyd?" No extra question particle is added.

Dw i'n byw yn

Means "I live in" and precedes a place name. It is a core sentence in a short written self-description and takes "yn" before the place, not "mewn".

Noswaith dda

Greeting meaning "good evening", used on arrival in the evening. It pairs with "bore da" in the morning and "prynhawn da" in the afternoon.

Wyt ti'n hoffi

Means "do you like", asked informally of one person. Affirm with "Ydw" and deny with "Nag ydw"; the polite form is "Ydych chi'n hoffi".

Mae gen i

Means "I have", literally "there is with me". It is followed by the possessed noun, and the negative counterpart is "Does gen i ddim" with "dim" before the noun.

Chwarter wedi / chwarter i

Mean "quarter past" and "quarter to". "Chwarter wedi tri" is 3:15, while "chwarter i dri" is 2:45, pointing to the coming hour.

Nesaf at / gyferbyn â

Location phrases meaning "next to" and "opposite". They appear in spoken directions and on simple maps, and "gyferbyn â" takes soft mutation after the preposition.

Punt a cheiniog

The Welsh words for pound and penny, used in prices. Listen for "punt" after the unit number and "ceiniog" for amounts under a pound.

Mae'r trên yn hwyr

Means "the train is late". It shows the standard pattern "Mae + definite noun + yn + adjective", with "'r" attached to "Mae" after a vowel.

Irregular plural dynion

"Dyn" (man) becomes "dynion" (men), an irregular plural that does not use the common "-au" or "-oedd" endings. Other irregulars include "plentyn" to "plant".

Ganddo fe / iddi hi

Fused preposition-plus-pronoun forms meaning "with him" and "to her". They appear as single words in text and must be read as preposition plus pronoun, not as separate items.

One yn per clause

Each Welsh clause normally carries one "yn" before its complement or verb-noun. Writing two, as in a doubled progressive, is an error in short A1 compositions.

Word count in Welsh tasks

Hyphenated forms such as "ar-lein" count as one word, while "Dw i" counts as two. Aim near the middle of a stated range so a miscount stays within limits.