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Welsh, like all modern Celtic languages, is characterized by its initial consonant mutations. These mutations affect the initial consonant of a word under specific morphological and syntactic conditions. The mutations are an important tool in understanding the relationship between two words and can differentiate various meanings.

Welsh uses three mutations on consonants: the soft mutation (segment becomes voiced/lenites), the nasal mutation (segment becomes nasal), and the aspirate mutation (also called spirant mutation). Words beginning with a vowel are subject to h-prothesis under certain circumstances. Some sources consider h-prothesis of vowels to be a form of aspirate mutation, but since the environments of the two mutations are different, it is preferable to consider h-prothesis and aspiration two different mutations. In some circumstances mixed mutation is found, with aspirate mutation of c, p, t, and soft mutation of other mutable consonants.

The unmutated form, i.e. the “basic” form that dictionary entries are listed under, is known as the radical.

Mutations are generally not applied to personal names such as Bob or Gwen, or to English place-names such as Birmingham.

Soft mutation

Effects of the soft mutation

When under soft mutation, radical consonants lenite to voiced and/or fricative segments (/v e/), as shown below:

Radical	Soft mutation
c /k/	g /ɡ/
p /p/	b /b/
t /t/	d /d/
g /ɡ/	? (deleted)
b /b/	f /v/
d /d/	dd /e/
m /m/	f /v/
(ll) /?/	(l) /l/
(rh) /r?/	(r) /r/
(ts) /t??/ ?	(j) /d??/

In some situations c, p, t, g, b, d, m mutate but ll and rh do not. This partial soft mutation applies:

• after the definite article yr or y, used with feminine singular nouns
• after un (“one”)
• after predicative yn
• after cyn (“as”), mor (“so”) and pur (“quite”)

Other Welsh consonants such as ff or s or ch do not undergo mutation. A word which has already undergone mutation (such as beth (“what”) (short for pa beth (“what thing?”)) cannot be mutated a second time. Mutation is also not usually used in personal names such as Gwen or Dafydd. The g of recent English borrowings such as gêm (“game”) does not mutate.

The mutation of Welsh ts → j is only found in the colloquial language and not in the literary register. It is found only in loanwords from English, e.g. chips is rendered as tsips in Welsh and with the mutated form jips – for example, mae gen i jips.

In some situations the soft mutation only applies to feminine singular nouns, but not to masculine nouns or feminine plurals. These are:

• after the definite article yr or y
• when an adjective (or descriptive noun) follows a feminine singular noun
• when an ordinal number (such as "third" or "fourth") precedes a feminine singular noun

In other circumstances (e.g. when an ordinary adjective such as hen (“old”) precedes a noun) the soft mutation applies to any word.

Environments of the soft mutation

Soft mutation occurs in a large number of different environments in Welsh. The following list is representative but not exhaustive.

In noun phrases

In noun phrases and compound nouns such as "the girl", "old man", "two men", "small girl", "bookshop", it frequently happens that the second of two elements undergoes soft mutation. In some cases mutation only occurs when the noun is feminine singular, masculine and plural nouns being unaffected; in other cases nouns of both genders are affected.

Feminine singular noun + adjective

A feminine singular noun causes mutation in a following adjective or adjectives:

• rhaglen ddiddorol (“an interesting program”)
• cyfer fer flasus (“a short, interesting series”)

Exceptions:

• d does not mutate to dd after s, e.g. nos da (“goodnight”)
• Eglwysbach (a village in North Wales), though eglwys is feminine
• o mam bach! (“O little mother!”), i.e. "goodness me!"

Plural nouns (of either gender) and masculine nouns do not usually cause mutation except sometimes in titles such as the following:

• Arthur Fawr (“Arthur the Great”)

There are many exceptions to this rule, e.g. Rhodri Mawr (“Rhodri the Great”)

Feminine singular noun + descriptive noun

When the second of two nouns describes or defines the first, there is mutation if the first noun is feminine singular:

• c?t law (“raincoat”), from glaw (“rain”)
• ffon gerdded (“walking stick”), from cerdded (“to walk”)
• potel beint (“pint bottle”)
• siop lyfrau (“bookshop”) (from llyfrau (“books”))

Exceptions:

• siop llyfrau Cymraeg (“shop for Welsh-language books”), where the second word is qualified
• gwraig t? (“housewife”) (short for gwraig y t?)

This rule is applied only sporadically in the case of proper names:

• G?yl Ddewi (“St. David’s Day”) (G?yl Dewi is also found)

The second part of a compound noun where the first noun qualifies the second usually has the soft mutation:

• hafddydd (“summer’s day”)
• hwylbren (“mast”, literally “sail-tree”)

But there is no soft mutation of ll and rh after n and r:

• gwinllan (“vineyard”, literally “wine-yard"”)

A pronoun + noun or noun + noun in apposition also has mutation of the second element:

• ni blant (“we children”)
• Ioan Fedyddiwr (“John the Baptist”) (from bedyddiwr)
• yr Arglwydd Dduw (“the Lord God”)

After the definite article

The definite article y, yr, ’r triggers soft mutation of a feminine noun or adjective in the singular:

• y gyllell (“the knife”)
• yr ardd (“the garden”)

In nouns, ll and rh never undergo soft mutation after the article, although they do in adjectives:

• y llysywen (“the eel”), although llysywen is feminine singular
• i’r rhyd (“to the ford”), although rhyd is feminine singular
• y lonnaf (“the happiest one”) (referring to a feminine singular noun)

Number + noun

Feminine nouns are mutated after un (“one; same”), except for those starting with ll and rh:

• un ferch (“one girl”)
• yr un gath (“the same cat”)
• un llaw (“one hand”)

But ll and rh are mutated in adjectives:

• un ryfedd (“a strange one”) (referring to a feminine singular noun)

When un means “similar” it triggers soft mutation of both masculine and feminine nouns in the singular:

• o’r un feddwl (“of a similar mind”); meddwl is masculine

After the definite article y, yr, ’r, both genders of the word dau/dwy (“two”) are mutated, and the noun which follows is also mutated:

• y ddau ddyn (“the two men”)
• y ddwy wraig (“the two women”)

Other numbers are not affected by the article, nor do they usually cause mutation:

• y tair gwraig (“the three women”)

But numbers following a plural noun for literary effect are mutated:

• brodyr dri (“brothers three”)

Ordinal number + noun

The word cyntaf (“first”) usually follows its noun; but if it precedes, it does not cause mutation except in feminine nouns:

• y stryd gynta (“the first street”) (feminine)
• y cyntaf peth (“the first thing”)
• y gyntaf wraig (“the first wife”)

After ail (“second”), nouns of both genders are mutated:

• yr ail blentyn (“the second child”)
• ei ail wraig (“his second wife”)

After other ordinal numbers, only feminine nouns are mutated, and the first letter of the ordinal is itself mutated after the article:

• y trydydd dyn (“the third man”) (no mutation)

But:

• y drydedd ferch (“the third girl”)
• y bedwaredd bennod (“the fourth chapter”)
• y bumed waith (“the fifth time”)

Adjective + noun

An attributive adjective usually follows its noun in Welsh, but when the noun follows the adjective, both genders usually undergo soft mutation:

• hen le (“an old place”)
• rhyw brynhawn (“some afternoon”)
• Mae’r naill genhedlaeth yn dilyn y llall (“one generation follows the other”)

The possessive pronouns of the 2nd person singular (dy, ’th) and 3rd person masculine singular (ei, ’i, ’w) both trigger soft mutation:

• dy dad (“your (sg.) father”)
• a’th wallt (“and your (sg.) hair”)
• ei grys (“his shirt”)
• a’i bobl (“and his people”)
• i’w berswadio (“to persuade him”)

But ei meaning "her" is followed by the aspirate mutation (see below).

Nouns also undergo soft mutation after pa (“which?”), sut (“what kind of?”), and ychydig (“a little, few”):

• Pa ddewis sydd gan ddyn? (“What choice does a person have?”)
• Sut fagwraeth gai fy wyrion i? (“What kind of upbringing would my grandchildren have?”)
• ychydig gariad (“a little love”)

Superlative adjectives usually do not cause mutation, however:

• y gorau g?r (“the best man”)

Predicate particle + noun or adjective

The predicate particle yn triggers soft mutation of a noun or adjective except with ll and rh:

• Rwy’n ddyn rhesymol (“I am a reasonable man”)
• Roedd y caffi’n wag (“The café was empty”)
• Byddai’n rhaid (“It would be necessary”)

The verb form sydd, sy triggers soft mutation of a predicate noun or adjective without using yn:

• Hynny sydd orau (“that is best”)

But the particle yn (which is thought to be a different word) before a verb-noun does not usually trigger mutation:

• Mae hi'n mynd (“She is going”)

There is, however, mutation in a verb-noun if the object comes earlier in the clause, in sentences such as

• Beth mae e'n werthu? (“What is he selling?”)

Preposition + noun

The following prepositions cause mutation in a following noun:

• am bunt (“for a pound”)
• ar fwrdd y gegin (“on the kitchen table”)
• at ddrws y t? (“toward the house door”)
• dan fawd ei wraig (“under his wife’s thumb”)
• dros glawdd yr ardd (“over the garden hedge”)
• drwy dd?r (“through water”)
• gan bêl (“by a ball”)
• heb waith (“without work”)
• hyd farw (“until death”)
• i Gaerdydd (“to Cardiff”)
• o law i law (“from hand to hand”)
• trwy dwnnel (“through a tunnel”)
• wrth glwyd yr ardd (“at the garden gate”)

i mi (“for me”), i ti (“for you”), i mewn (“to inside”), i maes (“to outside”) are not affected by mutation; but i fi is also used.

pam (“why”) (a compound of pa and am) also often triggers mutation:

• pam lai or pam ddim (“why not?”)
• Pam ddylwn i boeni? (“why should I worry?”) (but pam dylwn i boeni is also found)

The preposition yn (“in”) causes nasal mutation; a (“with”), gyda (“with”), tua (“towards”) cause aspirate mutation. Some prepositions, such as efo (“with”) and wedi (“after”) do not cause mutation at all.

Adjective phrases

In adjective phrases, as with noun phrases, the second element tends to have soft mutation:

• mor deg (“so fair”)
• cyn wynned a’r eira (“as white as snow”)
• gorau po gyntaf (“the sooner the better”)
• croeso go gam (“a somewhat cool welcome”)
• dynes hollol wahanol (“an entirely different woman”)
• Roedd yntau’n rhy wan i frwydro’n ?l (“He was too weak to fight back”)
• pur dda (“quite good”)

There is no soft mutation of ll and rh after cyn (“as”), mor (“so”) and pur (“quite”):

• mor llydan (“so broad”)
• pur rhydlyd (“quite rusty”)

Compound adjectives such as the following also have mutation in the second part:

• gwaetgoch (“blood-red”)
• diflas (“tasteless, boring”)

After certain conjunctions

Mutation occurs after the conjunctions neu (“or”) and ynteu (“whether”):

• dyn neu fenyw (“man or woman”)
• Ni wyddwn pa un ai chwerthin ynteu grio yr oedd (“I didn’t know if he was laughing or crying”)

Soft mutation in verbs

The first letter of verbs mutates after certain words:

• Mi fyddwn i'n falch (“I'll be glad”)
• Fe ddywed John Davies... (“John Davies says...”)
• y dreth a basiwyd yn 1693 (“the tax that was passed in 1693”)
• A wrthodwn yr abwyd? (“Will we refuse the bait?”)
• Pwy all roi cyngor i mi? (“Who can give me advice?”)
• Beth ddigwyddod i’r c?r? (“What happened to the choir?”)
• Pan gyrhaeddais (“When I arrived...”)

In verbs expressing an opinion or belief used parenthetically, mi is omitted, but the mutation remains:

• ?n ni’n cerdded i gyfeiriad y dwyrain, debyga i (“We’re walking eastward, I believe”)

SImilarly in colloquial language the question particle a is omitted, but the mutation remains:

• Ddoi di acw i swper? (“Will you come here for supper?”)

Compound verbs

Within compound verbs, such as reflexive and reciprocal verbs starting with ym-, there is mutation:

• Mae hi'n ymddangos (“She shows herself, she appears”); cf. dangos (“show”)
• Rydw i'n ymolchi (“I'm washing (myself)”); cf. golchi (“wash”)
• Rydw i'n ymweld a thad Sian (“I'm visiting Sian's father”); cf. gweld (“see”)
• gwych ryfeddol (“amazingly splendid”)

Grammatical situations

Soft mutation is found in various grammatical situations such as the following:

Adverbs and adverbial phrases

Adverbial phrases usually have soft mutation of the first letter:

• Mae hi’n aros gyda ni fynychaf. (“She stays with us usually (most frequently)”)
• Nid yw ef gartref lawer (“He’s not home much”)
• Mae e’n galw yma bob dydd (“He calls here every day”)
• Ddim o gwbl! (“Not at all!”)
• dair gwaith (“three times”)
• Ymwelodd droeon a Gwenf? (“He visited Wenvoe many times”)
• ddeunaw mis yn ?l (“eighteen months ago”)

Other adverbs are formed by adding yn before an adjective, which causes soft mutation (except ll and rh):

• yn dda (“well”)
• yn ddigon da (“well enough”)
• mae hi'n gweithio'n galed (“she's working hard”)

Vocative phrases

A noun or noun phrase used for addressing a person or people usually has mutation:

• Bore da, blant (“Good morning, children!”)

Following the subject

Any word directly following the subject (or virtual subject) in the same phrase usually undergoes mutation:

• Tynnai'r teithiwr gês (“The traveller was pulling a case”)
• Dydy Dafydd ddim yn mynd (“Dafydd isn't going”)
• Ceisiodd Dafydd fynd (“Dafydd tried to go”)
• Ga i fynd? (“Can I go?”)
• wrth i'r wyau ferwi (“while the eggs were boiling”)
• Rhaid i Alun fynd (“Alun must go”)
• Rhaid iddo fynd (“He must go”)

But ti (“you”) is unmutated in:

• Weles i ti (“I saw you”)

A word following an inflected verb or an imperative is also mutated, where the subject is contained in the verb ending and not expressed:

• Codais goler fy ngh?t (“I raised the collar of my coat”)
• Ceisiodd fynd (“He tried to go”)
• Ceisiwch gofio (“Try to remember!”)
• Ffonia fi (“Phone me!”)

Mutation also occurs after dyma (“here is”), dyna (“there is”)

• dyma fwrdd (“here is a table”)

But dyna pam (“that's why”) has no mutation.

An object or other word following a verb-noun is not mutated:

• Rwy'n gweld cath (“I see a cat”)

The reinforcing pronoun ti (“you”) becomes di after an imperative in sentences such as

• Aros di! (“Just you wait!”)

Following an interpolated prepositional phrase or adverb

Sentences such as the following, where a prepositional phrase or an adverb comes in the middle of a verb phrase, have mutation in the word which follows the inserted phrase:

• Mae gen i gath (“I have a cat”)
• Mae yn yr ardd gi (“In the garden there's a dog”)
• Mae 'ma ddigon o fwyd (“There's enough food here”)
• Fe alla i weld hefyd ddarn o bapur (“I can see also see a piece of paper”)

Where the object precedes the verb

Verbs or verb-nouns where an emphatic object precedes the verb often have mutation:

• Trefor rwy'n weld (“It's Trevor that I see / I see Trevor”)

This also applies to an interrogative object:

• Pwy rwyt ti'n gredu? (“Who do you believe?”)
• Beth mae e'n werthu? (“What is he selling?”)
• Pa ddrama weloch chi? (“What play did you see?”)

Verbs or verb-nouns in a relative clause where the object pronoun is omitted similarly undergo mutation:

• pris rydyn ni'n ofyn amdano (“The price we are asking for it”)

Forms of bod (“to be”) starting with b- after a stylistically fronted predicate

• Crwydryn fu Gwilym (“William was a wanderer”)
• Ofer fai ceisio... (“It would be vain to try...”)

The equative used exclamatorily

• Fyrred yw bywyd! (“How short life is!”)

Bod or fod in indirect sentences

Either bod or fod may be used in indirect sentences such as the following, where bod or fod is followed by a noun (irrespective of the gender of the noun):

• Gobeithio bod / fod pawb yn iawn (“I hope everyone is OK”)
• Dywedodd bod / fod yr athro yn dda (“He said that the teacher is good”)

The choice is also possible in sentences such as the following:

• Ddylwn i ddim bod / fod wedi mynd (“I shouldn't have gone”)

When bod is followed by a subject pronoun, it changes in the same way as a noun with a possessive adjective, thus mod i, fod ti, fod e/o, bod hi, bod ni, bod chi, bod nhw (“that I/you/he/she/we/you (plural)/they”):

• Mae'n deud mod i fan hyn (“He says that I am here”)
• Mae'n deud fod e fan hyn (“He says that he is here”)
• Mae'n deud bod nhw fan hyn (“He says that they are here”)

Nasal mutation

Effects of nasal mutation

A voiceless stop becomes a voiceless nasal, while a voiced stop becomes a voiced nasal.

Radical	Nasal mutation
p /p/	mh /m?/
b /b/	m /m/
t /t/	nh /n?/
d /d/	n /n/
c /k/	ngh /??/
g /ɡ/	ng /?/

The other consonants and the vowels do not change under nasal mutation.

In most cases, only nouns (including verbal nouns) can undergo nasal mutation. The only exception is adjectives that are placed before the noun they modify:

• fy mhrif ddiddordeb (“my main interest”)
• yn dy ddwylo (“in your hands”) (no mutation of the possessive determiner dy)

Environments of nasal mutation

After fy ("my")

The possessive determiner fy (“my”) triggers nasal mutation:

• fy nghar (“my car”)
• Dw i wedi fy mrifo (“I have hurt myself”)

Colloquially, fy may be reduced to ’y or deleted altogether (but still marked with an apostrophe); in both cases, the nasal mutation remains:

• Diolch am ’y nhynnu i allan (“Thanks for pulling me out”)
• Huw, ’nghariad i (“Huw, my love”)

After the preposition yn (“in”)

The preposition yn assimilates to ym before a bilabial consonant and to yng before a velar consonant.

• yn nyfnder gaeaf (“in the depths of winter”)
• ym mhoced ei g?t (“in the pocket of his coat”)
• yng Nghymru (“in Wales”)

Exception:

• yn Gymraeg (“in Welsh”) (shortened from yn y Gymraeg)

Certain time words after certain numbers

The words blynedd (“year”), blwydd (“years old”), and diwrnod (“day”) undergo nasal mutation after the numbers pum (“5”), saith (“7”), wyth (“8”), naw (“9”), deng (“10”), deuddeng (“12”), pymtheng (“15”), deunaw (“18”), ugain (“20”), can (“100”), and their compound forms.

• deugain mlynedd (“forty years”)
• wyth mlwydd oed (“eight years old”)
• deng niwrnod (“ten days”)

Blynedd and blwydd also undergo nasal mutation after un (“one”) in composite numerals (i.e. where another number follows the noun to complete the meaning):

• un mlynedd ar hugain (“21 years”)
• un mlwydd ar ddeg oed (“11 years old”)

In compound words

The negative prefix an- causes nasal mutation in words such as:

• amhosibl (“impossible”); compare posibl (“possible”)
• anghywir (“incorrect”); compare cywir (“correct”)
• annisgwyl (“unexpected”); compare disgwyl (“expect”)
• anghofio (“forget”); compare cofio (“remember”)

Aspirate mutation

Effects of the aspirate mutation

Under aspirate mutation, voiceless plosives become voiceless fricatives:

Radical	Aspirate mutation
p /p/	ph /f/
t /t/	th /θ/
c /k/	ch /χ/

The other consonants do not change under the aspirate mutation.

Vowel-initial words are sometimes said to undergo aspirate mutation by adding a prothetic h, but since the environments are different for vowels than for consonants, h-prothesis will be discussed separately below.

Environments of the aspirate mutation

After certain modifiers

The possessive determiner ei/’i (“her”) (also i’w (“to her”)) triggers aspirate mutation:

• ei thad (“her father”)
• a’i phlant (“and her children”)
• i’w th? (“to her house”)
• Nid oes yma neb i’w chlywed (“There is no one here to hear her”)

The numerals tri (“three”) and chwe (“six”) trigger aspirate mutation:

• tri th? (“three houses”)
• chwe chath (“six cats”)

The adverb tra (“very”) triggers aspirate mutation:

• cylchgrawn tra phwysig (“a very important journal”)

After certain conjunctions

• llyfrau a phamffledi (“books and pamphlets”)
• ci na chath (“dog nor cat”)
• mor hen a phechod ei hun (“as old as sin itself”)
• mwy na thebyg (“more than likely”)
• o cherwch fi, cedwch fy ngorchmynion (“If ye love me, keep my commandments”)

After certain prepositions

Aspirate mutation is found after a (“with”) and its compounds tua (“towards”) and gyda (“with”):

• paid a phoeni (“don't worry!”)
• tua phum punt ar hugain (“about twenty-five pounds”)
• gyda chaniatad (“with permission”)

But gyda fi (“with me”) can also have the soft mutation.

Verbs after ni (“not”), na (“that not”) and oni (“if not”)

In some circumstances aspirate mutation is found with c, t, p, but soft mutation with other mutable consonants. (This is called "mixed mutation".)

aspirate mutation in

• ni chaf i (“I won't have”)
• y din na chafodd (“the man who didn't have”)
• Ni fwytaf hyd oni thraethwyf fy negesau (“I will not eat until I have told my errands”)

but soft mutation in

• Ni feiddiai wn?o na gwau ar y Sul (“she did not dare to sew or knit on Sunday”)
• Na feddylier na welsom chwarae llachar gan Bontypridd (“Don’t think that we didn’t see some sparkling play by Pontypridd.”)
• Oni ddylem ofyn pam... (“should we not ask why...”)

The particle ni may be omitted, but the aspirate mutation remains:

• Chododd o mo’i ben o’r croesair (“He did not raise his head from the crossword”)
• Chreda i ddim fod y stori'n wir (“I don't believe that the story is true”)

But na (equivalent to mai) meaning "that" followed by a focussed word does not cause mutation:

• Dw i’n siwr na breuddwydio o’n i (“I'm sure that I was dreaming”)

H-prothesis

H-prothesis is the addition of h to a word starting with a vowel, including sometimes before i when it is pronounced /j/, but not when w is pronounced /w/.

The possessive determiners and infixed pronouns ’m (“my, me”), ei/’i (“her”) (also i’w (“to her”)), ein/’n (“our, us”), and eu/’u (“their, them”) trigger h-prothesis:

• i’m henaid (“to my soul”)
• fe’m hysgogwyd (“I was impelled”)
• Edrychodd ar ei horiawr (“She looked at her watch”)
• Saesneg oedd ei hiaith gyntaf (“English was her first language”)
• a’i harian (“and her money”)
• i’w henw (“to her name”)
• Mae e wedi’i hosgoi (“He has avoided her”)
• ein heglwys (“our church”)
• y mae hyn yn ein hatgoffa o’r syniad (“this reminds us of the idea”)
• o’n henwau (“from our names”)
• Fe fu amser pan fyddai drysau trên yn eu hagor i chi (“There was a time when train doors would be opened for you”)
• Cwynent am eu blinder a’u hafiechyd (“They complained of their weariness and their illness”)
• ein Hiesu anwyl ni (“our dear Jesus”) (or: ein Iesu anwyl ni)

When ’i precedes a verb form as its direct object, it triggers h-prothesis even when it’s masculine singular:

• Bu farw Morgan fis Medi 1604 ac fe’i holynwyd gan Richard Parry (“Morgan died in September 1604 and he was succeeded by Richard Parry”)

The preposition ar (“on”) triggers h-prothesis of ugain (“twenty”) in complex numerals:

• un ar hugain (“twenty-one”)
• saith ceffyl ar hugain (“twenty-seven horses”)

References

• Rhys Jones, T.J. (1991), Welsh – (Teach Yourself Books), Sevenoaks: Hodder and Stoughton, →ISBN
• Thorne, David A. (1993), A Comprehensive Welsh Grammar, Oxford: Blackwell, →ISBN
• Gruffudd, Heini (2003), Welsh Rules, Talybont, Ceredigion: Y Lolfa Cyf., →ISBN