- There are two main types of Elvish used in Lord of the Rings: Quenya (which is more formal) and Sindarin (which is more conversational).
- When speaking Quenya, always roll your r’s and keep the sounds “n,” “ny,” and “m” soft. In Quenya, “y” is a consonant, not a vowel.
- When speaking Sindarin, stress the first syllable in words with 1-2 syllables and the third syllable in words with 3 syllables or more.
Speaking Quenya
Sound out the Elvish vowels to memorize them. Quenya is the more formal Elvish tongue so its vowels are fixed, and their pronunciations do not change based on their location in the word. The diacritic (small mark over a letter) over a vowel indicates that you hold the vowel sound for longer. Memorize the vowel sounds and practice pronouncing them. Vowel Sounds: a – short a (pronounced “ah” as in father) á – slightly longer a (pronounced “aah” as in father but for a half second longer) e – short e (pronounced “e” as in better) é – slightly longer e (pronounced “eh” as in egg) i – short i (pronounced “ih” as in ice) í – long i (pronounced “ee” as in machine) o – short o (pronounced "ah" as in collar) ó – slightly longer o (pronounced “uh” as in of) u – short u (pronounced “uh” as in under) ú – long u (pronounced "ooh" as in boot) “Y” is never a vowel in Quenya. However, it is always a vowel in the more conversational language Sindarin. The written form of Quenya is Tengwar. While you talk to friends, family, strangers and colleagues in Quenya, you read and write in Tengwar.
Identify which consonants differ from English and practice them. Most of the consonants in Quenya are pronounced the same way they would sound in English. However, there are a few unique rules which are specific to Quenya. Learn these rules and practice using them to get used to speaking Elvish. For example: There is no difference between “c” and “k” in Quenya. It is always pronounced like the hard c in “cup.” This can get confusing because both letters are used in Tengwar even though they’re pronounced the same way. Every “r” is rolled (or trilled), like a Spanish speaker saying “correo.” The sounds “n,” “ny,” and “m” are always soft, like an American English speaker pronouncing “nose” or “month.” These are called nasal constants since they’re spoken while you let air flow through your nose. The letter “y” is always a consonant, not a vowel. Pronounce it with a harder sound, like an American English speaker saying “why.”
Stress the beginning of words that start with a vowel. If the word you’re reading in Quenya starts with a vowel, split it into syllables. Then, stress the first syllable by raising your voice a little louder and pronouncing it more thoroughly. Let the other syllables roll off your tongue more softly. The stress patterns in Quenya are universal, so if the word starts with “a,” “e,” “i,” “o,” or “u,” stress the first syllable. When there are only two syllables, always stress the first syllable even if there isn’t a vowel. For example, a word like “umin” is pronounced “UHM-en,” not “oo-MIN.” A word like “heca” is pronounced “HECK-ah,” not “heck-CAH,” “tulen” is “TU-lehn” and so on.
Stress the third syllable in words that don’t start with a vowel. For words that don’t start with a vowel and have more than 2 syllables, always stress the third syllable. This means that elvish words like “hyarmen” would sound like “haram-YN,” with the voice inflecting upwards on the end of the word. A lot of Middle Eastern languages have a similar pattern. This may sound kind of like you’re speaking Arabic or Aramaic at first. You may notice that there seems to always be a vowel sound in the third syllable of every word in Quenya. J.R.R. Tolkien intentionally created this pattern so Elvish languages would have more elegant flows.
Use Italian speech patterns to pull off Quenya words. In general, you can kind of sound Elvish—even without following the rules of the language—by applying an Italian accent when pronouncing Quenyan words. After a stressed syllable, glide into the next one, slowly letting it peter out and separate double consonants when they’re back to back. (For example, “better” would be “bet-ter” not “bedder.”) For example, if you were using an Italian accent, you would automatically dampen the second syllable in the Elvish words “ando” and “vala,” which would be correct. In Tolkien’s world, Quenya was spoken mainly by the High Elves, academics, and nobles. It is a sort of classical version of Elvish.
Speaking Sindarin
Pronounce almost all consonants like you would in English. Sindarin is the more common Elvish language of Middle Earth and its consonant pronunciation is largely the same as English. However, there are a few common rules to keep in mind. Learn the following exceptions and practice them with a variety of Elvish words to help you memorize: Like Quenya, the “c” and “k” sounds are always hard and sound identical. The “r” is always rolled as well, like a Spanish speaker saying “correo.” “Dh” and “wh” are usually pronounced like “th” in English so a word like “bedhyr” is pronounced “beth-earr.” “V” is silent when it’s at the end of a word. “G” is always a hard “g,” like in “hang.” It is never pronounced softly or like a “j.” Pronounce vowels in Sindarin like you would pronounce vowels in Quenya (except for the letter “y”). “Y” is treated as a vowel in Sindarin, but a consonant in Quenya.
Stress the first syllable when pronouncing most words in Sindarin. If a word in Sindarin has 3 syllables or fewer, emphasize the first syllable regardless of what letters are at the beginning of the word. This gives Sindarin a front-loaded sound, which makes it similar to Portuguese, Welsh, and Gaelic. Take the famous character Legolas, for example. The first syllable in his name is pronounced loudly and sharply; it sounds like an American English speaker saying “leg.” The “o” and “las” are soft, and make the rest of the word sound vaguely Spanish or Italian.
Emphasize the third syllable if the word has more than 3 syllables. Only stress the third syllable in a word if it has 4 or more syllables. Keep the emphasis on the first syllable if the word has 3 syllables or less. For example, “Sindarin” is pronounced “SEEN-dar-in,” not “sin-DAR-in.” However, if there were a fourth syllable at the end of the word, it might become “sin-dar-IN-oh.”
Speak with an Irish or Scottish accent to pull off a Sindarin accent. Irish and Scottish speakers tend to speak English by emphasizing sounds at the front of a word, regardless of the standard pronunciation. Since most Sindarin words stress the first syllable, try speaking with an Irish accent or a Scottish accent if you need help pulling off Sindarin pronunciation. For example, an Irish or Scottish accent would pronounce “ai” (which means “hail”) as “eye” instead of “ay” as in “base” which is pretty close to the proper pronunciation in Sindarin.
Learning Common Phrases
Greet and thank people by using some formal phrases. Elves tend to be excessively formal and friendly, so they have several ways to greet or thank people. “Mae g'ovannen!” means “well met!” in Sindarin and is commonly used to greet people. “Ni 'lassui” is the most common form of thanks in Sindarin, and literally translates to “I am glad.” A fun elaborate greeting is, “Êl síla erin lû e-govaned vîn,” which means “a star shines on the hour of our meeting” in Sindarin. If you’re speaking Quenya, say “Elen síla lúmenn' omentielvo” to say the same thing. In Quenya, general greetings and thanks include “namárië” (be well), “aiya” (hello), and “hara máriessë” (stay in happiness).
Introduce yourself in Elvish when meeting someone for the first time. You can introduce yourself in Sindarin by saying “I eneth nin” (“my name is”) followed by your name. You can introduce yourself in Quenya by saying “Nánye” and then your name. For example, “Nánye Elmer” translates to “My name is Elmer” in Quenya while “I eneth nin Sarah” translates to “My name is Sarah” in Sindarin. Switch your greeting depending on the vibe you want to put out. If you want to sound more formal and elegant, introduce yourself in Quenya. If you want to sound more laid-back and chill, stick with Sindarin.
Learn a few unique and colorful phrases in Quenya. Quenya has some fun idioms and euphemisms that you can learn. For example, to be rude, you could say, “Súrë túla cendeletyallo,” which means, “Wind pours from your mouth,” or raise your fist in the air while shaking it and shout “Úcarnet nin!” This means, “You have betrayed me!” Other common Quenya phrases include: “Ma istal quet’ Eldarin” - “Can you speak Elvish?” “Man esselya ná?” - “What is your name?” “Saesa omentien lle” - “Pleasure meeting you” “Ma istan yel” - “Do I know you?” “Á tulë sinomë” - “Come here” “Ánin apsenë” - “Forgive me” “Áva sorya” - “Don’t worry” “Hantanyel órenyallo” - “I thank you from my heart” “Mai acáriel” - “You did well” “Alámenë” - “Go with a blessing”
Learn some vibrant and expressive phrases in Sindarin. Just like Quenya, Sindarin has its own evocative terminology. For example, you can be romantic and say, “Gellon ned i galar i chent gîn ned i gladhog” which means “I love to see your eyes shine when you laugh.” You could also hold your hand up to someone that’s being annoying and say “Heca,” which means, “Scram!” Other common Sindarin phrases include: “Manen ci” - “How are you?” “Pedil edhellen” - “Do you speak Elvish?” “Goheno nin” - “Forgive me” “Len hannon” - “Thank you” “Abarad” - “Until tomorrow” “Ú chenion” - “I don’t understand” “Avaro naeth” - “Don’t worry” “Na lû e-govaned vîn” - “Until we meet again”
Get an Elvish dictionary to help you look up individual words. While Tolkien never included translations for every single word, he did compose thousands of definitions that you can access for free. You can access both his Sindarin dictionary and his Quenya dictionary online for free. There are plenty of paperback or hardcover versions of Elvish dictionaries if you want a physical copy. You can pick them up from some bookstores or online retailers.
Use an Elvish translator for words you can’t find. If you can’t find a word in your Elvish dictionary or you don’t want to go through the hassle of looking up words and memorizing them individually, you can translate your native language into various Middle Earth tongues here. This translator offers Quenya, Sindarin, and even Orcish! It also offers translations for Tengwar (the written Elvish language) if you’d prefer to write in Elvish instead of speaking it. If you want to learn other, less-common Elvish languages like Telerin (which is spoken by Sea Elves) or Silvan (which is spoken by Wood Elves), you can translate their words at https://www.elfdict.com/about. Most less-common Elvish languages follow the same rules as Quenya and Sindarin, with a few small differences.
Complete a free online class in Quenya or Sindarin. There are a lot of resources online to help you learn Elvish. The community of people interested in learning Elvish tends to be friendly, helpful, and charitable. Look online to see if you can find a self-guided or fully-taught course on the Elvish language of your choosing. One great course for learning Quenya can be found at the Quenya Course website. You can find charts, lessons, and practice games for learning Sindarin online too. There are a ton of resources and a vibrant community of Elvish speakers online at Council of Elrond.
Practice speaking and memorizing Elvish regularly (ideally with friends). Being able to fluently speak Elvish requires practice. Spend at least 5 minutes a day working on your Elvish phrases. You might consider learning an Elvish language (Quenya, Sindarin, or both) along with a friend to make the process more fun. You can help yourself remember Elvish by using mnemonic devices and creating word associations for words and phrases you’re struggling with. For example, “Elë” (which translates to “wow”) is the first part of the word “elevate” which means to increase. “Wow” is something you say when you increase your excitement. Therefore, “wow” means “elë.”
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