Breton phrasebook

Breton (Brezhoneg) is a regional language of Brittany, France, spoken mainly in western, or "Lower" Brittany (Breizh-Izel in Breton, Basse-Bretagne in French). The number of people speaking Breton is diminishing, though still estimated to be around 200,000, including almost 15,000 schoolchildren. Breton is not closely related to French or any other Romance language; rather it is a Celtic language in the same family as Welsh, Cornish and, more distantly, Irish.

Everyone in Brittany also speaks French, and this is a much more useful language to have, but if Celtic culture is your thing and you want to impress the locals, this phrasebook should be a handy source.

Pronunciation guide

Phrase list

Basics

Hello. 

Demat dit.

Hello. (informal) 

Brav eo an amzer.

How are you? 

Penaos eo ar bed ganit ?

Fine, thank you. 

Dreist, trugarez dit.

What is your name? 

Pe anv ho peus ?

My name is ______ . 

Va anv 'zo _____ .

Nice to meet you. 

Plijus eo daremprediñ.

Please. 

Mar plij.

Thank you. 

Trugarez.

You're welcome. 

Da netra.

Yes. 

Ya

No. 

Nann

Excuse me. (getting attention) 

Digarezit ac'hanon.

Excuse me. (begging pardon) 

Digarezit ac'hanon.

I'm sorry. 

.

Goodbye 

Kenavo ar wech all.

Goodbye (informal) 

Kenavo

I can't speak name of language [well]. 

Brezhoneg ne gomzan ket [, nemet un tammig]

Do you speak English? 

Komz a rit saozneg ?

Is there someone here who speaks English? 

Tud 'zo amañ evit komz saozneg ?

Help! 

D'am sikour !

Look out! 

Sell 'ta !

Good morning. 

Mintin vat.

Good evening. 

Nozvezh vat.

Good night. 

Noz vat.

Good night (to sleep) 

Kouskit vat.

I don't understand. 

Ne gomprenan ket.

Where is the toilet? 

Pelec'h emaint ar privezioù ?

Problems

Numbers

one 

unan

two 

daou (male)/ div (female)

three 

tri (male)/ teir (female)

four 

pevar (male)/ peder (female)

five 

pemp

six 

c'hwec'h

seven 

seizh

eight 

eizh

nine 

nav

ten 

dek

eleven 

unnek

twelve 

daouzek

thirteen 

trizek

fourteen 

pevarzek

fifteen 

pempzek

sixteen 

c'hwezek

seventeen 

seitek

eighteen 

eitek/triwec'h

nineteen 

naontek

twenty 

ugent

twenty-one 

unan warn-ugent

twenty-two 

daou warn-ugent

thirty 

tregont

... Daou ugent ... Hanter kant ... Tri ugent ... pevar ugent ...

hundred 

kant

... Mil ...

Time

Clock time

Duration

Days

Monday 

dilun/Lun

Tuesday 

dimeurzh/Meurzh

Wednesday 

dimerc'her/Merc'her

Thursday 

diriaou/Yaou

Friday 

digwener/Gwener

Saturday 

disadorn/Sadorn

Sunday 

disul/Sul

Months

January 

Genver

February 

C'hwevrer

March 

Meurzh

April 

Ebrel

May 

Mae

June 

Mezheven

July 

Gouere

August 

Eost

September 

Gwengolo

October 

Here

November 

Du

December 

Kerzu

Writing time and date

Colors

white 

gwenn

black 

du

yellow 

melen

red/pink 

ruz

green (artificial) 

gwer

green/blue (natural) 

glas

silver 

arc'hant

Transportation

Bus and train

Directions

Taxi

Lodging

Money

Eating

Bars

Shopping

Driving

Authority

Learning more

Wikiversity Breton courses