Adjectives After Feminine Nouns

Level 2

After a feminine singular noun, the adjective softens: cath fach (a little cat), merch dda (a good girl). After a masculine or plural noun, it does not: ci bach, cathod bach.

How It Works

Feminine singular: the adjective softens

  • cath + bach → cath fach a little cat
  • merch + da → merch dda a good girl
  • gwers + diddorol → gwers ddiddorol an interesting lesson
  • noson + llawen → noson lawen a merry evening
  • taith + rhad → taith rad a cheap trip
  • stryd + mawr → y Stryd Fawr the High Street

Masculine or plural: no change

  • ci bach a little dog
  • dyn da a good man
  • cathod bach little cats, kittens
  • merched da good girls

More than one adjective. Each one softens: cath fach ddu (a little black cat).

With the article. After y, a feminine noun softens too, and so does its adjective: y gath fach, y ferch dda. One difference: ll and rh do not change on the noun after y (y llaw), but they do change on an adjective (noson lawen). See Soft Mutation After Y With Feminine Nouns.

Knowing the gender. Dictionaries mark each noun m or f (eg or eb in Welsh-language dictionaries). See Masculine and Feminine Nouns.

A second noun used to describe a feminine noun softens in the same way: siop lyfrau (bookshop). See Noun + Noun Compounds.

Examples (6)

  1. Mae cath fach ddu yn yr ardd.

    There's a little black cat in the garden.

    Both adjectives soften after feminine cath.

  2. Mae hi'n ferch dda.

    She's a good girl.

    da → dda after feminine merch.

  3. Cawson ni noson lawen.

    We had a merry evening.

    llawen → lawen: ll softens on an adjective.

  4. Mae'r banc ar y Stryd Fawr.

    The bank is on the High Street.

    mawr → fawr after feminine stryd.

  5. Roedd hi'n wythnos brysur.

    It was a busy week.

    prysur → brysur after feminine wythnos.

  6. Mae'r cathod bach yn chwarae.

    The kittens are playing.

    Cathod is plural, so bach does not change.

Common Mistakes

  • Forgetting to soften after a feminine noun.

    cath bach
    cath fach

    Cath is feminine singular, so the adjective softens: bach → fach.

  • Softening after a masculine noun.

    ci fach
    ci bach

    Ci is masculine, so the adjective keeps its first letter.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Adjectives After Feminine NounsLevel 2

Learn This First

A feminine noun softens a following adjective.