I’ll have to complain with Duolingo, then!
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What we think of as a “long o” in English isn’t really an ‘o’ sound at all, in terms of how most other languages (including Welsh) do a long ‘o’. With the Great Vowel Shift back in Middle English we moved a whole load of vowels around in a chain of sound changes which basically took us from something much more like Italian or German values to something much more English – so, for example, mouse/mice went from being pronounced moose/meece (English spelling; mūs/mīs if we want to look more Latin) to modern maus/mais, which left goose/geese free to go from gohs/gehs (gōs/gēs) to modern gūs/gīs. The mice moved out and then the geese moved in, so to speak.
But just like English “long i” became a diphthong, so that ‘wine’ no longer had the same vowel as vino, but instead was much more like mai (Latin/Italian-style spelling), ‘o’ did the same. Dictionaries that use the International Phonetic Alphabet often represent “long o” with a [ə] (‘schwa’ - the neutral vowel sound of ‘a’ or ‘the’ or German final -e) followed by a kind of u-sound [ʊ]: the English “long o” [əʊ] is thus a sort of a neutral grunt followed by what’s almost a ‘w’ anyway. Welsh ‘ow’ does sound to me quite a lot like English “long o” (so Welsh down ni almost rhymes with English my own, depending on your English accent), whereas Welsh aw sounds like English ow (awn ni adre or down the pub).
So, yeah – if Duolingo makes Welsh down sound like English down I’m pretty sure it’s wrong for pretty much all Welsh accents, but if it sounds more like English own I would think it’s OK.
(…and all my English examples are basically southern British English, where that makes a difference…)
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Is the pronunciation of “(Newydd) ddechrau” the same as “Gwella”?
They sound very similar to me but I’m unsure. Diolch
no, ch and ll make different sounds. ch is like in the word loch (as in Ness!) but ll is an unvoiced L sound (it’s ‘blown’ rather than sounded). Awkward to explain in writing. They can sound similar when you’re starting out, but once you get the hang of them, they are different.
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Dw i wedi dysgu bod hi’n ‘bendith’
Good for you! Indeed, bendith seems to have been the consensus when I asked that question five years ago.
Sorry, I hadn’t realised how long ago it was. I’ve just started on the forums today and got a little confused but I’m getting there.
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I’m glad you answered it now because now I know the answer too 
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And you’re doing great. Most people don’t realize how much stuff - especially answers to your questions - can be found around the forum. But, as you discovered, some of it has been around a while and newer people may not notice it. So YAY to you for helping other people see this answer!
I’ve got a bit confused with eisiau in challenge 24 of level 2. There are a few sentences eg “I’d tell you what to do if you needed” / “Bydden i’n dweud wrthot ti beth i wneud tase eisiau amat ti” - I’ve probably spelled this wrong. Also “He wants to know if you need anything else” / “Mae fe’n moyn gwbod os oes eisiau unrhywbeth amat ti” and “I can’t remember how to say what I need yet” / “Allai ddim cofio sut i ddweud beth i eisiau ama i eto”. Why isn’t is just eisiau ti or eisiau fi?
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Ah, somebody else asked this question quite recently…I’ve copied, pasted and tweaked that answer!..
…using eisiau to mean ‘need’ rather than ‘want’ - uses ‘i’ - if you need to do an action
eg. You need to run - mae eisiau i chi redeg…
…literally - there is a want for you to run
…but if you need a ‘thing’ - like a few other things such as emotions and illnesses in Welsh - it is ‘on you’ - and uses ‘ar’ …
Eg. I need food - mae eisiau bwyd arna i
…literally - there is a ‘want of food’ on me…
This seems confusing initially but settles down in no time!
Rich 
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Thank you for that explanation Rich. It makes sense to me. So is it arna i and arna ti? I haven’t seen it written down before.
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Yes, that’s right - so…
Arna i
Arnat ti
Arno fe
Arni hi
Arnon ni
Arnoch chi
Arnyn nhw
Rich
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That’s so helpful. I really appreciate it. Diolch yn fawr iawn!
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Absolutely fantastic. Thanks Rich. At last an idiot proof demo.
Diolch y n fawr iawn.
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Thanks also to you Rich. I also was not sure why, but now seeing it like that it makes sense! Diolch eto
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Tiny quick question if it’s ok:
In Cymraeg, what’s the idiomatic way to say “I’m going to have a coffee”
Would I be right with: Dw i’n mind i cael coffi?
I only ask because I know different languages use different verbs for this. Many European languages seem to say "I’m going to take a coffee’ (French: je vais prendre un cafe)
US English is more likely to be “I’m going to get a coffee”
etc
Thanks!
yes, cael is fine (in Welsh it kind of covers both ‘have’ and ‘get’ in this context anyway)
Dwi’n mynd i gael coffi
or (for “a cup of”)
Dwi’n mynd i gael panad o goffi (Northern)
Wi’n mynd i gael disgled o goffi (Southern)
Diolch!
Perfect timing too - I’ve got two hours til I finish work so, wi’n mynd i gael disgled o goffi.
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A while back there a couple of SSIW people had created a website of places/shops etc where you could go and be able to speak Welsh. Only I can’t for the life of me remember what they are called and I’m going to Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire for a couple of days and would like to choose places to eat where I can use my Welsh. I’m already booked into the Tafarn Sinc for Sunday lunch!
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