â, gyda, tua, na + Aspirate Mutation

Aspirate Mutation After Â, Gyda, Tua and Na

Level 3

Four small words cause aspirate mutation: â (with, as), gyda (with), tua (about) and na (than). Only c, p and t change: to ch, ph and th.

How It Works

â — with, as. Â follows many verbs and phrases: siarad â (talk to), cwrdd â (meet), dod â (bring), mor ... â (as ... as).

  • siarad â phlant — talk to children (plant)
  • cwrdd â pherson newydd — meet a new person (person)

gyda — with. gyda thad Siân (with Siân's father), coffi gyda chacen (coffee with cake). In speech you will often hear gyda tad Siân; both are heard. See gyda and efo.

tua — about, approximately. tua chant o bobl (about a hundred people), tua phump o'r gloch (about five o'clock), tua thri deg (about thirty).

na — than. yn dalach na thi (taller than you), Mae'n well gen i goffi na the (I prefer coffee to tea). See -ach comparative.

Ag, nag, gydag. Before a vowel: siarad ag Aled, yn hŷn nag Elin (older than Elin), and in writing gydag Aled.

These words join the other aspirate triggers such as a (and), ei (her) and tri; see aspirate mutation. For negative commands with â, see paid â and peidiwch â.

Examples (6)

  1. Dw i'n hoffi siarad â phlant.

    I like talking to children.

    Â changes plant to phlant.

  2. Es i i'r dref gyda thad Siân.

    I went to town with Siân's father.

    Gyda changes tad to thad. Speech often keeps tad.

  3. Roedd tua chant o bobl yno.

    There were about a hundred people there.

    Tua changes cant to chant.

  4. Mae hi'n dalach na thi.

    She's taller than you.

    Na changes ti to thi.

  5. Dewch tua phump o'r gloch.

    Come at about five o'clock.

    Tua changes pump to phump.

  6. Dw i'n yfed coffi gyda llaeth.

    I drink coffee with milk.

    Only c, p and t change, so llaeth stays the same.

Common Mistakes

  • Using soft mutation instead of aspirate.

    siarad â blant
    siarad â phlant

    These words cause aspirate mutation: p → ph, not p → b.

  • Using â before a vowel.

    siarad â Aled
    siarad ag Aled

    Before a vowel, â becomes ag (and na becomes nag).

How It Connects

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

â, gyda, tua, na + Aspirate MutationLevel 3Aspirate Mutation After Â, Gyda, Tua and Na

Learn This First

Â, gyda, tua and na are further aspirate-mutation triggers.

Words in This Pattern

ââtua