hwnnw

Welsh

Etymology

From Old Welsh hunnoid, from the root of hwn.

Pronunciation

• (North Wales) IPA^(key): /ˈhʊnʊ/
• (South Wales) IPA^(key): /ˈhʊnu/
• Rhymes: -ʊnʊ

Determiner

hwnnw m

1. (formal) (in conjunction with the definite article y) that

   Byddai'r tir hwnnw'n werth ei brynu.

   That land would be worth buying.

   Y dyn hwnnw yw'r drwg yn y caws.

   It's that man who's the troublemaker.

   Nid wyf am roi ateb i'r cwestiwn hwnnw.

   I do not want to give an answer to that question.

Usage notes

• Refers to grammatically masculine singular nouns, honno (“that”) being the feminine singular and hynny (“those”) the (masculine and feminine) plural equivalents.
• In informal language, hwnnw as a determiner is replaced with yna (“there”) used in conjunction with the definite article y.

  y dyn hwnnw → y dyn yna ― that man

  y bore hwnnw → y dyn 'na ― that morning

Pronoun

hwnnw m

1. (formal) that

   Synonym: hwnna

   Byddai hwnnw'n dir gwerth ei brynu.

   That would be land worth buying.

   Hwnnw yw'r drwg yn y caws.

   It's that man who's the troublemaker.

   Nid wyf am rhoi ateb i hwnnw.

   I do not want to give an answer to that.

Usage notes

• Refers to grammatically masculine singular nouns, honno being the feminine singular equivalent. In addition, hynny is used nonreferentially, for example, when talking about a general situation, action or event, rather than any particular noun.
• Informally, hwnna replaces pronomial hwnnw.

  Pwy yw hwnnw? → Pwy yw/ydy hwnna? ― Who is that?

  Beth fydd hwnnw? → Be(th) fydd honna? ― What will that be?

Related terms

• hwn, hon (“this”); hyn (“this; these”)
• hwnna, honna, hynna, honno (“that”); hynny (“that; those”)
• y rhain (“these”)
• y rheina, y rheini, y rheiny (“those”)

References

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “hwnnw”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies