gwyn → gwen / melyn → melen
Feminine Adjective Forms: Gwen, Melen
After a feminine singular noun, a few adjectives change y to e or w to o: ffrog wen (a white dress), stori fer (a short story), cawod drom (a heavy shower).
How It Works
The common ones.
- gwyn → gwen (white): ffrog wen
- melyn → melen (yellow): het felen
- byr → ber (short): stori fer
- trwm → trom (heavy): cawod drom
- crwn → cron (round): y Ford Gron (the Round Table)
- also cryf → cref (strong), tlws → tlos (pretty), dwfn → dofn (deep), brwnt → bront (dirty)
Two changes at once. A feminine singular noun already softens the adjective after it (Adjectives After Feminine Nouns). With these adjectives the vowel changes too: cath + gwyn → cath wen, stori + byr → stori fer, cawod + trwm → cawod drom.
Only after a feminine singular noun. Masculine nouns and plurals keep the ordinary form: car gwyn (a white car), ffrogiau gwyn (white dresses). Plural adjective forms are a separate topic: Plural Adjectives.
In speech. Many speakers use the ordinary form after feminine nouns too, with just the soft mutation: ffrog wyn. The feminine forms are standard in writing and live on in fixed phrases and names, such as stori fer and the song title Dafydd y Garreg Wen.
Examples (6)
- Roedd hi'n gwisgo ffrog wen.
She was wearing a white dress.
Ffrog is feminine: gwyn → gwen, then soft mutation drops the g: wen.
- Dw i'n darllen stori fer.
I'm reading a short story.
Byr → ber, then soft mutation after the feminine noun: fer.
- Cawson ni gawod drom o law.
We had a heavy shower of rain.
Trwm → trom, then soft mutation: drom.
- Mae hi'n gwisgo het felen.
She's wearing a yellow hat.
Melyn → melen, then soft mutation: felen.
- Marchogion y Ford Gron
The Knights of the Round Table
Crwn → cron, then soft mutation after the feminine noun bord: gron.
- Gwelais i gath wen yn yr ardd.
I saw a white cat in the garden.
Common Mistakes
Using a feminine form after a masculine noun.
Mae ganddo fe gar gwen.Mae ganddo fe gar gwyn.Car is masculine, so the adjective keeps its ordinary form gwyn. Gwen is only for feminine singular nouns.
How It Connects
Learn This First
A few adjectives have feminine forms after feminine nouns.
Related Patterns
- Masculine and Feminine Nouns
The feminine form is used only after feminine singular nouns.
Level 1 - Plural Adjectives (Recognition)
A few adjectives also have plural forms.
Level 6 - Adjectives After Nouns
Most adjectives, including these, come after the noun.
Level 1 - Soft Mutation
The feminine form still softens: ber becomes fer.
Level 1
Words in This Pattern
Practice gwyn → gwen / melyn → melen in Bubblegum
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