achos / oherwydd

Because: Achos and Oherwydd

Level 3

Because is achos in everyday speech and oherwydd in more formal Welsh. Both usually take bod: achos bod hi'n bwrw glaw (because it's raining).

How It Works

With bod.

  • Dw i'n aros adre achos bod hi'n bwrw glaw. — I'm staying home because it's raining.
  • Roedd hi'n hwyr oherwydd bod y trên yn hwyr. — She was late because the train was late.

Bod covers both is and was, as in a that-clause. With a pronoun, careful Welsh says achos ei bod hi, and speech says achos bod hi. See fy mod i, ei fod e.

In relaxed speech you will also hear achos mae: achos mae hi'n bwrw glaw. It is common and it is not a mistake, but achos bod and oherwydd bod are the standard forms, so use them when you write.

Because something happened. For a single finished event, use i + person + soft-mutated verb-noun: oherwydd i ni golli'r bws. See i + subject + verb-noun.

Because of. Before a noun: oherwydd y glaw (because of the rain), o achos y tywydd (because of the weather). Informal Welsh also uses achos alone this way.

Which one? Achos is the everyday spoken word. Oherwydd is more formal and is common in writing and on the news. For a reason that everyone already knows, Welsh also uses gan fod (since, as).

Negative reasons. Careful Welsh uses nad: achos nad oedd y siop ar agor (because the shop wasn't open).

Examples (6)

  1. Dw i'n aros adre achos bod hi'n bwrw glaw.

    I'm staying home because it's raining.

  2. Roedd e'n hwyr oherwydd bod y trên yn hwyr.

    He was late because the train was late.

    Here bod means was, because the whole sentence is in the past. South: e. In the North: Roedd o'n hwyr oherwydd bod y trên yn hwyr.

  3. Mae Aled adre heddiw achos ei fod e'n sâl.

    Aled is at home today because he's ill.

    Careful Welsh says ei fod e (that he is); speech often shortens it to bod e or fod e. South: e. In the North: achos ei fod o'n sâl.

  4. Dw i'n dysgu Cymraeg achos bod fy mhlant i'n mynd i ysgol Gymraeg.

    I'm learning Welsh because my children go to a Welsh-medium school.

  5. Mae'r ffordd ar gau oherwydd y llifogydd.

    The road is closed because of the floods.

    Before a noun, oherwydd means because of.

  6. Arhoson ni adre achos nad oedd y car yn gweithio.

    We stayed at home because the car wasn't working.

    Careful Welsh uses nad for a negative reason.

How It Connects

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

achos / oherwyddLevel 3Because: Achos and Oherwydd

Learn This First

Achos and oherwydd are often followed by a bod clause.

Words in This Pattern

achosoherwyddachosoherwydd