tlhIngan Hol

Klingon

Constructed (artistic)

FamilyConstructed (artistic) Speakers~30 fluent ScriptpIqaD / Latin CountriesWorldwide (fandom) Official inNone Vitalitycritically-endangered ISO 639-3tlh

Also known as: Klingon, tlhIngan Hol

Klingon (tlhIngan Hol) is a constructed language created by linguist Marc Okrand for the Star Trek franchise (Star Trek III: 1984), now spoken fluently by perhaps a few dozen people. Designed deliberately to be alien-sounding: OVS word order (rare typologically), ejective consonants, no copula "to be", and a tripartite verbal-prefix system encoding subject and object. Has produced translations of Hamlet, Tao Te Ching, and the Bible. Recognized by the ISO 639-3 standard (tlh). Klingon Language Institute (KLI) since 1992.

Where it is spoken

20 core words in Klingon

Water

bIQ

/bɪq/

Fire

qul

/qʰul/

Sun

jul

/dʒul/

Moon

maS

/mɑʂ/

Mother

SoS

/ʂoʂ/

Father

vav

/vɑv/

Eat

Sop

/ʂopʰ/

Drink

tlhutlh

/t͡ɬʰut͡ɬʰ/

Love

parmaq

/pʰɑrmɑqʰ/

Heart

tIq

/tʰɪqʰ/

Tree

Sor

/ʂor/

House

juH

/dʒux/

Dog

targh

/tʰɑrɣ/

Cat

vIghro'

/vɪɣroʔ/

Hand

ghop

/ɣopʰ/

Eye

mIn

/mɪn/

Hello

nuqneH

/nuqʰnex/

Thank you

qatlho'

/qʰɑt͡ɬʰoʔ/

One

wa'

/wɑʔ/

Good

QaQ

/qɑq/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Constructed (artistic) languages

Meaning KlingonSindhiChinese (Han dynasty Classical)MlabriEnglish (Yorkshire)Mishnaic HebrewKazakh
Water bIQ /bɪq/ پاڻي /paːɳiː/ /ɕiwiɪʔ/ om /om/ water /wɔːtə/ מים /majim/ су /suw/
Fire qul /qʰul/ باهه /baːhə/ /huɑiʔ/ ʔus /ʔus/ fire /faɪə/ אש /ʔeʃ/ от /ot/
Sun jul /dʒul/ سج /sʊdʒə/ /ȵit/ ŋay /ŋai/ sun /sʊn/ חמה /ħamːa/ күн /kyn/
Moon maS /mɑʂ/ چنڊ /t͡ʃəɳɖʊ/ /ŋiuɑt/ thel /tʰel/ moon /muːn/ לבנה /levɑnɑ/ ай /ɑj/
Mother SoS /ʂoʂ/ ماءُ /maːʊ/ /muːʔ/ mɛʔ /mɛʔ/ mother /mʊðə/ אם /ʔem/ ана /ɑnɑ/
Father vav /vɑv/ پيءُ /pɪːʊ/ /biuoʔ/ paʔ /paʔ/ father /fɑːðə/ אב /ʔɑv/ әке /æke/
Eat Sop /ʂopʰ/ کائڻ /kʰaːɪɳʊ/ /ʑiək/ ʔiʔ /ʔiʔ/ eat /iːt/ אוכל /ʔoχel/ жеу /ʒew/
Drink tlhutlh /t͡ɬʰut͡ɬʰ/ پيئڻ /pɪːəɳʊ/ /ʔiəm/ ʔaa /ʔaː/ drink /dɹɪŋk/ שותה /ʃote/ ішу /ɪʃuw/
Page 1/3

Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

Klingon
jIH Sut vIlegh Daq mIpwI' retlh qach vInIH vIneH
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 看到的 那套西装
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with closely-related languages

Klingon
jIH Sut vIlegh Daq mIpwI' retlh qach vInIH vIneH
Mi volas provi kostumon kiun mi vidis en vendejo kontraŭ la hotelo
mi djica le nu dasni le taxfu poi mi viska bu'u le zarci crane le xotli
mi wile alasa len mi lukin lon esun poka tomo awen

Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.