Family and People in Welsh

In Brief

Welsh family words often change their first consonant after words such as fy “my” and dy “your”: tad becomes fy nhad i “my father” but dy dad di “your father.” Learn each relationship word with its gender, plural, and one possessive phrase; this also prepares you for patterns such as dau frawd “two brothers” and dwy chwaer “two sisters.”

Overview

Family is an A1 topic because it lets you do useful things immediately: introduce someone, ask a relative’s name, and say whether you have brothers, sisters, or children. Common words include tad “father,” mam “mother,” brawd “brother,” chwaer “sister,” mab “son,” and merch “daughter.” You can combine them with short frames such as Dyma ... “This is ...” and Mae gen i ... “I have ....”

For an English-speaking learner, the vocabulary is only half the lesson. Welsh uses grammatical gender, a noun category that affects nearby words, and initial mutation, a regular change to the beginning of a word. English leaves “father” unchanged in “my father” and “your father”; Welsh distinguishes fy nhad i from dy dad di. The relationship has not changed—the different form is required by the possessive before it.

The beginner goal is not to recite every mutation table from memory. First learn dependable chunks such as fy mrawd i, dy fam di, and dwy chwaer. The fuller patterns below explain why those chunks look as they do and help you recognise unfamiliar family phrases later.

How It Works

Essential family vocabulary

A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. Welsh nouns have gender, and their plurals are not formed by one universal ending. Record the plural with each new family noun rather than trying to guess it.

Welsh	English	Gender	Plural
teulu	family	masculine	teuluoedd
tad	father	masculine	tadau
mam	mother	feminine	mamau
rhiant	parent	masculine	rhieni
brawd	brother	masculine	brodyr
chwaer	sister	feminine	chwiorydd
mab	son	masculine	meibion
merch	daughter; girl	feminine	merched
plentyn	child	masculine	plant
gŵr	husband; man	masculine	gwŷr
gwraig	wife; woman	feminine	gwragedd

The meaning of merch depends on context. In fy merch i, it normally means “my daughter”; elsewhere it can mean “girl.” Similarly, plant means “children,” not the English word plant.

For “person,” Welsh has person; the everyday plural idea “people” is commonly pobl. Because pobl already refers to more than one person collectively, do not treat it as a regular singular family noun.

Grandparents and the extended family

Several grandparent terms show clear regional preferences. Taid “grandfather” and nain “grandmother” are strongly associated with North Wales. Tad-cu and mam-gu are especially familiar in South Wales. All four are widely recognisable, so follow the forms used by the community or course you learn with.

Other useful terms include ewythr “uncle,” modryb “aunt,” cefnder “male cousin,” and cyfnither “female cousin.” Informal speech may also use forms such as wncwl and anti for “uncle” and “aunt.” They are real usage, but the traditional terms are useful in writing and across regions.

Possessives and mutation

A possessive is a word such as “my,” “your,” or “their” that shows a relationship or owner. In Welsh it comes before the noun and may trigger mutation. A reinforcing pronoun commonly appears after the noun too:

Meaning	Welsh frame	Effect on the following noun	Example
my	fy ... i	nasal mutation	fy nhad i “my father”
your, one familiar person	dy ... di	soft mutation	dy fam di “your mother”
his	ei ... e/fo	soft mutation	ei frawd e “his brother”
her	ei ... hi	aspirate mutation of p, t, c	ei thad hi “her father”
our	ein ... ni	normally no consonant mutation	ein plant ni “our children”
your, plural or polite	eich ... chi	normally no consonant mutation	eich teulu chi “your family”
their	eu ... nhw	normally no consonant mutation	eu merch nhw “their daughter”

The final i, di, e/fo, hi, ni, chi, nhw may look repetitive to an English speaker, but it is normal and useful in spoken Welsh. It makes the possessor clear, especially because ei can mean either “his” or “her.” Southern speech often uses e for “he/him,” while northern speech often uses fo; choose one model consistently at first.

Here are the most useful visible changes in this topic:

Basic form	After fy “my”	After dy “your”	After ei “his”	After ei “her”
tad	fy nhad i	dy dad di	ei dad e	ei thad hi
brawd	fy mrawd i	dy frawd di	ei frawd e	ei brawd hi
mam	fy mam i	dy fam di	ei fam e	ei mam hi
merch	fy merch i	dy ferch di	ei ferch e	ei merch hi
chwaer	fy chwaer i	dy chwaer di	ei chwaer e	ei chwaer hi

An unchanged spelling does not mean the phrase is wrong. Welsh mutations affect particular consonants only. For example, fy requires nasal mutation, but initial m and ch have no nasal-mutated form in this pattern, so fy mam i and fy chwaer i stay visibly unchanged.

Do not put the definite article y/yr “the” before a possessive. Welsh says fy mam i, not y fy mam i. The possessive already makes the noun definite, just as English says “my mother,” not “the my mother.”

Gender beyond the vocabulary label

Gender becomes visible in several everyday family phrases. The definite article causes soft mutation of a feminine singular noun when that noun begins with a consonant that can change:

• tad → y tad “the father”
• brawd → y brawd “the brother”
• mam → y fam “the mother”
• merch → y ferch “the daughter/girl”
• gwraig → y wraig “the woman/wife”

Some consonants show no visible soft mutation, so y chwaer remains “the sister.” Gender can also affect an adjective, a describing word: compare brawd bach “a little brother” with chwaer fach “a little sister,” where bach changes to fach after the feminine singular noun.

Saying how many relatives you have

Welsh numbers often use a singular noun where English uses a plural. The number “two” also has gendered forms:

• dau frawd — two brothers; masculine dau, with brawd → frawd
• dwy chwaer — two sisters; feminine dwy, with no visible change to chwaer
• dau fab — two sons; masculine dau, with mab → fab
• dwy ferch — two daughters; feminine dwy, with merch → ferch

Notice the singular forms brawd, chwaer, mab, merch after the number. Use the independent plurals when there is no exact small number: fy mrodyr i “my brothers,” ei chwiorydd hi “her sisters,” and eu plant nhw “their children.”

To say “have,” spoken Welsh commonly uses a construction closer in shape to “there is ... with me.” A widespread northern pattern is Mae gen i ...; a common southern pattern is Mae ... gyda fi:

Pattern	Example	Natural English
Mae gen i ...	Mae gen i frawd.	I have a brother.
Mae ... gyda fi.	Mae brawd gyda fi.	I have a brother.
Oes gen ti ...?	Oes gen ti blant?	Do you have children?
Does gen i ddim ...	Does gen i ddim chwaer.	I do not have a sister.

After gen i, a following item commonly shows soft mutation: brawd → frawd and dwy → ddwy. This gives the full phrase Mae gen i ddwy chwaer. At A1, it is efficient to learn Mae gen i, Oes gen ti?, and Does gen i ddim as complete sentence frames.

Introducing people and asking names

Use Dyma for “Here is/This is” and Dyna for “There is/That is.” They do not need an English-style separate word for “is”:

• Dyma fy mrawd i. — This is my brother.
• Dyna ein rhieni ni. — Those are our parents.

Welsh also places nouns together to express an “of” relationship. Enw dy fam is literally “name your mother” in its word order but means “your mother’s name.” The first noun normally has no article in this construction:

• Beth ydy enw dy fam? — What is your mother’s name?
• Mam Siân ydy hi. — She is Siân’s mother.

Examples in Context

Welsh	English	Note
Dyma fy mrawd i.	This is my brother.	fy causes brawd → mrawd.
Dyna ein rhieni ni.	Those are our parents.	ein ... ni means “our.”
Mae gen i ddwy chwaer.	I have two sisters.	dwy agrees with feminine chwaer.
Mae gen i frawd a chwaer.	I have a brother and a sister.	brawd → frawd after the gen i frame.
Oes gen ti blant?	Do you have children?	A common question with gen ti.
Does gen i ddim brodyr.	I do not have any brothers.	Negative Does ... ddim; plural brodyr.
Beth ydy enw dy fam?	What is your mother’s name?	mam → fam after dy.
Ei dad e ydy Huw.	His father is Huw.	“His” causes soft mutation: tad → dad.
Dyma ei thad hi.	This is her father.	“Her” causes aspirate mutation: tad → thad.
Mae fy nhad-cu yn byw yn y wlad.	My grandfather lives in the countryside.	The first part of tad-cu mutates after fy.
Mae nain Mair yn byw ym Mangor.	Mair’s grandmother lives in Bangor.	Noun + name expresses the relationship.
Mae ein merch ni'n gweithio yng Nghaerdydd.	Our daughter works in Cardiff.	ni'n combines the reinforcing ni with yn.
Mae ei mab hi yn yr ysgol.	Her son is at school.	mab does not aspirate, so it stays unchanged.
Mae ganddyn nhw ddau fab.	They have two sons.	dau is masculine; mab → fab.
Pwy ydy'r wraig yna?	Who is that woman?	Feminine gwraig → y wraig after the article.

Common Mistakes

Keeping the dictionary form after every possessive

• Wrong: dy mam di
• Right: dy fam di
• Why: dy “your” triggers soft mutation, so initial m becomes f. Learn the whole phrase rather than adding dy to an unchanged dictionary form.

Using the same mutation for “his” and “her”

• Wrong: ei dad hi for “her father”
• Right: ei thad hi
• Why: ei “his” triggers soft mutation (ei dad e), but ei “her” triggers aspirate mutation of p, t, c (ei thad hi). The final pronoun also removes the ambiguity.

Adding an article before a possessive

• Wrong: y fy mrawd i
• Right: fy mrawd i
• Why: A possessive phrase does not also take y “the” before the noun.

Using a plural noun after “two”

• Wrong: dwy chwiorydd
• Right: dwy chwaer
• Why: Welsh normally uses the singular noun after a number. Use chwiorydd when no exact number directly precedes it.

Ignoring the gendered form of “two”

• Wrong: dau chwaer
• Right: dwy chwaer
• Why: Use dau with a masculine noun and dwy with a feminine noun. The choice follows the Welsh noun’s grammatical gender.

Translating “I have” word for word

• Wrong: Dw i brawd.
• Right: Mae gen i frawd. / Mae brawd gyda fi.
• Why: Welsh normally expresses possession with gan or gyda, not by placing a noun after dw i.

Usage Notes

Family vocabulary varies naturally by region. Grandparent words are the clearest example: speakers may identify strongly with taid/nain or tad-cu/mam-gu. This is not a formal-versus-informal contrast and neither pair is a defective version of the other. Listening to local speakers is the best guide.

The same applies to pronouns and “have” constructions. You may hear northern fo where southern speakers use e, and one course may foreground Mae gen i ... while another teaches Mae ... gyda fi. Aim to understand both patterns, but keep one regional model consistent in your own early speaking.

Welsh relationship words do not always map neatly onto English social labels. Merch can be “girl” or “daughter,” and gŵr can be “man” or “husband”; context and possessives usually settle the meaning. When talking about an adult in a situation where the relationship is not already clear, a fuller phrase avoids ambiguity.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master the following points at A1, but they explain forms you will meet later.

Possessives before vowels have additional h- and contraction patterns. The third-person feminine phrase ei henw hi means “her name,” and ein henw ni means “our name.” In faster speech, some possessive words may be reduced, while the mutation and final reinforcing pronoun continue to identify the relationship. This is one reason mutations carry real information rather than being decorative spelling changes.

Family phrases also combine with ordinary noun-to-noun possession. Welsh generally places the possessed item first and its possessor second: tŷ fy rhieni “my parents’ house” and enw chwaer Dafydd “the name of Dafydd’s sister.” English speakers are tempted to insert a direct equivalent of “of” or an apostrophe-s, but Welsh often needs neither.

Finally, mutations can stack at different levels of a phrase. In Mae gen i ddwy chwaer, the possession frame soft-mutates dwy to ddwy, while dwy governs the following singular feminine noun. In fy nhad-cu i, fy affects the first element of the compound tad-cu. Analyse the phrase from left to right, asking which word triggers the form immediately after it.

Practice Tips

1. Build four-part vocabulary cards. Write the base word, gender, plural, and one possessed form: brawd — masculine — brodyr — fy mrawd i. This prevents vocabulary and grammar from becoming separate tasks.
2. Practise a small family map aloud. Point to real or invented people and alternate Dyma fy ... i, Dyna ei ... hi, and Mae gen i .... Include at least one masculine and one feminine noun.
3. Listen for the beginning, not only the whole word. Train pairs such as tad/nhad/dad/thad and mam/fam. Then repeat complete chunks at a natural pace rather than pausing before the mutation.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Possession — introduces Mae gen i, fy, dy, and the possessive mutation patterns used throughout this topic.
• Useful foundation: Gender of Nouns — explains why forms such as dau/dwy and y ferch differ.
• Useful foundation: Numbers — develops number gender, singular nouns after numbers, and their mutation patterns.
• Next step: Describing People and Appearance — adds appearance and personal descriptions to basic family introductions.