Where every
word comes from.

Every Welsh word and phrase on this site, and in our printables, was copied from one of the pages below and checked against it on 31 October 2026. The site’s facts (dates, census figures and quotes) were checked the same way. Words we couldn’t find in these sources were left out.

How we handle North and South, numbers and pronunciation

• North and South. Where BBC Cymru’s list marks a phrase North or South, or formal or informal, we say so. We don’t add rules of our own about when to use each.
• Numbers. BBC Wales: there are two counting systems in Welsh. The traditional system is always used when telling the time, and very often for people’s ages. The simpler modern system was developed for teaching maths in Welsh, and it is now the more common of the two, especially among younger people. BBC Wales: Welsh at home (South, Entry): Time (1) ↗ Our lessons use the modern numbers for 11 to 20; the home page shows both.
• Yesterday. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru lists yesterday under the headword “doe, ddoe”, so both forms appear in the dictionary. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: ddoe ↗
• Pronunciation. No invented sound-alike spellings and no recordings of our own. The Learn Welsh website (learnwelsh.cymru) offers a free Welsh taster course, and says that people aged 16 to 25 can learn Welsh for free. Learn Welsh (learnwelsh.cymru): home page ↗
• Place names. Town names are copied from the Welsh Language Commissioner’s list of Standard Welsh Place-names. We don’t give place-name meanings. For each place, the Welsh Language Commissioner’s list gives a standard Welsh form and an English form, which it describes as “the standard form to be used in English”. Welsh Language Commissioner: Standard Welsh Place-names (one page per name; the list is licensed under the Open Government Licence 3.0) ↗ The list notes that “very occasionally there are multiple forms which may be considered standard on the basis of use and historical evidence”. Welsh Language Commissioner: Standard Welsh Place-names (one page per name; the list is licensed under the Open Government Licence 3.0) ↗ The list is published under the Open Government Licence 3.0 (©Welsh Language Commissioner 2024; contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2024). Welsh Language Commissioner: Standard Welsh Place-names (one page per name; the list is licensed under the Open Government Licence 3.0) ↗
• Census figures. In the census, people assessed their own Welsh language skills (or parents and guardians answered for children). Office for National Statistics: Welsh language, Wales: Census 2021 (statistical bulletin) ↗ The ONS says one of the main reasons for the fall between 2011 and 2021 was a decrease in children and young people aged 3 to 15 who reported being able to speak Welsh. Office for National Statistics: Welsh language, Wales: Census 2021 (statistical bulletin) ↗

Main sources

1. BBC Cymru: Welsh phrases / Ymadroddion Cymraeg (Derek Brockway’s 40 Welsh phrases, archived page)
2. Visit Wales: Poetry in motion: discover the language of Wales
3. BBC Wales: Welsh at home (South, Entry): Time (1)
4. BBC Wales: Welsh at home (South, Entry): Days of the week
5. BBC Wales: Welsh at home (South, Entry): Seasons
6. BBC Wales: Welsh at home (South, Entry): Food
7. BBC Wales: Welsh at home (South, Entry): Weather
8. BBC Wales: Welsh at home (South, Entry): Animals
9. BBC Wales: Welsh at home (South, Entry): Describing clothes
10. BBC Wales: Colin and Cumberland word bank: Numbers
11. BBC Wales: Colin and Cumberland word bank: Clothes and Colour
12. BBC Wales: Colin and Cumberland word bank: Greetings and weather
13. BBC Wales: Colin and Cumberland word bank: Introducing yourself
14. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru (University of Wales Dictionary of the Welsh Language), online edition: entries for each word marked GPC
15. Welsh Language Commissioner: Standard Welsh Place-names (one page per name; the list is licensed under the Open Government Licence 3.0)
16. Office for National Statistics: Welsh language, Wales: Census 2021 (statistical bulletin)
17. Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011, section 1: Official status of the Welsh language (legislation.gov.uk)
18. Learn Welsh (learnwelsh.cymru): home page
19. Learn Manx (Culture Vannin): Discover the story of Manx

Dictionary entries (43)

1. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: glas
2. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: llwyd
3. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: brown
4. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: oren
5. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: pinc
6. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: porffor
7. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: aber
8. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: caer
9. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: llan
10. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: pont
11. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: castell
12. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: tref
13. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: pen
14. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: haul
15. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: glaw
16. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: eira
17. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: cymraeg
18. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: Cymru
19. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: coch
20. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: gwyrdd
21. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: melyn
22. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: du
23. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: gwyn
24. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: afon
25. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: mynydd
26. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: llyn
27. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: cwm
28. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: bryn
29. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: nant
30. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: ynys
31. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: iaith
32. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: draig
33. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: dydd
34. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: wythnos
35. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: mis
36. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: blwyddyn
37. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: bore
38. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: heddiw
39. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: ddoe
40. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: yfory
41. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: aderyn
42. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: pysgodyn
43. Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: tywydd

Place-name entries (24)

1. Welsh Language Commissioner: Standard Welsh Place-names: Caerdydd
2. Welsh Language Commissioner: Standard Welsh Place-names: Abertawe
3. Welsh Language Commissioner: Standard Welsh Place-names: Casnewydd
4. Welsh Language Commissioner: Standard Welsh Place-names: Wrecsam
5. Welsh Language Commissioner: Standard Welsh Place-names: Aberhonddu
6. Welsh Language Commissioner: Standard Welsh Place-names: Abergwaun
7. Welsh Language Commissioner: Standard Welsh Place-names: Dinbych-y-pysgod
8. Welsh Language Commissioner: Standard Welsh Place-names: Caerfyrddin
9. Welsh Language Commissioner: Standard Welsh Place-names: Aberdaugleddau
10. Welsh Language Commissioner: Standard Welsh Place-names: Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr
11. Welsh Language Commissioner: Standard Welsh Place-names: Castell-nedd
12. Welsh Language Commissioner: Standard Welsh Place-names: Merthyr Tudful
13. Welsh Language Commissioner: Standard Welsh Place-names: Hwlffordd
14. Welsh Language Commissioner: Standard Welsh Place-names: Trefaldwyn
15. Welsh Language Commissioner: Standard Welsh Place-names: Caergybi
16. Welsh Language Commissioner: Standard Welsh Place-names: Llanfair-ym-Muallt
17. Welsh Language Commissioner: Standard Welsh Place-names: Aberystwyth
18. Welsh Language Commissioner: Standard Welsh Place-names: Caernarfon
19. Welsh Language Commissioner: Standard Welsh Place-names: Bangor
20. Welsh Language Commissioner: Standard Welsh Place-names: Llanelli
21. Welsh Language Commissioner: Standard Welsh Place-names: Pontypridd
22. Welsh Language Commissioner: Standard Welsh Place-names: Llandudno
23. Welsh Language Commissioner: Standard Welsh Place-names: Porthmadog
24. Welsh Language Commissioner: Standard Welsh Place-names: Aberaeron

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