The easiest way to learn Welsh is to use short lessons you can mostly understand, with help in the same place. In the Bubblegum app, tell Poppy, your AI tutor, your level and a topic you enjoy. She writes a Welsh lesson for you.
Choose northern or southern Welsh to match the people you want to talk with.
How Does Bubblegum Make Learning Welsh Easier?
| What You Need | How Bubblegum Helps |
|---|---|
| Welsh you can follow | Poppy writes lessons for your level, so you can start without sorting through books and videos. |
| A topic you want to read about | Ask for an everyday conversation, a story, or a lesson about something you like. |
| Help with a word or sentence | Look up a word in the dictionary, open grammar help, or ask Poppy about the sentence. Play the lesson's AI audio to hear it. |
| A way to remember useful words | Save words as you read. Regenerative Review™ brings them back in new lessons. |
For a book or video you already chose, use a tool that lets you bring it in. Add a tutor or conversation partner to practice speaking with another person.
Is Welsh Easy to Learn?
Welsh needs practice with changing first sounds and regional pronunciation. Choose short dialogues from the variety you plan to use and keep audio with the text. See the Welsh study-time guide for study workloads and their limits.
- A Familiar AlphabetWelsh uses the letters you already know, and eight of its 29 letters are pairs, such as dd and ll, that each stand for one sound.
- Words You Already KnowSome Welsh words come from English, so coffi (coffee) and tacsi (taxi) are easy to guess.
- One Pattern, Many SentencesWelsh builds most tenses with a helper verb, so Dw i'n darllen (I'm reading) and Dw i'n mynd (I'm going) change only the last word.
What Is the Easiest Way to Start?
- Pick North or SouthChoose the Welsh spoken by the people you want to talk to, and stay with it at the start.
- Read About What You LoveTell Poppy your level and ask for a lesson so you can read short dialogues about food, music, rugby, or anything else you already enjoy.
- Listen While You ReadPlay the audio as you read, so each word's sound and spelling go together.
- Get Help While You ReadLook up a word or check the translation when a line stops you. Ask Poppy about grammar in the same lesson.
- Save Words From the LessonSave useful words as you read. Regenerative Review™ brings them back inside new lessons.
- Say a Line Out LoudRead a line aloud whenever it feels fun, like a greeting you want to use.
Set aside 3–5 hours a week in sessions of 15–30 minutes or longer. Read, listen, get help with what stops you, and try saying a line aloud. Choose longer texts when you can follow more.
What Makes Welsh Feel Hard, and How Can You Make It Easier?
Practice these parts in short lines you can mostly understand.
| What Feels Hard | The Easy Fix |
|---|---|
| Mutations, where a word's first sound changes | Caerdydd (Cardiff) becomes i Gaerdydd (to Cardiff) and yng Nghaerdydd (in Cardiff). The same small words cause the same changes, so easy reading shows you each one many times before you need a table. |
| The ll and ch sounds | English has neither sound, so the ll in llyfr (book) is new to most learners. Play the audio and copy a few words with ll until your mouth gets used to it. |
| The verb at the start of the sentence | Short lines like Mae hi'n bwrw glaw (it's raining) put the verb first. Compare that word order as you read and listen. |
| Fast speech and many accents on TV | Listen to slow, clear audio made for learners first. Words you already know are much easier to catch in fast speech. |
What Is Easy Welsh to Start With?
Choose short, clear Welsh about something you enjoy. Welsh you can mostly understand is called comprehensible input.
| What | Why It's Easy | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Lessons about cafes and weekend plans | Level 1, Bubblegum's easiest level, uses short lines with audio and a translation. | Free on this site |
| Duostories in Welsh | Short stories in North Welsh about everyday moments, with audio and short questions as you read. | duostories.org |
| S4C Dysgu Cymraeg clips | Short clips from S4C shows for learners, each labeled with its level, starting at Entry. | youtube.com |
| Amdani books | Books for adults learning Welsh, sorted by the levels of the Learn Welsh courses, starting at Entry. | learnwelsh.cymru |
Choose shorter or easier material whenever you lose the meaning.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I Learn the Most Common 500 Words First?
Learn common words in sentences you understand rather than from an isolated list. A translation alone does not show how a word is used or help you catch it in a conversation. Read and hear it in a short line, then save that line for review.
Can I Learn Welsh for Free?
Yes. Learn Welsh, the National Centre for Learning Welsh, has a free online taster course, and the Open University's Croeso is a free four-hour course for beginners. You can start either one right away.
Can I Learn Welsh Just by Watching S4C?
Not at the start, because most of an episode goes by too fast to learn from when you are new. Shows help more once you can follow a simple conversation, especially with Welsh subtitles on, which S4C Clic offers on nearly all its programmes. S4C suggests watching a part with no subtitles, then with Welsh subtitles, and then with English ones to see how much you caught.
Which Welsh App Should a Beginner Choose?
If you are serious about learning Welsh, start with Bubblegum. Poppy writes lessons at your level about things you like. For courses, tutors and speaking practice, see our comparison of Welsh apps.
Is Bubblegum Free?
Yes. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn. It holds lessons that other learners asked Poppy for. A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- U.S. Department of State, Foreign Language Training (FSI language categories)
- Wikipedia: Welsh orthography (29 letters, including eight digraphs; ll and ch have no English equivalent)
- Wiktionary: coffi (Welsh, borrowed from English coffee)
- Wiktionary: tacsi (Welsh, borrowed from English taxi)
- Wikipedia: Colloquial Welsh morphology (most tenses use the helper verb bod; dw i'n mynd; mae hi'n bwrw glaw)
- Wiktionary: Caerdydd (Welsh mutated forms Gaerdydd and Nghaerdydd)
- Learn Welsh (National Centre for Learning Welsh): Learn Welsh courses (free online taster course)
- The Open University, OpenLearn: Croeso: Beginners' Welsh (free course, 4 hours of study)
- S4C: Dysgu Cymraeg, help for Welsh learners (Welsh subtitles and how to watch)
