"Ga i dalu?"

Translation: May I pay?

[Cynphony]

I notice "ga i" was both "May I" and "Can I". I learned "May I" is more polite and means, will you allow me to, and "Can I" is less polite and means, am I able to. Is there a difference in Welsh?

[rmcode]

Strictly speaking 'Ga i' is only 'May I' but because English, especially UK English, very often replaces the correct 'May I' with 'Can I' in speech when asking for something we've included that as an alternative translation.

[ibisc]

The distinction is there in Welsh as well. Among its several meanings, cael can be used, as here, to mean 'being allowed to'. So ga i ...? is used as the equivalent of 'may I ...?'

'Can he swim?', as in his ability, would be ydy e'n gallu/medru nofio?.

[adam252690]

Is ga i said as one word or two because some times it sound like gai and then ga i?

[KJFB123456789]

I assume it's shmushed together in everyday speech, but it's two separate words. Similar to the English "want to" and "wanna".

[cinwa]

why is 'd' interchangeabe with 't' in talu?

[ibisc]

The t in talu (paying) is soft mutated to the d in dalu here because talu is the object of the verb ga (may I...?).

This is explained with more examples in the notes for the section 'May I?'

[loopyloupie]

Would this phrase be used when in English we would say Can I have the bill please or is it more specifically for when you are ready to pay?

[ibisc]

Same as in English, really. If you specifically want the bill to look over before you pay, you would ask Ga i'r bil?.

[loopyloupie]

Thanks, I was curious about that