Mixed Mutation
Mixed mutation is half aspirate, half soft: c, p, t become ch, ph, th, and the other letters soften as usual. You mostly hear it at the start of negative verbs.
How It Works
The changes:
- like aspirate: c → ch, p → ph, t → th
- like soft: b → f, d → dd, g → (drops), ll → l, m → f, rh → r
Where it happens.
- Negative short verbs. The old negative word ni is left out in speech, but the verb keeps its mutation: Chlywais i ddim (clywais), Thalodd e ddim (talodd), Phrynais i ddim (prynais), Fwytais i ddim (bwytais), Ddaeth neb (daeth).
- After na in negative answers: Na chei, Na fyddwn, Na wnaf. See echo answers in other tenses.
- In formal and literary Welsh after ni and nid, and in negative relative clauses with na. See ni and nid literary negation and na and nad negative relatives.
In everyday speech. With c, p and t, many speakers use the soft change instead: Glywais i ddim, Dalodd e ddim, Brynais i ddim. Careful speech and writing prefer ch, ph, th. For the other letters there is no difference, because both systems soften them.
Compare the two parent systems: soft mutation and aspirate mutation.
Examples (6)
- Chlywais i ddim byd.
I didn't hear anything.
Clywais → chlywais (aspirate part).
- Thalodd e ddim.
He didn't pay.
Talodd → thalodd.
- Ddaeth neb.
Nobody came.
Daeth → ddaeth (soft part). Neb makes the sentence negative.
- Phrynais i ddim bara.
I didn't buy any bread.
Prynais → phrynais. Everyday speech also says Brynais i ddim bara.
- Fwytais i ddim brecwast.
I didn't eat breakfast.
Bwytais → fwytais (soft part).
- Ga i fynd? Na chei.
May I go? No.
Na causes mixed mutation: cei → chei.
Common Mistakes
Leaving a negative verb unmutated.
Clywais i ddim byd.Chlywais i ddim byd.A negative short verb takes mixed mutation (chlywais). Soft mutation (glywais) is also common in speech, but the radical form is not.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Mixed mutation combines aspirate forms for c p t with soft forms elsewhere.
Related Patterns
- Questions and Negatives of Short Verbs
Where you meet mixed mutation every day.
Level 3 - Initial Consonant Mutations
An overview of all the mutations.
Level 1 - Negative Relative na / nadNegative Relatives: Na and Nad
Na also causes mixed mutation in relative clauses.
Level 4 - Literary Negation ni / nidLiterary Negation: Ni and Nid (Recognition)
The literary ni that causes this mutation.
Level 6
Words in This Pattern
Practice Mixed Mutation in Bubblegum
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