A relatively small set of words underpins most everyday Welsh: pronouns, prepositions, and verbs like bod (to be) and cael (to get) show up constantly, mutated forms and all. Learning this hundred first gives you a frame to hang the rest of the language on. It's the highest-leverage hundred words you can study before anything else.
How to use this list
Do not work through this list top to bottom. Read down it and mark only the words you could not have produced yourself. Those are your list. The rest are already yours, and reviewing them is wasted effort better spent on words you actually meet in reading, conversation, or subtitles.
The 100 words
| # | Welsh | English | In use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | y | the (before a consonant) | Dw i'n gweld y ci.I see the dog. |
| 2 | yr | the (before a vowel) | Yr afal yw fy ffefryn.The apple is my favorite. |
| 3 | a | and | Dw i'n hoffi te a choffi.I like tea and coffee. |
| 4 | i | to / for | Mae'r llyfr i ti.The book is for you. |
| 5 | o | of / from | Dw i'n dod o Gymru.I come from Wales. |
| 6 | yn | in / (linking particle) | Maen nhw'n byw yn Llundain.They live in London. |
| 7 | ar | on | Mae'r llyfr ar y bwrdd.The book is on the table. |
| 8 | fel | like / as | Mae hi'n gweithio fel athrawes.She works as a teacher. |
| 9 | ond | but | Roeddwn i eisiau dod, ond do'n i ddim yn gallu.I wanted to come, but I wasn't able to. |
| 10 | neu | or | Wyt ti eisiau te neu goffi?Do you want tea or coffee? |
| 11 | gyda | with | Dw i'n mynd gyda fy mrawd.I'm going with my brother. |
| 12 | am | about / for | Diolch am dy help.Thanks for your help. |
| 13 | dim | not / nothing | Does dim byd yma.There is nothing here. |
| 14 | mae | is / there is | Mae hi'n bwrw glaw.It's raining. |
| 15 | oedd | was | Sut oedd y ffilm?How was the film? |
| 16 | bod | to be / that (something) is | Dw i'n meddwl bod hynny'n wir.I think that that's true. |
| 17 | wedi | (perfect marker) after | Dw i wedi bwyta.I have eaten. |
| 18 | fi | I / me | Rho fe i fi.Give it to me. |
| 19 | ti | you (informal) | Ti yw fy ffrind gorau.You are my best friend. |
| 20 | fe | he | Mae fe'n byw yng Nghaerdydd.He lives in Cardiff. |
| 21 | hi | she | Mae hi'n hoffi canu.She likes singing. |
| 22 | ni | we | Rydyn ni'n byw yng Nghymru.We live in Wales. |
| 23 | chi | you (formal / plural) | Sut ydych chi heddiw?How are you today? |
| 24 | nhw | they | Maen nhw'n chwarae pêl-droed.They are playing football. |
| 25 | cael | to get / have | Ga i baned, os gwelwch yn dda?Can I have a cup of tea, please? |
| 26 | gwneud | to do / make | Beth wyt ti'n ei wneud?What are you doing? |
| 27 | mynd | to go | Dw i'n mynd i'r siop.I'm going to the shop. |
| 28 | dod | to come | Wyt ti'n dod i'r parti?Are you coming to the party? |
| 29 | gweld | to see | Dw i eisiau dy weld di.I want to see you. |
| 30 | gwybod | to know | Dw i ddim yn gwybod.I don't know. |
| 31 | dweud | to say | Dw i eisiau dweud rhywbeth wrthot ti.I want to say something to you. |
| 32 | meddwl | to think | Beth wyt ti'n ei feddwl?What do you think? |
| 33 | hoffi | to like | Dw i'n hoffi coffi.I like coffee. |
| 34 | eisiau | to want | Dw i eisiau mynd adref.I want to go home. |
| 35 | gallu | to be able / can | Alla i dy helpu di?Can I help you? |
| 36 | rhoi | to give | Alla i roi cyngor i ti.I can give you advice. |
| 37 | edrych | to look | Dw i'n hoffi edrych ar y sêr.I like looking at the stars. |
| 38 | siarad | to speak | Dw i'n siarad Cymraeg a Saesneg.I speak Welsh and English. |
| 39 | byw | to live | Dw i eisiau byw wrth y môr.I want to live by the sea. |
| 40 | credu | to believe | Dw i'n credu bod hynny'n wir.I believe that that's true. |
| 41 | teimlo | to feel | Sut wyt ti'n teimlo heddiw?How do you feel today? |
| 42 | aros | to wait / stay | Aros amdana i, os gweli di'n dda.Wait for me, please. |
| 43 | dechrau | to begin | Pryd mae'r ffilm yn dechrau?When does the film start? |
| 44 | fy | my | Dyma fy mrawd.This is my brother. |
| 45 | dy | your (informal) | Beth yw dy enw di?What is your name? |
| 46 | ei | his / her | Dyma ei gar e.This is his car. |
| 47 | ein | our | Dyma ein tŷ ni.This is our house. |
| 48 | eich | your (formal / plural) | Beth yw eich enw chi?What is your name? |
| 49 | eu | their | Dyma eu car nhw.This is their car. |
| 50 | hwn | this (masc.) | Dw i'n hoffi'r llyfr hwn.I like this book. |
| 51 | hon | this (fem.) | Mae'r ferch hon yn glyfar.This girl is clever. |
| 52 | hwnnw | that (masc.) | Roedd y dyn hwnnw yn garedig.That man was kind. |
| 53 | pwy | who | Pwy sy'n dod heno?Who is coming tonight? |
| 54 | beth | what | Beth yw hyn?What is this? |
| 55 | pryd | when | Pryd mae'r trên yn cyrraedd?When does the train arrive? |
| 56 | ble | where | Ble mae'r orsaf?Where is the station? |
| 57 | sut | how | Sut wyt ti?How are you? |
| 58 | pam | why | Pam wyt ti'n crio?Why are you crying? |
| 59 | da | good | Mae'r bwyd yma'n dda.This food is good. |
| 60 | drwg | bad | Mae'r tywydd yn ddrwg heddiw.The weather is bad today. |
| 61 | mawr | big | Maen nhw'n byw mewn tŷ mawr.They live in a big house. |
| 62 | bach | small | Mae gen i gi bach.I have a small dog. |
| 63 | newydd | new | Dw i wedi prynu ffôn newydd.I've bought a new phone. |
| 64 | hen | old | Mae hwn yn hen dref.This is an old town. |
| 65 | hardd | beautiful | Mae heddiw'n ddiwrnod hardd.Today is a beautiful day. |
| 66 | hir | long | Roedd yn daith hir.It was a long journey. |
| 67 | byr | short | Ysgrifennais ateb byr.I wrote a short answer. |
| 68 | llawer | many / much | Mae gen i lawer o waith.I have a lot of work. |
| 69 | ychydig | a little / few | Yfais i ychydig o ddŵr.I drank a little water. |
| 70 | popeth | everything | Mae popeth yn iawn.Everything is fine. |
| 71 | rhywun | someone | Curodd rhywun ar y drws.Someone knocked on the door. |
| 72 | neb | nobody | Ddaeth neb ar amser.Nobody came on time. |
| 73 | nawr | now | Rhaid i mi fynd nawr.I have to go now. |
| 74 | wedyn | then / afterwards | Bwyta'n gyntaf, wedyn cer i gysgu.Eat first, then go to sleep. |
| 75 | yma | here | Dw i wedi byw yma ers pum mlynedd.I've lived here for five years. |
| 76 | yna | there | Cer yna ac aros amdana i.Go there and wait for me. |
| 77 | bob amser | always | Dw i'n yfed coffi bob amser yn y bore.I always drink coffee in the morning. |
| 78 | byth | never / ever | Wna i byth anghofio.I will never forget. |
| 79 | eto | again / still | Dwed hynna eto, os gweli di'n dda.Say that again, please. |
| 80 | eisoes | already | Mae e wedi gadael eisoes.He has already left. |
| 81 | dyn | man | Mae'r dyn yna'n gweithio mewn banc.That man works in a bank. |
| 82 | menyw | woman | Roedd y fenyw yn sefyll wrth y ffenest.The woman was standing by the window. |
| 83 | plentyn | child | Mae'r plentyn yn chwarae yn y parc.The child is playing in the park. |
| 84 | tŷ | house | Mae ein tŷ ni yn fawr.Our house is big. |
| 85 | dydd | day | Dw i'n gweithio bob dydd ac eithrio dydd Sul.I work every day except Sunday. |
| 86 | nos | night | Roedd y nos yn dawel.The night was calm. |
| 87 | blwyddyn | year | Mae'r flwyddyn hon wedi bod yn anodd.This year has been hard. |
| 88 | amser | time | Does gen i ddim amser i orffwys.I don't have time to rest. |
| 89 | bywyd | life | Mae bywyd yn llawn syrpreisys.Life is full of surprises. |
| 90 | byd | world | Dw i eisiau teithio'r byd.I want to travel the world. |
| 91 | dŵr | water | Diod o ddŵr, os gwelwch yn dda.A glass of water, please. |
| 92 | bwyd | food | Mae'r bwyd yma'n flasus iawn.This food is very tasty. |
| 93 | gwaith | work | Dw i'n chwilio am waith newydd.I'm looking for new work. |
| 94 | ffrind | friend | Fe yw fy ffrind gorau.He is my best friend. |
| 95 | teulu | family | Mae fy nheulu i'n byw yn Abertawe.My family lives in Swansea. |
| 96 | tref | town | Mae hon yn dref fach.This is a small town. |
| 97 | gwlad | country | Mae Cymru'n wlad brydferth.Wales is a beautiful country. |
| 98 | ffordd | way / road | Mae'r ffordd yma'n arwain at y mynydd.This road leads to the mountain. |
| 99 | gair | word | Dw i ddim yn gwybod ystyr y gair yma.I don't know the meaning of this word. |
| 100 | os | if | Os bydd hi'n bwrw glaw, arhoswn ni i mewn.If it rains, we'll stay inside. |
The ones English speakers get wrong
yn has two jobs
The little word 'yn' does two unrelated things: it's the preposition 'in' (which triggers a nasal mutation, as in 'yn Nghaerdydd', in Cardiff), and it's a linking particle before adjectives and verb-nouns (which triggers a soft mutation, as in 'Mae hi'n dda', it's good). Same spelling, two different jobs, easy to conflate at first.
Mutations
Welsh consonants at the start of a word can change depending on what comes before them. After 'i' (to or for) or 'o' (from), for example, 'Cymru' becomes 'i Gymru' or 'o Gymru'. It looks intimidating on paper, but native speakers barely notice it happening, and getting it slightly wrong rarely blocks understanding.
ti vs. chi
'Ti' is the informal, singular 'you' used with people you know well, while 'chi' is used both for formal address and for speaking to more than one person, similar to the tu and vous distinction in French.
byth vs. erioed
Both can translate as 'never', but they aren't interchangeable: 'byth' pairs with future or ongoing negation ('Wna i byth anghofio', I'll never forget), while 'erioed' pairs with past negation ('Dw i erioed wedi bod ym Mharis', I've never been to Paris).
Verb-subject-object order
Welsh sentences typically start with the verb, not the subject, so 'Mae hi'n mynd' is literally 'is she going' rather than 'she is going'. Once this clicks, a lot of sentence patterns that look backwards at first start to make sense.
What to do next
A list this size is about two weeks of light daily review, and it is the difference between decoding Welsh and following it.