Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch Say the Name

First of all, CLICK THE IMAGE above to hear how to say the name

Now we will break the name up into sections and take at look at how each section is pronounced. The sections are listed below and are followed by a detailed description. Then we will take a look at exactly what the name means.

Finally see if you can identify the voice of a famous celebrity in our unique sound file or even enter the SAY THE NAME COMPETITION yourself. Good Luck !

LLAN - FAIR - PWLL - GWYN - GYLL - GO - GER - YCH - WYRN - DROB - WLL - LLAN - TY - SILIO - GO - GO - GOCH

LLAN - To start off with, pronounce this section as you would do the Scottish word "clan".
Then listen to the sound recording above taking particular notice of how the "ll" is pronounced. It is difficult to explain in words and is more easily learnt by oral example, but we will have a go here anyway. Lie your tongue flat in your mouth so that the tip is firmly touching the bridge behind your front teeth. Keeping the tip of your tongue in place, try and touch your back teeth with the sides of your tongue - now breathe out forcing the air to run strongly over the back of your tongue. This will cause a vibrating noise near your back teeth. Again, keeping the tongue in position, gently change the shape of your tongue until the sound becomes more controlled. This is the "ll" sound you are looking for. Listen to the sound file above and keep on practising.

FAIR - Simply pronounce this section as you would the english word "fire", (not like you would expect to pronounce the word "fair" in english!) but change the "f" sound to a "v".

PWLL - Now you have been practising your "ll" sound this will be a little easier to explain. The "pw" section is pronounced like the "pu" in the english word "put". Now add the "ll" on the end as described above. Now listen to the sound file again!

GWYN - You may have heard the Welsh name "Gwyn", well this is pronounced in exactly the same way. Just say the english word "win" and put a "g" in front of it. (pronounce the "g" as you would in the word "gone"). Easy.

GYLL - This is a bit more tricky. First say the english word "gill" (as associated with fish - not the girl's name!). Then change the "ll" as explained above under PWLL. Listen to the sound file again.

GO - Looks easy doesn't it - it is! Pronounce it as you would the "go" in "gone".

GER - Simply say the word "care" but change the "c" for a "g".

YCH - Like the pronunciation of "ll", this is another tricky section to explain. Think of something you don't like and say "yuck". Now take the "y" from the beginning to leave "uck". Now change the "ck" to "ch" as pronounced in the Scottish word "loch".

WYRN - This looks more complicated that it is. Just say the english word "win".

DROB - First say the english word "draw" and then add a "b" on the end. Easy.

WLL - You've learnt this already. It's pronounced the same as "pwll" above but without the "p".

LLAN - Again, this is exactly the same as the "llan" at the beginning of this section.

TY - Simply pronounce this section as you would the "t" in "twig".

SILIO - Just say "silly - o". The "o" is pronounced as in "cot".

GO - As in "gone".

GOCH - We're almost there. Simply say "go" as above, but adding the "ch" after it. The "ch" is a little like clearing your throat - see 'YCH' above.

That's it! Put it all together and keep on practising.

Here's a Youtube video that may be of help to younger linguists :

Saint Mary's Church in the hollow of the white hazel near a rapid whirlpool and the Church of St. Tysilio of the red cave.

To help you to understand how we get the translation above, here is a breakdown of the name and a translation of some Welsh words.

LLANFAIRpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch
Saint Mary's Church in the hollow of the white hazel near a rapid whirlpool and the Church of St. Tysilio of the red cave.

LLANFAIR - St. Mary's Church. "Llan" originally meant an "enclosure", now "church" and is usually followed by the name of a saint, in this case St. Mary. There are many places in Wales beginning with this, another example is Llangollen which means "church of St. Collen (hazel tree)".

LlanfairPWLLgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch
Saint Mary's Church in the hollow of the white hazel near a rapid whirlpool and the Church of St. Tysilio of the red cave.
PWLL - This is the Welsh for "hollow"

LlanfairpwllGWYNgyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch
Saint Mary's Church in the hollow of thewhite hazel near a rapid whirlpool and the Church of St. Tysilio of the red cave.
GWYN - This is the Welsh for "white"

LlanfairpwllgwynGYLLgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch
Saint Mary's Church in the hollow of the white hazel near a rapid whirlpool and the Church of St. Tysilio of the red cave.
GYLL - This comes from the Welsh for "hazel" which is "collen".

LlanfairpwllgwyngyllgoGERychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch
Saint Mary's Church in the hollow of the white hazel near a rapid whirlpool and the Church of St. Tysilio of the red cave.
GER - This is the Welsh "near" or "by".

LlanfairpwllgwyngyllgogeryCHWYRNdrobwllllantysiliogogogoch
Saint Mary's Church in the hollow of the white hazel near a rapid whirlpool and the Church of St. Tysilio of the red cave.
CHWYRN - This is the Welsh for "rapid".

LlanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrnDROBWLLllantysiliogogogoch
Saint Mary's Church in the hollow of the white hazel near a rapid whirlpool and the Church of St. Tysilio of the red cave.
DROBWLL - This comes from the word "trobwll" which is the Welsh for "whirlpool".

LlanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllLLANTYSILIOgogogoch
Saint Mary's Church in the hollow of the white hazel near a rapid whirlpool and the Church of St. Tysilio of the red cave.
LLANTYSILIO - This comes from the words "llan" meaning "parish" and St. Tysilio.

LlanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogOGOgoch
Saint Mary's Church in the hollow of the white hazel near a rapid whirlpool and the Church of St. Tysilio of the red cave.
OGO - This comes from the word "ogof" meaning "cave" in Welsh.

LlanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogoGOCH
Saint Mary's Church in the hollow of the white hazel near a rapid whirlpool and the Church of St. Tysilio of the red cave.
GOCH - "Coch" (goch) in Welsh means "red".