This section provides you with some simple phrases and words that you may hear or want to try for yourself. It is not intended as a 'Teach Yourself Welsh' course as this would take up an entire website in itself! All words are those of the local dialect which differs in some cases from Welsh spoken in other areas of Wales. But first, here is a brief note on the Welsh alphabet.

The following letters do not appear in the Welsh alphabet:

k, q, v, x, z, j.

The following letters are in the Welsh alphabet, but do not appear in the English alphabet:

ch, dd, ff, ll, ng, ph, rh, th.

People often say, "That's a funny word ... it's got no vowels in it!" when they see Welsh words. This is because the Welsh language uses some additional vowels (w and y) to those used in the English language. The Welsh vowels are:

a, e, i, o, u, w, y.

Commonly Used Greetings
(click on the speaker to download a .wav sound file)

Saying Yes and No

When you hear people speaking Welsh, you may think that they never say 'yes' or 'no'. This is because there is no direct equivalent to the English 'yes' and 'no' in the Welsh language. In Welsh yes and no answers are more specific. Here are a few examples which you might hear.