Good morning in Welsh
Bore da
In Welsh, the phrase to know first is "Bore da!" (Good morning!). The others are below, each with a note on when to use it.
Good morning in Welsh is Bore da. Below are the greetings for the rest of the day and the informal shwmae. Each phrase comes with a short note on when to use it.
Greetings
Bore da!
Good morning!
Bore is morning, da is good.
Prynhawn da!
Good afternoon!
Also shortened to P'nawn da.
Noswaith dda!
Good evening!
Da softens to dda after the feminine noswaith.
Shwmae!
Hi! How's it going?
Informal, any time of day. Also spelled sumae in the north.
Sut mae?
How are you?
The follow-up question.
About the words
Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru records bore da as "good morning", first cited from a 1725 dictionary, which gives borau da alongside Dydd da i chwi, "good day to you". Shwmae, an informal greeting recognised throughout Wales, is a contraction of siwd mae hi?, "how is it?"
Common questions
How do you say good morning in Welsh?
Bore da!
Good morning in the other Celtic languages
Further reading
Go beyond the phrases
blas. teaches Welsh with spaced repetition — vocabulary, mutations, grammar, reading, and conversation. Not just for Good morning, but for life. Free to start.
Start learning WelshWelsh phrases for the year ahead
Welsh phrases for everyday occasions
Sources
Every phrase and fact on this page was checked against the sources below. Last checked 2026-10-20.
- Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: bore
- Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org
- Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org
- Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org
- Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org
- blas. course data
- Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org
Credit: Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.