30 North Wales place names that a lot of people get really wrong

Many people have been daunted by the prospect of trying to correctly pronounce some Welsh place names.

While some may appear pretty straightforward, the subtleties of pronunciation of certain letters are the key to saying them correctly.

And many names of towns, villages and cities are steeped in our Welsh history and culture, and are filled with important symbolism.

Here's our guide on how to pronounce place names that a lot of people get wrong.

Abergele

'Gele' is an old term for spear, and is said to describe the quick movement of the river. The Conwy town should be pronounced as 'aber-gel-eh', not 'aber-gel-ee'.

Abersoch

The Llyn village is pronounced as 'aber-soch', and the latter part sounds similar to the Scottish 'loch'.

Amlwch

'Am-look' or 'aml-wich' will not get you a look in this Anglesey town, but 'Am-loo-ch' will.

Pen-Y-Pass

The mountain pass is not called 'pen ee pass', it's pronounced 'pen-yh-pass'.

Betws-Y-Coed

Betsy Co-ed must be a American female college student.

Betws-Y-Coed, on the other hand, is a Conwy village whose name means 'prayer house in the wood', and is pronounced as 'bet-oos-uh-coyd'

Conwy

Although known as 'Conway' in English, the real name derives from the originally name for the river 'Cynwy' and is pronounced as 'con-wi'.

The latter part should sound similar to the word 'with' but without the 'th'.

Rhyd-Ddu

It's amazing how many people think it's 'rudie-doo'.

Rhyd-Ddu is a beautiful small village located in the shadows of Mount Snowdon, and is pronounced as 'rhid-thu'.

The best way to say the latter part of the word '-ddu', which means 'black' in Welsh, is to harshly pronounce the 'th', and then curl your tongue to the shape of a 'u'.

Dolgellau

The Gwynedd town, where former Prime Minister Theresa May occasionally visited, is pronounced as 'dol-gell-aih', or if you are a native it's 'dol-gell-eh'.

If you struggle with the double 'L' sound, put your tongue in the position for 'L', the air from your mouth should be hissing on both sides of your tongue and passing through your teeth.

Rhosneigr

The Anglesey village is pronounced as 'rhos-ney-gr' rather than 'rhos-nay-gr'.

Benllech

It's pronounced as 'ben-llech', not 'ben-leck'.

Cerrigydrudion

Sometimes spelled as 'Cerrig-y-Drudion', the name begins with a harsh 'c' rather than an 's'.

Llanfairfechan

"We will shortly be arriving at 'lan-vuh-veckun'."

Unfortunately, with that mispronunciation, you won't. It's 'llan-vaeer-vech-ahn'.

Llandudno

Ah, the classic mispronunciation: Klan-dud-no! It's Llan-did-no.

Harlech

Not Harluck or Harleck, it's Harlech.

Aberdaron

Aber Darren might be be nice guy, but 'aber-dah-ron' is a great place.

Pistyll

No, this Llyn village has nothing to do with pistols, or taking the ... err, mickey out of someone. It's 'pis-ti-ll' with the Welsh pronunciation of double L at the end.

Pwllheli

'Poo-thelly' - another mispronunciation that baffles us - it's 'poo-ll-helly'!

Porthmadog

Not 'port-maduck' or 'port-maddock', but 'porth-madog'.

Blaenau Ffestiniog

'Blei-na Ffest-in-i-og' is often shortened just to Blaenau, if you live in the town or neighbouring areas.

Ffestiniog is thought to derive from a word for 'stronghold'.

Trearddur

Some have been calling it 'tree-are-durr'. It's 'Tre-arddur'.

Bodorgan

Not 'bud-ore-gun', but Bodorgan. Pretty straightforward.

Llwyngwril

'Clung-wirral' sounds like an awful place. Llwyngwril, near Barmouth, on the other hand, is lovely.

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