sut wyt ti?
How are you? In Welsh is sut wyt ti?
If you want to ask how someone is feeling in a relaxed manner, you can use sut wyt ti'n teimlo? You may also encounter the colloquial phrase sut mae?, which functions as "How's it going?" or "How is it?"
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase sut wyt ti? literally translates to "how are you?", where sut means "how", wyt is a form of the verb "to be" and ti is the singular informal "you".
Which one should you use?
sut ydych chi? is the formal or plural version. In contrast to the direct question about well-being, sut mae'n mynd? is a phrase specifically used among friends or peers of a similar age and sut mae? is a more casual way to ask "How's it going?"
How does it change in a sentence?
sut wyt ti? uses the singular informal pronoun ti.
When do people say it?
A common response to the question sut wyt ti? is Da iawn, diolch, which means "Very well, thanks".
Did you know?
- The word ti in sut wyt ti? shares a prehistoric root with the English word 'thou', as both descend from the Proto-Indo-European word túh₂.
- The word sut shares a surprising history with the English word 'suit' or 'suite', having been borrowed from Middle English 'sute' meaning 'clothes' or 'type'.
- The casual greeting sut mae? is so common that it can sometimes function as a standalone greeting, much like 'hi' or 'hello', rather than a literal question about well-being.
Examples in context
- Sut ydych chi, Mrs. Davies?How are you, Mrs. Davies?
- Helo, sut wyt ti?Hi, how are you?
- Bore da! Sut wyt ti heddiw?Good morning! How are you today?
Example conversation
Catrin and Gareth meet on the street.
- CatrinHaelo Gareth, sut wyt ti?Hello Gareth, how are you?
- GarethDa iawn, diolch. A ti?Very well, thanks. And you?
- CatrinDwi'n dda, diolch!I'm good, thanks!
- GarethDa iawn. Welai!Very good. See you!
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries sut, ti, CC BY-SA 4.0.
