Basic PHRASES in WELSH

What does a typical Welsh do?

They drink and play rugby and of course know how to speak Welsh

DUH!!!

Image from my Welsh friend. :)

I love languages. It is really cool to learn different types of languages especially knowing you can see the differences between each languages. Living in Wales for 9 months, I had learnt some basic Welsh, mostly from my Welsh friends.  

so Welcome to Yan's Classroom. HAHAHA

Below are few basic Welsh. 

what I meant basic is REAL BASIC..

1. Croeso i Caerdydd - Welcome to Cardiff
Pronunciation: Cro so
You will always see this phrase especially when you're in Cardiff. This is the first welsh phrase I have seen when I am in Cardiff University. 

2. Shwmae- Hello
Pronunciation: Sho mai
To greet a Welsh, easy! All you need to say "Sho mai". If you know how to speak Cantonese, just think of " Xiu Mai" （烧卖）.This is how I remember this phrase.

3. Bore da-Good Morning
Pronunciation: Bore da

4. Noson dda -Good Night
Pronunciation: Nos da

5. Diolch-Thank you
Pronunciation: Di-yoch
This is another common phrases that you will see or hear around in Wales. Besides saying thank you or cheers why not saying diolch when you're in Wales. :)

6. Dim Problem - You're welcome
Pronounciation: Dim Problem
Well, I think this is easy to pronounce and remember. 

7.  Da iawn- Brilliant/ very good/ well done
Pronunciation: Die yawn
This is one of my favourite phrase. It's nice when someone say Da iawn to you. It means praising!

8. Bendigedig- Fantastic/Wonderful/Excellent
Pronunciation: Ben-di-get-dict
Another word similar to the Da iawn. 

9. Pob lwc- Good Luck
Pronunciation: pop log
Wishing someone good luck during exams or something else? Pob lwc! Initially when I see this I couldn't read it. It seems impossible to read especially the "lwc" as there are no vowels in the words. 

10.  Penblwydd hapus-Happy Birthday
Pronunciation: Pen bloid ha ppus
Thought of impressing your local friends or foreign country mates? Maybe you can try writing Penblwydd hapus in their birthday card. Well, everyone has a birthday, right? 


Here are the first 10 phrases which I think is easy to learn. The pronunciation is just my personal ways of pronouncing them and thought it might be helpful for people who are interested in learning Welsh. Follow my blog for further updates. Maybe I will share some longer Welsh phrases in my future posts.  

Facts about Welsh:

In America, Canada and other European countries, it can be quite common to mone and complain about your own country, not in Wales. They are fiercely patriotic, they learn their own language in school, although almost no one else in the world speaks it. 

cited in www.Flavourmag.co.uk 

Dedicated this post to Stephanie Rees for teaching me Welsh xx