Basic Expressions in Welsh

In Brief

A small set of Welsh expressions lets you greet someone, introduce yourself, be polite, and ask for help straight away. Learn common phrases such as Bore da (“Good morning”), Alex ydw i (“I’m Alex”), diolch (“thank you”), and Sut dych chi? (“How are you?”) as complete chunks. From the beginning, notice the contrast between informal singular ti and polite or plural chi.

Overview

Basic expressions are the pieces of language that keep an everyday interaction moving: saying hello, exchanging names, thanking someone, asking what something is, and explaining that you do not understand. They are among the first things you meet at A1 level because they are useful even before you can build many sentences independently.

Welsh expressions do not always map word for word onto English. For example, Alex ydw i means “I’m Alex,” but its structure is closer to “Alex is who I am.” Likewise, Welsh uses different forms for informal singular “you” and for polite or plural “you.” The best beginner strategy is therefore to memorise a phrase accurately as a whole, then use its pattern to make new phrases.

This article focuses on widely understood modern Welsh. Spoken forms vary across Wales, and you may hear both regional and more standard forms. That variation is normal: you do not need to choose one “perfect” variety before you begin speaking.

How It Works

Greetings through the day

Several greetings are built from a time word followed by da, “good.” Do not try to change their word order to match English.

Welsh	Meaning	Typical use
Bore da	Good morning	From morning until around midday
Prynhawn da	Good afternoon	After midday
Noswaith dda	Good evening	Greeting someone in the evening
Nos da	Good night	Usually when leaving or going to bed
Helo	Hello	Neutral and widely understood
Sut mae?	Hello; how are things?	Common conversational greeting

The difference between Noswaith dda and Nos da is much like the English difference between “good evening” and “good night”: the first can open an encounter, while the second normally closes one.

You may also hear Shwmae? (especially associated with the south) and shortened forms such as S’mae?. They function as friendly greetings rather than as requests for a detailed health report.

Asking how someone is

Welsh distinguishes ti, informal singular “you,” from chi, plural “you” and polite singular “you.” The verb form changes with it:

Situation	Welsh	English
One friend, child, or familiar person	Sut wyt ti?	How are you?
A stranger, customer, or person addressed politely	Sut dych chi?	How are you?
More than one person	Sut dych chi?	How are you all?

Dych chi is a common spoken form. You will also see the fuller ydych chi, especially in careful speech and writing: Sut ydych chi? The meaning is the same.

Useful replies include:

• Da iawn, diolch. — Very well, thank you.
• Iawn, diolch. — Fine, thank you.
• Ddim yn ddrwg. — Not bad.
• Wedi blino braidd. — A little tired.

In ddim yn ddrwg, the initial d of drwg changes to dd. This is a mutation (a regular change to the first consonant of a word caused by its grammatical surroundings). At A1, learn the complete reply; later you can study why each mutation occurs.

Giving and asking for names

A natural way to introduce yourself is to put your name first:

Name + ydw i

• Carys ydw i. — I’m Carys.
• Sam ydw i. — I’m Sam.

Here ydw i is a form of bod, “to be.” The name comes first because it is the information being identified. English speakers often expect “I + am + name,” but Welsh commonly organises this particular introduction differently.

Another useful pattern is:

• Fy enw i ydy Carys. — My name is Carys.

To ask someone’s name, choose the form that matches your relationship:

Address	Welsh	English
Informal singular	Beth ydy dy enw di?	What’s your name?
Polite singular or plural	Beth ydy’ch enw chi?	What’s your name? / What are your names?

The elements dy ... di and ’ch ... chi work together here to express “your.” Do not worry yet about analysing every element; treat each question as a reliable frame into which the other person can place a name.

Courtesy phrases

The safest general-purpose polite expressions are:

Welsh	English	Comment
Diolch.	Thank you.	Suitable in almost any situation
Diolch yn fawr.	Thank you very much.	Warmer or more emphatic
Os gwelwch yn dda.	Please.	Polite singular or plural
Os gweli di’n dda.	Please.	Informal singular
Croeso.	You’re welcome.	Also means “welcome”
Esgusodwch fi.	Excuse me.	Polite singular or plural
Mae’n ddrwg gen i.	I’m sorry.	An apology or expression of regret

Os gwelwch yn dda is often taught as the default equivalent of “please.” In casual speech you may also hear plis, but the full Welsh phrase is useful in service encounters and with people you do not know. When asking for something, “please” normally comes near the end: Ga i goffi, os gwelwch yn dda?

Basic question patterns

A few question frames cover many immediate needs:

Pattern	Example	Meaning
Beth ydy ...?	Beth ydy hyn?	What is this?
Ble mae ...?	Ble mae’r orsaf?	Where is the station?
Faint ydy ...?	Faint ydy e?	How much is it?
Dych chi’n ...?	Dych chi’n siarad Saesneg?	Do you speak English?
Ga i ...?	Ga i baned o de?	May I have a cup of tea?

A question word is simply a word such as “what,” “where,” or “how” that asks for missing information. Useful Welsh question words include beth (“what”), ble or lle (“where”), pwy (“who”), pryd (“when”), sut (“how”), and faint (“how much/how many”). Welsh sentence patterns after these words do not always copy English order, so learn the whole frames Beth ydy ...? and Ble mae ...? rather than translating one word at a time.

When communication breaks down

These expressions help you remain in Welsh instead of abandoning the conversation:

• Dw i ddim yn deall. — I don’t understand.
• Allwch chi ailadrodd? — Can you repeat?
• Allwch chi siarad yn arafach? — Can you speak more slowly?
• Beth mae ___ yn ei olygu? — What does ___ mean?
• Sut mae dweud ___ yn Gymraeg? — How do you say ___ in Welsh?

In these sentences, chi again provides a polite or plural “you.” With someone you know well, you may hear informal forms instead, but the chi versions are safe and useful for a beginner asking a stranger or teacher for help.

Examples in Context

Welsh	English	Note
Bore da!	Good morning!	A morning greeting
Prynhawn da, bawb.	Good afternoon, everyone.	Greeting a group
Nos da. Welwn ni chi yfory.	Good night. We’ll see you tomorrow.	Used when leaving
Sut wyt ti, Megan?	How are you, Megan?	Informal singular
Sut dych chi heddiw?	How are you today?	Polite singular or plural
Da iawn, diolch. A chi?	Very well, thank you. And you?	Polite or plural reply
Rhodri ydw i. Beth ydy’ch enw chi?	I’m Rhodri. What’s your name?	Introduction with polite chi
Fy enw i ydy Sara.	My name is Sara.	Alternative introduction
Diolch yn fawr.	Thank you very much.	Emphatic thanks
Coffi, os gwelwch yn dda.	Coffee, please.	A short polite request
Ga i baned o de, os gwelwch yn dda?	May I have a cup of tea, please?	Polite order or request
Esgusodwch fi, ble mae’r orsaf?	Excuse me, where is the station?	Getting someone’s attention
Beth ydy hyn?	What is this?	Asking for identification
Faint ydy e?	How much is it?	Asking a price
Dw i ddim yn deall. Allwch chi ailadrodd?	I don’t understand. Can you repeat?	Asking for help

Common Mistakes

Translating “I am” word for word in an introduction

• Wrong: Dw i Alex.
• Right: Alex ydw i.
• Also right: Fy enw i ydy Alex.
• Why: When identifying yourself by name, Welsh normally uses a structure with the name first or says “My name is ...”. The everyday dw i’n ... pattern is used with descriptions and many activities, but not by simply placing a name after it.

Mixing informal and polite forms

• Wrong: Sut wyt chi?
• Right (informal singular): Sut wyt ti?
• Right (polite or plural): Sut dych chi?
• Why: Wyt belongs with ti; dych belongs with chi. Learn each pair as one unit.

Using “good night” as an evening hello

• Awkward as an opening greeting: Nos da! when you have just arrived.
• Right: Noswaith dda! when greeting someone in the evening.
• Right on departure: Nos da! when saying goodbye for the night.
• Why: This distinction closely matches “good evening” versus “good night” in English.

Copying English word order in name questions

• Wrong: Beth dy enw?
• Right (informal): Beth ydy dy enw di?
• Right (polite): Beth ydy’ch enw chi?
• Why: Welsh needs its own question structure. The reinforcing di or chi is also natural in these possessive patterns.

Dropping the linking yn from a useful sentence

• Wrong: Dw i ddim deall.
• Right: Dw i ddim yn deall.
• Why: In this present-tense pattern, yn links the form of “be” to the verb-noun (the basic verb form used rather like an English infinitive), here deall, “understand.” In speech, yn often contracts after a vowel, as in dw i’n.

Expecting every greeting question to need a long answer

• Unnatural response: giving a detailed account every time someone says Sut mae?
• Natural response: Iawn, diolch. Sut mae?
• Why: Like “How’s it going?”, Sut mae? often works primarily as a friendly greeting. A short reply is enough unless the context invites more.

Usage Notes

Choosing between ti and chi

Use ti for one person when the relationship is familiar: friends, relatives, children, and often peers in relaxed settings. Use chi for more than one person. For one person, chi can also show politeness, distance, or respect, making it a sensible choice with a stranger or in a service encounter.

Actual preferences vary by speaker, age, region, workplace, and relationship. Some adults move to ti quickly; others retain chi. If a person addresses you as ti, that is often a cue that ti is welcome in return. The important point is not to mix the verb and pronoun from different sets.

Spoken and written variants

Welsh has a noticeable range between informal speech and careful writing. You may encounter Sut ydych chi? beside spoken Sut dych chi?, and Beth yw hyn? beside Beth ydy hyn? All are recognisably Welsh; they reflect register and variety rather than a simple divide between “correct” and “incorrect.” For active speaking, follow the variety used by your course, teacher, or local community and learn to recognise common alternatives.

North–south variation also affects everyday vocabulary and pronunciation. A beginner does not need to combine every variant. Consistency is more useful than trying to sound as though you come from several regions at once.

Punctuation and tone

Welsh uses question marks and exclamation marks much as English does. An expression such as Diolch. can sound warm or abrupt depending on voice and context, just as “Thanks” can in English. Adding yn fawr makes gratitude more emphatic; adding a person’s name can make a greeting more personal.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master the grammar behind these expressions yet, but several small phrases point toward major features of Welsh.

First, Alex ydw i is an identification sentence: it identifies the person as Alex and places the identifying information first. Welsh uses related structures to focus other information later on, not only names. This is why treating the phrase as merely an unusual translation of English misses a productive Welsh pattern.

Second, forms such as dw i, wyt ti, mae, and dych chi belong to the present tense of bod, “to be.” This verb is central to Welsh because it helps form statements about states and actions: Dw i’n hapus (“I’m happy”) and Dw i’n dysgu Cymraeg (“I learn/am learning Welsh”). The basic expressions in this article give you early practice with those forms before you study the full system.

Third, mutations appear inside fixed phrases. In Mae’n ddrwg gen i, for example, the dictionary form drwg appears as ddrwg. In Ga i goffi?, the form of coffi changes to goffi. These are regular grammatical effects, not careless spelling. At first, copy the expression exactly; later, mutation rules will explain why the initial letter changes.

Finally, conversational Welsh contains many regional and borrowed informal expressions, including iawn, sori, and plis in common interactions. Knowing them helps comprehension, but it does not make full phrases such as os gwelwch yn dda obsolete. Skilled speakers choose according to situation, relationship, and personal variety.

Practice Tips

1. Build two mini-dialogues. Practise one with ti and one with chi: greeting, asking how the person is, exchanging names, and saying goodbye. Keep wyt ti together and dych chi together.
2. Learn by situation, not as an alphabetical list. Put Esgusodwch fi, Ble mae ...?, and Diolch into a “asking directions” group; put Ga i ...? and os gwelwch yn dda into an “ordering” group. A situation provides a stronger memory cue than an isolated translation.
3. Use repair phrases from day one. Say Dw i ddim yn deall and Allwch chi ailadrodd? aloud until they are automatic. They give you a practical way to continue a real Welsh conversation even when your vocabulary runs out.

Related Concepts

• Next step: Food and Drink Vocabulary — use polite requests such as Ga i ...? and os gwelwch yn dda when ordering food and drink.