Masculine and Feminine Nouns
Every Welsh noun is either masculine or feminine. You need to know which, because feminine nouns cause changes to the words around them.
How It Works
Two genders. Masculine: ci (dog), tŷ (house), llyfr (book), bwrdd (table). Feminine: cath (cat), merch (girl), tref (town), gardd (garden).
Why it matters. You will notice gender in three places:
- After y (the), a feminine singular noun takes soft mutation: y gath, y ferch, yr ardd. Masculine nouns do not change: y ci. See Soft Mutation After Y With Feminine Nouns.
- An adjective after a feminine singular noun softens too: cath fach (little cat), but ci bach (little dog). See feminine noun + soft-mutated adjective.
- "It" is e or o for a masculine noun and hi for a feminine one. See Personal Pronouns.
Some clues. Words for male people and animals are masculine, and words for female ones are feminine: athro (male teacher), athrawes (female teacher). Nouns ending in -es are feminine. For most other nouns there is no reliable clue, so learn the noun with y in front: say y gath, not just cath, and the gender comes for free.
Plurals do not show gender: y cathod (the cats) does not change. Gender also chooses between number forms such as dau and dwy (two); see dau and dwy + soft mutation.
Examples (6)
- Mae'r ci yn yr ardd.
The dog is in the garden.
Ci is masculine and does not change. Gardd is feminine: after the article it becomes ardd, so y becomes yr.
- Mae'r gath yn cysgu.
The cat is sleeping.
Cath is feminine, so it becomes gath after the article.
- Dyma gath fach.
Here's a little cat.
The adjective bach softens to fach after the feminine noun cath.
- Dyma gi bach.
Here's a little dog.
Ci is masculine, so bach does not change.
- Ble mae'r llyfr? Mae e ar y bwrdd.
Where's the book? It's on the table.
Llyfr is masculine, so "it" is e (South) or o (North).
- Ble mae'r gadair? Mae hi yn y gegin.
Where's the chair? It's in the kitchen.
Cadair (chair) is feminine, so "it" is hi. Cegin (kitchen) is feminine too: y gegin.
Common Mistakes
Forgetting the soft mutation of a feminine noun after the article.
Mae'r cath yn cysgu.Mae'r gath yn cysgu.Cath is feminine, so after y or 'r it becomes gath. A masculine noun, like ci, would not change.
How It Connects
Related Patterns
- y + Feminine NounSoft Mutation After Y with Feminine Nouns
The article softens feminine singular nouns.
Level 1 - Adjectives After Feminine Nouns
Adjectives soften after feminine singular nouns.
Level 2 - i / ti / e / o / hi / ni / chi / nhwPersonal Pronouns
Use e/o or hi for "it" depending on gender.
Level 1 - Soft Mutation
Learn the letter changes that gender triggers.
Level 1 - dau / dwy + Soft MutationTwo: Dau and Dwy
Two has a masculine and a feminine form.
Level 2 - -wr / -wraig / -ydd / -esPeople Nouns: -wr, -wraig, -ydd, -es
Endings that make words for male and female people.
Level 4
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice Masculine and Feminine Nouns in Bubblegum
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