Elvish Word for Fire

The short answer: Fire in Sindarin is naur (NOWR, rhymes with "hour"). Fire in Quenya is nár (NAHR). Both trace back to the ancient Elvish root NAR-, meaning heat, fire, and flame. Gandalf uses naur in one of the most famous spells in all of Tolkien's writing.

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The Core Words for Fire

English	Sindarin	Quenya
fire	naur	nár
flame	naur	uru
fiery	naur- (prefix)	uruitë
fire-drake (dragon)	—	urulókë
burning	ruin	nárë

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Sindarin: Naur

Naur is the everyday Sindarin word for fire. It appears in several compound words and place names across Middle-earth, and most famously in Gandalf's fire-kindling spell on Caradhras.

Pronunciation: NOWR (the au in Sindarin sounds like the ou in "hour" or "our")
Root: NAR- (ancient Elvish root for fire/heat)

Gandalf's Fire Spell — Word by Word

One of the best-known uses of naur in Tolkien comes from The Fellowship of the Ring, when the Fellowship is trapped in a blizzard on the slopes of Caradhras:

Naur an edraith ammen! Naur dan i ngaurhoth!

Word	Meaning
Naur	Fire
an	for/to
edraith	saving, rescue
ammen	us, for us
dan	against
i	the
ngaurhoth	werewolf-host (from gaur, werewolf + hoth, host/horde)

Translation: "Fire be for saving of us! Fire against the werewolf-host!"

Gandalf shouts this while striking his staff on the ground, creating a flash of flame to drive back the wolves and warm the stranded Fellowship. It is pure, functional Sindarin — a command phrased as a declaration.

Naur in Place Names and Compound Words

• Nauroz — Elvish name sometimes associated with fire-festivals
• Naurhoth — fire-host (theoretical compound, fire + horde)
• The root naur appears in names wherever fire is an element of the landscape or legend

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Quenya: Nár and Uru

Quenya has two overlapping words for fire, each with a slightly different feel.

Nár — Fire as Elemental Force

Nár is the most ancient Quenya word for fire, sharing its root with Sindarin naur. It appears in scholarly and poetic contexts rather than everyday speech — fitting for a language Tolkien modelled on High Latin, the tongue of lore and ceremony.

Pronunciation: NAHR (short, sharp — like "nar" in "narrate")

Uru — Fire as Heat and Radiance

Uru captures the heat and glowing quality of fire. It forms compounds like urulókë (fire-drake, i.e., a fire-breathing dragon) and the adjective uruitë (fiery).

Pronunciation: OO-roo
Compounds:

• urulókë — fire-drake, fire-serpent (a category of dragon)
• uruitë — fiery, burning

I urulókë nárë — "The fire-drake burns"

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Fire in Middle-earth Mythology

Fire was not merely an element to Tolkien — it was bound up with creation itself.

Aulë the Smith forged the dwarves using fire. Melkor corrupted fire into a weapon of destruction: the Balrogs are called Maiar of fire, and the Balrog that Gandalf fights in Moria is called "a demon of the ancient world" whose power is fire and shadow.

Gandalf himself is called the Servant of the Secret Fire — a reference to the Flame of Anor (the Sun), which Gandalf claims against the Balrog in his famous declaration:

"I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor."

The word Anor — the Sindarin name for the Sun — shares the same root NAR- as naur. The Sun is, in Elvish etymology, literally "the great fire."

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Example Phrases

English	Sindarin	Quenya
The fire burns	I naur ruin	I nár urë
Fire and shadow	Naur a dae	Nár ar morë
Light the fire	Tinna i naur	—
Son of fire	Ionnaur	Yondonár

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Practice with the Translator

Our Elvish Translator can help you build your own fire-themed phrases in both Sindarin and Quenya. Whether you want a tattoo, a name, or a phrase for creative writing, the translator works through both dialects.

For more dramatic Elvish language in action, visit our Movie Quotes page — including Gandalf's full confrontation with the Balrog.

Translate your phrase →

Naur an edraith ammen — Fire be for saving of us.