llygoden fawr
feminine
The Welsh word for rat is llygoden fawr. Wiktionary also lists llygod mawr.
Meaning: rodent (noun)
Ways to say it
| Welsh | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| llygoden fawr | feminine | |
| llygod mawr | /ˈɬəɡɔd mau̯r/ (word by word) | feminine, plural |
The term is used to refer to the rodent known as a rat.
Which one should you use?
llygoden fawr is the singular form, while llygod mawr is the plural form.
How does it change in a sentence?
In the singular form llygoden fawr, the adjective mawr (big) follows the noun.
Did you know?
- The word for rat is essentially a compound of 'mouse' and 'big'. To call something a rat in Welsh is literally to describe it as a 'big mouse'.
- The word mawr, meaning 'big', shares a distant ancestor with the English word 'more'. This connection traces back to the same Proto-Indo-European roots.
- In Welsh, the noun llygoden is built by adding the suffix -en to the root llygod. This suffix is often used in Welsh to create feminine nouns or to denote smallness.
Example sentences for Welsh are not verified yet.
Example conversation
Rhiannon and Owain are looking at a hole in the kitchen floor.
- RhiannonOwain, edrych ar y thybrau hwn!Owain, look at this hole!
- OwainBeth yw yna, Rhiannon?What is in there, Rhiannon?
- RhiannonDw i'n creu bod llygoden fawr yno.I think there is a rat in there.
- OwainO naddo, rydwn i anialwch ohoni!Oh no, I hate them!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “rat” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (llygod, mawr) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries llygod, llygoden, mawr, CC BY-SA 4.0.
