Welsh Compliments, Terms of Affection & Love Phrases

The Welsh are generally known for being very friendly and welcoming, although when it comes to doling out compliments, we tend to prefer a level of ‘actions speak louder than words’ and humility.

If you hail from anywhere in Britain, you probably feel at home with banter and playful teasing as a more common way of showing affection than full-on words of love – but on the other hand, there are places where love and affection flow freely, such as in the connection between a grandparent and their grandchild.

If you’re looking to express a compliment or some affection in Welsh, you might find something useful in the following article.

How to say “I love you” in Welsh

The word for love in Welsh is “cariad”, and if you want to declare your love for someone you say:

Dwi’n dy garu di / Dwi’n caru chdi (the first is more grammatically correct, the second more commonly heard).

If you want to use the formal “chi”, for example expressing love to your grandmother, you can say: dwi’n eich caru chi / dwi’n caru chi.

Part 1: Welsh Terms of Affection

Welsh has plenty of endearing terms of affection: I have tried to put a few examples together, reaching out to people across Wales to make sure that we don’t miss any.

Welsh Terms of Affection for Lovers or Dating

As is the case in many languages, Welsh terms of affection for lovers are more frequently used with women, rather than men. As time goes on and society progresses, some might also sound a little sexist or derogatory. Nevertheless, here are some terms of affection that are used in various parts of Wales.

• Cariad – Love – also the word that we use for girlfriend/boyfriend. It’s a nice, gender-neutral word and you’ll no doubt find it all over Welsh greeting cards and souvenirs.
• Aur / ‘raur – gold – something like “precious one”
• Del – pretty – this can be used as an adjective (“Ti mor ddel!” – you’re so pretty!) or in place of a word like sweetheart – (“Ti’n iawn, del?” – you alright, sweetheart?)
• Blodyn – flower
• Cyw – chick – this could be used as a general term of endearment, especially towards a child or young woman, but could also be used when hitting on a woman (it may sound sleazy though!)

Welsh Terms of affection for children

Grandparents, in particular, pepper their precious grandchildren with terms of endearment and affection in Welsh.

The following words have been collected from various people around Wales and their memories of what their grandparents called them.

• ‘Mach i = my little one – this is usually used for a small girl
• ‘Ngwas i / washi = my boy – “gwas” is also the word used for servant, but in this case, we can generally say it’s a term of endearment used with a small boy Adjectives can be added in before the “i” for extra affection, for example: fy ngwas bach i (my little lad) or fy ‘mach del i (my little pretty one).
• Pwt – little one – “pwt” refers to a tiny piece of something, as in “ga i bwt bach o gacen?” (Can I have a tiny bit of cake?)
• Nenas / nyn – for a girl and boy respectively, this one is thought to come from “fy nynes” (my woman) and “fy nyn” (my man)
• ‘Nau lygad i – my two eyes – no doubt to emphasise how precious the person is to you
• Blodyn tatws – potato flower! Not sure why the “tatws” was added but it’s quite common
• Calon / nghalon i – heart / my heart – or another favourite of mine that one old lady in particular calls me, “yr hen galon” (old heart).

Related articles: Welsh girl names & Welsh boy names

Part 2: Welsh compliments

Welsh Compliments for appearance

If you want to compliment someone on their looks, here are a Welsh few words you can use. To create a sentence, first decide whether you’re going to use formal or informal Welsh, and then make sure you use the soft ‘treiglo’ (mutation) for the adjective.

For example:

• Del = pretty
• Ti’n ddel = you are pretty (informal)
• Dach chi’n ddel = you are pretty (formal)

Some other Welsh words for complimenting someone include:

• Tlws = pretty/beautiful
• Hardd = beautiful
• Hyfryd = lovely
• Golygus = good-looking
• Syfrdanol = stunning
• Gwych =great

If you’re looking to tell somebody that they are sexy or “hot”, you could use “rhywiol / secsi = sexy

*Useful tip: add “iawn” after any adjective to intensify it, for example “Ti’n ddel iawn” (you’re very pretty), or for a slightly cheeky twist, you could use “Ti’n uffernol o ddel” (literally: you’re hell of pretty!).

Welsh Compliments for personality

Do you prefer, instead, to compliment somebody’s personality? Here’s another grammar tip:

Dwi’n meddwl dy fod di’n…. = I think you are…

Remember, the adjective still needs to take a soft mutation.

• Diddorol = interesting
• Caredig = kind
• Cyfeillgar = friendly
• Doniol = funny
• Hyderus = confident

If you want to take your compliment to the next level, try:

Chdi/chi ydi’r person mwyaf ____ dwi’n nabod! = You’re the most ____ person I know!

Welsh Compliments for intelligence or skill

If you want to compliment somebody’s intelligence or skill, here are a few useful words that we use:

• Clyfar = clever
• Galluog = capable/clever
• Deallus = intelligent

If you want to focus on a specific skill, you could also say (fill in the blanks with verbs):

• Ti’n / Dach chi’n _____ yn wych! = You ______ amazingly!
• Ti / Dach chi mor dda yn ______! = You’re so good at ____ing!
• Wyt ti’n siwr na dyma dy dro cynta di’n _____? = Are you sure this is your first time ___ing?

For example, if you want to compliment somebody on their cooking, you could say:

The Welsh language has a long history of poetry, which means that we are usually quite fond of using similes and metaphors. Comparing somebody to something, using “fel”, can be a sure-fire way of making sure your appreciation is noted.

• Ti’n canu fel aderyn – You sing like a bird
• Dach chi’n dawnsio fel angel – You dance like an angel
• Ti’n coginio fel cogydd proffesiynol – You cook like a professional cook

Complimenting someone on their Welsh abilities

If you manage to successfully use some of the above ideas, then you might hear something like:

• Mae dy Gymraeg di’n wych! – Your Welsh is great!
• Cymro/Cymraes wyt ti? – Are you a Welsh man/woman?
• Ti’n siarad Cymraeg yn well na rhai Cymry! – You speak Welsh better than some Welsh people!

I hope that some of these words and phrases will come in handy for you when speaking to Welsh people, whether you’re looking for something nice to write in a card, to say to a Welsh grandparent, or to try your luck in the local pubs!

In another article, we discuss how Welsh relates to other Celtic languages.