mae'n well i

Had Better: Mae'n Well I

Level 3

Mae'n well i fi fynd means "I'd better go", literally "it's better for me to go".

How It Works

Pattern: Mae'n well + i + person + soft-mutated verb-noun.

  • Mae'n well i fi fynd — I'd better go (mynd)
  • Mae'n well i ni frysio — we'd better hurry (brysio)
  • Mae'n well iddyn nhw ddal y bws olaf — they'd better catch the last bus (dal)

For the personal forms of i, see i fi i ti iddo fe iddi hi.

More gently, with the conditional. Byddai'n well i ti ofyn (South and standard), Basai'n well i chi aros (North): it would be better for you to... See baswn i and byddwn i.

Had better not. Use peidio, which softens to beidio: Mae'n well i ti beidio (You'd better not), Mae'n well i ni beidio â dweud (We'd better not say). See paid â and peidiwch â.

Not the same as "prefer". Mae'n well gen i fynd (North) or Mae'n well 'da fi fynd (South) means "I prefer to go". With i, it means "I'd better go". See mae'n well gen i.

Examples (6)

  1. Mae'n well i fi fynd.

    I'd better go.

    Mynd softens to fynd. North: i mi.

  2. Mae'n well i ni frysio.

    We'd better hurry.

    Brysio softens to frysio.

  3. Byddai'n well i ti ofyn.

    You'd better ask.

    Softer, with byddai. Gofyn softens to ofyn.

  4. Basai'n well i chi aros yn y tŷ.

    You'd better stay in the house.

    North: basai.

  5. Mae'n well i ti beidio.

    You'd better not.

    Peidio softens to beidio.

  6. Mae'n well iddyn nhw ddal y bws olaf.

    They'd better catch the last bus.

    Iddyn nhw: for them. Dal softens to ddal.

Common Mistakes

  • Using gen i or 'da fi when you mean "had better" (when you mean "I'd better go").

    Mae'n well gen i fynd.
    Mae'n well i fi fynd.

    Mae'n well gen i fynd means "I prefer to go". For "had better", use i + person.

  • Forgetting the soft mutation.

    Mae'n well i ni brysio.
    Mae'n well i ni frysio.

    The verb-noun after i + person softens: brysio → frysio.

How It Connects

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

mae'n well iLevel 3Had Better: Mae'n Well I

Learn This First

Mae'n well i combines well and the i + person clause.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

gwellgwell