Soft, Nasal And Aspirate Mutations In Welsh
Author
You’ve probably noticed that something strange happens to the first letters of words in Welsh.
One minute the word for “Wales” is Cymru, and the next minute it’s Gymru or even Nghymru.
What’s going on here?
These changes are called mutations (or treigladau in Welsh).
Essentially, a mutation is when the first letter of a word changes based on the word that comes immediately before it. It’s a way of making the language flow more smoothly, so the sounds blend together rather than clashing.
It’s easily the part of Welsh grammar that scares beginners the most.
But don’t worry! While it looks confusing at first, there are patterns to it. You don’t need to memorize every single rule right now.
In this guide, I’m going to break down the three main types of mutations: Soft, Nasal, and Aspirate.
Table Of Contents:
The soft mutation (treiglad meddal)
This is the most common mutation you will see.
In fact, if you aren’t sure which mutation to use, guessing the Soft Mutation is usually your best bet!
The Soft Mutation involves “softening” the hard consonant sounds.
Here’s a table showing which letters change. If a letter isn’t on this list, it doesn’t mutate.
| Original Letter | Changes To | Example (Original) | Example (Mutated) |
|---|---|---|---|
| P | B | Pont (Bridge) | Bont |
| T | D | Tad (Father) | Dad |
| C | G | Car (Car) | Gar |
| B | F | Bara (Bread) | Fara |
| D | Dd | Drws (Door) | Ddrws |
| G | - (disappears) | Gardd (Garden) | Ardd |
| Ll | L | Llaw (Hand) | Law |
| M | F | Mam (Mother) | Fam |
| Rh | R | Rhagor (More) | Ragor |
When do you use the soft mutation?
There are many triggers for this, but here are the three most important ones for beginners to know:
1. Feminine singular nouns after ‘the’
In Welsh, nouns are either masculine or feminine. If a word is feminine and singular, it mutates after the word y (the).
Y gath (Original: Cath)
2. After certain prepositions
Words generally mutate after short prepositions like i (to), o (from), am (about), and ar (on).
Dw i’n mynd i Gaerdydd. (Original: Caerdydd)
3. Adjectives describing feminine nouns
If you have a feminine word, the adjective describing it will also take a soft mutation.
Mam dda (Original: Da)
The nasal mutation (treiglad trwynol)
The Nasal Mutation is harder to pronounce for some learners because it creates a sound that comes through the nose.
This mutation only affects six letters: P, T, C, B, D, and G.
| Original Letter | Changes To | Example (Original) | Example (Mutated) |
|---|---|---|---|
| P | Mh | Pen (Head) | Mhen |
| T | Nh | Tad (Father) | Nhad |
| C | Ngh | Cymru (Wales) | Nghymru |
| B | M | Brawd (Brother) | Mrawd |
| D | N | Desg (Desk) | Nesg |
| G | Ng | Gwen (Smile) | Ngen |
When do you use the nasal mutation?
The good news is that this list is much shorter! You mainly use this mutation in two specific situations.
1. After fy (my)
Whenever you say “my” something, you use the nasal mutation.
Mae fy mhen i’n brifo. (Original: Pen)
2. After yn (in)
When you say you live “in” a place, the place name takes a nasal mutation. Note that the word yn often changes spelling to match the mutation (becoming ym or yng).
Dw i’n byw ym Mangor. (Original: Bangor)
Dw i’n byw yng Nghaerdydd. (Original: Caerdydd)
The aspirate mutation (treiglad llaes)
Finally, we have the Aspirate Mutation. This adds a breathy “h” sound to the letter.
This is the easiest table to remember because it only affects three letters: P, T, and C.
| Original Letter | Changes To | Example (Original) | Example (Mutated) |
|---|---|---|---|
| P | Ph | Plant (Children) | Phlant |
| T | Th | Tad (Father) | Thad |
| C | Ch | Car (Car) | Char |
When do you use the aspirate mutation?
Here are the most common triggers for the Aspirate Mutation:
1. After ei (her)
Be careful here! Ei can mean “his” or “her”. If it means “his”, it causes a Soft Mutation. If it means “her”, it causes an Aspirate Mutation.
Ei char hi (Original: Car)
2. After a (and)
Te a choffi (Original: Coffi)
3. After tri (three) and chwech (six)
Tri phunt (Original: Punt)
A note on regional variations
I want to mention something important about how this works in real life versus a textbook.
In formal written Welsh, these rules are strict.
However, in spoken Welsh - especially in South Wales - people are often much more relaxed about mutations.
Specifically, the Aspirate Mutation is frequently dropped in casual speech in the South. You might hear someone say ei car (her car) instead of ei char. Or they might use a Soft Mutation where an Aspirate one technically belongs.
In North Wales, speakers tend to stick closer to the mutation rules in everyday speech.
My advice?
Don’t let the fear of getting a mutation wrong stop you from speaking.
If you say dw i’n mynd i Caerdydd (without the mutation), people will still understand you perfectly. As you listen to more Welsh music or watch Welsh TV, these sounds will start to feel natural to your ear.
Summary
Mutations are just sound changes to help the language flow.
Here’s a quick recap:
- Soft Mutation: Affects 9 letters (P, T, C, B, D, G, Ll, M, Rh). Used after i, o, and for feminine nouns.
- Nasal Mutation: Affects 6 letters (P, T, C, B, D, G). Used after fy (my) and yn (in).
- Aspirate Mutation: Affects 3 letters (P, T, C). Used after ei (her) and a (and).
