Five Hundred Most Useful Words
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Here are the numbers one to ten plus five hundred more words that will be most useful at the outset.
And if you think five hundred might be your limit, well – begin with these and see how it goes. They might whet your appetite for more.
To put the words into sentences correctly you'll need a coursebook too.
For a key to the abbreviations and some brief explanations, see the end.
For a pronunciation guide click or tap here
Counting up to TEN
ONEN (UDN(2) before nouns) one
DEW2 (DYW2 before feminine nouns) two
TRY3 (TEYR3 before feminine nouns) three
PESWAR (PEDER before feminine nouns) four
PYMP five
WHE[GH] six
SEYTH seven
ETH eight
NAW nine
DEG ten
195 most useful NOUNS
8 beginning with B
BENYN f benenes woman
BLEDHEN f bledhydnyow year
BOOS m food
BORD m bordys table
BOTEL f botellow bottle
BRE f breow hill
BREUS f breusow judgment, opinion
BŸS m world
25 beginning with C
CÂN f canow song
CANA m canys can
CARR m kerry car
CARTEN f cartednow card
CATH f cathas cat
CHAIR m chairys chair
CHY m treven house
CÎDER m cider
CLASS m classys class
COFFY m coffee
COFFYVA f coffyvaow café
COLLEL f kellyl knife
COPY m copiow copy
COREF m beer
CORNET m cornettow corner
CÒST m costow cost
CÔTA m côtys coat
COTHMAN m cothmans friend
COV m covyon memory
COWETH m cowetha companion
CRES m (also used as adjective) middle
CROUST m snack(s)
CUBMYAS m permission
CUDYN m cudydnow snag, problem
CÙSSUL f cùssulyow advice
18 beginning with D
DALATHOR m dalathoryon beginner
DARAS m darajow door
DARN m darnow piece
DËDH m dedhyow day
DEHEN m cream
DELERGH m back (not anatomical)
DEN m tus man, person
DESCADOR m descadoryon teacher
DEWAS m dewosow drink
DÊWLA du [pair of] hands
DIETH m YW it’s a pity / shame
DYSCOR m dyscoryon learner
DOR m ground
DORN m dornow fist, hand
DOWR m water
DUW m God
DYLLAS m clothing
DYWETH m end (in time)
8 beginning with E
EBRON f sky
EDHEN m ÿdhyn bird
EGLOS f eglosyow church
EHEN f ehenow kind, sort
ENSAMPYL m ensamplys example
ESEL m esely limb, member
ESETH f esedhow seat
EUR f euryow time (specific), o’clock
10 beginning with F
FENESTER f fenestry window
FLOGH m flehes child
FLOUR m flourys flower
FOLEN f folednow page
FON m fônow phone
FORDH f fordhow road, way
FORGH f fergh fork
FOS f fosow wall
FOWT m fowtys defect, mistake
FRÛT m frûtys fruit
20 beginning with G
GER m geryow word
GERLYVER m gerlyvrow dictionary
GERVA f gervaow vocabulary, glossary
GLAW m rain
GOLOK f sight, view
GOLOW m golowys light
GORDHUWHER m evening (also used as adverb 'in the evening')
GORTHYP m gorthebow reply
GOUR m gwer husband
GOVENEK m hope
GRAMER m grammar
GWËDH col gwedhen trees
GWEDREN f gwedrednow glass (for drinking)
GWERES m help
GWERYN f folk, ordinary people
GWEYTH m work (in general)
GWIAS m web, internet
GWIN m wine
GWREG f gwrageth wife
GWYNS m wind
5 beginning with H
HANAF m hanavow cup
HANOW m henwyn name
HANTER m half
HOT m hottys hat
HOWL m sun[shine]
6 beginning with K
KERNOW f Cornwall
KERNOWEK m Cornish language
KESCOWS m conversation
KEVARWETH f information
KY m keun dog
KYTTRYN m kyttrynyow bus
11 beginning with L
LAVAR m lavarow saying, sentence
LAVAREN f lavarednow phrase
LES m interest, benefit
LESSON m lessons lesson
LETH m milk
LEUR m leuryow floor
LEVERYANS m pronunciation
LO f loyow spoon
LOSOW col losowen vegetables
LOST m lostow tail, queue
LYVER m lyfryow book
16 beginning with M
MAB m mebyon son, boy
MABM f mabmow mother
MÀL m eagerness
MANER f manerow manner
MANYLYON pl details
MARTH m wonder
MATER m maters matter
MEDHEK m medhygyon doctor (also used as adjective 'medical')
MENCYON m mencyons mention
MESSACH m messajys message
MIS m mîsyow month
MONA m money
MOR m sea
MÛSYK m music
MYRGH f myrhas daughter, girl
MYTTYN m morning (also used as adverb 'in the morning')
3 beginning with N
NOS f nosow night
NOWODHOW pl news
NYVER m nyverow number
4 beginning with O
OBER m oberow work (specific)
OTHAM m need
OUR m ourys hour
OWN m fear
17 beginning with P
PAPER m paperyow paper
PASTY m pastys pasty, pie
PEDN m pednow head, end (in space)
PELLDER m distance
PENS m pensow pound
PËTH m property (also used as pronoun 'what')
PLÂT m plâtyow plate
PLUVEN f pluvednow pen
POBEL f people, public
POLS m brief moment
PORPOS m purpose, intention
POYNT m poyntys point
PRËS m prejyow time (for sth)
PRIS m prîsyow price, prize
PROV m proof, test
PROW m advantage
PYNTA m pyntys pint
1 beginning with Q
QWESTYON m qwestyons question
6 beginning with R
RADN f radnow part
RES m necessity
RÊSON m rêsons reason
REW m frost, ice
ROL f rolyow roll, list
ROM m rômys room
19 beginning with S
SAGH m seghyer bag
SCAVEL f scavellow bench, stool (also short for SCAVEL CRONAK 'mushroom')
SEHES m thirst
SEMLANT m appearance
SEYTHEN f seythednow week
SHOPPA m shoppys shop
SHÙGRA m sugar
SIN m sînys sign
SKEUSEN f skeusednow photo
SON m sonyow sound
SOWSNEK m English language
SPÂSS m space, opportunity
SPÊDA f success
SPELLYANS m spelling
STAIRYS pl stairs
STAP m stappys step, stage
STRÊT m strêtys street
STYR m meaning
SÙM m sùmys sum
15 beginning with T
TABM m tybmyn bit
TAN m fire
TAS m tasow father
TAVAS m tavosow tongue, language
TAVERN m tavernyow pub
TÊ m tea
TERMYN m time (in general or specific)
TESTEN f testednow subject, topic
TEYLU m teyluyow family
TÔKYN m tôknys token, ticket
TRA f taclow thing
TRE f trevow town (also used as adverb 'home, back')
TRO f troyow turn, time (occasion), excursion
TU m side (of sth)
TYLLER m tyleryow place
2 beginning with W
WHANS m desire
WHEDHEL m whedhlow story
1 beginning with Y
YÊTH f yêthow language (formal)
73 most useful ADJECTIVES
1 beginning with A
ARAL pl erel other
3 beginning with B
BIAN little, small
BRÂS big, large
BYSY busy (also 'important', mostly with verb-noun)
11 beginning with C
CABM wrong
CALES hard
CERTAN certain
CLÂV sick, ill
CONTENTYS satisfied
COSEL quiet
COT short
COTH old
COYNT odd
CREV strong
CUV kind
5 beginning with D
DÂ good
DESEMPYS sudden, abrupt
DEWETHA last
DROG bad
DU black
2 beginning with E
ÊSY easy
EWN right, correct
7 beginning with G
GLÂN clean
GLËB wet
GWAG empty, hungry
GWELL better
GWELLA best
GWIR true
GWYDN white
3 beginning with H
HAGER ugly
HIR long
HOLERGH late
3 beginning with K
KEMMYN common
KEN other (indefinite)
KENSA first
4 beginning with L
LACKA worse
LENT slow
LEUN full
LOWEN happy
2 beginning with M
MENOWGH frequent
MEUR great (also as quantifer 'much')
2 beginning with N
NESSA next
NOWYTH new
2 beginning with O
OGAS near
OLL all
9 beginning with P
PARYS ready
PELL far
PERSONEK personal
PERTHYNUS relevant
PLOS dirty
POOS heavy
POSSYBYL possible
PÙB every
PY which
10 beginning with S
SAW safe (also used as preposition 'save' and conjunction 'but')
SCANT scarce
SCAV light
SECÙND second
SËGH dry
SELVENEK basic
SEMPEL simple
SPLADN bright, splendid
SQWITH tired
SUR sure
3 beginning with T
TEG beautiful, fair
TOBM hot, warm
TRADYCYONAL traditional
3 beginning with U
UHEL high
USKYS fast
UTHYK terrible
1 beginning with V
VAS useful
1 beginning with W
WOLCÙM welcome
1 beginning with Y
YÊYN cold
110 most useful VERBS
1 beginning with A
ASWON recognize
2 beginning with B
BENTHYGYA borrow
BOS be
14 beginning with C
CAFOS get, find
CANA sing
CARA love, like
CHAUNJYA change
CLÔWES hear, smell, taste, feel
CODHA fall
CONVEDHES perceive, understand
CÔWSEL speak, talk
CRESY believe
CRIA shout
CROFFOLAS grumble
CUDHA cover
CÙNTELL collect
CÙSCA sleep
15 beginning with D
DALLATH begin
DANVON send
DAUNCYA dance
DEBRY eat
DEGEA close
DESKY learn
DESMYGY imagine
DON carry
DOS come, arrive
DÔWYS choose
DREHEDHES reach
DRY bring
DYBERTH separate, depart
DYGHTYA manage
DYSQWEDHES show
6 beginning with E
EGERY open
ERHY order
ERVIRA decide
ESEDHA sit
EVA drink
ÊWNA correct
1 beginning with F
FYSTENA hurry
15 beginning with G
GALLOS be able
GASA leave, let
GAVA DHE2 forgive
GELWEL call
GODHVOS know
GORFEDNA finish
GORRA put
GORTHEBY reply
GORTOS wait
GOVYN ask
GWARY play
GWELES see
GWETYAS expect
GWIL make, do
GWITHA protect
5 beginning with H
HEDHY stop
HENWEL name
DELL HEVEL it seems
HOLYA follow
HÙMBRANK lead
4 beginning with K
KEMERES take
KEMYSKY mix
KERDHES walk
KEWORRA add
6 beginning with L
LEBMEL jump
LENDYA lend
LENWEL fill
LEVEREL say
LEWYAS drive
LONGYA belong
6 beginning with M
MERKYA notice
METYA meet
MIRAS look
MOS go
MÔVYA move
MYDNAS will
1 beginning with O
OBERY work, achieve
11 beginning with P
PASSYA pass
PÊ pay
PERTHY bear
PESY pray, request
PÊSYA continue
PLEGYA bend, please
PONYA run
POWES rest
PREDERY think
PRENA buy
PROFYA offer
6 beginning with R
RADNA divide, share
RECÊVA receive
RECKNA calculate
REDYA read
REMEMBRA remember
RY give
5 beginning with S
SCRIFA write
SENSY hold
SERRY annoy
SETTYA set
SEVEL stand
7 beginning with T
TEDNA pull
TERRY break
TÔWLEL throw
TRAILYA turn
TROUVYA find
TÙCHYA touch, concern
TYBY have an idea
1 beginning with U
ÛSYA use
1 beginning with V
VYSYTYA visit
3 beginning with W
WHARVOS happen
WHERTHYN laugh
WHILAS seek, try to
122 most useful OTHER WORDS
11 beginning with A
A2 1 relative, interrogative, vocative particle 2 prep from, of
AGA3 pron their, them
AGAN pron our, us
AGAS pron your, you
AN(2) article the
ARTA adv [back] again
ASSA2 (ASS before vowel of form of bos) particle how (exclamation)
AVARR adv early
AVELL pron like, as
AVOROW adv tomorrow
AWOS prep for (restricted use, mostly ‘because of’, occasionally ‘for the sake of’ or 'in spite of' in fixed phrases)
4 beginning with B
BYS(2) prep until
BYTEGYNS adv however
BŸTH adv ever, even; it also appears as VËTH meaning ‘any’ usually with a negative or ‘even’ with a comparative
BYTHQWETH adv ever (past reference)
10 beginning with D
DE adv yesterday
DELL2 conj as, that
DHA2 pron your, you (singular familiar)
DHANA adv then (usually consequence)
DHE2 prep to (occasionally at)
DRE2 (also DER2) through, by means of
DREFEN because of
DRES across, past
DY there (motion towards)
DYSTOWGH immediately
5 beginning with E
EÂ interj yes
ENA adv there (position), then
ERNA2 (ERNAG before vowels in bos) conj until
ÈS prep than
EV pron he, it (masculine reference); also appears as unstressed VA
2 beginning with F
FATELL2 adv/conj how, that
FEST adv very
2 beginning with G
GANS prep with (accompaniment), by (agency)
GROMERCY interj thank you
9 beginning with H
HA (usually HAG before vowels) prep/conj with (attribute, circumstance), and
HANETH adv tonight
HEB(2) prep without
HEBMA pron this [one] (masculine reference, HOBMA when feminine reference)
HEDHYW adv today
HEDNA pron that [one] (masculine reference, HODNA when feminine reference)
HONEN pron self
HY pron she, it (feminine reference)
HY3 pron her
11 beginning with I
IN prep in
IN BÀN adv up
IN DADN2 prep under
IN KERDH adv away (motion)
IN KEVER prep about (with possessive pronoun only)
IN LE prep instead of
[IN] MES adv out (motion)
[IN] MESK prep among
INDELMA adv like this
INTER prep between (occasionally among)
INWEDH adv also, in addition
5 beginning with K
KEBMYS quant so much, so many
KEFRËS too, even
KEPAR HA prep [just] like
KYN5 conj though
KYNS adv/prep before
5 beginning with L
LE quant less
LEBMYN adv now
LIES quant many
LOWR quant enough, a lot
LYHA quant least
11 beginning with M
-MA mobile suffix this
MÀN adv at all (with negative)
MAR2 so, as
MAR4 (MARS before vowels in bos) conj if
MARNAS prep except, only (with negative)
MARTESEN adv perhaps
MAY5 (MAYTH before vowels pre-mutation and h, MA before na) conj where, when, so that
MÈS conj but
MOY quant more
MOYHA quant most
MY pron I, me; also appears as ME, VY
12 beginning with N
-NA mobile suffix that
NA (usually NAG before vowels) adv/conj nor
NA2 (NAG before vowels in bos) particle not
NÂ interj no
NAMNYGEN adv just now
NANEYL adv neither
NANS particle YW / O ago
NEB pron some, any
NEBES quant a little, a few
NEFRA adv ever (present / future reference)
NY pron we, us
NY2 (NYNS before vowels in bos) particle not
7 beginning with O
OBMA adv here
OGASTY adv almost
ONLY adv only
ORTH prep up against, at
OTTA (OT before vowels) interj there is/are
OW3 pron my, me
OW4 (OWTH before vowels and h) particle forming present participle
5 beginning with P
PÀN2 conj when
PÒ conj or
PÒR2 adv very
PORAN adv exactly
PYW pron who
5 beginning with R
RAG prep/conj for
RE pron some, ones
RE(2) particle forming perfect tense
RE2 quant too much
RYB prep beside
2 beginning with S
SOLABRËS adv already
SPESSLY adv especially
2 beginning with T
TRAWEYTHYOW adv sometimes
TY pron you (singular familiar); also appears as TE, JY, SY
1 beginning with U
UNWEYTH adv once, even (with negative)
7 beginning with W
WÀR2 prep on
WÀR NANS adv down
WARBYDN prep against
WARLERGH prep after
WHATH adv still
WHY pron you
WOSA prep after (time)
6 beginning with Y
Y pron they, them
Y2 pron his, him, it, its (masculine reference)
Y5 (YTH before vowels pre-mutation and h) affirmative particle
YN5 particle forming adv from adj
[YN] SCON adv quickly, soon
YTHO adv/conj therefore, [and] so
Key to the abbreviations
adj adjective adv adverb col collective conj conjunction du dual f feminine interj interjection m masculine pl plural prep preposition pron pronoun quant quantifier sth something.
Primary stress is usually on the penultimate syllable of a word. Where this is not the case, the stressed vowel is underlined.
Grammar
Plural forms for nouns that employ them are given after m and f indicating the gender of the singular. Note that tra 'thing' is traditionally labelled feminine, but it is in fact a fossil neuter. It works like a feminine with an 'the' and udn, and with attributive adjectives, but like a masculine with dew, try and peswar, and any pronouns are masculine reference. Singulatives built to collective nouns are given after col – every singulative is feminine, and forms a plural by replacing final -en with -ednow.
For each verb the form given is the verb-noun (gerund), except for dell hevel which has no verb-noun. Apart from past participles and the occasional imperative, bos, cara, dos, gallos, godhvos, gwil, mydnas are the only verbs for which you need learn other forms to use in simple conversation.
Cornish grammatical categories are highly interchangeable. Nouns (including verb-nouns) may be used as adjectives and, in some cases, adjectives may be used as nouns. Adjectives may generally be used as adverbs, and vice versa. Numerals are both nouns and adjectives. Cornish prepositional phrases are frequently equivalent to English clauses introduced by subordinating conjunctions.
Superscript numbers indicate the 'state' that usually follows the word in question. Where the number is in parenthesis, the relevant state is triggered only in certain circumstances. Correct use of the relative particle a2, the negative particles na2, ny2, and the affirmative particle y5 is fundamental to Cornish sentence structure. Consult your coursebook for details.
Want a bigger vocabulary?
You might try Gerlyver Kescows, the on-line dictionary of conversational Cornish.
© 2020 Ian Jackson