Colloquial Welsh nouns

Colloquial Welsh nouns deals with the nouns (Welsh: enwau) of the colloquial Welsh language, the spoken register of the modern Welsh language as spoken in Wales by first-language speakers. This page does not deal with the literary standard forms nor any dialect which may have arisen outside of Wales. Welsh has two standardised forms: Literary Welsh – a conservative language reserved for literary purposes which retains some features of older Welsh; and Colloquial Welsh – the Welsh one will hear being spoken in Welsh speaking areas. For the most part the two languages share rules governing nouns, though one may encounter differences. Colloquial Welsh also shows some variation in initial-consonant mutations, which is explained below, while the literary form retains the proper mutations in all cases.

Introduction to the Welsh noun

Nouns are words that names things, places, people, ideas, and concepts. ^[1] They are the largest category of words in the Welsh language and fall into two broad groups:

• Proper nouns – names of places and people and are written with a capital initial letter. English examples being: William, Wales, Cardiff, Saint David, and London. Examples from Welsh would be: Gwilym, Cymru, Caerdydd, Dewi Sant, Owain Glyndŵr , and Llundain. ^{[1] [2]}
• Common nouns – all the rest. ^{[1] [2]} These are not usually written with a capital initial letter (unless beginning a sentence, like in English). Common nouns can be further split into two sub-categories: count nouns and mass nouns (or uncountable nouns).
  • Count nouns are countable, tangible, or otherwise perceptible objects or living things, e.g. cath 'cat', tŷ 'house', gwlad 'country, nation', gaeaf 'winter' and awel 'breeze'.
  • Mass nouns are (normally) uncountable things or abstract concepts and ideas, e.g. siwgr 'sugar', mêl 'honey', bara 'bread', aur 'gold', llawenydd 'happiness, gladness', oerfel 'coldness', chwilfrydedd 'curiosity', and gwybodaeth 'information, knowledge'.

In general, count and mass nouns behave in the same way, except that mass nouns are not usually found in the plural (they are sometimes, in that we are able to talk about different 'breads' and different 'teas'). Abstract nouns are often found without the article.

In addition Welsh has a large number of verbal-nouns (also called verbnouns), ^[1] but these are not dealt with in this article.

'Specific' and 'non-specific' words

The concept of 'specific' and 'non-specific' words is important in Welsh, and the distinction between them is crucial to understanding some aspects of Welsh grammar: mostly the preposition yn (in) and the negator mo. ^[1]

A word counts as 'specific' if it is:

1. preceded by the definite article – y / yr / 'r
2. a proper name
3. a pronoun
4. preceded by a possessive adjective (my, his, their, etc.) ^[1]

For example, tŷ '(a) house' is non-specific as it could refer to any house, while y tŷ 'the house' is specific because the speaker has a particular house in mind – this satisfies rule 1 above. Ei dŷ 'his house' is specific for the same reason and satisfies rule 4 (note the initial consonant mutation tŷ > dŷ). Pronouns are used to refer to people or things already mentioned and are specific by definition. Proper nouns are names of people or places: Caernarfon is a particular place.

Mutations with the Welsh noun

The most common cause of mutations to nouns is their contact with prepositions – most of which cause soft mutation, three cause aspirate mutation and one causes nasal mutation. ^[3] However, in reality the aspirate mutation is dying out in the colloquial language and it is usually only found with the mutation of c to ch (that is, a change from /k/ to /χ/). Yn ‘in’ alone causes the nasal mutation ^[3] which also is not as widespread as suggested by the literary standard ^[3] and is often replaced by the soft mutation. The literary language, however, retains all proper uses of the mutations without exception.

Proper nouns

It is a general rule of modern colloquial Welsh that personal names are not mutated. ^[1] Compare the following two sentences with a common noun and a proper noun:

• Roddes i'r manylion i bennaeth yr adran ddoe [< pennaeth]
  I gave the details to the head of the department yesterday
• Roddes i'r manylion i Pedr ddoe [Pedr is left unmutated]
  I gave the details to Pedr yesterday

Geographical names

Geographical names are subject to mutation ^[1] – not only places in Wales, but also places outside of Wales for which the Welsh language has a name in common use, including many towns and cities in England which retain their old Celtic names in Welsh. Examples with i 'to':

1. i Gaerdydd – 'to Cardiff' [< Caerdydd]
2. i Landeilo – 'to Llandeilo' [< Llandeilo]
3. i Ddyfed – 'to Dyfed' [< Dyfed]
4. i Fangor – 'to Bangor' [< Bangor]
5. i Fanceinion – 'to Manchester' [< Manceinion]
6. i Gaergrawnt – 'to Cambridge' [< Caergrawnt]
7. i Gaer – 'to Chester' [< Caer]
8. i Rydychen – 'to Oxford' [< Rhydychen]
9. i Lundain – 'to London' [< Llundain]
10. i Gymru – 'to Wales' [< Cymru]
11. i Loegr – 'to England' [< Lloegr]

This also occurs with the aspirate mutation ^[1] (usually after a 'and'), e.g. Caerdydd 'Cardiff' becomes a Chaerdydd 'and Cardiff'; and for the nasal mutation ^[1] after yn 'in', e.g. yn Nhalybont 'in Talybont'. See Colloquial Welsh prepositions for more on yn and its complications.

Mutation of non-Welsh place names is also common place in the spoken language, ^[1] e.g. i Firmingham 'to Birmingham'. This is contrary to the rules of the standard literary language which prefers i Birmingham or i ddinas Birmingham 'to the city of Birmingham' [< dinas 'city']. ^[1]

The points on the compass (North, South, East, West, etc.) are also susceptible to mutation when used in geographical names, ^[1] e.g. i Ogledd Cymru 'to North Wales' [< gogledd]; o Dde Affrica 'from South Africa' [< de]; yng Ngorllewin Morgannwg 'in West Glamorgan' [< gorllewin].

Genitive noun phrases

Two or more nouns can be used together in a genitive (or possessive) relationship. This is achieved by two methods in English:

1. the doctor's car
2. the car of the doctor ^[1]

In Welsh, the only option available to us is (2) above. ^[1] All English expressions involving the clitic 's or s' must be rephrased using the "of (the)" construction before being translated into Welsh – even when this would be unnatural in English. This means that 'Dafydd's book' becomes 'the book of Dafydd'. ^[1]

Welsh, like the other Celtic languages, has a special way of expressing genitive noun phrases which has mutation implications. ^[1]

Using the above example of the doctor's car, we must rephrase this into the "of (the)" construction to make it suitable for translating into Welsh:

The car of the doctor

We then remove the word 'of':

The car the doctor

Thus leaving the two separate noun phrases 'the car' and 'the doctor'.

Finally, we must now remove any instances of the word 'the', except the one before the final element in the phrase (if there is one, there may not be):

Car the doctor

This can now be translated, word-for-word, into Welsh:

Car y meddyg

In effect, the two nouns (or noun phrases) are linked by the intervening y, and it is particularly important to remember that there is no definite article at the beginning of genitive noun phrases in Welsh. Phrases like *y gyrrwr y bws (the driver of the bus) and *y canol y dre (the centre of the town) are serious and basic errors and are ungrammatical. ^[1] The correct forms being gyrrwr y bws and canol y dre. Likewise, use of the preposition o (of, from) as in *gyrrwr o'r bws or *canol o'r dre are also ungrammatical and would be seen as a basic error. ^[1] The preposition o can mean 'of' but never in genitive constructions, where 'of' must not be translated.

The above method for translating noun-noun genitive relationships works regardless of how many nouns are involved: ^[1]

The following sentence has three nouns: 'the bank manager's daughter'.

Operation 1: 'the bank manager's daughter' > 'the daughter of the manager of the bank'

Operation 2: 'the daughter of the manager of the bank' > 'daughter manager the bank'

Translate: merch rheolwr y banc (the bank manager's daughter)

For four nouns: 'the bank manager's daughter's cat'

Operation 1: 'the bank manager's daughter's cat' > 'the cat of the daughter of the manager of the bank'

Operation 2: 'the cat of the daughter of the manager of the bank' > 'cat daughter manager the bank'

Translate: cath merch rheolwr y banc

The second (or final) noun in a genitive noun phrase can be indefinite:

'the middle of a city'

Operation 1: 'the middle of a city' > 'the middle of a city'

Operation 2: 'the middle of a city' > 'middle a city'

Translate: canol dinas

In this example the Welsh has only two words remaining because 'the' and 'of' are eliminated in Operations 1 and 2 and the indefinite article 'a, an' does not have a counterpart in Welsh and so goes untranslated, ^[1] therefore, canol dinas (the middle of a city).

Examples with proper nouns:

Dafydd's house:

Operation 1: 'Dafydd's house' > 'the house of Dafydd'

Operation 2: 'the house of Dafydd' > 'house Dafydd'

Translate: tŷ Dafydd

The capital of France:

Operation 1: 'The capital of France' > no change

Operation 2: 'The capital of France' > 'capital France'

Translate: prifddinas Ffrainc

Mutation implications of genitive noun phrases

These implications are a result of the first definite article of a genitive noun phrase being dropped. Compare:

• Nes i adael y papurau ar y bwrdd
  I left the papers on the table
• but: Nes i adael y papurau ar fwrdd y bos
  I left the papers on the boss' table [i.e. 'on the table of the boss']

This is due to the preposition ar (on) causing the soft mutation. Further examples:

• canol y dre (the centre of the town) > yng nghanol y dre (in the centre of the town) [nasal mutation after yn]
• drws y stafell wely (the door of the bedroom) > wrth ddrws y stafell wely (by the door of the bedroom)
• gwastadoedd mawreddog Nebraska (the majestic plains of Nebraska) > dros wastadoedd mawreddog Nebraska (across the majestic plains of Nebraska) ['g' is deleted under soft mutation]

Gender

Principles of gender systems

Like many European languages, such as French, German, Russian, and Spanish, Welsh features grammatical gender. ^[4] In fact, English is one of the few European languages which does not (any longer) feature grammatical gender. English currently operates a system of natural gender (or semantic gender) – gender dictated by the meaning of the noun. ^[4]

The two systems (grammatical gender & natural gender) classify the world around us in different ways, though both start with the premise that everything that needs a name (i.e. a noun) and can be identified as either:

1. Animate – a living thing or organism; or
2. Inanimate – anything that does not come under (1) above. ^[4]

From this premise the natural gender system (that of Modern English) is simple enough:

Animates are either masculine or feminine ^[4] – a hangover from a time when English had grammatical gender, where the old neuter gender is all but lost (it survives only in the pronoun 'it'). English also has genderless 'catch-all words' which do not belong to either masculine or feminine, like 'child' as a child can be male or female. ^[4] In other words gender = sex. Animates are thought of and referred to as 'he' or 'she' (and rarely 'it').

Inanimates are genderless in Modern English (not neuter). They have no sex, so they have no gender, and are thought of and referred to as 'it'. ^[4]

This is the essence of the Modern English gender system. Note that the vast majority of nouns are inanimates and so do not have gender at all. ^[4]

From the same animate/inanimate premise, grammatical gender systems operate on either a two-way gender system (masculine and feminine – as in Welsh and French), or a three-way system (masculine, feminine, and neuter – as in German, Russian or Old English). ^[4] In either case, the fundamental principle is that all nouns are assigned a gender, and on this principle the classification process is as follows:

Animates are usually (not always) assigned grammatical gender according to sex – therefore they will be masculine or feminine as in a natural gender system. ^[4]

Inanimates must be assigned gender, which cannot be done by the criterion of sex (as they have none), so it is done more-or-less seemingly arbitrarily, with both or all three genders represented. ^[4] Note that 'neuter' does not mean 'genderless' but is the conventional term for the third gender in three-way gender systems ^[4] and is, therefore, just as much a gender as masculine and feminine.

Gender of the Welsh noun

Welsh nouns are either animate or inanimate and masculine (masc.) or feminine (fem.). ^[4] Where predictable, this can be done either by form or by meaning. Meaning can be split into two further groups:

1. Nouns that denote male or female things or people ^[4]
2. Nouns of the same gender within a generic group (e.g. months – all masculine) ^[4]

Animate nouns usually have their gender assigned by meaning – males are usually masc., and females are usually fem. ^[4]

Inanimate nouns (including abstracts) sometimes have their gender assigned by form – the shape of the word, or some part of it (usually the ending) is associated with one or other gender. ^[4]

Additionally, some animate nouns can have their gender changed by altering the form of the word. ^[4]

Feminine nouns

Feminine nouns behave differently to masculine nouns in three main respects:

1. When singular (sing.), they undergo initial soft mutation after the definite article: ^[4]
   cath 'a cat', but y gath 'the cat'.
2. When sing. they cause soft mutation to a following adjective: ^[4]
   mawr 'big', but cath fawr (a big cat).
3. Special forms of some numbers and adjectives are used with them: ^[4]
   dau 'two', but dwy gath 'two cats'
   gwen 'white (fem.)', but cath wen 'a white cat' [note here the fem. form of gwen is also mutated as per rule 2 above. Also note that the masc. form of gwen is gwyn]

Determining gender by meaning

Note: this section involves animates only.

Names of male persons and animals

Names of masculine persons and specifically male animals are masculine. ^[4] Examples:

• bachgen – 'boy'
• dyn – 'man'
• gŵr – 'husband'
• brenin – 'king'
• tywysog – 'prince'
• meister – 'master'
• tad – 'father'
• brawd – 'brother'
• nai – 'nephew'
• tarw – 'bull'
• ceiliog – 'cockerel'
• maharen – 'ram'

Names of female persons and animals

Names of female persons and animals are feminine. ^[4] Examples (those marked with (N) are words found only in the North):

• merch – 'girl, daughter'
• geneth – 'girl' (N)
• gwraig – 'wife'
• mam – 'mother'
• chwaer – 'sister'
• nith – 'niece'
• nain – 'grandmother' (N)
• modryb – 'aunt'
• buwch – 'cow'
• iâr – 'hen'
• mamog – 'ewe'
• caseg – 'mare'
• gast – 'bitch'

All of these undergo soft mutation when they follow the definite article: ^[4] y ferch [< merch], y wraig [< gwraig], y fuwch [< buwch], y gaseg [< caseg], yr ast [< gast].

Nouns which can refer to either sex

Many nouns of this type, particularly animals, are applied to either sex without altering their grammatical gender. For example, cath 'cat' is fem. even when the cat referred to is a male. Similarly with ci 'dog' which is masc. This is when speaking in general terms of the species and the animal's sex is not important – as in English where we can say I have a black cat with no regard to sex. We only need to say 'tom-cat' when we wish to draw attention to the sex of the animal in question. ^[4]

The Welsh equivalents of 'he–...' or 'she–...' are gwryw and benyw, respectively: cath wryw 'tom-cat' [mutation of gwryw because cath is still grammatically fem.]; draenog benyw 'female hedgehog' [no mutation of benyw because draenog is grammatically masc.]. Some nouns have special forms for one or other sex: ci 'dog' and gast 'bitch'; while occasionally there are words for either sex but no general word to refer to the species, as with ceiliog 'cockerel' and iâr 'hen'. ^[4]

Some gender-fixed nouns which can refer to humans of either sex are: ^[4]

• plentyn (masc.) – 'child'
• baban (masc.) – 'baby'
• gwestai (masc.) – 'guest'

and nouns ending with -ydd (masc.) which denote agent nouns (doers of actions) which are often professions: ^[4]

• cyfieithydd – 'translator'
• cadeirydd – 'chairman/chairwoman/chairperson'
• llefarydd – 'spokesman/spokeswoman/spokesperson'

Note, however, that some agent nouns ending with masc. -ydd form feminine counterparts by adding -es (similar to English '-ess'): ^[4]

• ysgrifennydd (masc.) – 'male secretary'
  ysgrifennyddes (fem.) – 'female secretary'
• teipydd (masc.) – 'male typist'
  teipyddes (fem.) – 'female typist'

Verbal-nouns

Verbal-nouns, when used as nouns, are always masculine: ^[4]

• canu da – 'good singing'
• marchnata deallus – 'intelligent marketing'
• cwyno dibaid – 'ceaseless complaining'
• ysgrifennu gwael – 'bad writing'

An exception to this is gafael (fem.) 'grip, grasp': ^[4]

• gafael galed (hard gripping) [< caled 'hard']

Determining gender by form

This involves both animates and inanimates, though animates are usually identifiable by meaning too.

Nouns masculine by form

All of the following nouns are masculine by form, that is they can be seen to be masc. due to the shape of the word.

1. Nouns ending in -wr, -ydd, and -yn. ^[4] Examples:
   1. cyfreithiwr (lawyer)
   2. actiwr (actor)
   3. cyfieithydd (translator)
   4. gwleidydd (politician)
   5. gwresogydd (heater)
   6. teimlydd (antenna (of an insect))
   7. hogyn (boy) (N)
   8. rhwymyn (bandage)
   9. mochyn (pig)
      Care should be taken with nouns in -yn which is sometimes a singulative noun derived from a collective noun.
2. Nouns (usually abstract) derived from adjectives and verbs ending in: ^[4]
   1. -deb
   2. -der
   3. -did
   4. -dod
   5. -dra
   6. -edd
   7. -had
   8. -iad
   9. -iant
   10. -ni
   11. -rwydd
   12. -wch

Examples:

• purdeb (purity) [< pur (pure)]
• balchder (pride) [< balch (proud)]
• glendid (hygiene) [< glân (clean)]
• plentyndod (childhood) [< plentyn (child)]
• twpdra (stupidity) [< twp (stupid)]
• edmygedd (admiration) [< edmygu (admire)]
• mwynhad (enjoyment) [< mwynhau (enjoy)]
• ysgariad (marital separation) [< ysgaru (separate (vb.))]
• hyfforddiant (training) [< hyfforddi (train)]
• culni (narrowness) [< cul (narrow)]
• dwyieithrwydd (bilingualism) [< dwy iaith (two languages)]
• tristwch (sadness) [< trist (sad)]

Nouns feminine by form

All of the following nouns are feminine by form, that is they can be seen to be fem. by the shape of the word.

1. Nouns ending in -en and -es. ^[4] Examples:
   1. rhaglen (programme)
   2. teisen (cake)
   3. meistres (mistress)
   4. tywysoges (princess)
      There are exceptions in -en, e.g. talcen (masc.) 'forehead'; maharen (masc.) 'ram'. Also note that many fem. -en nouns are singulatives derived from collective nouns.
2. Many derived nouns (mostly abstract) ending in -(i)aeth and some in -as. ^[4] Examples:
   1. cenhedlaeth (generation)
   2. swyddogaeth (function, duty)
   3. priodas (wedding)
   4. perthynas (relation(ship))
      Several commonly used words ending in -(i)aeth are masc., however, notably gwasanaeth 'service', gwahaniaeth 'difference', and hiraeth 'longing'.
3. Nouns ending in -fa denoting places where actions or events happen. These are derived mostly from verbs, sometimes from nouns. ^[4] Examples:
   1. arhosfa (waiting room) [< aros (to wait)]
   2. meithrinfa (nursery) [< meithrin (to nurture)]
   3. meddygfa (surgery) [< meddyg (doctor)]
   4. swyddfa (office) [< swydd (job, official seat)]
4. Two-syllable words with -e- in the second syllable (excluding suffixes listed under masculine above) are very often feminine, particularly if the vowel of the first syllable is -a-. As with all rules-of-thumb, this one is fallible but reliable all the same.^{[ clarification needed ] [4]} Examples:
   1. tabled (tablet)
   2. sianel (channel)
   3. colled (loss)
   4. siwmper (jumper (clothing))
   5. ornest (combat, duel)

Nouns as part of a group

Some words are part of natural groupings, like days of the week, months, seasons, etc.

• Names of days, months, seasons, and points of the compass are all masculine. ^[4]
• Names of countries, rivers, and languages are generally feminine. ^[4]
• Units of time, going in ascending order, from second to year alternate in gender:
  • eiliad (fem.) 'second' ^[4]
  • munud (masc.) 'minute' ^[4]
  • awr (fem.) 'hour' ^[4]
  • dydd (masc.) 'day' ^[4]
  • wythnos (fem.) 'week' ^[4]
  • mis (masc.) 'month' ^[4]
  • blwyddyn (fem.) 'year' ^[4]
    Note that in some areas munud is fem. ^[4] and there also exists the word diwrnod (day) which is masc.

Nouns with differing genders in different regions

This phenomenon happens in all languages with grammatical gender. ^[4] In some cases one gender is accepted as standard with the other as a "regional variant". In Welsh the choice between the two is arbitrary. ^[4]

As mentioned above, munud is one example – officially masc. but frequently fem. in some parts of Wales. Some nouns of "undecided" gender (with standard or most frequent gender provided, where possible) are: ^[4]

• braich (masc.) 'arm'
• clust 'ear'
• rhyfel 'war'
• tafarn 'pub, tavern' ^[5]
• troed (masc.) 'foot'
• cinio (masc.) 'lunch, dinner'
• cyflog (masc.) 'pay, salary'

Note that gwaith is masc. when it means 'work' but fem. when it means 'time, occasion': ^[4]

Use of dictionaries

Many Welsh-English dictionaries, particularly those designed primarily for Welsh speakers, use Welsh terminology when indicating the gender of a noun (the Welsh word for 'noun' is enw with the plural enwau.): ^[4]

• eg (enw gwrywaidd) (masculine noun)
• eb (enw benywaidd) (feminine noun)
• ell (enw lluosog) (plural noun – generally used for collective/singulative nouns)

Noun number

Not to be confused with Welsh numerals.

This section deals with grammatical number of the Welsh language which should not be confused with the numerals of Welsh. Grammatical number deals with how a language deals with singular nouns, plural nouns, dual nouns, paucal nouns, collective nouns, etc. No language has all types of grammatical number and the Welsh grammatical number is discussed below.

Comparison of the English and Welsh noun number systems

The number systems for English nouns is a simple singular-plural distinction, ^[6] of which the singular is the base form ^[6] – meaning that the singular is changed somehow to form a plural, in English this is usually the addition of '-s' ('cat' > 'cats'). Any English noun can be placed into one of three sub-classes within this two-way system:

1. Nouns that can be used in either the singular (sing.) or plural (pl.), these make up the vast majority of non-abstract things – 'cat', 'star', 'tree'. ^[6]
2. Nouns that can normally only be used in the sing., these are mainly abstract ideas and uncountable things – 'honesty', 'milk', 'health', 'flour'. ^[6]
3. Nouns that can only be used in the pl., often denoting things that are or have two parts – 'trousers', 'scissors'. ^[6]

Welsh, however, has two mutually exclusive systems:

1. System 1: singular-plural ^[6]
2. System 2: collective-singulative (sometimes referred to as collective-unit) ^[6]

System 1 works in much the same way as the English singular-plural system, with the same three sub-classes. ^[6] However, not all Welsh nouns fit into the singular-plural system; some nouns belong to the collective-singulative system ^[6] which has its own rules of operation. Note that some Welsh grammar books and resources will treat the collective-singulative nouns as singular-plural nouns which is misleading and distorts the logic of the Welsh system. ^[6]

Distinction between 'singular-plural' and 'collective-singulative' systems

As has been established above, the Welsh sing.–pl. system mirrors that of English and other European languages in that the basic form of the noun is sing., with the pl. (where a pl. is possible) derived from it by one method or another. It does not matter if a particular noun cannot form a pl., the base noun is still the sing., which is enough to classify it as belonging to the sing.–pl. system. ^[6]

The collective-singulative (coll.–sinv.) system comprises mostly living things that are most often associated as being part of a group. ^[6] This includes many trees, plants, and animals (particularly those which are kept in groups and those which are swarming/colony insects). ^[6] The base form of this nouns is not singular but has a collective meaning, with the unit (singulative) form (indicating one of the group) derived from it – similar to how a plural is derived from a singular. ^[6]

Examples of both systems

• cath 'cat' (sing.) becomes cathod 'cats' (pl.) [Note here the simple -od suffix for marking the pl.]
• moch '(group of) pigs' (coll.) becomes mochyn 'pig' (sinv.) [Note the -yn suffix for marking the masc. sinv.]
• llyfr 'book' (sing.) becomes llyfrau 'books' (pl.)
• coed 'wood (group of trees)' (coll.) becomes coeden 'tree' (sinv.)

From the English speaker's single sing.–pl. perspective, 'collective' seems little different from 'plural', and 'singulative' seeming equal to 'singular'. ^[6] It is therefore tempting to make the coll.–sinv. nouns fit the sing.–pl. system. Examples:

• cath (sing.) – cathod (pl.)
• llyfr (sing.) – llyfrau (pl.)
• mochyn (sing.) – moch (pl.)
• coeden (sing.) – coed (pl.)

and this would be acceptable but for two considerations:

1. Such an arrangement leaves the coll.–sinv. nouns (moch and coed) deriving their "singular" from the "plural" by the addition of the suffixes -yn and -en. This goes against the sing.–pl. principle of deriving the pl. from the sing. ^[6]
2. While coed can be translated as 'trees' (because English has only the pl. to fall back on), it has a strong sense of a homogenous group about it that 'trees' cannot convey. ^[6] The alternative English translation is 'wood' (sing. in English) which conveys the idea of a single item or group but cannot include any idea of the units that make up that group (the trees). ^[6] Both English translations are perfectly adequate as far as they go, but the relationship between the group and its individual components is neatly expressed only in the coll.–sinv. system. ^[6] A clearer example may be dail/deilen. Deilen is 'leaf' while dail is often translated as 'leaves' which it does indeed mean:

Mae'r dail yn troi – 'the leaves are turning'

but dail also carries the connotation of 'foliage', i.e. a single group meaning that usually has a separate term in English. ^[6]

Singular–plural nouns

This section discusses the sing.–pl. system. The coll.–sinv. system is discussed further down.

Forming noun plurals

The methods for deriving plurals from singulars in Welsh are so numerous and often unpredictable that the best approach is to simply learn the plural forms as one encounters them. ^[6] This is most unlike English with its almost universal '-s' suffix for plurals.

Deriving of Welsh plurals involves two main principles – adding suffixes and internal vowel change. These are used separately and in combination. ^[6] Examples:

1. Suffixes – there are roughly a dozen of these in common use in colloquial Welsh: ^[6]
   1. -au – siop 'shop' becomes siopau 'shops'
   2. -iau – mur 'wall' becomes muriau 'walls'
   3. -on – geiriadur 'dictionary' becomes geiriaduron 'dictionaries'
   4. -ion – colled 'loss' becomes colledion 'losses'
   5. -i – capel 'chapel' becomes capeli 'chapels'
   6. -ed – merch 'girl' becomes merched 'girls'
   7. -oedd – mynydd 'mountain' becomes mynyddoedd 'mountains'
2. Change of one or more vowels of the sing. noun. This is essentially the same process which resulted in 'man' > 'men', 'goose' > 'geese' in English, but is much more common in Welsh. ^[6] Examples:
   1. castell 'castle' > cestyll 'castles'
   2. car 'car' > ceir 'cars'
   3. corff 'body' > cyrff 'bodies'
   4. brân 'crow' > brain 'crows'
3. Many nouns use a combination of (1) and (2) above, changing their internal vowel and adding a suffix. ^[6] Examples:
   1. mab 'son' > meibion 'sons'
   2. gardd 'garden' > gerddi 'gardens'
   3. cyfaill 'friend' > cyfeillion 'friends'
   4. iaith 'language' > ieithoedd 'languages'
4. A small group of nouns ending in -yn and -en in the sing. replace these with pl. suffixes of various types. ^[6] Examples:
   1. blodyn 'flower' > blodau 'flowers'
   2. oedolyn 'adult' > oedolion 'adults'
   3. sleisen 'slice' > sleisys 'slices'
5. Nouns ending in -wr, and some ending in -ydd, which are agent nouns (those who perform a verb) and professions, replace the suffix with -wyr. ^[6] Examples:
   1. ymwelwr and ymwelydd 'visitor' > ymwelwyr 'visitors'
   2. trydanwr 'electrician' > trydanwyr 'electricians'
   3. siaradwr 'speaker' > siaradwyr 'speakers'
   4. cyfieithydd 'translator' > cyfieithwyr 'translators'
6. Another small set of nouns derive their pl. from an older, extended form of the sing. ^[6] Examples:
   1. dosbarth 'class' > dosbarthiadau 'classes'
   2. llif 'flood' > llifogydd 'floods'

There are a number of nouns which form their pl. by means other than those stated above, but these are best regarded as 'irregular'. ^[6]

Plurals of compound nouns

Compound nouns are made up of a combination of a noun + some other element. Welsh only usually allows compounds of two words and no more (unlike German which allows seemingly endless compounding). The combinations are noun + noun, verb + noun, and adjective + noun. ^[6] Compound nouns form their pl. in the same way as the second element of the compound. ^[6] Note that the second element of the compound will usually undergo soft mutation. Examples:

1. llys 'court' + mam/mamau 'mother/mothers' yields llysfam/llysfamau 'step-mother/step-mothers'
2. prif 'main' + ffordd/ffyrdd 'road/roads' yields priffordd/priffyrdd 'motorway/motorways'

There are some circumstances where compounding of more than two elements is seen, particularly place-names.

Plural suffixes

There are 12 different plural suffixes in use in the modern language; ^[6] some are fairly restricted and others are commonplace. They can be grouped thus:

• -au, -iau
• -on, -ion
• -i
• -edd, -oedd, -ydd
• -ed, -iaid, -od
• -aint

Of these, -au/-iau is the most common, ^[6] and is usually the suffix of choice for borrowed words and new words. ^[6] -on/-ion and -i are also fairly common. All variants involving an -i- are likely to involve a change of internal vowel (see: Affection (linguistics) ), especially -a- changing to -e- or -ei-. ^[6]

Monosyllabic nouns in the sing. with a long-vowel will usually shorten that vowel when a pl. suffix is added, e.g. trên 'train' (sing.) becomes trenau (pl.).

The effect of pl. suffixes on the final consonant of the sing.

On occasion the adding of a pl. suffix can affect the final consonant of the sing. noun. Sometimes this results in a change of pronunciation and sometimes it is to satisfy spelling conventions only. ^[6] Examples:

1. Before -au word-final -nt changes to -nn-: peiriant 'machine' > peiriannau 'machines'. ^[6] This results in a change of pronunciation.
2. Words ending -i in the sing. (mostly loan-words) form their plurals in -ïau and -ïon. ^[6] The ï signifies that the letter performs a dual-function and should be pronounced as if the original final -i of the sing. were still present, followed by the endings -iau, -ion: stori 'story' > storïau 'stories'; egni 'energy' > egnïon 'energies'.
3. Loanwords ending in -a in the sing. make their pl. in -âu, with the accented 'a' performing the same function as the two dots above the 'i' in (2) above. Camera 'camera' > camerâu 'cameras'; drama 'drama' > dramâu 'dramas'.

-au/-iau plurals

This is the most common pl. suffix in modern Welsh. ^[6] Internal vowel change is possible with either variant. Some examples:

1. llyfr (sing.) – llyfrau (pl.) 'book/books'
2. siop (sing.) – siopau (pl.) 'shop/shops'
3. cloch (sing.) – clychau (pl.) 'bell/bells'
4. bwrdd (sing.) – byrddau (pl.) 'table/tables'
5. gwefus (sing.) – gwefusau (pl.) 'lip/lips'
6. trên (sing.) – trenau (pl.) 'train/trains'
7. taith (sing.) – teithiau (pl.) 'journey/journeys, tour/tours'
8. drws (sing.) – drysiau (pl.) 'door/doors'
9. bws (sing.) – bysiau (pl.) 'bus/buses'

Nouns with predictable -au suffix

The -au pl. suffix can be predicted for the following types of noun: ^[6]

1. Nouns ending with -iad (always derived from verbs) in the sing. and those ending in -aeth (derived from nouns or verbs) in the sing. take the -au suffix in the pl. ^[6] Examples:
   1. cyfieithiad > cyfieithiadau 'translation/translations'
   2. gwasanaeth > gwasanaethau 'service/services'
2. Nouns ending in -iant in the sing. (usually derived from verbs). With these the final -t becomes -n- before the suffix. Examples:
   1. llwyddiant > llwyddiannau 'success/successes'
   2. gwelliant > gwelliannau 'improvement/improvements'
3. Feminine nouns in -es denoting persons, derived from the masculine equivalents. Examples:
   1. tywysoges [< tywysog (masc.)] > tywysogesau 'princess/princesses'
   2. athrawes [< athro (masc.)] > athrawesau 'teacher/teachers (female)'
4. Abstract nouns in -deb (derived from adjectives), where a pl. is possible. Examples:
   1. cyfrifoldeb > cyfrifoldebau 'responsibility/responsibilities'
   2. ffurfioldeb > ffurfioldebau 'formality/formalities'

-on/-ion plurals

The -ion suffix is much more frequent than -on and often causes internal vowels to change. ^[6] Examples:

1. modur (sing.) – moduron (pl.) 'motor/motors'
2. rhagolwg (sing.) – rhagolygon (pl.) 'forecast/forecasts'
3. awel (sing.) – awelon (pl.) 'breeze/breezes'
4. cennad (sing.) – cenhadon (pl.) 'envoy/envoys' [note here that the addition of -h- in the pl. is due to a shift in stress caused by the addition of the pl. suffix and is not a direct marker of the pl.]
5. mab (sing.) – meibion (pl.) 'son/sons'
6. ysgol (sing.) – ysgolion (pl.) 'school/schools'
7. claf (sing.) – cleifion (pl.) 'patient/patients'

Nouns with predictable -ion suffix

The -ion suffix can usually be predicted for the following types of noun: ^[6]

1. Nouns ending in -og denoting persons. Examples:
   1. swyddog > swyddogion 'officer/officers'
   2. tywysog > tywysogion 'prince/princes'
2. Nouns ending in -or denoting persons. Examples:
   1. canghellor > canghellorion 'chancellor/chancellors'
   2. telynor > telynorion 'harpist/harpists'

Also, many nouns ending in -ydd denoting persons and instruments (agent nouns) add -ion to form the pl. ^[6] But note that for persons -wyr is often preferred. ^[6] Examples:

1. cadeirydd > cadeiryddion 'chairperson/chairpersons'
2. teipydd > teipyddion 'typist/typists'
3. gwleidydd > gwleidyddion 'politician/politicians'
4. cysodydd > cysodyddion or cysodwyr 'compositor/compositors'
5. gohebydd > gohebyddion or gohebwyr 'correspondent/correspondents (newspaper)'

Singulars in -ydd sometimes must take the -wyr plural, e.g. cyfieithydd 'translator' > cyfieithwyr 'translators'. ^[6]

-i plurals

This is a limited class of plurals, but includes many common, everyday nouns ^[6] - many of which are borrowings. Almost all of them have -e- as their final vowel in the sing., or change -a- in the sing. to -e- in the pl. ^[6] Some have a final diphthong -wy-, which remains unchanged. ^[6] The vast majority of nouns with -i plurals are feminine. ^[6]

Here follows the most frequent nouns which take the -i plural: ^[6]

(For simplicity only the plurals have been translated. The English singular should be obvious.)

1. allwedd > allweddi 'keys'
2. arglwydd > arglwyddi 'lords'
3. baner > baneri 'flags, banners'
4. basged > basgedi 'baskets'
5. bisged > bisgedi 'biscuits'
6. blanced > blancedi 'blankets'
7. bwced > bwcedi 'buckets'
8. cadwyn > cadwyni 'chains'
9. camles > camlesi 'canals'
10. capel > capeli 'chapels'
11. cartre(f) > cartrefi 'homes' [note that word final -f is often silent, and therefore optional in writing, in Welsh, but it is restored when the pl. suffix is added. ^[6] ]
12. cerdd > cerddi 'poems'
13. cawr > cewri 'giants'
14. clogwyn > clogwyni 'cliffs'
15. clwyd > clwydi 'gates' [note that there are numerous words for 'gate' around Wales.]
16. coelcerth > coelcerthi 'bonfires'
17. cofrestr > cofrestri 'registers'
18. cornel > corneli 'corners'
19. cyfres > cyfresi 'series'
20. eglwys > eglwysi 'churches'
21. ffenest(r) > ffenestri 'windows' [note that the final -r is often omitted in the sing. but is always restored in the pl. ^[6] ]
22. galwyn > galwyni 'gallons'
23. gardd > gerddi 'gardens'
24. lodes > lodesi 'girls, lasses'
25. llechen/llech > llechi 'slates'
26. llen > llenni 'curtains'
27. llestr > llestri 'dishes'
28. llwyn > llwyni 'groves'
29. llwyth > llwythi 'loads' [note that llwyth means 'tribe' as well as 'load', but their plurals are different: llwythau 'tribes', llwythi 'loads'. ^[6] ]
30. maen > meini 'stones'
31. meistr > meistri 'masters'
32. modfedd > modfeddi 'inches'
33. paced > pacedi 'packets'
34. pamffledd > pamffleddi 'pamphlets'
35. parsel > parseli 'parcels'
36. pêl > peli 'balls'
37. pensaer > penseiri 'architects'
38. pentre(f) > pentrefi 'villages'
39. perth > perthi 'hedges'
40. plwy(f) > plwyfi 'parishes'
41. poced > pocedi 'pockets'
42. potel > poteli 'bottles'
43. roced > rocedi 'rockets'
44. rhes > rhesi 'rows'
45. rhestr > rhestri 'lists'
46. rhiant > rhieni 'parents' [note the loss of the sing. final -t]
47. rhwydd > rhwyddi 'nets'
48. saer > seiri 'carpenters'
49. sbaner > sbaneri 'spanners'
50. sgert > sgerti 'skirts'
51. siaced > siacedi 'jackets'
52. sianel > sianeli 'TV channels'
53. soser > soseri 'saucer'
54. sylfaen > sylfeini 'bases'
55. ticed > ticedi 'tickets' [note that tocyn(nau) is a more common alternative for 'ticket(s)']
56. tunnell > tunelli 'tons'

Of these, the following have alternative plurals in -au:

• allwedd
• cadwyn
• clogwyn
• clwyd
• cyfres
• rhes
• rhestr
• rhwyd

The 'paper class'

There is another small class of nouns which all take the -i pl. suffix. These are all feminine nouns ending in -en often denoting sheets or printed papers which are used in everyday life (but not always). ^[6] These also double the final -n before the suffix. ^[6] Examples:

1. amlen > amlenni 'envelopes'
2. bwydlen > bwydlenni 'menus'
3. dogfen > dogfenni 'documents' [note the alternative pl. dogfennau is also common ^[7] ]
4. ffurflen > ffurflenni 'forms'
5. lloeren > lloerenni 'satellites' [note the alternative pl. lloerennau is also common ^[8] ]
6. rhaglen > rhaglenni 'programmes'
7. taflen > taflenni 'leaflets'

-edd/-oedd/-ydd plurals

Of these classes, the -edd suffix is the least numerous, with fewer than 20 simple nouns ^[6] (i.e. not counting compounds). Nouns which take the -ydd pl. suffix are more numerous than -edd but are still fairly limited. The -oedd class is larger but includes those which are rarely encountered in speech because it has often been replaced by other, more common, pl. suffixes ^[6] but the -oedd suffix is retained in the literary standard in all cases. This article will deal with the most common nouns in these classes.

-edd plurals

The following nouns have their plurals in -edd and often include internal vowel change or other modifications: ^[6]

1. adain > adanedd 'wings' [alternative pl. adenydd ^[6] ]
2. bys > bysedd 'fingers'
3. celain > celanedd 'carcasses'
4. dant > dannedd 'teeth'
5. edau > edafedd 'threads'
6. elain > elanedd 'fawns'
7. ewin > ewinedd 'nails, claws'
8. ewythr > ewythredd 'uncles' [alternative pl. ewythrod ^[6] ]
9. gwraig > gwragedd 'wives'
10. mign > mignedd 'marshes'
11. modryb > modrybedd 'aunts'
12. neidr > neidredd 'snakes' [alternative pl. neidroedd ^[6] ]
13. rhiain > rhianedd 'maidens'
14. teyrn > teyrnedd 'lords, monarchs' [alternative pl. teyrnoedd ^[6] ]
15. ysgithr > ysgithredd 'tusks, fangs'

-ydd plurals

The following nouns have their plurals in -ydd. Internal vowel change less common in this class. ^[6] This list is not exhaustive.

1. aelwyd > aelwydydd 'hearths'
2. afon > afonydd 'rivers'
3. bwyd > bwydydd 'foods'
4. bro > bröyddregions [note the ö simply indicates that it is not part of a diphthong with y.]
5. bron > bronnydd 'breasts (of hills)' [note that when referring to anatomical breasts the pl. is bronnau ^[6] ]
6. cawod > cawodydd 'showers'
7. clos > closydd 'yards'
8. cyfarfod > cyfarfodydd 'meetings'
9. diod > diodydd 'drinks'
10. dôl > dolydd 'dales, meadows' [alternative pl. dolau ^[6] ]
11. fferm > fermydd 'farms'
12. gofer > goferydd 'streams'
13. heol > heolydd 'roads' [heol has an alternative sing. in hewl with the pl. hewlydd ^[6] ]
14. lle > llefydd 'places' [the pl. lleoedd is preferred in the South ^[6] ]
15. maes > meysydd 'fields'
16. mynwent > mynwentydd 'cemeteries'
17. nant > nentydd 'streams, brooks'
18. palmant > palmentydd 'pavements'
19. pont > pontydd 'bridges'
20. rhew > rhewogydd 'frosts'
21. storm > stormydd 'storms'
22. tre(f) > trefydd 'towns' [alternative pl. trefi ^[6] ]

-oedd plurals

The following are some of the most common nouns with plurals in -oedd. Internal vowel change is rare in this class ^[6] though some nouns will show other changes to their base form. ^[6]

1. aber > aberoedd 'estuaries'
2. amser > amseroedd 'times' [the alternative pl. amserau has become more popular in speech ^[6] ]
3. blwyddyn > blynyddoedd 'years' [alternative pl. blynyddau ^[6] ]
4. brenin > brenhinoedd 'kings'
5. byd > bydoedd 'worlds'
6. cant > cannoedd 'hundreds'
7. cell > celloedd 'cells'
8. cenedl > cenhedloedd 'nations'
9. cylch > cylchoedd 'circles' [alternative pl. cylchau ^[6] ]
10. dinas > dinasoedd 'cities'
11. dŵr > dyfroedd 'waters' [the pl. retaining the older form of the sing. dyfr]
12. ffatri > ffatrïoedd 'factories'
13. gallu > galluoedd 'abilities'
14. gorsa(f) > gorsafoedd 'stations'
15. gwynt > gwyntoedd 'winds'
16. iaith > ieithoedd 'languages'
17. llyn > llynnoedd 'lakes'
18. marchnad > marchnadoedd 'markets'
19. mil > miloedd 'thousands'
20. mynydd > mynyddoedd 'mountains'
21. nef > nefoedd 'heavens'
22. oes > oesoedd 'ages'
23. pobl > pobloedd 'peoples'
24. punt > punnoedd 'pound (sterling; currency)' [alternative pl. punnau ^[6] ]
25. rhyfel > rhyfeloedd 'wars'
26. safle > safleoedd 'sites, positions'
27. tir > tiroedd 'lands'
28. ynys > ynysoedd 'islands'
29. (y)stafell > (y)stafelloedd 'rooms'

-od plurals

This class of plurals is mainly associated with names of animals (but not all animals have plurals in -od). ^[6] In some cases the sing. ending is replaced by -od and others undergo other changes to the base form. ^[6] Examples:

1. cath > cathod 'cats'
2. cwningen > cwningod 'rabbits'
3. llwynog > llwynogod 'foxes'
4. asyn > asynnod 'asses, donkeys'
5. buwch > buwchod 'cows'
6. llew > llewod 'lions'
7. tylluan > tylluanod 'owls'
8. broga > brogaod 'frogs'
9. eliffant > eliffantod 'elephants'
10. hwch > hwchod 'sows'
11. gwiwer > gwiwerod 'squirrels'
12. twrci > twrcïod 'turkeys'
13. ystlum > ystlumod 'bats'
14. teigr > teigrod 'tigers'

The -od suffix is also used of some nouns denoting persons and some nationalities: ^[6]

1. baban > babanod 'babies'
2. Gwyddel > Gwyddelod 'Irishmen'
3. gwrach > gwrachod 'witches'
4. benyw/menyw > benywod/menywod 'women'
5. Ffrancwr > Ffrancod 'Frenchmen' [alternative pl. Ffrancwyr ^[6] ]

A few inanimate nouns take this suffix, too: ^[6]

1. nionyn > nionod 'onions'
2. nyth > nythod 'nests'
3. bwthyn > bythynnod 'cottages'

-iaid plurals

The -iaid suffix, like the -od suffix, is mostly associated with animate beings, but where -od is mostly used with animals, -iaid is predominantly used with humans. ^[6] It is invariably pronounced -ied in natural speech ^[6] and is used with names of peoples, nationalities, tribes, etc., and with surnames. ^[6] In all of these instances it is attached to a proper name which normally has no plural, or sometimes an adjective. It is sometimes accompanied by a vowel-change. Examples:

1. Rhufeiniaid 'Romans' (< Rhufain 'Rome')
2. Rwsiaid 'Russians' (< Rwsia 'Russia')
3. (y) ffyddloniaid '(the) faithful'
4. (y) Morganiaid '(the) Morgans'

It is also used with many loanwords descriptive of persons and professions. ^[6] Examples:

1. doctor > doctoriaid 'doctors'
2. cwsmer > cwsmeriaid 'customers'
3. prentis > prentisiaid 'apprentices'
4. partner > partneriaid 'partners'
5. fandal > fandaliaid 'vandals'
6. pagan > paganiaid 'pagans'
7. ffŵl > ffyliaid 'fools'

Nouns ending in -adur (derived from verbs) and denoting the doer of the action usually take the -iaid pl. suffix. ^[6] Examples:

1. ffoadur > ffoaduriaid 'refugees' [< ffoi 'to flee']
2. pechadur > pechaduriaid 'sinners' [< pechu 'to sin']
3. cachadur > cachaduriaid 'cowards' [< cachu 'to shit']

Note that nouns ending in -adur denoting things cannot take this animate pl. suffix, but instead must take -on, e.g. gwyddoniadur 'encyclopaedia' gwyddoniaduron 'encyclopaedias'; gliniadur 'laptop computer' gliniaduron 'laptop computers'.

Some animals, including anifail 'animal', also come under the -iaid class. ^[6] Examples:

1. anifail > anifeiliaid 'animals'
2. cimwch > cimychiaid 'lobsters'
3. fwltur > fwlturiaid 'vultures'
4. gwennol > gwenoliaid 'swallows'
5. ffwlbart > ffwlbartiaid 'polecats'
6. blaidd > bleiddiaid 'wolves' [alternative pl. bleiddiau ^[6] ]
7. barcud > barcutiaid 'kites'

It is worth noting here gefell (sing.) and gefeilliaid (pl.) 'twin/twins', which usually takes the soft mutation after the definite article in the pl. – yr efeilliaid. ^[6] This is probably due to it originally being a dual rather than a plural. ^[6]

-ed plurals

This is a very small sub-class of the -iaid plurals (themselves pronounced as -ied) which only includes two nouns in the colloquial language: ^[6]

1. merch > merched 'girls'
2. pry(f) > pryfed 'insects'

-aint plurals

These are very few in the spoken language: ^[6]

1. go(f) > gofaint 'blacksmiths'
2. euro(f) > eurofaint 'goldsmith'
3. nai > neiaint 'nephews'
4. no singular > ysgyfaint 'lungs' [sometimes a sing. form ysgyfant is found corresponding to ysgyfaint, but this appears to have formed by analogy with pairs of the type sant/saint; llyffant/llyffaint which are formed by internal vowel change and do not belong to this class. ^[6] ]

English plurals ending in '-ys'

Some loanwords from English have retained their English pl. ('-es') but with Welsh spelling (-ys): ^[6]

1. bws > bysys 'buses' [but bysiau is far more common nowadays ^[6] and shows the usual palatisation of /s/ to /ʃ/ in the plural: /bʊs/ ~ /bəʃa/ (North) /bəʃɛ/ (South).]
2. matsien > matsys 'matches' [in English loanwords -ts- is pronounced as the 'ch' in English church, ^[6] therefore matsien is pronounced /ˈmatʃ.ɛn/ and matsys is /ˈmatʃ.ɪs/]
3. nyrs > nyrsys 'nurses' [pronunciation: nyrs - /nərs/ and nyrsys - /ˈnərs.ɪs/.]

Note that trowsus 'trousers' is sing. in Welsh with what is regarded as unusual spelling; ^[6] it forms its plural in -au: trowsusau.

Plurals formed by internal vowel change

This class is far larger in Welsh than it is in English ^[6] which only has a few extant examples – 'men' < 'man', 'geese' < 'goose', 'mice' < 'mouse', etc. However, it is still a fairly restricted class in Welsh. ^[6] Nouns which fall into this class can fall into one of two sub-categories: ^[6]

1. Nouns where only one vowel is changed
2. Nouns where two vowels in consecutive syllables are changed

These two sub-categories are dealt with separately below, with indications of the most common vowel change patterns. In all cases the general principle is that back vowels (a, o, and w in Welsh) become front vowels ^[6] (e, i, and y in Welsh – though y is usually the mid-vowel schwa but, phonology is beyond the scope of this article).

Single vowel change plurals

There are three main vowel alternation patterns where only one syllable in the sing. is changed: ^[6]

• a becomes ei
• a becomes ai
• o becomes y

another, less common alternation, is oe to wy. ^[6]

Examples for this type follow below. These listings can be taken as fairly complete for the colloquial language. Written language retains older forms of plurals which feature only vowel changes where the colloquial language has replaced them with suffixes or vowel change + suffix. ^[6] The written language is not represented in this article, which is concerned only with the colloquial register.

Plurals formed by changing a to ei

Some commonly occurring nouns of this type include:

1. bardd > beirdd 'bards, poets'
2. car > ceir 'cars'
3. carw > ceirw 'deer, stags'
4. gafr > geifr 'goats'
5. gwalch > gweilch 'hawks' [note that gwalch is used colloquially to mean 'rascal' or 'rogue', i.e. yr hen walch! 'you rascal!' 'Hawk' is usually hebog (sing.) hebogau (pl.) nowadays. ^[6] ]
6. iâr > ieir 'hens'
7. tarw > teirw 'bulls'

Plurals formed by changing a to ai

Nouns forming their plurals in this manner include:

1. brân > brain 'crows'
2. hwyad > hwyaid 'ducks' [note that hwyad has an alternative sing.: hwyaden which belongs to the collective–singulative system – hwyaden/hwyaid ^[6] ]
3. llygad > lygaid 'eyes' [note that in the North the pl. of llygad is usually llygada (llygadau in conventional spelling). ^[6] ]
4. llyffant > llyffaint 'toads'
5. sant > saint 'saints'

Plurals formed by changing o to y

Nouns of this type include:

1. corff > cyrff 'bodies'
2. corn > cyrn 'horns'
3. ffon > ffyn 'sticks'
4. fforc > ffyrc 'forks (cutlery)'
5. fforch > ffyrch 'forks (agricultural)'
6. ffordd > ffyrdd 'roads, ways'
7. Cymro > Cymry 'Welshmen'

Plurals formed by changing other vowels

1. croen > crwyn 'skins'
2. cyllell > cyllyll 'knives'
3. oen > ŵyn 'lambs'
4. troed > traed 'feet'

These plurals are best learnt as they are encountered.

Two-vowel change plurals

Plurals formed by changing two consecutive vowels

This is a process which almost always involves a change from a to e and e to y (y is sometimes i). ^[6] Examples:

• alarch > elyrch 'swans' [alternative pl. alarchod]
• asgell > esgyll 'wings'
• bachgen > bechgyn 'boys'
• carreg > cerrig 'stones'
• castell > cestyll 'castles'
• llawes > llewys 'sleeves'
• maneg > menig 'gloves'
• padell > pedyll 'bowls, pans' [alternative pls. padelli/padellau]

Also, maharen > meheryn is a three-vowel change conforming to this pattern. ^[6]

Plurals formed by miscellaneous two-vowel changes

• asgwrn > esgyrn 'bones'
• dafad > defaid 'sheep' [the pl. is usually pronounced as defed ^[6] ]

Irregular plurals

The following do not fit into any of the established classes discussed above ^[6] and should be learnt as encountered.

• brawd > brodyr 'brothers'
• ci > cŵn 'dogs'
• gwayw > gwewyr 'pangs, pains'
• gŵr > gwŷr 'men'
• llaw > dwylo 'hands' (see the section on dual number below)
• llo > lloi/lloeau 'calves'
• pennog > penwaig 'herrings'
• tŷ > tai 'houses'
• ych > ychen 'oxen'

Some nouns drop a syllable in the pl. ^[6] Examples:

• cymydog > cymdogion 'neighbours'
• cystadleuaeth > cystadlaethau 'competitions'
• gorchymyn > gorchmynion 'orders'
• perchennog > perchnogion 'owners'
• hosan > sanau 'socks' [loss of first syllable]

Some nouns form their pl. from a derivative of the sing., often -(i)ad: ^[6]

• dechrau > dechreuadau 'beginnings'
• diwedd > diweddiadau 'ends'
• dosbarth > dosbarthiadau 'classes'
• golau > goleuadau 'lights'

But note:

• gwestai (pl.) < gwesty (sing.) 'hotel'
• gwestai (sing.) > gwesteion (pl.) 'guests'

Double plurals with different meanings

In some cases two or more Welsh nouns (with different meanings) have the same form in the singular but have different plural forms. ^[6] Examples:

• bron > bronnau 'breasts (anatomical); bronnydd 'breasts (of hills)'
• cyngor > cynghorau 'councils'; cynghorion 'counsels'
• llif > llifogydd 'floods'; llifiau 'saws'
• llwyth > llwythau 'tribes'; llwythi 'loads'
• person > personau 'persons'; personiaid 'parsons'
• pryd > prydau 'meals'; prydiau 'times'
• ysbryd > ysbrydion 'ghosts'; ysbrydoedd 'spirits'

Nouns with no singular

Some nouns have no sing. form, or are not used in the sing. Examples:

• creision '(potato) crisps'
• gwartheg 'cattle'
• nefoedd 'heaven'
• pigion 'selections' (i.e. 'extracts')
• trigolion 'inhabitants'

The noun aroglau 'smell' looks like a plural but it is not, even though the literary language has developed a sing. form arogl from it. ^[6] The colloquial language keeps the original aroglau as the sing., though it has many forms – ogle, rogla, hogla. ^[6] Note that the verb 'to smell' in this context is clywed. ^[6]

"Na'r ogle rhyfedd glywson ni ddoe"
"There's that funny smell we smelt yesterday"

Duals

A very small number of nouns have special dual forms denoting "two of..." rather than "many of...". All are made up of the element deu- or dwy- 'two + noun':

• dydd > deuddydd 'period of two days'
• mis > deufis 'period of two months'
• llaw > dwylo 'two hands' (when thought of as a pair of hands, but there is also the general pl. llawiau. ^[6] )

Special plural for 'three days'

Dydd 'day' also has a special form for 'three days' which is widely used across Wales – tridiau.: ^[6]

Mi fydd y gynhadledd yn para am dridiau.
The conference will go on for (a period of) three days.

Collective-singulative nouns

Due to their relatively small number it is best to list here the most commonly used nouns so that they can be learnt and recognised by the learner. Feminines are, by far, the largest group ^[6] and are given first with trees in a separate list, followed by the masculines.

Except where noted otherwise feminine sinv. nouns are formed by adding -en and masculines by adding -yn. ^[6]

Feminine coll.–sinv. nouns

The following list is not complete, and omits trees (given separately) and rarely used or obsolete nouns, but gives some of the most commonly used. The collective is given as the base form (which it is) with the singulative form given only when it is derived by some method other than adding -en:

• afan 'raspberries'
• blodfresych 'cauliflower'
• brics 'bricks'
• cacwn > cacynen 'wasps/wasp'
• cennin > cenhinen 'leeks/leek'
• cnau > cneuen 'nuts/nut'
• coed 'trees'
• dail > deilen 'leaves, foliage/leaf'
• ffa > ffäen 'beans, bean' [the 'ä' here simply means that the 'a' and following 'e' do not form a diphthong.]
• gwenyn 'bees'
• gwythi > gwythïen 'veins/vein'
• llau > lleuen 'lice'
• lluched 'lightning' [the singulative llucheden translates as 'flash/fork of lightning']
• llus 'bilberries'
• madarch 'mushrooms'
• mefus 'strawberries'
• moron 'carrots'
• mwyar 'blackberries'
• piod 'magpies'
• plu 'feathers'
• sêr > seren 'stars/star'
• tywys > 'corn'
• ysgall 'thistles'

Note the true relationship between coll. and sinv. nouns is particularly clear in the English translations for some of the pairs above. As mentioned above, 'foliage' is a very close approximation of the actual sense of dail – conveying the idea of 'leaves' as one homogenous body. ^[6] The translations for some of the sinv. forms are revealing: tywysen means 'an ear of corn'; ^[6] llucheden means 'a flash of lightning'; ^[6] mefus '(bed of) strawberries' or '(plate of) strawberries'. ^[6]

Coll. nouns for trees

The following are the most common coll. nouns for native trees. ^[6] All of them add -en to the coll. to give the name of a single tree of the species. ^[6] Other changes are noted where required:

• bedw 'birch'
• ceirios 'cherry'
• celyn > celynnen 'holly'
• cerddin 'rowan'
• cyll > collen 'hazel'
• derw 'oak'
• eirin 'peach'
• gellyg 'pear'
• gwaglwyf 'lime'
• gwern 'alder'
• helyg 'willow'
• llwyf 'elm'
• marchredyn 'fern'
• meryw 'juniper'
• onn/ynn > onnen 'ash'
• poplys 'poplar'
• ysgaw 'elder'
• yw 'yew'

Notes:

1. Afallen/afallennau 'apple (tree)' is not a coll.–sinv. ^[6] There is no form *afall for a group of apple trees. ^[6] This noun belongs firmly with the sing.–pl. group.
2. Other trees, including non-native species, are formed with the suffixes -wydd (coll.) and -wydden (sinv.) ^[6] Examples:
   1. castanwydd (coll.) > castanwydden (sinv.) 'chestnut'
   2. cedrwydd 'cedar'
   3. cypreswydd 'cypress'
   4. ffawydd 'beech'
   5. ffynidwydd 'fir, pine'
   6. llarwydd 'larch'
   7. sycamorwydd 'sycamore'

Masculine coll.–sinv. nouns

As stated above, masc. singulatives are all formed by adding -yn to the collective noun. Again, sinv. forms are only given where there is an additional change to the form:

• abwyd 'worms (in earth)'
• adar > aderyn 'birds' [often heard as 'deryn.]
• blagur 'shoots, buds'
• briwsion 'crumbs'
• blew 'fur'
• crabys 'crabapples'
• cnewyll 'kernels'
• dillad > dilledyn 'clothes' [note that dilledyn is used for an item of clothing/a garment, again showing the distinction between the 'generality' of the coll. noun and the 'individualisation' of the sinv. noun]
• graean > greyenyn 'gravel, shingle'
• gwellt 'grass, straw' [note that there also exists the word glaswellt for 'green grass', among others.]
• bwybed 'gnats'
• lindys 'caterpillars'
• moch 'pigs, swine'
• morgrug 'ants'
• plant > plentyn 'children'
• pysgod 'fish, fishes'
• rhos 'roses'
• sgadan > sgadenyn 'herrings'

Nouns used with numerals

See also: Welsh numerals

As shown above, Welsh grammatical number is much more complicated than that of English. Its saving grace, however, is that singulars and singulatives are usually used when counting nouns, particularly with low numbers. Examples:

1. un ci 'one dog'; pedwar ci 'four dogs' (not pedwar cŵn) ^[9]
2. un ffenest 'one window'; wyth ffenest 'eight windows' (not wyth ffenestri)

Welsh shows gender specific variants for only three of its numerals:

• dau (masc.) – dwy (fem.) 'two' ^[9]
• tri (masc.) – tair (fem.) 'three' ^[9]
• pedwar (masc.) – pedair (fem.) 'four' ^[9]

Examples:

1. dau gi 'two dogs' [< ci]
2. dwy gath 'two cats' [< cath]
3. tri hogyn 'three boys'
4. tair hogan 'three girls'
5. pedwar dyn 'four men'
6. pedair dynes 'four women'

Some numerals change their form before nouns; pump 'five' > pum; ^[9] chwech 'six' > chwe. ^[9] Deg can often become deng which generally comes before time-expression words ^[9] (either radical m- or where it is the result of nasal mutation ^[9] ), e.g. deng munud 'ten minutes'. ^[9] In most cases, however, deg o... is preferred (see below for more on this). Examples:

1. pum munud 'five minutes'
2. chwe gwlad 'six nations'
3. examples for deng:
   1. deng munud 'ten minutes'
   2. deng niwrnod 'ten days' [nasal mutation of diwrnod]
   3. deng mis 'ten months'
   4. deng mlynedd 'ten years' [nasal mutation of blynedd]
   5. deng mil 'ten thousand'
   6. deng miliwn 'ten million'
   7. deng milltir 'ten miles'
   8. deng modfedd 'ten inches'

in other cases deg o... is preferred, e.g. deg o fapiau 'ten maps'. ^[9]

It is usual to use the pl./coll. form when the quantity is greater, ^[9] but this must be used with the preposition o 'of' (which causes soft mutation). ^[9] The boundary for switching from the sing./sinv. to o + pl./coll. is unclear, ^[9] some regard the boundary to lie at ten, ^[9] but this is by no means a hard-and-fast rule. ^[9] Examples of using the pl. or coll.:

1. deuddeg o gŵn 'twelve (of) dogs'
2. pymtheg o boteli 'fifteen (of) bottles'
3. ugain o gathod 'twenty (of) cats'

However, it is more usual to use o + coll. with children: dau o blant 'two (of) children' (not dau blentyn). ^[9]

Mutations following numerals

1. Un 'one' causes soft mutation to fem. nouns (except those which begin with ll- and rh-) ^[9]
   1. un gath 'one cat' [< cath]
   2. un ci 'one dog' [no mutation because ci is masc.]
   3. un llaw 'one hand' [no mutation of fem. nouns beginning ll- or rh-.]
   4. un rhyfel 'one war' [no mutation of fem. nouns beginning ll- or rh- and no mutation to sing. masc. nouns. Rhyfel can be either masc. or fem. ^[10] ]
2. Both dau and dwy cause soft mutation to the following noun ^[9]
   1. dau gi 'two dogs' [< ci]
   2. dwy gath 'two cats' [< cath]
3. Tri causes aspirate mutation to a following noun, but tair does not cause mutation ^[9]
   1. tri chi 'three dogs' [< ci]
   2. tair cath 'three cats' [no mutation]
4. Chwe causes aspirate mutation to a following noun ^[9]
   1. chwe chi 'six dogs' [< ci]
   2. chwe chath 'six cats' [< cath]
   3. chwe phêl 'six balls' [< pêl]
   4. chwe thad 'six fathers' [< tad]

References

1. King, Gareth (2016) [1993]. "34-92 Nouns". Modern Welsh – A Comprehensive Grammar (Third ed.). London and New York: Routledge. pp. 34–77. ISBN   978-1-138-82630-4.
2. Williams, Stephen J. (1981) [1980]. "Nouns". A Welsh Grammar (Second ed.). Cardiff: Cardiff University of Wales Press. p. 9. ISBN   0-7083-0737-X.
3. King, Gareth (2016) [1993]. "443-476 Prepositions". Modern Welsh – A Comprehensive Grammar (Third ed.). London and New York: Routledge. pp. 335–373. ISBN   978-1-138-82630-4.
4. King, Gareth (2016) [1993]. "42-53 Nouns–Gender". Modern Welsh – A Comprehensive Grammar (Third ed.). London and New York: Routledge. pp. 40–49. ISBN   978-1-138-82630-4.
5. "University of Wales Trinity Saint David Online Dictionary" . Retrieved 4 April 2019.
6. King, Gareth (2016) [1993]. "54-92 Nouns–Noun Number". Modern Welsh – A Comprehensive Grammar (Third ed.). London and New York: Routledge. pp. 49–77. ISBN   978-1-138-82630-4.
7. "University of Wales Trinity Saint David Online Dictionary" . Retrieved 3 April 2019.
8. "University of Wales Trinity Saint David Online Dictionary" . Retrieved 3 April 2019.
9. King, Gareth (2016) [1993]. "160-197 Numerals". Modern Welsh – A Comprehensive Grammar (Third ed.). London and New York: Routledge. pp. 135–160. ISBN   978-1-138-82630-4.
10. "University of Wales Trinity St. David Online Dictionary" . Retrieved 30 October 2022.