That is

Welsh General / Questions
#1

I am getting confused when to use hynny and when to use dyna for that,
In level 3: That is … mae hynny’n … That 's not… so hynny yn…

so If I want to say: that is a boy, Mae hynny bachgen? or should it be Dyna bachgen

Dyna and mae hynny
#2

hynny is used when you’re talking about general ideas or pieces of information which are non-tangible
(e.g. mae hynny’n iawn - that is ok) whereas dyna is used for pointing out something or drawing attention to it, so “dyna fachgen” is the one you want here.

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#3

In addition to what Siaron said, by way of background, ‘dyna’ is usually explained as a contraction of ‘weli di yna’ ~ ‘you see there’. Very similar to French ‘voila’ ~ ‘see there’

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#4

Diolch

I think I understand but…
Level 3 challenge 12. That is a door on its’s own …Mae hynny yn drws ar ei ben ei hunan.

why is it not… Dyna’r drws ar ei ben ei hunan

#5

I haven’t listened to that challenge, but I’m thinking it may be something to do with the context - it could be a concept - i.e. that (concept) is a door on it’s own, in which case the ‘that’ is referring to something abstract.

e.g. two people are talking.
A says to B “Dwi’n mynd I liwio fy ngwallt yn las” (I’m going to dye my hair blue).
B says to A “Mae hynny’n cam rhy bell” (That is a step too far)

  • i.e. that (concept) is a step too far.
    Later, A comes back with blue hair and B says “Dyna cam rhy bell” (That is a step too far)
  • i.e. that (tangible dyed hair) is a step too far.

But I could be wrong (about the sentence in the challenge) - hopefully someone who’s done that one can jump in and clarify.

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#6

Rightly or wrongly I have always thought of dyma and dyna as words which refer to things you can see (and could point at)…and are not used in situations where this isn’t the case.

So in discussing a door that isn’t visible eg giving someone directions to a particular section in the library for the next time they go - you wouldn’t use dyma or dyma and hynny would be appropriate.

Rich :slight_smile:

#7

Or

Bachgen ydy hwnna

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#8

Just noticed this topic. Im coming across Sef a fair bit now. I think it means " that is" or “namely”. A nice little word that doesn’t seem to fit with modern English, which is great.

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#9

Nice word, sef. And of course you can always use hynny yw or hynny ydy for that is as well.

As a tag on the end though, you can’t use sef - it really DOES mean namely.

Os dych chi’n moyn, hynny yw… - If you want to, that is…

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