Klingon Dictionary — Common Words & Phrases by Category

Klingon Dictionary

Quick Answer: Klingon (tlhIngan Hol) has roughly 3,000 attested words, all created by linguist Marc Okrand for Star Trek. Unlike English, Klingon vocabulary clusters heavily around honor (batlh), combat (Suv, "to fight"), and direct confrontation — there's no word for "please." Below, canon words organized by theme: honor and greetings, combat and action, culture and clan, insults and challenges, food and ship life. Look up any category, or jump straight to the 50 essential Klingon words if you want a shorter flat list.

Klingon doesn't have a "dictionary" in the sense English speakers expect — there's no Klingon Oxford, no centuries of borrowed loanwords. Every single word traces back to one linguist, Marc Okrand, who built tlhIngan Hol for Star Trek III: The Search for Spock in 1984 and has been expanding it ever since through The Klingon Dictionary and its supplements.

That means the vocabulary is smaller than a natural language's (~3,000 attested words versus English's 170,000+), but it is unusually coherent — almost every word reinforces the same warrior culture. This is the comprehensive thematic reference: words grouped by category, not alphabetically or by rank, so you can see how the vocabulary reflects Klingon values.

If you want the flat "top 50 most useful words" version instead, see 50 common Klingon words. If you need a full phrase or sentence, use our translator tool or ask the AI tutor.

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How to read this dictionary

Each entry is formatted:

English — Klingon (pronunciation) — usage note

Klingon is written here in the standard Okrand romanization (capital letters like D, H, Q, S, tlh each represent a specific consonant sound — see our Klingon pronunciation guide for the full phonetic breakdown). Words marked (Neo-Klingon) are fan-coined and not in Okrand's published corpus — we flag them so you never mistake fan invention for canon.

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Honor and greeting vocabulary

Honor (batlh) is the organizing concept of the entire language. Nearly every formal Klingon interaction touches it.

Honor — batlh (BAHTL) — the central cultural value; also used adverbially, "honorably" Dishonor — batlhHa' (BAHTL-hah) — the negated form, a serious accusation Hello (lit. "What do you want?") — nuqneH (nook-NEKH) — see Klingon greetings and phrases Success / farewell — Qapla' (kahp-LAH) — said before a mission, also a casual goodbye Yes — HIja' (khee-JAH) No — ghobe' (gho-BEH) I understand — jIyaj (jee-YAHJ) I don't understand — jIyajbe' (jee-YAHJ-beh) Welcome — bIHaghQo' (Neo-Klingon compound; no single canon word exists — Klingon culture has no strong equivalent of "welcome") Peace — roj (ROHJ) — also means "truce" or "treaty" Respect — 'oy'naQ (Neo-Klingon; canon has no separate noun distinct from batlh) Glory — batlh (same root — Klingon doesn't separate "honor" and "glory" as cleanly as English) Loyalty — matlh (MAHTL) — attested stative verb, "be loyal" (Klingon has no adjective class)

For the full greeting set with situational usage: Klingon greetings and phrases.

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Combat and action verbs

Klingon grammar is verb-heavy, and its most productive verb roots are combat verbs.

To fight — Suv (SOOV) — root of SuvwI' (warrior/fighter) To attack — HIv (KHEEV) To kill — HoH (KHOKH) To die — Hegh (KHEKH) — root of Heghlu'meH QaQ jajvam ("today is a good day to die") To win / succeed — Suvchugh (conditional form) / base Qap (KAHP) — root of Qapla' To defeat — jeychuq (jay-CHOOK, "they defeat each other," reciprocal form) / base jey (JAY) To surrender — jengva' (JENG-vah) — a rare verb; culturally shameful to invoke To defend — waH (WAKH, "to protect") To strike — qIp (KEEP) To flee / retreat — Haw' (KHOW) — considered dishonorable unless tactical To hunt — ghom (GHOHM, "to gather/hunt as a group") To capture — jon (JOHN) To challenge — may' (MY, also means "battle" as a noun) To avenge — bortaS (bor-TAHSS) — the noun "revenge," used verbally in context; famous from bortaS bIr jablu'DI' reH QaQqu' nay' ("revenge is a dish best served cold")

For combat phrases in full sentence form, see Klingon warrior phrases.

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Weapons and warfare nouns

Sword — 'etlh ('EHTL) — generic bladed weapon Bat'leth (the iconic curved sword) — bat'leth (baht-LETH) — "the honor blade," Klingon's signature weapon Disruptor — no canon Klingon word exists; ghIntaq (spear) is unrelated, and ghop nISwI' is an unattested fan compound (Neo-Klingon), not Okrand's corpus — most media leaves "disruptor" untranslated Knife / dagger — taj (TAHJ) Spear — ghIntaq (GHEEN-tahk) Shield — yoD (YOHD) Armor — tobe' (Neo-Klingon; not confirmed canon) Battle — may' (MY) War — veS (VESH) Blood — 'Iw ('EEW) — root of 'Iw HIq, bloodwine Death (afterlife of honor) — Sto-Vo-Kor (STOH-voh-kor) — proper noun, the Klingon afterlife for honored dead Death (afterlife of dishonor) — Gre'thor (GREH-thor) — proper noun, the dishonored afterlife (per Klingon novelization sources; distinct from Suto'vo'qor/Sto-Vo-Kor, the honored afterlife)

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Clan, family, and social bonds

Klingon kinship vocabulary is smaller than Tolkien's Elvish, reflecting the culture's emphasis on the Empire and House over the nuclear family.

House (clan) — tuq (TOOK) — "House of Martok," "House of Duras" etc. Family — qeng is a personal name; the general noun is tuq used loosely; there is no separate attested Klingon noun for "household" distinct from tuq (house/clan) Father — vav (VAHV) Mother — SoS (SOHSH) — famous from the insult Hab SoSlI' Quch ("your mother has a smooth forehead") Son — puqloD (pook-LOHD, "male child") Daughter — puqbe' (pook-BEH, "female child") Child (general) — puq (POOK) Brother — loDnI' (lohd-NEE) Sister — be'nI' (beh-NEE) Friend — jup (YUP) Enemy — jagh (JAHKH) — appears constantly; more common in canon dialogue than jup Ally — jagh negated is not standard; canon uses jup or context; there is no dedicated "ally" noun distinct from "friend" Warrior — SuvwI' (SOOV-wee) — from Suv, "to fight" — see Klingon words for warrior culture Elder — quvHa'ghach is unattested; canon simply uses age-descriptive phrases rather than a dedicated noun Emperor — ta' (TAH) Chancellor — no distinct canon noun; the High Council leader's title is typically rendered "Chancellor" untranslated in canon media

For the honor-and-lineage insult family specifically, see Klingon curse words.

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Insults and challenges

Klingon insult vocabulary is famously specific and anatomical.

Your mother has a smooth forehead! — Hab SoSlI' Quch! (khahb sohsh-LEE kwooch) — the canonical, worst insult; implies non-Klingon lineage Coward — bIHnuch (beekh-NOOCH) — a devastating single-word accusation You are a coward — bIHnuch SoH — full sentence form Petaq (a severe insult) — petaQ (peh-TAHK) — one of the most-used Klingon insults on screen; Okrand never pinned down a literal English equivalent, so "worthless scum" is the common fan gloss, not a canon translation Cheap / stingy — qutlh (KOOTL) — attested verb "be cheap," useful as a lesser insult about someone's character Weakling — pujwI' (pooj-WEE, "weak one") Targ (an insult by comparison to the boar-like animal) — targh (TARGH) — calling someone a targ implies stupidity and uncleanliness Traitor — nobwI' (believed to mean "giver," unverified) is not the word to reach for; the actual canon word for traitor context is typically petaQ used situationally, or jagh (enemy) when betrayal is implied What the hell is happening? — qaStaH nuq jay'? (kah-STAKH nook jay) — jay' is a profanity intensifier suffix Damn it! — ghuy'cha'! (ghooy-CHAH) — general frustration interjection Disgust interjection — Hu'tegh! (khoo-TEKH) No way! — Qo'! (KOH) — stronger refusal than plain ghobe'

The full breakdown of profanity grammar (the jay' and Qo' intensifier system) is in Klingon curse words and Klingon idioms and slang.

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Food, drink, and daily life

Food (general) — Soj (SOHJ) Gagh (serpent worms, eaten live) — ghagh (GHAHKH) — the most iconic Klingon dish Bloodwine — 'Iw HIq ('eew kheek, "blood liquor") Heart of targ — tIq targh (teek TARGH) — a ceremonial delicacy Drink (verb) — tlhutlh (TLOOTL) Eat (verb) — Sop (SOHP) Prune juice (Worf's canon preferred drink) — HIvje' qagh is not canon; the show simply uses the English term "prune juice" untranslated — a small but real gap in the corpus Bathroom — puchpa' (POOCH-pah) — from the famous tourist phrase nuqDaq 'oH puchpa''e'? ("Where is the bathroom?") Sleep (verb) — Qong (KOHNG) Water — bIQ (BEEK)

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Ship, technology, and rank

Ship — Duj (DOOJ) Bird-of-Prey (warship class) — bIrqogh is not the canon term; the class is simply referred to as "Bird-of-Prey" in English even in Klingon-heavy dialogue Captain — HoD (KHOHD) Commander — la' (LAH) General — no distinct canon noun; la' (Commander) is sometimes used loosely for higher ranks in translation, but Klingon canon doesn't have a separate attested word for "General" Warp core — SuDwI' is unattested; canon media generally leaves ship-system nouns in English Bridge (of a ship) — ghojmoq is unconfirmed; treat as gap in the corpus Weapon systems — nuH (NOOKH) — general noun for "weapon" Transporter — untranslated in canon; the Klingon Language Institute has proposed Sepqu'wI' as (Neo-Klingon), not Okrand-attested

Where canon has a real gap (ship systems, some technology terms), we say so rather than inventing a word and presenting it as attested — see our full labeling policy in the FAQ below.

Want to see these words in a working phrase generator? Try the Klingon translator — it uses canon vocabulary only, sourced from the same Okrand corpus as this dictionary.

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Body, nature, and common adjectives

Forehead — Quch (KOOCH) — culturally loaded, see the insult section above Heart — tIq (TEEK) Blood — 'Iw ('EEW) Hand — ghop (GHOHP) Eye — mIn (MEEN) Big / great — tIn (TEEN) Small — mach (MAHKH) Good — QaQ (KAHK) Bad — qab (KAHB, also means "face" — context-dependent homonym) Strong — HoS (KHOHSH, also the noun "strength/power") Weak — puj (POOJ) Old — qan (KAHN) New / young — chu' (CHOO) Fast — nom (NOHM) Slow — QIt (KEET)

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Ten words every beginner should memorize first

If you only remember ten words from this whole dictionary, memorize these — they cover most casual Klingon exposure in fandom and media.

1. batlh — honor
2. Qapla' — success (farewell)
3. nuqneH — hello ("what do you want?")
4. SuvwI' — warrior
5. petaQ — worthless scum (insult)
6. Hegh — to die
7. jup — friend
8. jagh — enemy
9. tlhIngan — Klingon (the people/language itself)
10. Qo'noS — Qo'noS, the Klingon homeworld (proper noun)

For a longer flat list with more everyday coverage, see the companion piece: 50 common Klingon words.

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Caveats and best practices

1. Klingon is a single-author conlang. Unlike Elvish (Tolkien) or Dothraki (Peterson), almost all Klingon vocabulary comes from one source — Marc Okrand's The Klingon Dictionary and supplements. Gaps exist because Okrand hasn't published a word for everything.
2. Don't trust unlabeled fan dictionaries. Fan communities (including the Klingon Language Institute) have proposed extensions for modern concepts — some are excellent, but they are not the same as Okrand's canon. This page marks every non-canon entry (Neo-Klingon).
3. Capitalization is phonemic, not stylistic. tlhIngan and Tlhingan are different — Klingon romanization uses specific capital letters (D, H, Q, S, tlh) for specific sounds. Don't "fix" the capitalization when you type it.
4. Word order is Object-Verb-Subject. This is one of the rarest word orders among human and constructed languages — see Klingon language basics for the grammar behind it.

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Tools to go deeper

• Klingon translator — paste English, get a canon-sourced Klingon translation
• Best app to learn Klingon in 2026 — how Tengwar compares to Duolingo and the KLI materials
• AI tutor — ask about any word's etymology or usage — free, 10 messages per day
• Klingon greetings and phrases — full situational phrase guide

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People also ask

How many words are in Klingon? Roughly 3,000 attested words, all from Marc Okrand's The Klingon Dictionary (1985, revised 1992) and its supplements (Klingon for the Galactic Traveler, The Klingon Way). That's small next to English's 170,000+, but the vocabulary is dense in exactly the areas fans use most — honor, combat, insults.

Is Klingon vocabulary still growing? Yes, slowly. Okrand periodically releases new words through official Star Trek productions (Discovery, Picard) and the Klingon Language Institute publishes supplementary material. Growth is much slower than Neo-Elvish because there's no equivalent open community-reconstruction tradition — Okrand is the sole canonical authority.

What's the difference between this dictionary and the "50 common words" post? This page is organized thematically — by honor, combat, clan, insults, food, ship life — so you can browse a category and see how vocabulary reflects Klingon culture. The 50 common Klingon words post is a flat ranked list of the single most useful words for a total beginner. Use this dictionary as the deeper reference; use that post as a quick-start.

What's the Klingon word for "I love you"? There is no single canon phrase that maps directly to English "I love you." The closest canon noun is parmaq (love), used in the Klingon opera tradition. Klingon culture treats romantic declarations as understated at best — a Klingon is more likely to express devotion through loyalty (matlh) and action than through direct speech.

Why does Klingon have so many insult words but few "nice" words? Because the culture the language was designed to model prizes directness and confrontation over politeness. Marc Okrand deliberately built Klingon without a word for "please," with a blunt default greeting (nuqneH, "what do you want?"), and with an unusually rich insult vocabulary — it's a linguistic mirror of Klingon values, not an oversight.

Can I use Klingon words for a tattoo or a wedding vow? Yes, for the canon-attested words in this dictionary — batlh (honor), parmaq (love), matlh (loyal) are common choices. Avoid unlabeled fan-coined phrases for anything permanent; check with the Klingon Language Institute or our AI tutor before committing ink.

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Learn Klingon with Tengwar

Tengwar teaches Klingon (tlhIngan Hol) through Duolingo-style lessons with an AI tutor, alongside Elvish and Dothraki on the same platform. Start free → — 5 lessons per language, no credit card required.

Further reading

• 50 common Klingon words — the flat quick-start list companion to this dictionary
• Klingon for beginners — a full learning path
• Klingon greetings and phrases — situational phrase guide
• Klingon idioms and slang — figurative expressions beyond single words
• Klingon curse words — the profanity system in depth
• Best app to learn Klingon in 2026 — how to actually study this vocabulary
• Klingon language basics — pronunciation and grammar fundamentals
• Marc Okrand, the linguist who created Klingon

If you can't find the word you need, ask our AI tutor — it draws on the same canon vocabulary database as this dictionary.