pan or pryd?
When: Pan or Pryd?
English uses when for both, but Welsh has two words: pryd for questions and pan for statements.
How It Works
Pryd: asking.
- Pryd wyt ti'n dod? — When are you coming?
- Pryd mae'r gêm yn dechrau? — When does the game start?
- Ers pryd? — Since when? How long?
Pan: telling.
- Ffonia fi pan fyddi di'n barod. — Phone me when you're ready.
- Pan o'n i'n ifanc, ro'n i'n chwarae rygbi. — When I was young, I played rugby.
A quick test. If the answer could be a time (at six, on Tuesday), use pryd. If when means at the time that, use pan.
Hidden questions use pryd. After I don't know, I wonder or tell me, the when is still a question, so use pryd: Dw i ddim yn gwybod pryd mae'r trên yn gadael (I don't know when the train leaves).
Mutation. Pan softens a verb after it (see pan + soft mutation). In older or very formal Welsh you may see pa bryd for pryd.
Examples (6)
- Pryd wyt ti'n dod?
When are you coming?
- Ffonia fi pan fyddi di'n barod.
Phone me when you're ready.
This is a statement, not a question, so it uses pan.
- Pryd mae'r gêm yn dechrau?
When does the game start?
- Dw i ddim yn gwybod pryd mae'r trên yn gadael.
I don't know when the train leaves.
This is a hidden question, so it uses pryd.
- Pan o'n i'n ifanc, ro'n i'n chwarae rygbi.
When I was young, I played rugby.
- Ers pryd wyt ti'n dysgu Cymraeg?
How long have you been learning Welsh?
Common Mistakes
Using pan to ask a question.
Pan wyt ti'n dod?Pryd wyt ti'n dod?To ask when, use pryd. Pan only joins a time clause to a statement.
Using pan in a hidden question.
Dw i ddim yn gwybod pan mae'r trên yn gadael.Dw i ddim yn gwybod pryd mae'r trên yn gadael.After I don't know, when is still a question word, so use pryd.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Pan and pryd both mean 'when'.
Related Patterns
Words in This Pattern
Practice pan or pryd? in Bubblegum
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