How to Pronounce Ll in Welsh: A Step-by-Step Guide
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The Welsh ll is one sound, not an English l said twice. Linguists write it as /ɬ/: a voiceless lateral fricative. In plain language, the tongue makes an l-like shape while unvoiced air escapes around its side.
English has no exact equivalent, so spelling tricks such as “thl” or “shl” can only point in the general direction. The reliable route is physical: place the tongue, switch the voice off, move the air, then add a vowel.
The ten-second version: put the tip of your tongue just behind your upper front teeth as if beginning an English l. Keep your vocal cords quiet and blow a narrow stream of air past one or both sides of the tongue. That airy friction is ll.
What sound does Welsh ll represent?
Ll is treated as a distinct letter in the traditional Welsh alphabet. Its formal label, “voiceless alveolar lateral fricative”, describes three useful facts:
- Voiceless: your vocal cords should not buzz.
- Alveolar: the tongue touches the ridge just behind the upper front teeth.
- Lateral fricative: air creates friction as it travels around the side of the tongue.
Compare an English l. The tongue position is related, but an ordinary l uses the voice. For Welsh ll, keep the position and remove that vibration.
A peer-reviewed illustration of Northern Welsh transcribes this consonant as /ɬ/ and documents it at the beginning, middle and end of words. That matters for practice: the airflow has to remain recognisable wherever the sound appears, not only at the start of a place-name.
How to pronounce ll in Welsh: five physical steps
- Start silently. Relax your jaw and part your lips. Do not add a vowel yet.
- Place the tongue. Touch its tip and front edge to the ridge behind your upper teeth, much as you would for an English l.
- Leave a side channel. Keep enough space along one or both sides for air to pass. Do not seal the whole mouth.
- Switch off the voice. Put two fingers lightly on your throat. There should be no buzz while you blow.
- Release steady air. Aim for a soft, sustained hiss beside the tongue. Once it is stable, move straight into a vowel: lla, lle, lli.
The National Centre for Learning Welsh’s official pronunciation guide gives the same core instruction in compact form: place the tongue behind the upper palate and breathe out. The extra steps above simply separate the movements so a learner can diagnose what is happening.
If nothing comes out: the tongue is probably sealing both sides. Keep the tip in place, then relax one side slightly. If you hear an ordinary l, repeat while keeping your throat still.
Four common near-misses
These versions may appear in English-friendly spelling guides, but none is the target sound.
| What happens | What to change |
|---|---|
| It sounds like English l | Remove the vocal-cord buzz but keep the tongue in place. |
| It becomes thl | Keep the tongue behind the teeth rather than between them. |
| It becomes shl | Move the friction to the side of the tongue, not the centre. |
| A vowel appears before it | Practise the unvoiced air alone, then attach the following vowel without an English-style run-up. |
A two-minute ll practice ladder
Accuracy usually improves when the task grows in small steps. Use one calm breath for each line and stop before the tongue becomes tense.
- Hold ll by itself for one second.
- Alternate l - ll - l - ll, noticing when the throat buzzes.
- Add open syllables: lla, lle, lli, llo, llu.
- Move to short words: llaw (hand), lle (place), lliw (colour), llyn (lake) and llong (ship).
- Finish with names you will genuinely use, such as Llanelli or Llandudno.
Do not begin with the famously long Llanfairpwll station name. It is entertaining, but it loads several unfamiliar Welsh sounds into one breath. Mastering llaw is more useful than racing through a memorised approximation.
How can you tell whether your ll is working?
Use three kinds of feedback. First, touch your throat: the ll portion should be voiceless. Second, hold a hand a few centimetres from the side of your mouth and feel a narrow flow of air. Third, compare a recording with native audio, not only with written respelling.
The University of Wales Trinity Saint David dictionary provides audio on entries including twll (hole). The Welsh Government also maintains a directory of Welsh dictionaries and terminology services. Listen to more than one speaker; natural pace and regional accent vary even when the consonant remains recognisably ll.
Build the sound into vocabulary rather than treating it as a party trick. Our ten easy Welsh words for beginners give you a small daily set. Next, place pronunciation inside the short sentences in 12 easy Welsh phrases for teachers, or try useful learner language in our National Eisteddfod beginner’s guide.
Sources, further reading and image credits
- National Centre for Learning Welsh, “A helping hand to Welsh pronunciation” in the Yma o Hyd learner booklet.
- Elise Bell et al., “Northern Welsh”, Journal of the International Phonetic Association, doi:10.1017/S0025100321000165.
- Welsh Government, Cymraeg for Kids consonant guide.
- Hwb, Welsh alphabet and pronunciation handbook.
- Welsh Government directory of Welsh dictionaries and thesaurus resources.
- Feature image: Chris McKenna (Thryduulf), Llanfairpwll station sign, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Inline images: Lfdder, CC BY-SA 3.0; nineteenth-century alphabet card, unknown author, public domain. Full source links and licence details appear in the captions.
- Additional inline image: Jaggery, Llwyncyfarthwch name sign, CC BY-SA 2.0.
