bu farw

Died: Bu Farw

Level 4

Welsh has no everyday past form of marw (to die). To say someone died, use bu farw: Bu farw'r bardd yn 1917 — The poet died in 1917.

How It Works

Written and formal: Bu farw + person (+ when or where)

  • Bu farw ei dad yn 2010. — His father died in 2010.
  • Bu farw'r ffermwr yn wyth deg pump oed. — The farmer died aged eighty-five.

Spoken: a form of bues i + the person + farw

  • Buodd hi farw y llynedd. — She died last year.
  • Buon nhw farw yn y rhyfel. — They died in the war.

Other ways to use marw

  • Mae e wedi marw. — He has died / He is dead. (see bod + wedi)
  • Roedd hi'n marw. — She was dying.
  • pysgodyn marw — a dead fish (marw as an adjective)

Why the mutation? Farw is marw with soft mutation (m → f), because it follows the verb, like an object.

Examples (6)

  1. Bu farw ei dad yn 2010.

    His father died in 2010.

  2. Bu farw'r bardd Hedd Wyn yn 1917.

    The poet Hedd Wyn died in 1917.

  3. Bu farw'r ffermwr yn wyth deg pump oed.

    The farmer died aged eighty-five.

  4. Buodd fy nain farw pan o'n i'n ddeg oed.

    My grandmother died when I was ten.

    Spoken style. Nain is the Northern word for grandmother; the South says mam-gu.

  5. Buon nhw farw yn y rhyfel.

    They died in the war.

  6. Mae e wedi marw ers blynyddoedd.

    He's been dead for years.

    Wedi marw describes the state; no mutation after wedi. South: e; the North says Mae o wedi marw.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving marw unmutated after bu.

    Bu marw ei dad yn 2010.
    Bu farw ei dad yn 2010.

    After bu, marw always softens to farw, whoever died.

  • Using roedd ... yn marw to mean "died".

    Roedd e'n marw yn 2010.
    Buodd e farw yn 2010.

    Roedd e'n marw means "he was dying". For the completed event "he died", use bu farw or buodd e farw.

How It Connects

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

bu farwLevel 4Died: Bu Farw

Learn This First

Bu farw uses an old preterite of bod.

Words in This Pattern

marw