Welsh–English Sign Phrasebook and Free Bilingual Signs

On a bilingual sign in Wales, the Welsh goes above or to the left of the English, at the same size. Below are 128 common sign phrases in Welsh and English, each linked to the source we checked it against: TermCymru (the Welsh Government’s term bank), Welsh councils and universities, the Welsh Language Commissioner or Welsh law. There are also 17 free A4 bilingual signs to print.

Checked October 2026 · Phrasebook · Free signs · Layout rules · Wording set by law · Sources

Common sign words in Welsh

Welcome

Croeso

Open

Ar agor

Closed

Ar gau

Toilets

Toiledau

Entrance

Mynedfa

Exit

Allanfa

Staff only

Staff yn unig

No entry

Dim mynediad

Reception

Derbynfa

Opening hours

Oriau agor

Please

Os gwelwch yn dda

Thank you

Diolch

Welsh–English sign phrasebook

Search in Welsh or English (you don’t need to type the accents) or pick a group. Each row says where the Welsh comes from and how strong the evidence is:

• Sign the source uses this wording on a sign or notice.
• Term the source gives this word or phrase for this meaning.
• Check built from sourced parts; have it checked before you engrave it.

Free bilingual signs to print

17 A4 signs using wording from the phrasebook. Each one follows the Commissioner’s layout guidance: Welsh first, both languages the same size and weight, and one rule between them. Print a single sign with its Print button, or download the whole set as one PDF.

Download all 17 signs (PDF, A4)

The No Smoking or Vaping sign shows the crossed-out burning cigarette that regulation 13 of the Smoke-free Premises and Vehicles (Wales) Regulations 2020 requires. The law sets no wording or language for ordinary premises and doesn’t cover vaping, so the vaping part is a house rule. Print at 100% (actual size). The Reserved sign is a tent card: fold it along the dashed line.

How to lay out a bilingual sign

The Welsh Language Commissioner’s signage guidance, Arwydd o fusnes da / A sign of good business, and its Bilingual Design Guide set out these conventions:

1. Welsh first. Put the Welsh above the English, or to its left.
2. Same size, same weight. The Welsh should be at least as big as the English. Don’t use bold, italics, or capitals for one language only, because that favours one over the other.
3. One way of separating them. Use colour, a background, space or a simple line, and keep to one method across a sign or a set of signs. Avoid a slash or hyphen between the languages.
4. One shared symbol. Use a single icon for both languages rather than repeating it for each.
5. A font with the whole Welsh alphabet. It must show the to bach (circumflex) on letters such as ŵ, ŷ and â. The guide’s example: gwyn means white, while gwŷn is a mutated form of cwyn (complaint).
6. Don’t squeeze or split. Don’t condense one language to fit the other’s width, and don’t hyphenate a word across two lines, least of all through the double letters ch, dd, ff, ng, ll, ph, rh and th.
7. Translate professionally, then proofread. The Commissioner’s example: “spirits” on a drinks sign should be gwirodydd, not ysbrydion (ghosts).
8. Screens show both at once. On a digital sign, show Welsh and English on the same screen rather than taking turns.

If your sign is being engraved or printed

• Size the sign for the Welsh. Of the 127 phrases in this list whose wording differs between the languages, the Welsh is longer in 67 and shorter in 45, and about 10% longer overall by character count. Os gwelwch yn dda is nearly three times the length of Please. To check the letter height against the distance the sign will be read from, use our sign text size calculator.
• Check capital I against lower-case l. In many plain sans-serif fonts, Dydd Iau (Thursday) can read as “Dydd lau”. The Commissioner flags the same risk, which is why our printable opening hours sign uses a capital I with serifs.
• Check the proof for every to bach. The Commissioner advises against pseudo-Celtic and calligraphic fonts. Whatever font you choose, make sure ŵ and ŷ come out with their accents.
• Engraving with us. Any phrase on this page can be engraved on FSC-certified oak veneered MDF in our workshop in North Wales. Type the Welsh and English into the personalisation box on signs such as our Room & Door Name Sign, Personalised Opening Hours Sign or No Entry Sign, and ask in the same box if you’d like a proof.

Words that are easy to get wrong

Wording set by law in Wales

Most sign wording in Wales is up to you, and a private business doesn’t have to use Welsh at all. Our guide Is bilingual signage legally required in Wales? covers who does. The exception is smoke-free law at three kinds of place. Regulation 14 of the Smoke-free Premises and Vehicles (Wales) Regulations 2020 sets the exact warning text for school grounds, hospital grounds and public playgrounds, shown with the crossed-out cigarette symbol at or near each main entrance (or near the playground, where it has no clearly marked boundary):

The regulation prints each warning as the English, a slash, then the Welsh. If you’re making one of these signs, copy the words exactly. Our guide to no-smoking signs in Welsh school grounds has more detail. Every other smoke-free workplace or public place in Wales needs at least one sign showing the symbol, with no set wording or language (regulation 13). For other signs the law requires, try our free UK signage law checker.

When your phrase isn’t here

• Helo Blod, Business Wales’s free Welsh language service, translates up to 500 words a month into Welsh (within four working days, or one working day for five words or fewer) and checks up to 1,000 words of your own Welsh a year. You register through Sign On Cymru, and the helpline is 03000 25 88 88. See Helo Blod services.
• TermCymru can be searched in English or Welsh at gov.wales/bydtermcymru. Entries labelled Arwydd, Sign or Signage are meant for use on signs.
• The Welsh Language Commissioner’s team helps businesses with bilingual signs, including proofreading: email hybu@welshlanguagecommissioner.wales.
• Avoid machine translation for anything you’ll engrave. A sign stays up for years, and the Commissioner recommends a qualified translator every time.

Method and sources

We built this list in October 2026 for customers ordering bilingual signs. We make signs; we’re not translators, so every phrase comes from a source, and it’s only included if that source shows the Welsh for that meaning. Spelling, accents and capitalisation follow the source except where a note says otherwise. Where we couldn’t find a phrase as a whole, such as Push and Pull, it’s marked Check rather than guessed or left out.

• TermCymru, the Welsh Government’s term bank: gov.wales/bydtermcymru (each TermCymru row links to its search)
• Aberystwyth University, Signs and Notices
• Carmarthenshire County Council, workplace signs
• Welsh Language Commissioner, Arwydd o fusnes da / A sign of good business and Bilingual Design Guide
• Business Wales, Preparing bilingual safety signage (page since removed by Business Wales)
• Bangor University Cymorth Cymraeg, dates, greetings and buildings vocabulary
• Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru, the University of Wales Dictionary
• Rhondda Cynon Taf Council, dog control sign and school Keep Clear marking plan
• legislation.gov.uk, Smoke-free Premises and Vehicles (Wales) Regulations 2020, regulation 13 and regulation 14

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Changes. 29 October 2026: phrasebook added. The No Smoking or Vaping printable was redrawn with TermCymru’s verb fepio (the earlier version read “Fwpio”), with the Welsh above the English and no slash between them. Sixteen more printable signs were added.

Related: UK signage law checker · What UK businesses put on their signs · Open, closed and opening hours signs guide · Dog-friendly signs guide · Open Closed Signs and Opening Hours Signs · Engraved Wooden Signs for Businesses, Charities & Clubs · Personalised Welsh Gifts · All free tools