gwell / gwaeth / mwy / llai

Irregular Comparatives

Level 3

Good, bad, big and small don't take -ach: da → gwell, drwg → gwaeth, mawr → mwy, bach → llai.

How It Works

The main irregular comparatives.

  • da (good) → gwell (better)
  • drwg (bad) → gwaeth (worse)
  • mawr (big) → mwy (bigger, more)
  • bach (small) → llai (smaller, less)
  • hen (old) → hŷn (older)
  • agos (near) → nes (nearer)
  • uchel (high, loud) → uwch (higher)
  • isel (low) → is (lower)
  • hawdd (easy) → haws (easier)

After yn: yn well, yn waeth, yn fwy, yn llai, yn hŷn, yn nes, yn uwch, yn is, yn haws.

Mwy and llai before nouns. With o they mean more and less: mwy o bobl (more people), llai o arian (less money). O softens the noun.

In set phrases. Gwell appears in Mae'n well gen i (I prefer) and Mae'n well i ti (You'd better). For best and worst, see superlatives: gorau, gwaethaf.

You will also hear the regular forms hynach and agosach beside hŷn and nes.

Examples (6)

  1. Mae hwn yn well.

    This one is better.

    Gwell softens to well after yn.

  2. Mae'r tywydd yn waeth heddiw.

    The weather is worse today.

  3. Mae Caerdydd yn fwy nag Abertawe.

    Cardiff is bigger than Swansea.

    Nag is used before the vowel of Abertawe.

  4. Mae fy mrawd i'n hŷn na fi.

    My brother is older than me.

  5. Mae'r ystafell 'ma'n llai.

    This room is smaller.

    Llai does not change after yn.

  6. Mae mwy o bobl yma heddiw.

    There are more people here today.

    Mwy o + a soft-mutated noun means more of something.

Common Mistakes

  • Building a regular -ach form for bach.

    Mae'r ci yn fachach na'r gath.
    Mae'r ci yn llai na'r gath.

    Bach has an irregular comparative: llai.

  • Forgetting the soft mutation after yn.

    Mae hwn yn gwell.
    Mae hwn yn well.

    Gwell follows yn, so the g drops by soft mutation.

How It Connects

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

gwell / gwaeth / mwy / llaiLevel 3Irregular Comparatives

Learn This First

Irregular comparatives replace the regular -ach forms.

Words in This Pattern

gwellgwaethllainesgwell