y + Feminine Noun

Soft Mutation After Y with Feminine Nouns

Level 1

After the (y, yr or 'r), a feminine singular noun softens: cath → y gath, merch → y ferch.

How It Works

Feminine singular nouns soften: y gath (cath, cat), y ferch (merch, girl), y dref (tref, town), y bont (pont, bridge), y ddinas (dinas, city), yr ardd (gardd, garden). When the g of gardd disappears, the noun starts with a vowel, so the article becomes yr.

The short form 'r works the same way: mae'r gath, i'r dref.

These do not change:

  • Masculine nouns: y ci (the dog), y tŷ (the house), y bachgen (the boy).
  • Plurals, even of feminine nouns: y cathod (the cats), y merched (the girls).
  • Feminine nouns starting with ll or rh: y llaw (the hand), y llwy (the spoon), y rhaw (the spade), y rhaglen (the programme).
  • Some recent borrowings, such as y gêm (the game). See words that resist mutation.

Use it to learn gender. If you hear y gath, you know cath is feminine. See Masculine and Feminine Nouns.

A feminine singular noun also softens the adjective after it, as in y gath fach; see feminine noun + soft-mutated adjective.

Examples (6)

  1. Mae'r gath ar y gwely.

    The cat is on the bed.

    Cath is feminine, so it softens to gath. Gwely is masculine and stays the same.

  2. Mae'r ferch yn darllen.

    The girl is reading.

    Merch is feminine: m → f.

  3. Dyn ni'n croesi'r bont.

    We're crossing the bridge.

    Pont is feminine: p → b. South: dyn ni. In the North: Dan ni'n croesi'r bont.

  4. Mae'r ddinas yn brysur.

    The city is busy.

    Dinas is feminine: d → dd.

  5. Ble mae'r llwy?

    Where's the spoon?

    Llwy is feminine but starts with ll, so it does not change after the article.

  6. Mae'r merched yn canu.

    The girls are singing.

    Merched is plural, so it does not change.

Common Mistakes

  • Softening ll after the article.

    Ble mae'r lwy?
    Ble mae'r llwy?

    Feminine nouns that start with ll or rh keep their first letter after the article.

  • Softening a plural noun after the article.

    Mae'r gathod yn cysgu.
    Mae'r cathod yn cysgu.

    Only singular feminine nouns soften after the article. Plurals always keep their first letter.

How It Connects

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

y + Feminine NounLevel 1Soft Mutation After Y with Feminine Nouns

Learn This First

The article softens feminine singular nouns, which combines the article, gender and soft mutation.

Words in This Pattern

y