Welsh pronunciation often looks unfamiliar to English speakers at first glance.

The alphabet contains several letters that produce sounds you won’t find in the English language.

Learning to form these sounds accurately is a crucial step in sounding natural when you speak.

Once you understand the physical mechanics of where to place your tongue, these letters become incredibly easy to say.

This guide breaks down the hardest Welsh sounds into simple, actionable steps.

The famous Welsh ll

The double L is the most famous sound in the Welsh language.

Many English speakers try to substitute it with “cl” or “thl”, but this is incorrect.

The ll is known as a voiceless alveolar lateral fricative.

To make this sound, place the tip of your tongue against the roof of your mouth directly behind your front teeth.

Keep your tongue firmly in that position as if you’re about to say the English letter “L”.

Instead of using your voice, simply blow a steady stream of air out of your mouth.

The air will escape forcefully down the sides of your tongue and past your cheeks.

You should hear a distinct hissing sound.

Here are a few common words to practice.

The harsh sound of ch

The Welsh ch is never pronounced like the “ch” in the English word “cheese”.

It’s a voiceless velar fricative, which means it’s pronounced in the back of the throat.

You might already know this sound from the Scottish word “loch” or the German name “Bach”.

To make this sound, raise the back of your tongue toward the soft part of the roof of your mouth.

Force air through that narrow gap to create a rough, scraping noise.

It feels very similar to the action of clearing your throat.

Practice with these basic Welsh words.

The breathy rolled rh

The Welsh rh is a unique sound that combines a rolled R with a sharp exhale of breath.

You must roll your tongue while simultaneously blowing air out of your mouth.

Start by practicing a standard rolled R if you know how to do one.

As your tongue trills, push a strong puff of unvoiced air through your lips.

It almost sounds like an “h” and an “r” are being pronounced at the exact same time.

Try saying these words aloud.

The voiced th sound of dd

The double D often confuses beginners because it looks like a hard “d” sound.

In Welsh, dd is actually a voiced dental fricative.

This is the exact same sound as the “th” in the English words “this”, “that”, or “breathe”.

It’s never pronounced like the soft, unvoiced “th” in the word “think”.

Place your tongue between your teeth and use your vocal cords to make a buzzing sound.

Here are some examples of dd in action.

The two sounds of the vowel y

The letter y is a vowel in Welsh, and it changes its sound depending on where it sits in a word.

Its pronunciation also changes depending on which region of Wales you’re in.

In most words, if y is in the final syllable (or is a single-letter word), it makes a clear vowel sound.

In South Wales, this final y sounds like the “ee” in “feet”.

In North Wales, it sounds more like the “i” in “hit”, but spoken slightly further back in the mouth.

However, if the y is in any other syllable before the end of the word, it makes a different sound.

In these non-final syllables, y always sounds like the “uh” in “up”.

This “uh” sound is known in linguistics as a schwa.

Let’s look at a word that contains both sounds to see how this works.

In the word mynydd, the first y is an “uh” sound, and the second y is an “ee” (or “i”) sound.

In the word ysbyty, the first two ys are “uh” sounds, while the final y is an “ee” sound.

Summary of tricky Welsh letters

Here’s a quick reference chart for the sounds we just covered.