A collection of idiomatic expressions and sayings in Welsh, with English equivalents and translations.
| Idioms | English versions |
|---|---|
| Ar gefn ei geffyl gwyn | Full of mischief ("On the back of his white horse") |
| Ar y gweill | In progress ("On the (knitting) needles") |
| Dawnsio ar y dibyn | Playing with fire ("Dancing on the cliff edge") |
| Dim yn yr un cae | Not in the same league ("Not in the same field") |
| Mae fe'n gwybod hyd ei gyrn | He knows his own strengths and weaknesses ("He knows the length of his horns") |
| Mae e'n cadw draenog yn ei boced Mae ganddo ddraenog yn ei boced |
He's tight with money ("He keeps/has a hedgehog in his pocket") |
| Mae fe'n lladd gwair | He's killing time ("He's mowing hay") |
| Mae'n draed moch arna fi | I've made a mess or in a mess about something I've done ("There is pigs feet on me") |
| Mae'r esgid yn gwasgu | Money is scarce ("The shoe is very tight") |
| Mi rown fy mhen i'w dorri | I'm absolutely certain ("I'll give my head for breaking") |
| Rhoi'r ffidil yn y tô | To throw in the towel ("Put the fiddle in the roof") |
| Roedd hi'n berwi fel cawl pys | She was chattering/talking incessantly ("She was boiling like pea soup") |
| Yn cerdded yn ling di long | To dilly dally ("To loiter or walk casually") |
Other collections of Welsh idioms and expressions
http://ssiw.pbworks.com/w/page/39929721/Welsh Idioms
http://www.madog.org/dysgwyr/gramadeg/gramadeg3.html
http://www.sarahwoodbury.com/welsh-idioms/
Information about Welsh | Phrases (serious) | Phrases (silly) | Numbers | Family words | Terms of endearment | Colours | Time | Dates | Weather | Idioms | Proverbs | Tongue twisters | Songs | Tower of Babel | Coelbren y Beirdd (Bardic alphabet) | Braille for Welsh | Links | My podcast about Welsh | Comparison of Celtic languages | Celtic cognates | Celtiadur | Books about Welsh on: Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk [affilate links]
If you would like to make any corrections or additions to this page, or if you can provide recordings, please contact me.
It's all Greek to me | It's raining cats and dogs | As easy as falling off a log | A sandwich short of a picnic | It's small world | When pigs fly | Out of sight, out of mind | Crystal-clear | Penny Pinching | Practice makes perfect | The grass is always greener | As Snug as a Bug in a Rug | When the Cat's Away | Throw in the towel | To lose one's marbles
Czech | French | Greek | Icelandic | Lithuanian | Manx | Russian | Slovak | Spanish | Swedish | Welsh
Useful phrases | Silly phrases | Numbers | Numerals | Colours | Telling the time | Dates | Weather words | Family words | Terms of endearment | Language names | Country names | Idioms | Proverbs | Tongue twisters | Signs | Compass directions | UDHR | Tower of Babel | Songs | Omniglot | Seven dwarfs | Zodiac signs | Computer parts | Compass directions | Animal sounds
[top]
You can support this site by Buying Me A Coffee, via PayPal or Patreon, or by contributing in other ways.
If you find all the adverts annoying, there is now an Ad-free version of Omniglot which you can access for a small monthly or annual donation.
Note: all links on this site to Amazon.com
[top]
