50 Essential High Valyrian Words — Vocabulary Guide
Quick Answer: This guide collects 50 essential High Valyrian words across 8 categories — pronouns & basics, greetings & courtesy, love & emotion, dragons & fire, family, power & politics, verbs, and numbers — all sourced from David J. Peterson's official vocabulary for Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon. Start with nyke (I), issa (is), daor (no), and sȳz (good), then build outward into the dragon commands and the valar philosophy phrases that give the language its weight.
High Valyrian — the constructed language David J. Peterson built for HBO starting in 2012 — is not a handful of exotic-sounding syllables dropped into scripts. It has a full grammar: eight noun cases, four genders (lunar, solar, terrestrial, aquatic), and regular verb conjugation, all documented across a decade of Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon production work. Every word below is attested — drawn from on-screen dialogue or Peterson's published grammar notes — with no invented filler.
This list is organized the way a beginner actually needs it: pronouns and basics first, then greetings and courtesy, then the love vocabulary fans search for most, dragon and fire words, family terms, power and political phrases, common verbs, and numbers. Each entry includes pronunciation and a note on where it appears.
If you want the full phrase-by-phrase breakdown behind several of these words, see 50+ High Valyrian Words & Phrases. For the grammar that explains why words change form (like avy vs ao for "you"), see the High Valyrian Grammar Guide.
Pronouns & Basics (8 Words)
| High Valyrian | Meaning | Pronunciation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nyke | I | NIH-keh | The first-person pronoun; often dropped since the verb ending already encodes "I" |
| Ziry | He / she / it | ZIH-ree | The gender-neutral third-person pronoun |
| Ao | You (nominative) | OW | Used when "you" is the subject of the sentence |
| Avy | You (accusative) | AH-vee | Used when "you" is the object — as in Avy jorrāelan, "I love you" |
| Ñuha / Ñuhe | My / mine | NYOO-hah | Possessive; the ending shifts with the noun's gender and case |
| Kesir | This | KEH-seer | Common demonstrative |
| Lue | Other / another (also "two") | LOO-eh | Doubles as both an adjective and the number 2 — context distinguishes them |
| Bē | Upon / on | BEH | Common preposition |
Greetings & Courtesy (7 Words)
High Valyrian has no single casual "hi" the way English does — the ritual Valar exchange functions as its closest formal equivalent.
| High Valyrian | Meaning | Pronunciation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valar Morghulis | All men must die | VAH-lar mor-GYOO-lis | The Faceless Men's ritual phrase; always answered with Valar Dohaeris |
| Valar Dohaeris | All men must serve | VAH-lar doh-HAY-ris | The ritual response, completing the philosophical exchange |
| Kirimvose | Thank you | kee-RIM-voh-seh | The standard expression of gratitude |
| Kostilus | Please | KOS-tih-lus | Polite request marker |
| Daor | No / not | DAY-or | Functions as both a negative particle and a standalone refusal |
| Skoriot | Where | SKOH-ree-ot | Common question word |
| Sȳz | Good | SEEZ | One of the most versatile adjectives; the ȳ is a long vowel, held roughly twice as long as a short one |
Love & Emotion (7 Words)
The romantic register is one of the most-searched corners of High Valyrian vocabulary, thanks largely to Daenerys and Drogo's scenes and the Targaryen family dynamics in House of the Dragon.
| High Valyrian | Meaning | Pronunciation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jorrāelan | I love (1st person present) | jor-RAY-eh-lan | From jorrāelagon, "to love" in the deep, cherishing sense — see I Love You in High Valyrian |
| Jorrāelagon | To love (infinitive) | jor-rah-EL-ah-gon | The dictionary/citation form of the verb |
| Muña | Mother | MOO-nya | Standard Targaryen family address term, prominent in House of the Dragon |
| Kepa | Father | KEH-pa | Counterpart to muña; the solar-gender noun class |
| Tubī | Dear / beloved | TOO-bee | A term of intimate address, not a kinship title |
| Ñāqon | To weep / to grieve | NYAH-kon | Attested root used in phrases about mourning |
| Valonqar | Younger sibling | va-LON-kar | Originally from Game of Thrones, expanded in House of the Dragon kinship vocabulary |
Dragons & Fire (6 Words)
For many learners, this is the reason they're here — the vocabulary that gives dragon-riding scenes their weight.
| High Valyrian | Meaning | Pronunciation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dracarys | Dragonfire | DRAK-a-ris | The most iconic High Valyrian word — a noun functioning as a command for a dragon to breathe fire |
| Sōvēs | Fly / soar (imperative) | SOH-vays | From sōvegon, "to fly"; a key House of the Dragon addition, used by Rhaenyra on Syrax |
| Lykirī | Calm / easy / be still | li-KI-ree | Used to soothe an agitated dragon, distinct in tone from a direct command |
| Gaomagon | To come / to go; move | gao-MAH-gon | A directional verb used both in riding contexts and ordinary speech |
| Qrinuntos | Fire (elemental) | kri-NUN-tos | Distinct from dracarys — this is fire in the general elemental sense, not dragonfire specifically |
| Rōvāgon | To grow | ROH-vah-gon | Thematically tied to Valyrian power and expansion |
For the full episode-by-episode breakdown of these commands, see High Valyrian Phrases in House of the Dragon.
Power & Politics (6 Words)
High Valyrian's formal register carries the weight of empire — fitting for the "Latin of Westeros."
| High Valyrian | Meaning | Pronunciation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Āeksio | Master / lord | AEK-see-oh | Standard formal address for someone in power |
| Dāria | Queen | DAH-ree-ah | Lunar-gender noun; from the same root as dāeron |
| Bantis | Kingdom / realm | BAN-tis | Appears in succession-crisis dialogue in House of the Dragon |
| Kostōba | Powerful / strong | kos-TOH-ba | Predicate adjective, root shared with kostys (power, strength) |
| Kostys | Power / strength | KOS-tis | The noun form underlying kostōba |
| Morghon | Death | MOR-gon | Root of morghulis; appears across the mortality/philosophy register |
Common Verbs (6 Words)
Verb roots are the backbone of any sentence — these are the ones you'll see repeated across attested dialogue.
| High Valyrian | Meaning | Pronunciation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sagon | To be | SAH-gon | The copula infinitive; conjugates to issa (is) and iksan (I am) |
| Issa | Is (3rd person) | IH-sah | Extremely common — appears in constructions like Sȳz issa ("it is good") |
| Iksan | I am | IK-san | First-person present of sagon |
| Emagon | To have | eh-MAH-gon | Core possession verb |
| Māzīgon | To come | mah-ZEE-gon | Verb of movement and summons |
| Dohaeragon | To serve | doh-hay-RAH-gon | Root of dohaeris in the Valar exchange |
Numbers 1–10 (10 Words)
| Number | High Valyrian |
|---|---|
| 1 | hen |
| 2 | lue |
| 3 | hāre |
| 4 | izula |
| 5 | tōma |
| 6 | bȳre |
| 7 | sīkuda |
| 8 | jēnqa |
| 9 | vōre |
| 10 | ampa |
Note that lue does double duty as both "two" and "other/another" — context distinguishes the two meanings, and this kind of homonymy is common across the attested vocabulary.
How to Use These Words
High Valyrian defaults to Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) word order — the verb tends to arrive last, giving declarative sentences a sense of finality. A few quick patterns to get you started:
- Pronouns change form by grammatical role. Ao is "you" as a subject; avy is "you" as an object. This is the same logic as English he vs. him, just applied more systematically.
- Verb endings encode the subject. High Valyrian is pro-drop — jorrāelan already means "I love" without a separate word for "I."
- Vowel length is meaningful, not decorative. The macron (ā, ē, ī, ō, ȳ) marks a long vowel held roughly twice as long as a short one, and it can distinguish otherwise identical words.
For the full case-and-gender system behind these patterns, see the High Valyrian Grammar Guide. For sound rules specifically, see the High Valyrian Pronunciation Guide.
Want structured lessons instead of a word list? High Valyrian itself isn't taught on Tengwar, but David J. Peterson's other Game of Thrones conlang — Dothraki — is, with gamified lessons, an AI tutor, and a free tier. Start learning Dothraki free →
High Valyrian in Pop Culture: Beyond the Screen
High Valyrian's vocabulary has built a real linguistic afterlife well beyond the shows that created it.
Duolingo's official course. Peterson worked directly with Duolingo to launch an official High Valyrian course, which has drawn over four million registered learners — one of the largest constructed-language communities on the platform. See Duolingo for High Valyrian for a full review.
House of the Dragon's expansion. Where Game of Thrones used High Valyrian mainly for dragon commands and philosophical idioms, House of the Dragon turned it into a living family language — Targaryens address each other in it, argue politics in it, and grieve in it. Peterson added over 150 new attested items for the production.
Tattoos and personal expression. Phrases like Valar Morghulis and Avy jorrāelan are among the most requested tattoo translations for Game of Thrones fans — see High Valyrian Tattoo Phrases for canon-verified options and the grammar pitfalls to avoid.
Fan dictionary projects. The Dothraki/Valyrian fan wiki (wiki.dothraki.org) maintains a comprehensive, community-curated attestation database cross-referenced against Peterson's published sources — the closest thing High Valyrian has to a living dictionary outside the show scripts themselves.
People Also Ask
What's the most important High Valyrian word to learn first? Issa ("is") and daor ("no/not") — they're the highest-frequency function words and appear in nearly every constructed sentence, from casual statements to formal declarations.
Is High Valyrian vocabulary the same across Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon? Yes. It's the same language, maintained by the same linguist, David J. Peterson. House of the Dragon doesn't reboot or contradict Game of Thrones vocabulary — it expands it, adding family, political, and emotional registers that the earlier show rarely needed.
Can I actually hold a conversation using only these 50 words? Not a full conversation, but you can handle basic statements, greetings, expressions of love, and dragon commands. High Valyrian's case system and verb conjugation take real study beyond vocabulary memorization — see the High Valyrian Grammar Guide for that next step.
Why does High Valyrian have so much vocabulary around mortality and service? Because the Valar Morghulis / Valar Dohaeris exchange encodes a specific philosophical worldview tied to the Faceless Men of Braavos — death is universal, so life is for service. It's one of the clearest examples of how Peterson built culture directly into the language's fixed phrases.
Learn a Constructed Language with Tengwar
High Valyrian isn't a taught language on Tengwar, but its sibling Game of Thrones conlang — Dothraki, also created by David J. Peterson — is, alongside Elvish and Klingon, through structured Duolingo-style lessons and an AI tutor grounded in canon vocabulary. Start free → — 5 lessons per language, no credit card required.
Further Reading
- 50+ High Valyrian Words & Phrases — the full phrase-by-phrase companion to this list
- High Valyrian Dictionary: Common Words by Category — the thematic deep-dive companion to this quick-start list
- High Valyrian Grammar Guide — the case system, genders, and verb conjugation behind these words
- High Valyrian Pronunciation Guide — vowel length, stress, and sound rules
- High Valyrian Phrases in House of the Dragon — every attested dragon command and family phrase from HotD
- Daenerys High Valyrian Quotes — every canon line explained
- How to Learn High Valyrian — the complete study path and resource ranking
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What are the most common High Valyrian words?
The highest-frequency High Valyrian words are pronouns and function words like nyke (I), ziry (he/she/it), issa (is), daor (no/not), and sȳz (good) — plus culturally central terms like valar (all men), dracarys (dragonfire), and kirimvose (thank you). All of these come from David J. Peterson's published vocabulary for HBO's Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, not fan invention.
How do you say hello in High Valyrian?
High Valyrian does not have a single, single-word canon greeting the way English has 'hi.' The most commonly cited exchange functioning as a formal greeting is Valar Morghulis / Valar Dohaeris ('all men must die' / 'all men must serve'), used ritually among the Faceless Men and the Free Cities. For a plain hello, learners typically default to a polite opening phrase like Kirimvose (thank you) or a direct address using the person's title, since Peterson has not published a dedicated casual greeting word.
Is High Valyrian a real, learnable language?
Yes. David J. Peterson built High Valyrian for HBO starting in 2012 with a complete grammar — eight noun cases, four genders, full verb conjugation — and has continued expanding it for House of the Dragon. It has thousands of attested words, an official Duolingo course with millions of learners, and an active fan-maintained dictionary project. It is one of the most thoroughly developed constructed languages in modern media.
Where does the vocabulary in this list come from?
Every word below is drawn from David J. Peterson's officially published High Valyrian vocabulary — attested in on-screen dialogue from Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, or documented in Peterson's grammar notes and the Living Language: High Valyrian course. None of it is invented for this article.
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