The Welsh language is a thing of wonder, and amidst all the awkward pronunciations and incredibly long words, there are a number of wonderful sayings that everyone ought to live by. Here is your guide to the beautiful Welsh language.
Cartref yw cartref, er tloted y bo
Meaning: A beautiful Welsh saying that translates as ‘home is home, not matter how poor it is’
Approximate pronunciation: Car-trev ew car-trev err tloted uh bore
Adar o’r un lliw ehedant i’r un lle
Meaning: Similar to the saying ‘birds of a feather flock together’, it means ‘birds of the same colour fly to the same place’
Approximate pronunciation: Ah-dar ore een lliw eh-head-ant eer een lle
Adfyd a ddwg wybodaeth, a gwybodaeth ddoethineb
Meaning: ‘Adversity brings knowledge and knowledge wisdom’
Approximate pronunciation: Ad-vid ah thoog wibod-eyth ah gwibod-eyth doy-theen-eb
O geiniog i geiniog yr âr arian yn bunt
Meaning: ‘The pennies add up to become a pound’, similar to ‘look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves’
Approximate pronunciation: Oh gyne-iog ee gyne-iog urr ahr ar-yan un bint
Mewn pob daioni y mae gwobr
Meaning: There’s reward in every goodness
Approximate pronunciation: Mewn pohb dye-on-ee uh my goo-obr
Bwrw hen wragedd y ffyn
Meaning: It’s raining old wives and walking sticks
Approximate pronunciation: Boo-roo hen wrag-eth ah feen
Eilfan ywmodryb dda
Meaning: A good aunt is a second mother
Approximate pronunciation: Ail-van ew-modrib th-a
Gwell bachgen call na brenin ffol
Meaning: Better a wise lad, than a foolish king
Approximate pronunciation: Gwell ba-ch-gen call na brenin foal
Cynt y cwrdd dau ddyn na dau fynydd
Meaning: Sooner will two men meet than two mountains
Approximate pronunciation: Kint err c-oor-th dai dean na dai vyn-idd
Haw dywedyd “mynydd” na myned drosto
Meaning: It is easier to say “mountain” than to climb one
Approximate pronunciation: Haw d-wed-id mun-ith na mun-ed dross-toe
Gwr heb bwyll, llong heb angor
Meaning: A man without prudence is a ship without an anchor
Approximate pronunciation: G-oo-r heb boill, long heb ann-go-r
Dyfal donc a dyrr y garreg
Meaning: A constant knock will break the stone
Approximate pronunciation: Dove-al don-k ah dyrr er gar-reg
A wyr leiag a ddwed fwyaf
Meaning: He who knows least talks most
Approximate pronunciation: Ah wee-r lie-ag ah th-wed fui-ave
A ddywedo leiaf, hwnnw yw’r callaf
Meaning: Who speaks the least, he is the wisest
Approximate pronunciation: Ah th-aw-ed-o lay-of hun-oo ew-r call-ave
Ni ddaw cif I chwegr ei bod yn wuadd
Meaning: The mother-in-law forgets that she was a daughter-in-law
Approximate pronunciation: Knee th-aww keev e chwegr a bod u-n why-ath
Rhaid cropian cyn cerdded
Meaning: You must crawl before walking
Approximate pronunciation: hride croh-pee-an kyun kair-thed
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