Adjectives After Nouns
In Welsh, you normally put the describing word after the thing it describes: car coch = a red car (literally "car red").
How It Works
Noun + adjective: car coch (a red car), tŷ mawr (a big house), bwyd da (good food), dyn tal (a tall man), coffi du (black coffee), diwrnod braf (a fine day).
Greetings follow the same rule: Bore da (Good morning, literally "morning good"), Nos da (Good night).
With the article: y car coch (the red car), yr afal gwyrdd (the green apple).
Feminine nouns. After a feminine singular noun the adjective softens: cath fach (little cat), merch dda (good girl). After masculine nouns and plurals it does not: ci bach, cathod bach. See feminine noun + soft-mutated adjective.
"Very" goes after the adjective too: tŷ mawr iawn (a very big house). See Very: Adjective + Iawn.
A few adjectives go first. Hen (old), hoff (favourite) and prif (main) come before the noun and soften it: hen ddyn (an old man), hoff lyfr (favourite book). See hen hoff prif + soft mutation.
Examples (6)
- Dw i eisiau car newydd.
I want a new car.
Word by Word: I want car new.
Car, then newydd (new).
- Maen nhw'n byw mewn tŷ mawr.
They live in a big house.
Word by Word: They live in house big.
- Bore da!
Good morning!
Literally "morning good".
- Dw i'n hoffi coffi du.
I like black coffee.
- Mae'r dyn tal yn athro.
The tall man is a teacher.
- Mae hi'n ddiwrnod braf.
It's a fine day.
Diwrnod softens to ddiwrnod after yn; braf follows the noun and never changes.
Common Mistakes
Putting the adjective before the noun, as in English.
Dw i'n hoffi du coffi.Dw i'n hoffi coffi du.Most Welsh adjectives come after the noun. Only a few, like hen and hoff, go first.
How It Connects
Related Patterns
- Adjectives After Feminine Nouns
Adjectives soften after feminine singular nouns.
Level 2 - Adjective + iawnVery: Adjective + Iawn
Add iawn after the adjective for "very".
Level 1 - hen, hoff, prif + Soft MutationAdjectives Before the Noun
The few adjectives that come before the noun.
Level 3 - Masculine and Feminine Nouns
Gender decides whether the adjective changes.
Level 1 - Noun + Noun Compounds
A second noun can describe the first in the same position.
Level 3 - Predicative yn + Soft MutationDescribing with Yn + Soft Mutation
Use an adjective after bod and yn.
Level 1
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
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