Quenya Dictionary: 200+ Essential Words with Meanings (2026)

Quenya Dictionary: 200+ Essential Words

Quenya — the High-Elvish tongue of Tolkien's mythology — has approximately 2,000–3,000 documented words across his published writings. This dictionary covers the most useful, most searched, and most commonly used vocabulary across everyday concepts.

All words here are attested (appearing in Tolkien's texts) unless marked (reconstructed), meaning linguists have derived them from known roots.

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How to Use This Dictionary

• Bold = the Quenya word
• Pronunciation note: stress falls on the second-to-last syllable if it is long, otherwise the third-to-last
• v. = verb | n. = noun | adj. = adjective | adv. = adverb

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Greetings & Farewells

Quenya	Pronunciation	Meaning
Aiya	AY-ya	Hello / Hail
Namárië	na-MAH-ree-eh	Farewell / Goodbye (lit. "be well")
Mára mesta	MAH-ra MES-ta	Goodbye (lit. "good parting")
Auta miqula	OW-ta MI-kwu-la	(reconstructed) Farewell with a kiss
Á tulë	AH TOO-leh	Welcome (lit. "come!")
Mara	MAH-ra	Good / Well

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People & Relationships

Quenya	Meaning	Notes
atan (pl. atani)	human, mortal	Used by Elves to refer to Men
elda (pl. eldar)	Elf	High-Elf specifically
nér	man, male person
nissë	woman, female person
yondo	son
sell	daughter	(reconstructed)
atar	father	Formal/poetic
amil / ammë	mother
haru	grandfather
amil-amilë	grandmother
meldo	(male) friend, beloved
melde	(female) friend, beloved
mellon	friend	(Also used in Sindarin)
hína	child
onna	child, offspring

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Emotions & Inner Life

Quenya	Meaning
melmë	love (noun)
mel-	to love (verb)
melda	beloved, dear
nírë	tear (as in weeping)
nwalca	cruel, painful
alassë	joy, happiness
miruvórë	joy-drink; mead of the Valar
estel	hope, trust, faith
amdir	hope based on reason (reconstructed)
úmë	dread, horror
náië	alas (exclamation of grief)
sí	now (often used in poetic lament)

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Nature

Quenya	Meaning
arda	realm, region; also "the World"
elen (pl. eleni)	star
anar	sun
isil	moon
airë	sea, ocean
nén	water
nen	lake, pool
oron (pl. oronti)	mountain
ondo	stone, rock
alda	tree
lassi	leaves
yávë	fruit
sírë	river
círya	ship
ráma	wing
súrë	wind
aiwë	small bird
huan	hound, dog
rohto	horse (reconstructed)
urco	orc (early form)

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Light & Darkness

Quenya	Meaning
cala	light
calima	bright
silmë	starlight, silver light
vása	radiance, warmth
wilwarin	butterfly; light as a butterfly
mórë	darkness, night
fuinë	deep shadow
lómë	dusk, dimness
tinwë	spark, glint
giliath	host of stars (Sindarin borrowing)

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Time

Quenya	Meaning
lúmë	time, hour
yén	Elvish long-year (144 years)
coranar	solar year (lit. "sun-round")
ráno	month
sí	now
yá	ago, before
tennoio	forever, for ever and ever
iluvë	the whole, all
ana	to, towards

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Verbs — Common Actions

Quenya	Meaning
mel-	to love
cen-	to see
mat-	to eat
sov-	to wash
car-	to make, do
tul-	to come
led-	to go
quet-	to speak, say
nir-	to press, urge
hlar-	to hear
sir-	to flow
pal-	to walk abroad, wander
vanya-	to depart (reconstructed)
anta-	to give
sav-	to believe, trust

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Adjectives

Quenya	Meaning
alda	tall (archaic)
alta	great, large
arya	noble
cáno	commander; commanding
calima	bright, luminous
carnë	red
celúmë	rushing, flowing
fana	fair, beautiful (of form)
lauca	warm
laurëa	golden (of colour)
lissë	sweet
luinë	blue
mára	good, useful
moica	gentle, soft
morë / morna	dark, black
nandë	joyful
nórëa	of the land
rúnya	red flame (reconstructed)
rúsëa	fiery
sindë	grey
taurina	of the forest
telpëa	of silver
vanima	beautiful, fair
vanya	fair, beautiful (of person)
vórëa	steadfast, ever-faithful
yára	ancient, old

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Numbers

Quenya	Number
min	1
atta	2
neldë	3
canta	4
lempë	5
enquë	6
otso	7
tolto	8
nertë	9
quain	10
minquë	11
yunquë	12

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Common Phrases

Quenya	English
Melin tye	I love you
Nai aranielya ter lómë nuquerna	May your light not be quenched in shadow
A Elbereth Gilthoniel	O Elbereth Star-kindler (invocation)
Namárië	Farewell
Auta miqula órenyaron	Let the kiss depart from my heart (archaic)
Elen síla lúmenn' omentielvo	A star shines on the hour of our meeting
Nai tiruvantes i hárar mahalmassen mi Númen	May those who sit on thrones in the West watch over you
Á laita te, laita te	Praise them, praise them
Cormacolindor	Ring-bearers

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Titles & Names

Quenya	Meaning
Aran	King
Arni / Aranel	Queen
Roquen	Knight, horseman
Ohtar	Warrior
Quendë	Elf (lit. "one who speaks")
Calaquendi	High-Elves of the Light
Moriquendi	Dark-Elves (who did not see the Light)
Ainur	Holy Ones (the Valar and Maiar)
Valar	The Powers (gods)
Maiar	The Order of the Valar (lesser spirits)

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Learning More

This dictionary covers the most commonly used Quenya words, but Tolkien's language goes much deeper. Quenya has a full grammatical system including:

• 10 noun cases (nominative, genitive, possessive, dative, allative, ablative, locative, instrumental, and more)
• Verb tenses and moods
• Adjective agreement with nouns

To go from vocabulary to sentences, you need to understand how these rules work together. Tengwar's free lessons walk you through Quenya grammar step by step, with pronunciation audio, flashcards, and an AI tutor to answer questions as you go.

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Practice these words with spaced repetition flashcards at learningelvish.com — free to start.

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Related Guides

• Sindarin Word List: 200+ Essential Words — the Grey-Elvish companion to this dictionary
• Quenya vs Sindarin — Which Should You Learn? — choosing the right dialect
• Quenya Pronunciation Guide — how to say these words correctly
• 50 Common Elvish Words — a curated starter list across both languages

Related Reading

• Elvish Dictionary — 300+ Common Words in Quenya and Sindarin
• 50 Essential Elvish Words — Quenya & Sindarin Vocabulary Guide
• Elvish Words for Colors: Complete Quenya & Sindarin Color Vocabulary
• Elvish Words for Death and Fate: How Tolkien's Languages Describe the End

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Learn Elvish with Tengwar

Tengwar teaches Tolkien's Elvish — Quenya and Sindarin — through Duolingo-style lessons with an AI tutor (Mithrandir) that cites Tolkien sources for every answer. Plus Klingon and Dothraki on the same platform. Start free → — 5 lessons per language, no credit card required.