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Christmas Breton Phrases
Nedeleg
Christmas is called "Nedeleg" in Breton. The phrase to know first is "Nedeleg laouen!" (Happy Christmas!).
The Breton Christmas greeting is Nedeleg laouen, "happy Christmas". Add dit for someone you call te, deoc'h for several people or politely for one, and d'an holl for everyone. Below are the greetings, a toast, and a few Christmas words.
Greetings
Nedeleg laouen!
Happy Christmas!
The standard greeting. Laouen means "happy".
Nedeleg laouen dit!
Happy Christmas to you! (informal, one person)
Dit is "to you" for one person you call te.
Nedeleg laouen deoc'h!
Happy Christmas to you! (several people, or politely to one)
Deoc'h is "to you" for several people, and the polite form for one; much of central Brittany uses it for everyone.
Yec'hed mat!
Cheers!
The toast. Yec'hed means "health".
For cards and messages
Nedeleg laouen deoc'h-holl!
Happy Christmas to you all!
Holl means "all". A good line for a family card.
Nedeleg laouen d'an holl!
Happy Christmas to everyone!
For a message to a whole group, class or village.
Bloavezh mat!
Happy New Year!
Add it after Nedeleg laouen to wish a good New Year as well.
Useful words
Tad Nedeleg
Father Christmas
Tad means "father".
kraou
Christmas crib, Nativity scene
The word first meant a cattle shed or stable.
The history of Nedeleg
Breton Nedeleg comes from Middle Breton Nedelec and Old Breton Notolic, from Latin nātālīcius, "birthday". Welsh Nadolig and Cornish Nadelik share the root, and so does the adjective: laouen, "happy", is the same word as Welsh llawen and Cornish lowen. Nedeleg laouen, Nadolig Llawen and Nadelik lowen are the same greeting in three Brythonic languages.
Common questions
How do you say Merry Christmas in Breton?
Nedeleg laouen. To someone you call te, Nedeleg laouen dit; to several people, or politely to one, Nedeleg laouen deoc'h.
Christmas in the other Celtic languages
Further reading
Breton is on blas. now
Grammar, mutations, vocabulary, and reading with spaced repetition. The Breton course is in the blas. app now.
Start learning BretonBreton phrases for the year ahead
Breton phrases for everyday occasions
Sources
Every phrase and fact on this page was checked against the sources below. Last checked 2026-10-20.
- Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org
- Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org
- blas. course data
- Apertium Breton dictionary (apertium-bre), as stored in blas. course data: data/content/breton/lexicon.json forms["nedeleg laouen"]
- Apertium Breton dictionary (apertium-bre), as stored in blas. course data: data/content/breton/lexicon.json forms["nedeleg laouen dit"]
- Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org
- Apertium Breton dictionary (apertium-bre), as stored in blas. course data: data/content/breton/lexicon.json forms["nedeleg laouen deoc'h"]
- Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org
- Wikipedia
- Apertium Breton dictionary (apertium-bre), as stored in blas. course data: data/content/breton/lexicon.json forms["nedeleg laouen deoc'h-holl"]
- Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org
- Apertium Breton dictionary (apertium-bre), as stored in blas. course data: data/content/breton/lexicon.json forms["nedeleg laouen d'an holl"]
- Apertium Breton dictionary (apertium-bre), as stored in blas. course data: data/content/breton/lexicon.json forms["bloavezh mat"]
- Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org
- Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org
- Apertium Breton dictionary (apertium-bre), as stored in blas. course data: data/content/breton/lexicon.json forms["tad nedeleg"]
- Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org
- Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org
Credit: Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.