10 Easy Welsh Body Words for Beginners

These ten body parts in Welsh give a beginner a useful set to recognise in lessons, songs and everyday instructions. This page stays with meaning, singular and plural forms rather than trying to teach pronunciation without audio. Keep it quick and visual.

The examples are checked against current Welsh course material and Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru. Read the list once, cover the English meanings, then see how many you can recall.

Learn the singular first, then notice the plural as a second useful word. Several plurals change inside the word, so recognition matters more than guessing a rule. The examples below use the polite or group form found in the course material.

1. Pen - head: body parts in Welsh

Pen means "head". The plural is pennau. A standard Welsh course example uses eich pen for "your head", as in an instruction to put your hand on your head. Picture the word at the top of this list and at the top of your body.

2. Wyneb - face

Wyneb means "face" and wynebau means "faces". It is a handy recognition word on forms, in descriptions and when talking about facial expressions. Keep the singular and plural side by side on one flashcard.

3. Llygad - eye

Llygad is one eye; llygaid is eyes. The plural changes more than a simple ending, so it is worth learning the pair together. Point to one eye for the singular, then both for the plural.

4. Clust - ear

Clust means "ear" and clustiau means "ears". You will often meet the plural alongside llygaid in children's songs and beginner activities. The ending makes this plural easier to spot than some others here.

5. Trwyn - nose

Trwyn means "nose"; the plural is trwynau. A course instruction says Rhowch eich bys ar eich trwyn, meaning "Put your finger on your nose". Acting out that line gives the word a physical memory.

6. Ceg - mouth

Ceg means "mouth" and cegau means "mouths". The matching course instruction is Rhowch eich bys ar eich ceg: "Put your finger on your mouth". Notice how the short singular grows in the plural.

7. Llaw - hand

Llaw is "hand", but the plural is the irregular dwylo, "hands". Learn these as a pair instead of trying to build the plural yourself. This is the one deliberately irregular pair in the list.

8. Braich - arm

Braich means "arm" and breichiau means "arms". Codwch eich braich dde is the polite or group instruction "Raise your right arm". The example also introduces dde, "right", in its changed form.

9. Coes - leg

Coes is "leg" and coesau is "legs". The course phrase Codwch eich coes dde means "Raise your right leg". Compare coesau with the next plural rather than assuming both follow one pattern.

10. Troed - foot

Troed means "foot" and the plural traed means "feet". Symudwch eich troed dde means "Move your right foot". Like llaw and dwylo, this pair is best memorised together.

A 60-second recall: point to your head, face, eye, ear, nose, mouth, hand, arm, leg and foot in that order. Say the Welsh word if you know it; check the list only after all ten. On a second round, add the plural for each one. Stop after a minute so the exercise stays quick enough to repeat tomorrow.

For another compact list, try 10 easy Welsh words for beginners. For language you can use on a trip, open the Welsh travel phrase guide.