2026 Day 28

2026 Dedh Eth warn Ügens 

De Merher, ethves warn ügens mis Genver

Wednesday, 28th January

Gwrewgh nakevy an hager awel. Hedhyw, gwell ew an gewer. Ma flourys et ow lowarth - bohes brially (emesk an delkyow marow) ha lies camellia. Nag eus delkyow nowydh war an gwedh whath bes solabres, en colwedhen e'n ke, my ell gweles an kensa losyow ôn.

Forget the storm. Today, the weather is better. There are flowers in my garden - a few primroses (among the dead leaves) and a lot of camellias. There aren't any new leaves on the trees yet but already, in a hazel tree in the hedge, I can see the first catkins (lamb's tails).

2026 Day 27

2026 Dedh Seyth warn Ügens

De Meurth, seythves warn ügens mis Genver

Tuesday, 27th January

Otta gladn Dowr Melinjy en hav. Pur isel ew an dowr en mis Gorefen. Bes gwrewgh mires ort an gwarnyans hedhyw. Na venjama kerdhes an trolergh lebmyn. Pedn a'n rôl ew an gover. Dres lycklod e vedh liva. Ma coos coth e'n nans. Hebma a wra kemeres radn an liv, bes e vedh dowr down war an vorr ewedh. Nag eus whans dhebm mos rag y weles! Meur ras! Ma lies gwarnyans rag pub ryvar Kernow. Radn anodhans ew lacka 'vel a' r'erol.

Here's the bank of Bolingey Stream in summer. The water is very low in July. But look at the warning today. I wouldn't like to walk the footpath now. The stream is top of the list. There is likely to be flooding. There's an old wood in the valley. This will take some of the flood, but there will be deep water on the road, too. I do not want to go to see it! Thanks! There are many warnings, for every Cornwall river. Some of these are worse than the others.

2026 Day 26

 2026 Dedh Whegh warn Ügens

De Lün, wheffes warn ugens mis Genver

Monday, 26th January

Ew da geno whei mappys? Nag ew da genam an mappys ma! Na vedh an awel pur dha avorow. E vedh glaw ha glaw moy, ha gwens. Nag ew agan keun lowen. Na veu kerdh hir dhodhans hedhyw ha na vedh kerdh hir dhodhans avorow. Ma hanow dhe'n enawel; 'Chandra'. Ma enawel aral, ewedh, pelha tûa'n sooth west. A wra 'Joseph' dos òbma? A wra nei clôwes Tregeagle ha'n helgh gwyls? 

Do you like maps? I do not like this map! The weather will not be very good tomorrow. There will be rain and more rain, and wind. Our dogs are not happy. They did not have a long walk today and they will not have a long walk tomorrow. The storm has a name; 'Chandra'. There is another storm, too, further towards the south-west. Will 'Joseph' come here? Will we hear Tregeagle and the wild hunt?

2026 Day 25

2026 Dedh Pemp warn Ügens

De Sül, pempes warn ügens mis Genver
Sunday, 25th January

E veu diw enawel dhe nei. An gwens o pur grev ha trosüs. Nag era nei war Woon Brenn, bes wrüga nei clôwes an Jowl gen an Brathkeun Efarn ev ow helghy enevow kellys? Po martesen nei a glôwas Tregeagle ow kyny.  

We had two storms. The wind was very strong and noisy. We are not on Bodmin Moor, but did we hear the Devil with his Hell Hounds hunting for lost souls? Or perhaps we heard Tregeagle wailing.

2026 Day 24

2026 Dedh Pajar warn Ügens

De Sadorn, pajwora warn ügens mis Genver

Saturday, 24th January

Ma damach dhe nei, wòja an gwens ha'n glaw. Diw enawel, an eyl woja y gila. En gwelha pres, whath ma to dhe'n chei. Bes to an crow a sygeras. Dowr a dheuth abera. Res vedh dhen owna po daswil an to. En kensa ma othom a howlsplan rag seha an predn. Còvren an lester oyl ew terrys; radn a godhas war an gwels. Bes an cas alja bos lacka.

We have damage after the wind and rain. Two storms one after the other. Fortunately, the house still has a roof. But the shed roof leaked. Water came inside. We will have to mend or redo the roof. First sunshine is needed to dry the wood. The cover of the oil tank is broken; part fell on the grass. But the situation could be worse.

2026 Day 23

2026 Dedh Trei warn Ügens

De Gwener, tryja warn ügens mis Genver
Friday, 23rd January

Hager awel arta hedhyw. Otta an todnow en Pensans! Na aljama mos dhe'n opticyan. Re wenjek o hei. Thera own dhebm rag codha. Na venjama terry clün aral.

Horrible weather again today. See the waves in Penzance! I couldn't go to the optician. It was too windy. I was afraid of falling. I wouldn't want to break another hip.

2026 Day 22

 2026 Dedh Dew warn Ügens

De Yow, nessa warn ügens mis Genver
Thursday, 22nd January

Ma caletter dhebm gen ow jynn amontya. Na ellama danvon ow descans e'n maner herwedh ûsadow. Pandr'ew wharvedhys? Res ew dhebm y witha avel blogg.

I have a problem with my computer. I can't send my lesson in the customary way. What has happened. I must keep it as a blog. 

Another use of bos descriptive

How do we say what we ‘must’ do or ‘have to’ do?

There is a defective verb, ‘res’, which comes in two versions.

The third person singular of the present future can be used with any subject and verbal particle ‘a’. See first column.

This can be followed by any verbal noun (infinitive) with or without adverbs, objects, etc. See second column.

1s    My a res = I must 2s    Ty a res = thou must 3sm Ev a res = he must 3sf  Hei a res = she must 1pl  Nei a res = we must 2pl  Whei a res = you must (also formal register) 3pl  Anjei a res = they must An den a res = the man must An venyn a res = the woman must An flehes a res = the children must Pobel gryjyk a res = religious people must Cathes a res = cats must

mos go mos tre go home dos come dos òbma come here debry eat debry boos da eat good food eva drink eva le drink less kerdhes gen rach walk with caution pònya üskis run fast mires ort an fylm ma watch this film gweles an mor see the sea leverel pejadow say prayers cacha logas catch mice

 

Try some combinations! And think what else you might want to say.

Start a negative sentence with ‘na res’ followed by the subject, e.g. Na res benenes coth pònya re üskis. Old women must not run too fast.

Using with bos descriptive is an alternative. It can be impersonal, neutral:

Res ew One must/ It is necessary

With extra emphasis:

Res ew pòrres It is essential/ compelling/ etc.

Res ew pòrres clappya Kernôwek moy.

It is essential to speak more Cornish.

The negative is

Nag ew res One must not/ It is not essential

Nag ew res scrifa Sowsnek.

It is not essential to write English.

 

Used with the prepositional pronoun paradigm of ‘dhe’ to, at (The initial dh may become d in Modern Cornish.)

1s.     dhebm, dhemm, dhebma, dhe vy

2s.    dhis, dhe chy, dhe jy

3sm. dhodho, dhodh’ev, dhe ev

3sf.   dhodhy, dhedhy, dhe hei

1pl.   dhen, dhe nei

2pl.   dhew, dhewgh, dhe whei

3pl.   dhodhans, dhedhans, dhonjy, dhe anjei

 

Res ew dhe nei clappya Kernôwek gwell.

We must/ have to speak better Cornish.

Res ew dhewgh desky agas geryow.

You must/ have to learn your words.

Res ew dhe Rosa cawas olifans gwydn.

Rosa must/ has to have/ get a white elephant.

Res ew dhebm trouvya ow lever nowydh.

I must/ have to find my new book.

Res ew dhe’n tiek maga y vestes.

The farmer must/ has to feed his animals.

2026 Day 21

 2026 Dedh Ügens hag Onan

De Merher, kensa warn ügens mis Genver

Wednesday, 21st January

Solabres thew üdn mis wòja an cottha dedh ha'n dedhyow ew nebes hirra. My a viras orth folen a lever coth - cans bloodh coth. Hedhyw a dal bos degol Anek. Bes eus kefewy en Breanek en seythen ma? Nag eus, bes dedh vas ew rag ûsya charm kerenja, car dre hevel. Ma daralla adro dhe'n venyn Duw. Hei a jarmyas cowr anfujek, henwys Bolster. 

Already it's one month after the shortest day and the days are slightly longer. I looked at a page of an old book - a hundred years old. Today should be the feast of St Agnes. But is there a party in St Agnes this week? No, but it is a good day for using a love charm, it seems. There's a story about the godly woman. She charmed a hapless giant, called Bolster.

2026 Day 20

 2026 Dedh Ügens

De Meurth, ügensves mis Genver 

Tuesday, 20th January

Kewer dhrog e'n mettin ma. Otta keserednow war do gweder an losowjy. Keser ha glaw; na alja an dowr voydya üskis lowr. Ha thera caletter moy dhen. Nag era tòbmheans cres dhe'n chei. Nag üjy an vorn ow kerdhes. Thera tros coynt dhorty. Thera othom dhen a weres. Piw ew hebma? El a dheuth en üskis e'n form den whel. Aswonys o an son ganjo. Neptra o gellys sqwith, radn an jynn. Thera othom a bartys nowydh. Gwres üskis. Lebmyn ma tòbmder dhe nei arta. 

Bad weather this morning. Here are hail stones on the glass roof of the conservatory. Hail and rain; the water cannot drain away fast enough. And we had another problem. The house had no central heating. The boiler was not working. There was a strange noise from it. We needed help. Who is this? An angel came quickly in the form of a workman. He knew the sound. Something was worn out, part of the motor. New components were needed. Quickly done. Now we have heat again.

Deg ger rag hedhyw Ten words for today

gellys sqwith worn (gone tired)

jynn (m) motor, engine

keser (coll.) hail > keseren (f) > keserednow
kewer (f) weather (can also use awel)
losowjy (m) conservatory (lit. plant house)
lowr enough
to gweder (m) glass roof (t>d after war on)
tòbmder ~ tòmder (m) heat, warmth

tòbmheans cres (m) central heating
voydya to drain away

2026 Day 19

 2026 Dedh Nawnjek

De Lün, nawnjegves mis Genver
Monday, 19th January

Tho da an gewer de, bes hedhyw tho an gewer drog. Na alja nei mos dhe'n park. Ma'n flehes en scol war neb coor. Etho, nag eus fotos teg veth. My a scrifas dew chaptra a'n lever (ow tòchya cònines gwydn hag olifanjes gwydn) et y le.  

The weather yesterday was good, but today the weather was bad. The children are in school anyway. So, there are no lovely photos. I wrote two chapters of my book (about white rabbits and white elephants) instead.

2026 Day 18

 2026 Dedh Etek

De Sül, etegves mis Genver

Sunday, 18th January

Pana jorna teg rag troyl dhe'n park gen an flehes. Ogas dhe'n cortys tennis ma garth gwary gen oll sortow daffar gwary. Da ew gen an flehes crambla war fram-crambla,  troyllya war res-a-dro, lesca war lesk-lovan po war fram-omassaya. Bold lowr ens. Aga sira wydn ell omassaya ewedh!

What a beautiful day for a trip to the park with the children. Near the tennis courts there's a playground with all sorts of play equipment. The children like climbing on a climbing frame, spinning on a roundabout, swinging on a swing or on an exercise frame. They are quite daring. Their grandfather can exercise too!

2026 Day 17

2026 Dedh Seytek

De Sadorn, seytegves mis Genver
Saturday, 17th January

Terweythyow an eborn en nos ew cler ha heb cloudys. E'n nos ma rew ow tos ha'n gwels ew gwydn e'n mettin. Ma rew gwydn war an leur, bes ma liwyow teg e'n eborn. Ma'n rew ow teudha ha'n gwels ew gwer arta. Moy diwedhes my a wel liw an eborn mettin e'n flourys an camellia.

Sometimes the sky in the night is clear and cloudless. In the night frost comes and the grass is white in the morning. There is white frost on the ground, but there are beautiful colours in the sky. The frost thaws and the grass is green again. Later I see the colour of the morning sky in the camellia flowers.

gwels grass

gwer green

gwydn white

teg beautiful

terwythyow sometimes

teudha to thaw, melt