Cymraeg

Welsh

Celtic

FamilyCeltic Speakers~880K ScriptLatin CountriesUK (Wales) Official inWales (co-official) Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3cym

Also known as: Welsh, Cymraeg

Welsh (Cymraeg) is the most widely spoken Celtic language today, with ~880K speakers (~600K daily users) — primarily in Wales, plus the Y Wladfa Patagonian Welsh community in Argentina (Chubut Province, ~5K speakers since 1865 settlement). It is a Brythonic Celtic language (sister to Cornish kw and Breton br; descended from Common Brittonic alongside Cumbric and Pictish), distinct from the Goidelic branch (Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Manx). Phonologically distinctive for its system of consonant mutations — soft (calon → galon "heart"), nasal (calon → nghalon), and aspirate (calon → chalon) — triggered by grammatical context. Welsh-medium education has driven significant revitalization since the 1980s, supported by the Welsh Language Act 1993 and the BBC's S4C television channel (1982). The Welsh Government targets 1 million Welsh speakers by 2050 (Cymraeg 2050 strategy).

Where it is spoken

20 core words in Welsh

Water

dŵr

/duːr/

Fire

tân

/tɑːn/

Sun

haul

/haɨl/

Moon

lleuad

/ɬɛɨ̯ad/

Mother

mam

/mam/

Father

tad

/tɑːd/

Eat

bwyta

/bʊɨta/

Drink

yfed

/əvɛd/

Love

cariad

/karjad/

Heart

calon

/kalɔn/

Tree

coeden

/kɔɨdɛn/

House

/tiː/

Dog

ci

/kiː/

Cat

cath

/kɑːθ/

Hand

llaw

/ɬaʊ/

Eye

llygad

/ɬəɡad/

Hello

helô

/hɛˈloː/

Thank you

diolch

/diːɔlx/

One

un

/ɨːn/

Good

da

/dɑː/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Celtic languages

Meaning WelshBretonCornishSwedishNorwegianIrulaFrisian
Water dŵr /duːr/ dour /duːɾ/ dowr /dɔuɾ/ vatten /vatːɛn/ vann /vɑnː/ nīr /niːɾ/ wetter /vɛtər/
Fire tân /tɑːn/ tan /tɑ̃ːn/ tan /tan/ eld /ɛld/ ild /ilː/ /tiː/ fjoer /fjuːr/
Sun haul /haɨl/ heol /heːɔl/ howl /haʊl/ sol /suːl/ sol /suːl/ čūriyen /tʃuːɾijen/ sinne /sɪnə/
Moon lleuad /ɬɛɨ̯ad/ loar /lwaːɾ/ loor /loːɾ/ måne /moːnɛ/ måne /moːnə/ niLā /niɭaː/ moanne /mwɑnə/
Mother mam /mam/ mamm /mɑ̃m/ mamm /mam/ mamma /mamːa/ mor /muːr/ ammā /amːaː/ mem /mɛm/
Father tad /tɑːd/ tad /taːd/ tas /taːs/ pappa /papːa/ far /fɑːr/ ayyā /ajːaː/ heit /hɛit/
Eat bwyta /bʊɨta/ debriñ /debɾĩː/ dybri /ˈdɨbɾi/ äta /ɛːta/ spise /spiːsə/ činnu /tʃinːu/ ite /iːtə/
Drink yfed /əvɛd/ evañ /eːvɑ̃/ eva /ˈɛva/ dricka /drɪkːa/ drikke /drɪkːə/ kuDi /kuɖi/ drinke /drɪŋkə/
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Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

Welsh
Rydw ‌i eisiau rhoi cynnig ar siwt a welais i mewn siop gyferbyn â'r gwesty
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 看到的 那套西装
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with closely-related languages

Me garfe klask ur gwiskamant a weliz en ur stal dirak d'al leti
Ba mhaith ‌liom culaith a chonaic mé i siopa trasna ón óstán a thriail
Welsh
Rydw ‌i eisiau rhoi cynnig ar siwt a welais i mewn siop gyferbyn â'r gwesty

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