dau
/daɨ̯/masculine
The Welsh word for two is dau.
The word is used as the cardinal number 2 or to refer to the digit or figure 2.
Meaning: cardinal number 2 (num)
Which one should you use?
The choice between forms depends on the gender of the noun being counted: use dau for masculine nouns and dwy for feminine nouns.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The form changes from dau to dwy depending on the grammatical gender of the noun being counted.
How do you pronounce it?
/daɨ̯/
Did you know?
- When using dau or dwy as a number, the noun that follows it usually stays in the singular form rather than becoming plural.
- The word 'two' in Welsh can act as a trigger for 'soft mutation', changing the spelling and sound of the noun that follows it.
- The Welsh word dau is a distant cousin to the English word 'two' and the Latin 'duo', as both share the same ancient Indo-European root.
Examples in context
- Un, dau, tri, pedwar, pump, chwech, saith, wyth, naw, deg.One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.This sentence is useful for practicing counting from one to ten using dau.Tatoeba #6889980 by Sisial, translation #413731 by FeuDRenais
- Un, dau, tri, pedwar, pump…One, two, three, four, five…
- Gobeithio bydd y teulu'n dod i weld ni am y penwythnos nesaf ym mis Mai. Felly, dim ond deuddydd sydd i'w aros.Hopefully, the family will come to see us next weekend in May. So, there are only two days to wait.
- Mae dau ci yn y gard.There are two dogs in the garden.
Example conversation
Dylan and Sian are looking at fruit in a bowl.
- DylanFelly, oes dau afal yn y bowl?So, are there two apples in the bowl?
- SianNage, mae tri afal yma.No, there are three apples here.
- DylanO, mae dau yn coch a un yn melyn.Oh, two are red and one is yellow.
- SianYdyn, mae hwy'n edrych yn dda.Yes, they look good.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “two” translations and entries dau, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries dau, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
