Les mots de la semaine

Chaque semaine je publie les mots que nous avons discutés dans le Groupe de Conversation Français sur Facebook. J’ai décidé de les publier ici aussi, et donc voilà les mots de cette semaine, et aussi les mots des semaines précédentes.

Every week I publish words that we have discussed in the French Conversation Group on Facebook. I’ve decided to publish here as well, so here are this week’s words, and words from previous weeks.

Pob wythnos dw i’n cyhoeddi geiriau’r wythnos ydan ni ‘di sôn amdanyt yn y Grŵp Sgwrsio ar Facebook. Dw i ‘di penderfynu cyhoeddi nhw yma hefyd, ac felly dyma geiriau’r wythnos hon, a hefyd geiriau’r wythnosau flaenorol.

22/06/12
Les mots de la semaine
– le ragoût = hotpot / casserole = hotbot / caserol
– la cocotte / le poêlon = casserole (dish) = caserol
– le bouton = (light / appliance) switch = switsh / botwm
– l’interrupteur / le marche-arrêt = cut-off switch / light switch / on-off switch
– allumer = to switch on (light, TV, kettle) = cynnau
– mettre en marche = to switch on (engine, machine) = cychwyn
– éteindre = to switch off (light, TV, radio) = diffodd
– arrêter = to switch off (engine) = diffodd
– monsieur / gentleman = gentleman = bonheddwr / gŵr bonheddig
– gentilhomme campagnard = country gentleman
– homme cultivé et raffiné = fine gentleman
– dame de bonne famille = gentlewoman = boneddiges
– le stylo (à) plume = fountain pen = ysgrifbin
– peu commun / rare / inhabituel = unusual = anarferol / anghyffredin

05/06/12
Les mots de la semaine
– la procession de carnaval = (carnival) parade/procession = gorymdaith / parêd
– le défilé = (military) parade = parêd (milwrol)
– sans logis / sans abri = homeless = digartref
– un sans-abri = a homeless person = person digartref
– un haut-parleur = loud speaker = uchelseinydd / darseinydd
– le tambour = drum = tabwrdd
– la batterie = drum kit / drums = offer drymiau
– tambouriner = to drum = drymio / tabyrddu
– le tambourin = tambourine = tambwrîn
– le (joueur de) tambour = drummer = drymiwr / drwmwr
– batteur (-euse) = drummer (in rock/jazz band)
– la baguette de tambour = drum stick = ffon drymio
– la contrebasse = double bass = bas dwbl
– la citerne = water butt = casgen dŵr
– faire un saut (au magasin) = to nip to (the shop)

08/06/12
Les mots de la semaine
– la boue = mud = llaca / llaid / mwd
– le garde-boue = mud guard = gard olwyn
– la station-service = petrol station = gorsaf betrol
– l’aire de services (f) = service area = ardal gwasanaeth
– le char (d’assaut) / le tank = tank (military) = tanc
– avec maestria = with great panache = efo/gyda steil mawr
– le bleu / la ecchymose / la contusion = bruise = clais
– faire un bleu à / contusionner = to bruise = cleisio
– la meurtrissure / la talure = bruise (on fruit)
– se taler / se meurtrir = to bruise (fruit)
– le pois = spot (on fabric) = sbotyn / smotyn
– la tache = spot (mark) =marc / sbotyn / smotyn
– le droit de passage = right of way = hawl tramwy
– le blaireau = badger = mochyn daear / broch / daearfochyn
– le geai = jay = (y)sgrech y coed
– la pie = magpie = pioden
– la sirène = mermaid = môr-forwyn

01/06/12
Les mots de la semaine
– l’allègement fiscal / les dégrèvements d’impôts = tax relief = cymorth trethi
– le vol = robbery / theft = lladrad / ysbeiliad
– le vol à main armée = armed robbery = lladrad arfog
– le braquage de banque = bank robbery = lladrad banc
– (C’est de) l’arnaque! = (It’s) daylight robbery = (mae hi’n) lladrad golau dydd
– le cambriolage = burglary = byrgleriaeth
– la pieuvre = octopus (when alive)
– le poulpe = octopus (on plate) = octopws / wythdroed
– les fonds marins / fond de la mer = seabed = gwely’r môr
– le drapeau = flag = baner

18/05/12
Les mots de la semaine
– la grande roue = big wheel = olwyn fawr
– la petite maison / le cottage = cottage = bwthyn
– la chaumière / chaumine = thatched cottage = bwthyn tô gwellt
– le gîte / la maison de vacances = holiday cottage = bwthyn gwyliau
– la maison de campagne = weekend cottage = bwythyn y penwythnos
– le gîte et le couvert = board and lodging = bwyd a llety
– le baby-sitter / la garde d’enfants =babysitter = gwarchodwr
– faire du baby-sitting / garder (les enfants) = to babysit = gwarchod
– avoir l’air plutôt ridicule = to have egg on one’s face
– têtu / obstiné = stubborn (person) = cyndyn / ystyfnig

12/05/12
Les mots de la semaine
– être à l’entière disposition de qn / être à la botte de qn = to be at sb’s beck and call = bod ar alwad rhywun,
bod yn was bach i rywun
– tirer à la courte paille = to draw straws = tynnu blewyn cwta
– tirer au sort = to draw lots = tynnu dob/tocyn/cwtws/blewyn cwta
– le sang neuf = new blood (in team, organization) = gwaed newydd
– le nouveau visage = new face = gwyneb newydd
– fauché (comme les blés) = (stony-)broke (penniless) = heb yr un geiniog,
heb yr un ddimai goch y delyn, heb gragen i ymgrafu
– être fauché = to be broke = bod heb yr un geiniog
– faire faillite = to go broke/bankrupt = methdalu
– jouer le grand jeu / jouer le tout pour le tout = to go for broke = mentro’r cyfan/cwbl/pob dimai
– à la lettre = to the letter = i’r llythyren

27/04/12
Les mots de la semaine
– sonner = to ring (bell/phone) = canu (cloch)
– rappeler quelque chose = to ring a bell (fig.) = canu cloch / taro deuddeg
– un animal de compagnie = pet = anifail anwes
– porter un toast = (to raise a) toast = cynnig llwncdestun
– le rôle principal = leading role (in play, film, etc) = prif rôl
– tendre = to stretch, tighten, tense = ymestyn, tynhau
– bémol / trop grave = flat (note) = meddalnod
– dièse / trop haut= sharp (note) = llonnod
– la veillée morturaire = wake = gwlynos

20/04/12
Les mots de la semaine
– un rhume = a cold = annwyd
– une rhinite = rhinitis (blocked/stuffy/runny nose) = trwyn wedi ei flocio / syn rhedeg
– attraper un rhume = to catch a cold = cael annwyd
– le rhume des foins = hayfever = clefyd y gwair
– la faune et flore (sauvages) = wildlife = bwyd gwyllt
– la réserve naturelle = wildlife park = parc bwyd gwyllt
– photographe animalier = wildlife photographer = ffotograffydd bwyd gwyllt
– écrire / orthographier = to spell = sillafu
– épeler = to spell (aloud) = sillafu yn uchel
– l’éclair (f) = flash = fflach
– clignoter = to flash (light) = fflachio
– feu/éclairage (de vélo) avant = front (bicycle) light = golau (beic) blaen
– feu/éclairage (de vélo) arrière = back (bicycle) light = golau (beic) ôl

13/04/12
Les mots de la semaine
– la cachette = hide (for watching animals) = cuddfan
– le balbuzard (pêcheur) = osprey = eryr y môr / gwalch y pysgod
– la buse / le urubu = buzzard = boda
– le faucon = falcon = gwalch
– la colombe = dove = colomen
– le perce-neige = snowdrop = eirlys / cloch maban
– la rumeur = rumour = achlust / si / swae / sôn
– l’arnaque (f) / la escroquerie = scam / swindle = hoced / twyll
– la fraude = fraud = hoced / twyll
– escroquer / arnaquer = to swindle = hocedu / twyllo
– la neige fondue = sludge / slush = llaca / llaid / slwtsh
– la bourrasque = squall = hyrddwynt
– la giboulée = shower = cawod
– les Giboulées de Mars = April Showers = Cawodydd Ebrill

30/03/12
Les mots de la semaine
– la roue de charrette = cartwheel = olwyndroi
– faire la roue = to turn a cartwheel = gwneud olwyn dro
– la scie [si] = saw = llif
– scier [sje] = to saw = llifio
– la sciure [sjyʀ] = sawdust = blawd llif
– la scierie [siʀi] = sawmill =
– la tronçonneuse = chain saw = llif gadwyn
– stocker / accumuler = to stockpile = archebu
– avoir l’effet inverse que prévu = to backfire (plans)
– pétararder = to backfire (car) = tanio’n ôl
– le bidon / le jerrycan = jerrycan
– se dilater = to expand (metal, gas) = ymledu / ehangu
– pétard = firecracker / banger / detonator = banger / taniadur
– pris à son propre piège = hoist with one’s own petard
– s’entendre bien avec qqn = to get on well with sb = cyd-dynnu â/efo/gyda rhywun

23/03/12
Les mots de la semaine
– livreur (m) = delivery man = trosglwyddwr
– respirer / aspirer = to breathe (in), inhale = anadlu
– expirer = to breathe out = anadlu allan
– s’échauffer = to warm up = ymgynhesu
– deltaplane (m) / aile volante (f) = hang-glider = barcut (m)
– en pleine cambrousse = out in the sticks
– bâton (m), bout de bois (m) = stick = ffon (f) pric (m)
– petit bois (m) = kindling
– l’autobus à impériale = double-decker bus

16/03/12
Les mots de la semaine
– l’enregistrement (m) = check-in (desk)
– faire enregistrer les bagages = to check-in luggage =
– tapis (m) roulant à bagages / carrousel (m) à bagages = luggage/baggage carousel
– bagagiste = baggage handler = trafodwr bagiau
– faire une/de la randonnée = to ramble / go rambling = mynd am dro
– badge (m) = badge = bathodyn (m)
– crampe (f) = cramp = cramp (m), cwlwm gwythi (m), gwrwst (f)
– priver qn de ses moyens = to cramp sb’s style

17/02/12
Les mots de la semaine
– vingoble (m) – vineyard – gwinllan (f)
– vendage (f) – grape harvest/crop, grapes = cynhaeaf grawnin
– grenier (m) – attic, barn = llofft (m), ysgubor (f)
– maréchal-ferrant (m) = farrier = ffarier (m)
– forgeron (m) = blacksmith = gof (m)
– repasser = to iron = smwddio
– fer (m) à repasser = iron = haearn smwddio (m)
– commérages, cancans = gossip = clec(s), clonc(iau)
– nounours (m), ours en peluche = teddy bear = tedi
– peluche (f) = fluff, plush, stuffed/soft toy = fflwff, plwsh, tegan meddal
– railler = to make fun of sb, taunt, scoff, jeer = gwawdio
– vedette (f) = (film) star, speedboat = seren, cwch gwib
– chaise droite (f) = upright/dining chair = cadair gefnsyth (?)
– détroit (m) = strait = culfor (m)
– capuche (f), capuchon (m) = hood = cwfl (m)
– exécuter, jouer = to perform (music) = perfformio, chwarae
– boulette (f) (de pâte) = dumpling = twplen (f), poten (f)
– Bavière (f) = Bavaria = Bafaria
– bavarois = Bavarian = Bafarieg

10/02/12
Les mots de la semaine
– carte de bus = bus pass = trwydded bws
– tenir un journal = to keep a diary = cadw dyddiadur
– ongle (m) = finger nail = ewin (m/f)
– ongle de pied = toe nail = ewin troed
– orteil (m) = toe = bys troed
– retenir sa respiration = to hold one’s breath = dal dy anadl
– ça n’arrivera peut-être pas de sitôt ! = don’t hold your breath! = paid â dal dy anadl!
– surgelé = frozen = rhewedig / wedi ei rewi
– Les Amis de la Terre = Friends of the Earth = Cyfeillion y Ddaear
– prétendre = to claim (assert) = hawlio
– démodé = old fashioned (things) = hen ffasiwn
– vieux jeu = old fashioned (people) = hen ffasiwn

03/02/12
Les mots de la semaine:
– égout (m) = sewer = carthffos (f)
– (les) canalisation(s) (f) = (the) drain(s) = draen(iau) (m)
– écouler = to drain = draenio
– epicure (m) = gourmet = beirniad bwyd (m)
– gourmand (m) = gourmand = gloddestwr, bolgi
– gourmand (adj) = greedy = barus, trachwantus
– kippa (f), yarmoulka = kippah, yarmulke = cap corun (m)
– baragouin (m), charabia (m) = gibberish, gabble, double Dutch, gobbledygook = baldordd, cleber, lol
– baragouiner = to gibber / jabber / gabble = baldorddi, clebran
– dire du charabia, parler de façon incompréhensible = to talk gibberish

20/01/12
Les mots de la semaine:
– émission (f) = (TV/radio) programme = rhaglen (f)
– draguer = to be on the pull, to try and pick up (sb)
– traquer = to stalk (sb), pursue, hound, track down = dilyn, ymlid, mynd ar drywydd
– harceleur, admirateur = stalker = dilynwr
– acouphène (m) = tinnitus = tinitws
– éternuement (m) = sneeze = tisiad (m)
– éternuer / faire un éternuement = to sneeze = tisian
– valeur (f) à la revente = street value = preis ar y stryd (?)
– canot/bateau de sauvetage (m) = lifeboat = bad achub (m)
– détrempé = soggy (ground) = corslyd, soeglyd
– trempé = soggy (clothes)
– mou (molle) = soggy (sandwiches, bread, cornflakes)

02/12/11
Les mots de la semaine
– forgeron (m) = blacksmith = gof
– maréchal ferrant (m) = blacksmith, farrier = ffarier
– forge (f) = smithy = gefail
– marteau (m) = hammer = morthwyl = malleus
– enclume (f) = anvil = eingion / einion = incus
– étrier (m) = stirrup = gwarthol (f) = stapes
– hériter (de) = to inherit = etifeddu
– héritage (m) = inheritance (money, property, cultural) = etifeddiaeth (f), gwaddol (m)
– patrimoine (m) = inheritance (genetic) = etifeddiad (m)
– faire une promenade (de cheval), monter (à cheval), faire du cheval = to ride (a horse) = marchogaeth, reidio
– aller (à cheval / à bicyclette / à moto / en autobus / en voiture) = to ride (a horse, a bicycle, a motorbike, a bus a car)

14/11/12
Les mots de la semaine
– enlever / kidnapper – to kidnap – herwgipio
– l’enlèvement – kidnapping, removal, abducting – herwgydio
– tentative d’enlèvement – kidnap attempt – ymgais herwgipio
– kidnappeur/euse, voleur d’enfants, ravisseur/euse – kidnapper – herwgipiwr

Plus de détails sont à découvrir à: http://www.omniglot.com/blog/?p=6081

07/11/12
Les mots de la semaine
– groseille à maquereau / groseille verte – gooseberry, eirinen Fair / gwsberen
– groseille – (red)currant, cyrensen
– maquereau – mackerel, macrell

groseille (ribes rubrum) is part of the gooseberry family (grossulariaceae), as is the blackcurrant / cyrensen ddu (ribes nigrum) or cassis / groseille noir.

30/10/11
Le mot de la semaine
– comptine /kɔ̃tin/= nursery rhyme; counting rhyme or song = hwiangerdd; rhigwm neu gân rifo

Des comptines et chansons pour enfants: http://comptine.free.fr/

23/10/11
Les mots de la semaine:
– ménager la chèvre et le choux = to sit on the fence, to face both ways, to keep everyone happy, have a foot in both camps, to play both ends against the middle. (lit. “to keep the goat and the cabbage”). = peidio ag ochri, eistedd ar y clawdd (“cadw’r afr a’r fresychen / gabetsien”).

– ménager (vb) = to handle carefully, to treat considerately, to take care not to hurt sb’s pride, to take care of, to look after or to arrange. = trin yn ofalus / yn ystyriol, poeni am ddim brifo teimladau rhywun, gofalu am (rhywun/rhywbeth), trefnu.

– ménager (adj) = household, domestic, housework, housewife or canteen = catref

Heb os nac oni bai

Heb os nac oni bai is a Welsh expression I heard on the radio this morning that means ‘without (a) doubt’ or ‘definitely’, or literally ‘without an if or an unless’. From the context and the meanings of some of the individual words I was able to work out the meaning of the phrase, though I wasn’t sure about oni bai. Now I know it means ‘unless’ or ‘without’.

Here are a few examples:

Heb os nac oni bai , mae i ffermio le canolog mewn datblygu cynaliadwy.
Without doubt , farming has a central role to play in sustainable development.

Heb os nac onibai , mae gagendor iechyd amlwg wrth ystyried clefyd y galon.
Without a shadow of a doubt , the health divide is obvious when considering heart disease.

Dirwasgiad mewn gweithgynhyrchu yw hwnnw , heb os nac oni bai.
If that is not a recession in manufacturing , I do not know what is.

From: http://mymemory.translated.net

Another way to express this meaning in Welsh is: does dim dwywaith / nid oes dwywaith = there are no two ways about it, without question

A similar is English is ‘no ifs or buts’, though this means ‘no reservations, restrictions or excuses’ rather than ‘without doubt / definitely’. Welsh equivalents of ‘no ifs or buts’ include nid oes amheuaeth and nid oes unrhyw ‘os’ neu ‘oni bai’ [source].

According to dict.cc Wörterbuch, the German equivalent of ‘no ifs or buts’ is ohne Wenn und Aber (‘without if or but’), which is translated as ‘unconditionally; no ifs, no buts; no muss, no fuss; without fuss or quibble; no strings attached’. I haven’t heard of ‘no muss, no fuss’ or ‘without fuss or quibble’ before but like them a lot, especially quibble.

Are the similar phrases in other languages?

Video ùr

Rinn mi video ùr anns a’ Ghàidhlig an t-seachdain seo chaidh. Còmhradh eadar Seumas agus Eilidh a th’ann – tha Seumas ‘nan shealgair thaigeisean agus ‘nan thuathanach eòin strutha às na Hearadh. Tha Eilidh às an t-Sìn, tha i a’ fuireach ann an Glaschu, agus ‘s e eadar-theangaiche a th’ ann. Tha fo-thiotalan ann ann am Beurla, anns a’ Ghàidhlig, ‘sa Ghàidhlig na h-Eireann, anns a’ Mhanannais agus anns a’ Chuimris.

I made a new video in Scottish Gaelic last week. It features a conversation between Hamish and Helen (Seumas & Eilidh) – Hamish is a haggis hunter and ostrich farmer from Harris. Helen is from Beijing, lives in Glasgow and is a translator. Subtitles are available in English, Scottish Gaelic, Irish, Manx and Welsh.

Hunting haggis

I’ve just finished a new video using Xtranormal – it’s in Scottish Gaelic and features Hamish and Helen (Seumas & Eilidh). Hamish is from Harris in the Hebrides and hunts haggis as a hobby with his haggis hound Hector (who doesn’t appear in the video), and also farms ostriches. Helen is a translator from Beijing who lives in Glasgow and translates between Scottish Gaelic and Chinese. Subtitles are available in English, Scottish Gaelic, Irish, Manx and Welsh.

I wrote the dialogue in Scottish Gaelic using basic phrases, plus a few more complex constructions, and translated into the other languages as I went along. While there’s no mention of hovercrafts, or even eels, there is some discussion of whether the haggis is a real creature or not. I also recorded the dialogue as Xtranormal doesn’t support text-to-speech in Scottish Gaelic.

I plan to make similar videos in the other Celtic languages I know, changing some of the details but keeping the same basic structure.

One question that puzzled me somewhat while making this video was what is the plural of haggis? Is it haggis, haggises or even haggii?

Wikitionary gives the plural haggises.

The Haggis Hunt states that the plural is “haggii, although under certain grammatical circumstances it can be haggises or even ‘wee yins’.”

This blog gives the plural as haggis.

Collins English Dictionary gives haggises as the plural.

So it seems that there is no general agreement on the plural – I know not all these sources are equally reliable, but the less than reliable ones are interesting.

Another question is the etymology of the word haggis. The OED states that the origins of the word are unknown. In Scottish Gaelic the word for haggis is taigeis /tagʲɪʃ/, which becomes thaigeis /hagʲɪʃ/ in some contexts. This comes from the Scots word haggis, according to MacBain’s Etymological dictionary – I thought that the Scots word might come from Gaelic, but it seems not.

Without one red halfpenny

When putting together this week’s French words and expressions from the French Conversation Group today, I discovered some interesting French and Welsh equivalents of ‘(to be) broke’.

In French the equivalent of broke (penniless) is fauché or if you’re really broke fauché comme les blés (broke like wheat). To be broke is être fauché and to go broke is faire faillite. Synonyms for fauché include:

– abattu = downcast
– besogneux = hard-working
– chipé = pinched
– coupé = cut
– démuni = destitute
– désargenté = impoverished
– misérable = miserable
– pauvre = poor
– ruiné = ruined
– tondu = chopped / shorn
– volé = robbed

In Welsh there are quite a few different ways to say that you’re penniless:

– heb yr un geiniog = ‘without a single penny’
– heb yr un ddimai goch y delyn = ‘without a single red halfpenny of the harp’
– heb gragen i ymgrafu = ‘without a shell to rub’
– heb yr un ffado = ‘without a ?’
– heb yr un ffaden beni = ‘without a ?’

There are also quite a few ways to express the same meaning in English, including:

– broke / stony-broke / flat broke
– skint
– bankrupt
– bust
– cleaned out
– without a penny to one’s name / a red cent
– on one’s uppers
– penniless
– stony-broke
– strapped for cash
– without two pennies/cents to rub together
– boracic / brassic = boracic lint* = skint (rhyming slang) – I knew that word boracic meant penniless, but never realised it was rhyming slang until now.

* According to Wikipedia, “Boracic lint was a type of medical dressing made from surgical lint that was soaked in a hot, saturated solution of boracic acid and glycerine and then left to dry. It has been in use since at least the 19th century, but is now less commonly used.”

Sources: Reverso, L’Internaute, Geiriadur yr Academi, Wikitionary.

Do you use any of these, or do you have other expressions for being skint?

Paid a gwgu!

I learnt the Welsh expression Paid a gwgu! [paɪd a ˈgʊgɨ] from friends in Aberystwyth yesterday. It means ‘Don’t frown/glower/scowl!’. I like the sound of gwgu, which doesn’t seem like a frowny word to me – it’s more like a baby’s babbling. Related words include gwg (frown) and gwgus (frowning).

Words for frown in Irish, grainc and gruig, are possibly related to the Welsh word gwg. Other words frowny Irish words include púic and místá. The verbal expression is grain/gruig a chur ort féin (to put a frown on oneself), and an idiomatic way of saying, for example, ‘he frowned at me’ is bhí muc ar gach mala aige chugam (“he had a pig on each eyebrow to me”).

Audio illusions

Last Sunday I took part in a carol concert, both singing in the Bangor Community Choir, and singing with everybody else as part of the audience / congregation. The chapel where this took place is a bilingual one where people are encouraged to sing in Welsh or English – words for both are projected on the front wall. I think roughly half of those there sang in Welsh and the other half in English. I sang mostly in Welsh, and found that when doing so, I could hear the other people singing in Welsh around me and could hardly hear those singing in English. The opposite was true when I sang in English – I could hear the other people singing in English, but couldn’t hear the Welsh singing nearly as clearly. Occasionally I stopped singing for a little while and could hear both languages, though if I concentrated on one, the other wasn’t as clear.

It was a bit like one of those pictures which look like one thing if you look at them in a certain way, and like something else if you look at them differently. With those it’s almost impossible to see both versions at the same time. When I was singing I could hear both languages being sung around me if I concentrated on doing so, but the one I was singing in was much more noticeable and easier to hear.

Have you had any similar experiences?

Os

Yesterday I discovered that the French word for bone, os, is pronounced /ɔs/ in the singular, as I suspected, but /o/ in the plural [source]. Os is also used in English as a zoological and medical term for bone and is pronounced /ɒs/ (UK) or /ɑs/ (US). Final consonants of French words aren’t usually pronounced, unless followed by a word beginning with a vowel, so you just have to memorise ones like os.

Os appears in such words and expressions as:
– ossature /ɔsatyʀ/ = frame(work), skeletal/bone structure
– osselet /ɔslɛ/ = knucklebone, ossicle (small bone in the middle ear), osselet (small animal bone)
– osseux /ɔsø/ = bone, osseus, bony
– ossification = ossification
– ossifier /ɔsifje/ = to ossify (to harden, make into bone)
– ossuaire /ɔsɥɛʀ/ = ossuary (receptacle or place for the bones of the dead)

– c’est un paquet / sac d’os = he’s a bag of bones, he’s skin and bone
– mouillée / trempé jusqu’aux os = to be soaked to the skin, wet through
– donner un os à ronger à qn = to give sb something to keep them out of mischief (or) keep them quiet
– l’avoir dans l’os = to be done, to get egg all over one’s face (slang)
– il y a un os = there’s a snag / hitch
– tomber sur un os = to come across a snag

Os comes from the Latin os (bone), from the ancient Greek ὀστέον (bone), which is also the root of the prefix osteo-, and is not to be confused with ōs /ɔːs/, (mouth, face, entrance).

In Welsh os means ‘if’.

Rwsieg

Yn ystod mis Tachwedd a mis Rhagfyr eleni dw i’n canolbwyntio ar Rwsieg. Dw i’n dysgu’r iaith efo languge101.com, cwrs arlein sy’n defnyddio ‘spaced repitition system’ neu system ailadroddiad ar wahan. Mae’r cwrs yn addysgu brawddegau Rwsieg efo recoriadau araf a recordiadau cyflymder normal. Yn gyntaf mae o’n gofyn yn Saesneg sut i ddweud rhywbeth yn Rwsieg, ac yna ti’n dweud y frawddeg, os ti’n ei gwybod hi. Yna ti’n gwrando yr ateb ac yn dweud wrth y system os ti’n gwybod y frawddeg yn berffaith, yn dda, yn eitha da, ayyb. Mae’r system yn dy brofi ar yr un frawddeg ar ôl rhyw munudau, ac yna ar ôl cyfnodau hirach a hirach i atgynerthu dy goffa.

Dyma tipyn bach o Rwsieg:

Здравствуйте = Helô / Shwmae (ffurfiol)
Привет = Helô / Shwmae (anffurfiol)
Как ваши дела? = Sut ydych chi?
Как дела? = Shwmae? Ti’n iawn?
Oткуда вы? = O ble ydych chi’n dod?
Oткуда ты? = O ble wyt ti’n dod? (inf)
Я из … = Dw i’n dod o …
Очень приятно = Mae’n dda gen i gwrdd â chi / Neis cwrdd â chi

Mae mwy o frawddegau a recordiadau (gan siaradwr Rwsieg brodorol) ar gael ar: Omniglot, ac mae ychydig o wersi Rwsieg yng Nghymraeg (trwy cartwnau) ar gael ar: Caterpillar and Red Post Boxes.

Dyma Geiriadur Rwsieg-Cymraeg-Saesneg-Llydaweg-Gwyddeleg dw i’n newydd darganfod.