Lesson 1:
Basic Expressions
- Tip: Pronunciation
- Vocabulary 1: Greetings and Parting Expressions
- Culture: Greetings
- Sentence Builder: Greetings and Parting Expressions
- Vocabulary 2: Friendly Expressions
- Culture: Sun and Moon
- Sentence Builder: Friendly Expressions
- Vocabulary 3: Other Basic Expressions
- Culture: Expressing Thanks
- Matching: Other Basic Expressions
- Grammar: Personal Pronouns
- Matching: Personal Pronouns
- Grammar: Expressing "To Be"
- Fill In: Expressing "To Be"
- Conversation: Jalan atthirari anni!
- Go Further: New Vocabulary
- Sentence Builder: Dialogue Practice
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Pronunciation
This course uses the Romanized version of Dothraki, and while most letters are pronounced as they are in English, there are some key differences. See the charts below for examples of Dothraki pronunciation. Please note that many Dothraki words have multiple pronunciation variants, often depending on whether the speaker is native or non-native. Khaleesi, for example, has three separate pronunciations: khal-ee-si, khal-i-si, and kal-i-si. You will also hear both khal and kal used for the word khal.
Dothraki letter/English example | Dothraki examples |
a between hat and hot; hot (after q) |
astat to say qacha firefly |
ch mischief |
chare ear sachat to divide M’ach! Hi! |
d dog (dental) |
dothralat to ride adakhat to eat |
e grey; bed (after q) |
eveth water qevir forest |
f feather |
fonak hunter hlofa wrist, ankle darif saddle |
g good |
Gwe! Here!/Let’s go!/Go! khogar clothes |
h hand |
haj strong tihat to look, to see rhoa animal fih smoke |
i machine; grey (after q) |
iz poison fati insult qile island |
j jungle |
jahak braid lajak warrior haj strong |
k sky |
ko bodyguard akat two fonak hunter |
kh Bach |
khefat to sneeze zhikhat to be sick rikh rotten |
l leg (dental) |
lajak warrior malilat to be finished krol flea |
m man, jam |
m’athchomaroon hello mem sound |
n no, men (dental) |
ninthqoyi blood sausage majin and then, then |
o open; not (after q) |
okeo friend qora hand, arm |
q sky, but produced deep in the back of the throat |
qora hand, arm oqooqo heartbeat fasqoyi destiny |
r rolled as in Spanish when at the beginning of the word and followed by a vowel, at the end of the word, or when doubled; everywhere else, tapped |
rai hooray rhaesh land, country mori they mhar sore jerriya discussion mithri rest |
s see |
sajo one’s own horse ase word, command vaes city |
sh she |
shierak star kisha we hosh giddyup |
t stop (dental) |
tih eye ataki first astat to say |
th thin |
thir alive athrokhar fear eveth water |
v very, have |
vov weapon havzi cat |
w water, anyway |
awazak screamer zoqwat to kiss |
y yes, boy |
yer you (sg.) qoy qoyi blood of my blood |
z zoo |
ziso wound kazga black laz could, can |
zh measure |
zhavorsa/zhavvorsa dragon afazhi warm rizh son |
Double Consonants and Vowels
Whenever you see a consonant or vowel doubled in Dothraki, each segment is pronounced fully.
For consonants, think about how you say the letter s in the words misunderstood versus misspent.
dd |
addrivat to kill |
ff |
affin when |
gg |
rhaggat cart |
hh |
najahheya victory |
jj |
ajjalan tonight |
kk |
akka also, as well |
ll |
jelli cheese |
mm |
gomma mouth |
nn |
hanna rose |
jaqqa executioner |
|
rr |
tolorro bone |
ss |
disse only, just |
tt |
esittesak braggart |
vv |
inavva sister |
ww |
ewweya olive pit |
yy |
ayyathat to lift |
zz |
ezzolat to teach |
Remember that this distinction is important, as the doubling of a consonant can change the meaning of a word.
jelli
cheese
jeli
lemon
When consonants such as ch, kh, sh, th, and zh are doubled, they become cch, kkh, ssh, tth, and zzh respectively.
cch |
vosecchi of course not |
kkh |
lakkhat to chew |
ssh |
asshekh today |
tth |
atthirar life |
zzh |
Havazzhifi Kazga Black Salt Sea |
In vowel clusters, each vowel sound is pronounced consecutively, whether the vowels are the same or different. This means that a word like krazaaj technically has three syllables (kra-za-aj), all given full voice. Any vowel can appear next to any other vowel. Some (but not all) examples are shown below.
aa |
krazaaj mountain |
ae |
vaes city |
ee |
avees father (accusative) |
ei |
dei shallow |
ia |
chelsian locust |
io |
chiori woman |
oa |
choakat to be bitter |
oo |
m’athchamaroon hello |
As an important spelling note, in reading George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, you may occasionally come across a Dothraki word that utilizes the spelling jh, such as Jhogo, one of Khal Drogo’s bloodriders. In developing a consistent Romanization system for the HBO series, the spelling jh was respelled zh. Thus, what is spelled Jhogo in the books will be spelled Zhogo here, and vice versa.
Stress
Stress is the emphasis placed on syllables in spoken language. In English, just think about how you say the word EMphasis: the stress falls on the first syllable. Generally, stress in Dothraki follows these rules:
- When a word ends in a vowel, the stress falls on the first syllable: Ataki, HAVzi
- When a word ends in a consonant, the stress falls on the final syllable: laJAK, m’athchomaroON
- When the penultimate syllable is a heavy syllable (a syllable that consists of a consonant-vowel-consonant combination before another consonant) and the word ends in a vowel, the penultimate syllable will be stressed: zhaVORsa, voSECchi
There are a few other exceptions to the above rules, but these rules will cover most of the new words you come across in Dothraki. Listen carefully to the audio links attached to each word to hear the proper stress on words.