The Welsh word cwtch and other words which don't have an equivalent word in English.

[Roaringlogfire]

Saw the word cwtch on my news feed today. I realise it's one of those words that you have to see in context a lot before you grasp it's emotional and complex meaning. Please can any Welsh speakers describe when they would use it?

Secondly are there any other words out there that you use in other languages which sum up something so much more succinctly that in English.
I can think of Hygge or gemütlich both giving a feeling of wellbeing and cosiness.

From a regional point of view. I use nesh (meaning someone who feels the cold easily) I think that there is no dictionary word for this adjective. So I have to paraphrase when I want to use it as I now live in the South.

Chic?

It's a hug

Hello, cwtch is used when hug or cuddle would be used. I rarely heard anyone use it to describe a small cupboard or nook, but it is also that.

In the valleys, saying cwtch is a normal every day thing.

If I was describing a really good jumper I felt warm and cuddly and safe inside, I would call it cwtchy.

Schadenfreude

Hiraeth - another Welsh word that describes a longing rather than a homesickness.

Catch means cuddle/squidge, not very big but loving.

How is it pronounced, cutch?

Cwtch is one of my favourite words!

See also, kuchisabishii, a Japanese word which roughly translates to eating not because you're hungry but because your mouth is lonely

I use cwtch as both cuddle or a small nook, so 'come here and give me a cwtch' or 'put that in the cwtch over there'.

Bloody autocorrect! English bias!

Cwtch means everything!
It can be a hug, a small nook to put things in, the place where coal is kept, settling a person or thing down e.g. put the dog to cwtch. It's also ubiquitous in Welsh business names. It can describe a feeling, emotion or person.

@GigantosaurusRex

Hiraeth - another Welsh word that describes a longing rather than a homesickness.

Dwi'n dysgu Cymraeg (a bit), am married to a Welsh man and lived there for 10 years.

In what way does homesickness not imply longing?

Cwtch is a cuddle.

@givemepiece

Cwtch is one of my favourite words!

See also, kuchisabishii, a Japanese word which roughly translates to eating not because you're hungry but because your mouth is lonely

Explains the success of chewing gum!

I don't know what that means as I'm not Welsh but I love these types of discussions. I find language and its evolution and the words drawn in from other languages fascinating!

Sometimes I have to use the word Plámás
It means handling somebody gently with flattery because you have an agenda to get what you want from them later, and they might be the sort of person who requires admiration.
Sometimes you sense it being done to you!! And you resist the manipulation. Many other times you may not have noticed.

@LizBennet

How is it pronounced, cutch?

Like the u in "put" or the oo in "look" (in standard English pronunciation).

Dreich is a great word that conveys much more than the wet, dull, gloomy translations. In my mind it is a certain sort of grey weather that is just, well, dreich.

When I first met my English husband (I'm Welsh) I used the word cwtch. He had no idea what it meant so I tried to explain it. I actually found it quite difficult because a Welsh cwtch is more than a hug. It's a loving embrace only really shared with people you love and care about. I tried to describe it using hug and cuddle but they didn't seem to fit with the feeling of a cwtch.

It the kind of hug/cuddle your mum gives you when you're upset, or when you see your nan for a cuppa.

It was weirdly difficult to explain to someone who had no idea what a cwtch was. But of course, after 14 years together he now knows what a cwtch is!

He also asked me what the Welsh words for yes/no were... That was a fun one to explain!

Thanks Only.

Cwtch isn’t used in the whole of Wales. I have never used it. Its a south wales thing

My favourite welsh word is cynefin. Its home.

South Wales here! We use cwtch a lot, it's in my business name.

Essentially it's a cuddle but it's also a safe place, so it's like a cuddle when someone is upset or needing to feel safe or a place where people feel safe and secure.

So schools sometimes have areas or places known as "the cwtch". As in a supportive classroom or area.

We have a lot of fun interchangeable words in our family as I'm Welsh and my husband is Scottish. 😂 I can't think of any unique words though.

Cwtch is more than hug your mam giving you a cwtch when your are upset is different to a friend giving you a quick hug to say goodbye.If your Welsh you know the difference.

@UserBot314159

I don't know what that means as I'm not Welsh but I love these types of discussions. I find language and its evolution and the words drawn in from other languages fascinating!

Sometimes I have to use the word Plámás
It means handling somebody gently with flattery because you have an agenda to get what you want from them later, and they might be the sort of person who requires admiration.
Sometimes you sense it being done to you!! And you resist the manipulation. Many other times you may not have noticed.

Yes, and plámás isn’t exactly flattery, ass-kissing or buttering up, either. I don’t think there’s an exact equivalent in English.

Irish is full of brilliantly specific words for things — like for the exact amount of stuff you can carry under one arm, or the gap between your two front teeth, or the kind of person who habitually outstays their welcome, or a bright spell between two showers, or clothes that are worn out but still just about wearable.

Like others have said, cwtch is a specific type of cuddle really. Also dogs bed, cupboard etc. I think the PP who described it as a safe place has described it best. When my DS is feeling a bit sad/needy at nursery his key worker says he's been a bit cwtchy today.

DH is from Somerset and describes the light at sort of just before dusk (or maybe just after, I can't remember) as dimpsey. I'd never heard that before I met him.

@MrsDThomas true that, I only heard it the first time after moving to England.

My (English) mother used to give commands (Dos i gwely) to us kids in Welsh, because we responded better - Welsh was the language of school and authority.