y naill ... y llall

One ... the Other: Y Naill ... Y Llall

Level 5

Mae'r naill yn dal a'r llall yn fyr — One is tall and the other is short. Y naill is "the one" and y llall is "the other".

How It Works

One and the other. For two people or things, y naill means "the one" and y llall means "the other": Mae'r naill yn dal a'r llall yn fyr. Both always have the article, which becomes 'r after a vowel (a'r llall, neu'r llall). The plural of y llall is y lleill (the others); see Other: Arall, Eraill, Y llall.

With a noun. Y naill can come before a noun, which softens: y naill ferch (one of the two girls), y naill ddiwrnod ar ôl y llall (one day after another).

Useful phrases.

  • y naill neu'r llall — either one, one or the other
  • y naill na'r llall — neither one (with a negative verb)
  • y naill ar ôl y llall — one after the other
  • y naill ffordd neu'r llall — one way or the other

Either ... or. Naill ai ... neu means either ... or. Neu softens the next word as usual (Neu + Soft Mutation): naill ai te neu goffi (either tea or coffee).

Each other is a different pattern: ei gilydd.

Examples (6)

  1. Mae'r naill yn dal a'r llall yn fyr.

    One is tall and the other is short.

  2. Mae'r naill neu'r llall yn iawn.

    Either one is fine.

  3. Dw i ddim yn nabod y naill na'r llall.

    I don't know either of them.

    Na'r llall with a negative verb means neither.

  4. Daethon nhw i mewn y naill ar ôl y llall.

    They came in one after the other.

  5. Gallwn ni fynd naill ai heddiw neu yfory.

    We can go either today or tomorrow.

  6. Rhaid penderfynu'r naill ffordd neu'r llall.

    We have to decide one way or the other.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving out the article.

    Mae naill yn dal a llall yn fyr.
    Mae'r naill yn dal a'r llall yn fyr.

    Naill and llall are always used with the article: y naill, y llall ('r after a vowel).

How It Connects

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

y naill ... y llallLevel 5One ... the Other: Y Naill ... Y Llall

Learn This First

Y naill ... y llall contrasts one with the other.

Words in This Pattern

llall