Co - used for look

Welsh General / Questions
#1

Hi
I know from watching the subtitles in 35 diwrnod that 'co fe means look/look at him but what’s 'co short for?

Also, i keep seeing ‘rhyw’ being used to mean ‘some’ so when does it mean ‘sex’ and when does it mean some!?

Many thanks

Andrew

#2
  1. ’co is a shortening of acw, which literally translates to there, so 'co fe means There he is, but you get the same idea as “Look at him”. You’ll also often hear 'co ni off – There we go.
  2. When words have multiple meanings, context usually helps to determine the meaning. The rhyw that does not mean sex is a so-called “determiner” and is always used next to another word: Nes i adael rhyw hanner awr 'n ôl – I left about half an hour ago
    The other rhyw is a noun, and as in English it can mean both the physical act and biological gender.
#3

Thanks Hendrik!

#4

To add to the confusion there’s also rhiw meaning a hill which, to my ears at least, sounds exactly the same as rhyw (hence the joke in the title of Aran’s book ‘Some Sex and a Hill’ which you discover when translating it into Welsh) - but, as @Hendrik says, context is usually enough to sort things out - and of course are lots of words in English with different meanings which sound the same and which context usually helps us to understand what is meant :slightly_smiling_face:

#5

So is acw the equivalent of the southern fanco?

#6

I get context is key here so when do you use rhai and when rhyw when saying ‘some’?

#7

It seems to be that rhiw is followed by a singular (as @garethrking explains it in Modern Welsh: “some … (or other)” )and rhai followed by plural, i.e. more than one of something.

1 Like
#8

That makes sense. Thanks John.

#9

Trying to be delicate but its the same word but figurative. If you get my drift :grin:. I think its normal to pronounce it rhai when on its own (as opposed to rhwybeth etc) to avoid embarasment.

See could be gw, lyco, llacw, lochgo. Even “lechgo hwnco manco” :grin: