You can download a free e-book Idiomatic Dictionary here.
Idiom or Proverb |
Translation |
Meaning |
A ddwg ŵy a ddwg fwy | He who steals an egg will steal more | A leopard never changes his spots |
A fo ben, bid bont | He who leads is a bridge | If you want to be a leader, be a bridge |
Adar o'r unlliw, ehedant i'r unlle | Birds of the same colour fly to the same place | Those with the same mind set do the same things = Birds of a feather flock together |
Angel pen ffordd, diawl pen tân. | An Angel on the road, a Devil at the fireplace | Being two faced between public and private life |
Ar gefn ei geffyl gwyn | On the back of his white horse | full of mischief |
Ar y gweill | On the (knitting) needles | In progress |
Caiff dyn dysg o'i grud i'w fedd | Man learns from the cradle to the grave | Time brings wisdom |
Canu cyn borefwyd, crio cyn swper | To sing before breakfast is to weep before supper | |
Cartref yw cartref, er tloted y bo | Home is home, however poor it may be | |
Ceffyl da yw Ewyllys | Will is a good horse | If someone really wants to do it he/she will work hard |
Cenedl heb iaith yw cenedl heb galon | A nation without a language is a nation without a heart | |
Chwarae troi'n chwerw, wrth chwarae gyda thân | Playing with fire will eventually turn bitter. | If you play with fire you will get burnt |
Cicio'r dorth | to kick the loaf | to leave a job in a rash manner |
Cof a llithr, llythyrau a geidw. | Memory slips, letters remain. | |
Cymerwch ofal rhag ofn i chi brynu cath mewn cwd | Take care lest you buy a cat in a sack | pig in a poke |
Cymro glan gloyw. | A shining clean Welshman | A committed Welshman. |
Cynnal tan mewn hen aelwyd | To light a fire in an old fireplace | To start dating an old flame |
Cyntaf i'r felin caiff falu | First to the mill will get to grind | |
Cyw a fegir yn uffern, yn uffern y myn fod | A chick reared in hell will want to remain in hell. | |
Dawnsio ar y dibyn | Dancing on the edge of a cliff | Playing with fire |
Deuparth gwaith yw ei ddechrau | Two thirds of the work is starting | Once you’ve started you’re two thirds done |
Digrif gan bob aderyn ei lais ei hun | Every bird relishes his own voice | |
Dim yn yr un cae | Not in the same field | can't be compared in terms of quality or skills = Not in the same league |
Diwedd y gân yw'r geiniog | At the end of the song comes payment. | |
Dyfal donc a dyr y garreg | If you keep on tapping , the stone with break | Keep going and you’ll get there in the end |
Dywed yn dda am dy gyfaill, am dy elyn dywed ddim. | Speak well of your friend; of your enemy say nothing. | |
Eang yw'r byd i bawb | The world is wide to everyone | |
Fel cath i gythral | like a cat on the way to hell | very very quickly |
Fel iâr ar ben domen | Like a hen on a heap | |
Fel iar yn y glaw | Like a hen in the rain | You look silly |
Fel hwch ar y rhew | Like a pig on ice | You look silly |
Gall pechod mawr ddyfod trwy ddrws bychan. | A great sin can enter by a small door. | A big error can start from a small one |
Gorau adnabod, d'adnabod dy hun. | The best knowledge is to know yourself | |
Gorau prinder, prinder geiriau | The best shortage is a shortage of words | |
Gormod o bwdin dagith gi. | Too much pudding will choke a dog | |
Gwell dysg na golud | Better educated than wealthy | |
Gwell fy mwthyn fy hun na phlas arall | Better my own cottage than the palace of another | |
Gwell swllt da na sofren ddrwg. | Better a good shilling than a dud sovereign | |
Gwna dda dros ddrwg, uffern ni'th ddwg. | Repay evil with good, and hell will not claim you | |
Gŵr heb bwyll, llong heb angor | A man without prudence is a ship without an anchor | |
Gwyn y gwel y fran ei chyw | The crow sees its chicks as being pure | Parents always sees their children as perfect |
Hawdd yw hi, i fod yn ddewr o tu nôl i mur | It is easy to be brave behind a wall | |
Haws twyllo baban na gwrachen. | A boy is easier cheated than a witch. | |
Heb ei fai , heb ei eni | without its blame, without its name | Everyone has their faults = no one's perfect |
Hedyn pob drwg yw diogi. | The seed of all evil is laziness. | |
Hen y teimlir ergydion a gaed yn ifanc. | The old feel the blows that were aquired in youth. | |
Henaint ni ddaw ei hunan. | Old age comes not on its own | |
Hir yw pob ymaros. | All waiting is long | |
I'r pant rhed y dwr | The water runs into the valley | The rich tend to get richer |
Llaeth i blentyn, cig i ŵr, cwrw i'r hen | Milk for a child, meat for a man, beer for the old. | |
Llyncu mul | To swallow a mule | To sulk |
Mae e/hi'n llygaid ei le | He/she is in the eye of his/her place | He/she is totally correct |
Mae e'n cysgu llwynog | He is fox sleeping. | He is pretending to be asleep |
Mae e'n Gwybod Hyd ei Gyrn | He knows the length of his horns | He knows his own strengths and weaknesses |
Mae fe'n cadw draenog yn ei boced. | He keeps a hedgehog in his pocket. | He's tight with money. |
Mae fe'n lladd gwair | He is mowing hay | He is killing time |
Mae fo'n finny fowt | He is half in and half out | He can't make up his mind |
Mae hi wedi llyncu pry | She has swallowed a fly | She has become pregnant |
Mae hi’n bwrw hen wragedd a ffyn / cyllyll a ffyrc | It’s raining old ladies and sticks / knives and forks | cats and dogs |
Mae hi'n gafael | She holds | it is cold |
Mae'n draed moch arna fi | There is pigs feet on me. | I've made a mess or in a mess about something I've done |
Mae'r esgid yn gwasgu | The shoe is very tight | Money is scarce |
Mae'r hwch yn mynd trwy'r siop | The sow is going through the shop | The place is going to rack and ruin |
Meistr pob gwaith yw ymarfer. | The master of all work is in its practise. | |
Mor ddu a bol buwch | As dark as a cows stomach | Its pitch black |
Mwyaf y brys, mwyaf y rhwystr. | More the hurry, more the obstacles. | |
Na ad i'th dafod dorri dy wddf | Let not your tongue break your neck. | |
N'ad fi'n angof. | Forget me not. | |
Nerth gwlad, ei gwybodaeth. | The strength of a nation is its knowledge. | |
Nerth hen, ei gyngor parod. | The strength of the old is their ready counsel. | |
Ni cheir da o hir gysgu. | No good will come of over sleeping. | |
Ni edrych angau pwy decaf ei dalcen. | Death considers not the fairest forehead. | |
Nid aur yw popeth melyn. | Everything that is yellow is not gold. | |
O bob trwm, trymaf henaint." | Of all weights, old age is the heaviest. | |
O dan yr ordd | Under the sledge hammer | being oppressed |
Oriau man y bore | The small hours of the morning | Early in the morning |
Paid codi pais ar ol piso | Don't raise your pettycoat after peeing | Don't cry over spilt milk |
Pan fo llawer yn llywio fe sudda'r llong." | When the steersmen are many the ship will sink. | |
Po callaf y dyn, anamlaf ei eiriau." | The wiser the man, the fewer his words. | |
Po hynaf fo'r dyn, gadwaethaf fydd ei bwyll. | The older the man, the weaker his mind. | |
Rhaid cropian cyn cerdded. | You must crawl before walking. | |
Rhoi halen ar ei gynffon | Put salt on his tail | Tell someone off for doing something naughty. |
Rhuthrodd ef i'r ty gyda ei wynt yn ei ddwrn | He rushed into the house with his breath in his fist | in a great hurry |
Roedd hi'n berwi fel cawl pys | She was boiling like pea soup | She was chattering/talking incessantly. |
Rwy'n barod i roi'r ffidil yn y tô | I'm ready to put the fiddle in the roof | I'm ready to give up |
Segurdod yw clod y cledd. | A sword's credit is its idleness. | Power is best when not necessary to use. |
Teg yw edrych tuag adref. | It is good to look homewards. | |
Tri chynnig i Gymro. | Three attempts for a Welshman. | |
Tri chysur henaint: tân, te a thybaco. | Three comforts of old age: fire, tea and tobacco. | |
Troi'r dŵr at ei felin ei hun. | Turning the water at its own mill. | |
Tyfid baban, ni thyf ei gadachau. | The child will grow, his clothes will not. | |
Tynnu nyth cacwn ar fy mhen | To pull a wasp's nest on my head | to do or say something that upsets a lot of people at the same time. |
Wrth gicio a brathu, mae cariad yn magu. | Whilst kicking and biting, love develops. | |
Wy'n teimlo fel tynnu blewyn o'i drwyn | I feel like pulling a hair from his nose | I feel like doing something nasty to him |
Y cyntaf i'r felin gaiff falu | The first to the mill can grind | First come first served |
Y mae dafad ddu ym mhob praidd. | Every flock has its black sheep. | |
Y mae mwy nag un ffordd i gael Wil i'w wely. | There is more than one way to get Wil to bed. | ... more than one way to skin a cat. |
Y mae taten ddrwg ym mhob sach. | There is a bad potato in every sack. | |
Yn cerdded yn ling di long | To dilly dally | To loiter or walk casually |
Yr hen a ŵyr a'r ieuanc a dybia. | The old know and the young suspect. | |