Thank you all. @robbruce that is very interesting. Early on my first guess at how possession worked in Welsh was just like that as my brain hadn’t picked up on the other half of the doubling. Language change in progress perhaps.
'Waeth heb na…"
I think this means broadly “no point …” though can’t quite get that from the meaning of the individual words. If anyone could clarify, I’d be grateful.
The context is that at the Railway Inn in Swansea this afternoon, Gwilym Bowen Rhys sang a song about a sheep, Defaid William Morgan, including the line:
Waeth heb na phlannu nionod bach Na letys na chabatsen.
Well, the only bit of illumination that I can offer is that I sometimes hear a construction like for example (Ni) waeth i mi fynd – literally along the lines of It wouldn’t be worse for me to go, so the English equivalent here is “Might as well go.”
In your example, the heb makes it all negative (like in Dw i heb glywed – I haven’t heard) … so
(Ni) waeth i mi heb fynd – Might as well not go
Which conveys the meaning of “there’s no point in me going”
It’s one of those idioms that are a bit harder to grok, but the more often you hear it, the easier it’ll get.
2 Likes
Thanks so much, Hendrik, that was exactly what I was looking for.
It’s in my dictionary of Welsh idioms:
Waeth heb (â) holi (N) - There’s no point in asking
So you’re spot on with the “There’s no point” @sortaottery
2 Likes
I was making a cup of tea and thinking about Welsh, and I’ve ended up down a real rabbit hole.
“ddides ti = you said (singular)”, I thought… what would it be if I was speaking formally or to more people? I tried to look it up but couldn’t work out the stem - I looked at d(w)eud but the rules I came across didn’t see to correspond to what I knew… then I came across this thread - aha, I was mixing up “i” and “u” and it is starting to fall into place but still doesn’t quite fit the rules I found. Maybe it is just a spelling thing?
But why is it “ddudes ti” I have learnt in the challenges and not “dudes ti”? Is it because there is an elided particle there (like medrai → mi fedrai → - fedrai")? Or some other reason?
And while we’re at it, what is the plural/formal version of “dduest ti?” ddudoch chi?
The soft mutation always happens at the beginning of a question, and the often omitted particle is a: (A) fedri di helpu fi? – Can you help me?
And, yes, you are spot on with Ddudoch chi?
(At least this is the way it’s usually pronounced in the north. The “dictionary form” is Ddwedoch chi?, and down south you’ll hear Wedoch chi?)
1 Like
Bu bron iddi hi
Bu bron iddo fo
How does this change for fi, ti, ni, nhw?
It’s just the usual conjugation of the preposition i:
i fi, i ti, iddo fe/fo, iddi hi, i ni, i chi, iddyn nhw
2 Likes
So the first part, bu bron stays the same? I thought I heard Aran say ti bron but I wasn’t sure
In that expression, yes, it stays Bu bron and has the various ‘i’ forms following.
I’m surprised that made it through to print in a formal publication.
Nevertheless, out in the wider world nôl is often used as an informal abbreviation of 'n ôl and yn ôl.
Technically and strictly incorrect, but very, very common.
Is the distinction between gwylio and gweld in Welsh the same as watch and see in English? In English I would say watching is something you actively do and takes longer, whereas seeing is something that just happens, although with films and tv they are more interchangable
Yes, you are spot on, gwylio for watch, and gweld for see. (And then there is also edrych (S.W.) and sbïo (N.W.) for look)
The same distinction also exists for listening (gwrando) and hearing (clywed).
2 Likes
Oh, that is interesting as edrych is used in the Northern challenges, but perhaps in a different sense (it is in the sense of “they look lively” / “mae nhw 'n edrych yn fywiog” rather than “look at that elephant”.
Are the distinctions between them made in the same way as in English, or are the “rules” (for want of a better word) different in any way?
Ah, yes, of course, I meant the sense Look at that. They are looking lively in Southern is Maen nhw’n disgwyl yn fywiog. Gotta love these regional variants! 
From my experience, the distinction follows largely the same rules as english, although I would go see a movie but watch TV (in English and Welsh).
1 Like
Worth being aware that to watch TV in slightly more formal Welsh would be edrych ar y teledu (look upon, in English, I suppose). You may get pulled up by pedants for using gwylio’r teledu. Ignore them.
Edited to add: personally, I would say watsio. 
3 Likes
I’m looking for something but it is no where to be seen.
Which is idiomatic in Welsh: “Dw’i ddim feindio hi” or “Fedra’i ddim feindio hi”?
I can’t find it = Fedra’i ddim ffeindio hi (remember the f sound is ff - one f = a v sound)
“Dwi ddim yn ffeindio hi” would equate to “I am not finding it”, but you could say “Dwi ddim yn medru ffeindio hi” which is the longer way of saying “I can’t find it”.
1 Like
Diolch!