Singulatives -yn / -en

Singulatives: -yn and -en

Level 4

English adds -s to make a plural. Some Welsh nouns work the other way round: the basic word is the group (coed, trees) and you add an ending for one (coeden, a tree).

How It Works

Group → one

  • coed (trees, woods) → coeden (a tree), feminine
  • dail (leaves) → deilen (a leaf), feminine
  • sêr (stars) → seren (a star), feminine
  • pys (peas) → pysen (a pea), feminine
  • mefus (strawberries) → mefusen (a strawberry), feminine
  • moch (pigs) → mochyn (a pig), masculine
  • plant (children) → plentyn (a child), masculine
  • adar (birds) → aderyn (a bird), masculine
  • pysgod (fish) → pysgodyn (one fish), masculine

Gender matters (see Masculine and Feminine Nouns):

  • y goeden fawr — the big tree (feminine: the noun softens after y, and so does the adjective)
  • y mochyn mawr — the big pig (masculine: no change)
  • dwy seren, tair coeden but dau aderyn, tri mochyn

Counting. After a number, use the one-item form, as with any noun: pum coeden (five trees). See Nouns After Numbers Stay Singular.

Learn the pair. You can't always guess which words work this way, so learn both forms together, just as you learn plural endings.

Examples (6)

  1. Mae coeden fawr yn yr ardd.

    There's a big tree in the garden.

    Coeden is feminine, so mawr softens to fawr.

  2. Syrthiodd deilen ar fy mhen i.

    A leaf fell on my head.

  3. Edrycha ar y seren ddisglair 'na!

    Look at that bright star!

  4. Mae plentyn bach yn chwarae yn y parc.

    A little child is playing in the park.

  5. Welaist ti'r aderyn 'na?

    Did you see that bird?

  6. Rhowch bum mefusen ar bob cacen.

    Put five strawberries on each cake.

Common Mistakes

  • Not softening an -en word after y.

    y coeden
    y goeden

    Words ending in -en are feminine, so they soften after the article: y goeden, y ddeilen.

  • Using the masculine number with an -en word.

    tri coeden
    tair coeden

    Coeden is feminine, so use the feminine numbers dwy, tair and pedair.

How It Connects

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

Singulatives -yn / -enLevel 4Singulatives: -yn and -en

Learn This First

Singulatives add -yn or -en to a collective noun.

Words in This Pattern

-yn-en