hunan / hun

Myself: Hunan (South) and Hun (North)

Level 3

Myself is fy hunan in the South and fy hun in the North. On my own is ar fy mhen fy hun.

How It Works

The forms.

  • fy hunan / fy hun — myself
  • dy hunan / dy hun — yourself
  • ei hunan / ei hun — himself, herself, itself
  • ein hunain / ein hun — ourselves
  • eich hunain / eich hun — yourselves, yourself (chi)
  • eu hunain / eu hun — themselves

The first form in each pair is more common in the South and the second in the North; both appear in writing and both are correct. To one person you call chi, you will also hear eich hunan (yourself). In Southern speech fy hunan is often said 'yn hunan.

Uses.

  • by yourself, without help: Gwnes i'r gacen fy hunan (I made the cake myself)
  • doing something to yourself: Helpwch eich hunain! (Help yourselves!)
  • own: ei gar ei hun (his own car)

On my own. Welsh says "on my head myself": ar fy mhen fy hun, ar dy ben dy hun, ar ei ben ei hun (him), ar ei phen ei hun (her), ar ein pen ein hunain, ar eich pen eich hunain, ar eu pen eu hunain. The possessive causes its usual mutation on pen: fy gives mhen, dy and ei (his) give ben, and ei (her) gives phen.

See fy, ei (his) and ei (her).

Examples (6)

  1. Gwnes i'r gacen fy hunan.

    I made the cake myself.

    More common in the South. In the North: fy hun.

  2. Wnaeth o'r gwaith ei hun.

    He did the work himself.

    North. In the South: Wnaeth e'r gwaith ei hunan.

  3. Helpwch eich hunain!

    Help yourselves!

  4. Mae hi'n byw ar ei phen ei hun.

    She lives on her own.

    Pen becomes phen after ei meaning her. Hun is more common in the North; the South also says ar ei phen ei hunan.

  5. Roedd o'n eistedd ar ei ben ei hun.

    He was sitting on his own.

    Pen becomes ben after ei meaning his. North: o and hun. In the South: Roedd e'n eistedd ar ei ben ei hunan.

  6. Mae gan bob un ei ystafell ei hun.

    Everyone has their own room.

    Ei ... ei hun means their own. Hun is more common in the North; in the South you will also hear ei hunan.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the his form for a woman.

    Mae hi'n byw ar ei ben ei hun.
    Mae hi'n byw ar ei phen ei hun.

    For a woman, ei means her and changes pen to phen.

How It Connects

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

hunan / hunLevel 3Myself: Hunan (South) and Hun (North)

Learn This First

Reflexives combine each possessive with hunan or hun.

Words in This Pattern

hunanhunfy hunanfy hundy hunandy hunei hunanei hunein hunainein huneich hunaineich hunaneich huneu hunaineu hun