The fastest way to learn Welsh is to spend most of your study time on Welsh you can mostly understand. That kind of Welsh is called comprehensible input. What you read and listen to should change as you improve, so the plan below shows what to do at each level and how to split an hour of study.
What to Do at Each Level
Find the level that sounds like you. Its bar shows how to spend an hour of study.
- Level 1
I'm just starting out or know only a few words.
Read and listen 35 min. Review 15 min. Speak 10 min.
Read short dialogues with audio and a translation, and listen to each one twice. Read the short stories on Duostories, which come with audio in North Welsh, and say a few lines out loud.
- Level 2
I can handle simple exchanges.
Read and listen 40 min. Review 10 min. Speak 10 min.
Hide the translation and look up only the words that stop you. Watch the short S4C Dysgu Cymraeg clips, which S4C labels by level, and start short talks with a tutor or a friend.
- Level 3
I follow conversations on familiar topics.
Read and listen 40 min. Review 5 min. Speak 15 min.
Read the week's big news stories on Lingo360, which lists the harder words, and listen to each lesson once more without reading along. Talk about what you read for longer.
- Level 4
I understand most content but miss some nuance.
Read and watch 45 min. Review 5 min. Speak 10 min.
Watch a show on S4C Clic with Welsh subtitles, one episode a week. Listen to Pigion, the BBC's monthly pick of Radio Cymru highlights for learners, which lists the harder words with their English meanings.
- Level 5
I read complex topics but rare words slow me down.
Read and listen 50 min. Speak 10 min.
Read the news on Golwg360 and use its Vocab button to see the English for highlighted words. Listen to Radio Cymru, and look up only the words that block the story.
- Level 6
I read at near-native level.
Read and watch 50 min. Speak 10 min.
Read BBC Cymru Fyw and Welsh novels, and watch S4C without subtitles, for their own sake.
Move up a level when your lessons start to feel easy, and move back down if you lose the thread by the third line.
How Long Does It Take to Learn Welsh?
The U.S. Foreign Service Institute does not list Welsh, so the best guide comes from the National Centre for Learning Welsh, which puts each of its first three levels at about 120 hours of learning. No other Celtic language is on the FSI list either, so the list has no close relative of Welsh to compare with.
| Language | FSI group | Full-time weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Spanish | Category I | 30 |
| German | Category II | 36 |
| Russian | Category III | 44 |
| Japanese | Category IV | 88 |
| Welsh | Not listed | No estimate |
The National Centre's Entry, Foundation and Intermediate courses match CEFR levels A1, A2 and B1. At about 120 hours each, a beginner needs 120 hours to finish Entry, 240 to finish Foundation and 360 to finish Intermediate. Here is how long those take at different amounts of study a week:
| Study per week | Entry, A1 (120 hours) | Foundation, A2 (240 hours) | Intermediate, B1 (360 hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3½ hours | About 8 months | About 16 months | About 2 years |
| 7 hours | About 4 months | About 8 months | About 12 months |
| 14 hours | About 2 months | About 4 months | About 6 months |
| 28 hours | About 1 month | About 2 months | About 3 months |
These are hours of learning on a course, so treat them as a rough guide. Time you spend understanding Welsh on your own counts too.
What Slows Learners Down
- Guessing Sounds From EnglishWelsh letters keep their own sounds, so f sounds like v, and dd sounds like the th in “these”. Hear each new word before you say it.
- Mutation Tables AloneThe first sound of a Welsh word changes after some words, so tad (father) becomes ei dad (his father) and ei thad (her father). A table of these changes is hard to use until you have read each one in many sentences.
- Content Far Too HardA Radio Cymru show where you know one word in five teaches you very little.
Frequently Asked Questions
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. Our Welsh app comparison covers courses, tutors and speaking apps too.
Can I learn Welsh in three months?
You can learn enough Welsh to greet people and talk about your weekend. At 14 hours a week, three months is about 180 hours, which is more than the 120 hours of the National Centre's Entry level and part of the way through Foundation.
How much should I study Welsh each week?
Aim for three to five hours a week of Welsh you understand, in sessions of at least 15 to 30 minutes. A longer session lets you get lost in a story, which teaches more than five minutes a day, and steady time each week matters more than a daily streak. Our post on deep sessions over daily streaks explains why.
Is Welsh hard for English speakers?
The Foreign Service Institute does not list Welsh, so it has no FSI group. Welsh puts the verb first, so Mae'r gath yn cysgu (the cat is sleeping) begins with mae (is). That order starts to feel natural once you have read and heard it in a lot of Welsh you understand.
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.
The Welsh lessons on this site are also free and need no account.
Sources
- U.S. Department of State, Foreign Language Training (FSI language categories)
- Learn Welsh (National Centre for Learning Welsh): Virtual Learning according to Higher Education Subject (Entry, Foundation and Intermediate courses are about 120 hours of learning each)
- WJEC: Welsh for Adults Qualification Suite (Entry A1, Foundation A2, Intermediate B1)
- Wikipedia: Welsh orthography (f and dd)
- Wikipedia: Consonant mutation in Welsh (tad, ei dad, ei thad)
- Wikipedia: Welsh syntax (verb–subject–object word order)
