Shwmae
Hello / Hi / Alright?
If you want one easy, informal Welsh greeting to remember, start here. Shwmae is particularly useful as a friendly way to open a conversation. You may also come across Su'mae.
Try it
Shwmae! Ti'n iawn?
Hi! You alright?
Useful Welsh
Useful Welsh Greetings
Start a conversation in Welsh.
You don't need a huge vocabulary to start using Welsh.
A simple Shwmae, Bore da or Ti'n iawn? is enough to turn an everyday interaction into a little bit of Welsh.
Here are some of the greetings you'll hear — and actually be able to use — all over Wales.
5 min guideAudio examplesPractice
Audio coming soon
Three greetings to start using today
Bore da
Good morning
Probably one of the Welsh phrases you already recognise. Bore means morning and da means good.
Notice this
Welsh often puts the describing word after the thing being described.
bore da
literally: morning good
Try it
Walk into a café or shop in the morning and simply say:
Bore da!
Ti'n iawn?
You alright? / How are you?
This is an extremely useful conversational phrase. You don't need to give a complicated answer.
You could simply say:
Da iawn, diolch.
Very well, thanks.
A ti?
And you?
- A
Shwmae. Ti'n iawn?
- B
Da iawn, diolch. A ti?
- A
Da iawn hefyd.
Audio coming soon
Morning, afternoon and evening
Bore da
Good morning
Use in the morning.
Prynhawn da
Good afternoon
A useful greeting later in the day.
Noswaith dda
Good evening
Use this when greeting somebody in the evening.
Nos da
Good night
Nos da is normally used when you're leaving for the night or going to bed — rather than when you first arrive somewhere.
Keeping it simple
Hwyl
Bye
A simple Welsh goodbye.
Hwyl fawr
Goodbye
For now, don't worry about collecting ten different ways to leave a conversation. Hwyl will take you a long way.
Which greeting fits the situation?
You walk into a café at 9am
Bore da!
You see a friend in town
Shwmae!
Shwmae. Ti'n iawn?
You meet someone in the afternoon
Prynhawn da!
You want to ask how your friend is
Ti'n iawn?
You're leaving
Hwyl!
You're heading to bed
Nos da!
Quick note
Ti or Chi?
You've just seen Ti'n iawn?
Welsh has different ways of saying you. Ti is normally used when you're speaking informally to one person.
You'll also hear chi, which is used for groups of people and in more formal or polite situations.
Sut wyt ti?
How are you? (informal, one person)
Sut ydych chi?
How are you? (formal or plural)
Both are ways of asking how someone is. You don't need to master this yet. For now, if you're having a relaxed conversation with one person, ti is a useful place to start.
Read the full Ti vs Chi guideWhat would you say?
You walk into your local café at 10am.
You bump into a friend.
Someone says Ti'n iawn?
How could you respond?
You're leaving after chatting to somebody.
One conversation worth remembering
- A
Shwmae. Ti'n iawn?
- B
Da iawn, diolch. A ti?
- A
Da iawn hefyd.
Audio coming soon
Don't worry about analysing every word. Learn the exchange as a whole. The next time somebody says Ti'n iawn?, you already know what to do.
Hear it in context
Quick Cymraeg — Ti'n iawn?
Hear these greetings inside a real Welsh conversation, then let us take the language apart and help you start using it yourself.
Start the lessonYour first 6 Quick Cymraeg lessons are free.
