#quenya — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #quenya, aggregated by home.social.
-
You may be wondering where I get the information for these posts, so I will provide here a list of the references I am using. I have, myself, studied Quenya in the past, though I have forgotten much, and this project started as a way to encourage myself to take up the language once again.
The most definitive sources are the Tolkien linguistic journals Vinyar Tengwar and Parma Eldalamberon, which is where most of Tolkien's purely linguistical material was first published.
Vinyar Tengwar — https://elvish.org/VT/
Parma Eldalamberon — http://www.eldalamberon.com/index1.htmlI am not sure if back issues of these journals are actually still available as I bought my copies decades ago when they were first published. However, their content, and more, has been summarized in many other places.
These next websites provide excellent references to the words as they existed in all stages of the development of the languages, as well as discussions and references to the original source material so that you can look things up for yourself.
Quetalli — https://quettali.org/silme/index.html
A very nice quick reference for finding words that also shows how the words are written in the tengwar script, and how the words are conjugated or declined according to the known rules of grammar.Eldamo — https://eldamo.org/index.html
A more detailed site with discussions of the development of the words over time, as well as references to the source material. Also includes suggestions for Neo-Quenya — an attempt at fleshing out Tolkien's unfinished language to make it more complete and usable.Amayë Tenceli — http://at.boktypografen.se/index.html
This site is dedicated purely to the tengwar and the sarati, writing systems that Tolkien invented for his Elvish languages.1/2
-
Today's date
Yavannië 6 (enquë), 2026 (yuquain enquë yuquain), Anarya
Yavanna-ness [September] 6 (six), 2026 (twenty six twenty), Sun-day [Sunday]Word of the day
amillë — singular: mother
amillet — dual: pair of mothers. See yesterday's post for a discussion of how the dual form might be appropriately used.
amilleli — partitive: some mothers
amiller — plural: mothersThe word for mother changed over time, but for most of Tolkien's life he use amil or amillë. The dimuniutive form ammë can be translated as "mummy" (or "mommy" in the USA).
The Tengwar
The eleventh letter of the tengwar is aha, later called harma, which is used for the letter h. The word aha means "rage", while harma means "treasure". -
Today's date
Yavannië 5 (lempë), 2026 (yuquain enquë yuquain), Elenya
Yavanna-ness [September] 5 (five), 2026 (twenty six twenty), Star-day [Saturday]Word of the day
atar — singular: father
ataru — dual: pair of fathers. Since the dual is meant mostly for natural pairs, you might think this a strange form, but consider if you were speaking of a man and his son who also has a child. Both are fathers, and since they are themselves related, they might be regarded as a natural pair. Also, though Prof. Tolkien might have been shocked by the idea, a married gay couple with children might be referred to as the children's ataru as well.
atalli — partitive: some fathers
atari — plural: fathersOne famous place that Tolkien used this word, though not published in his lifetime, is in his translation of the Lord's Prayer, which begins: Átaremma i ëa han ëa, na aire esselya. "Our father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name". A more literal word for word translation might be rendered as "Father-ours who is beyond the-Universe, is blessed name-yours". The Universe is referred to as Eä, the verb meaning to be. This is the word Eru Ilúvatar, God, spoke when he made the Universe.
The Tengwar
The tenth letter of the tengwar is formen which is used for the letter F. The word formen means "north". -
Today's date
Yavannië 4 (canta), 2026 (yuquain enquë yuquain), Valanya
Yavanna-ness [September] 4 (four), 2026 (twenty six twenty), Vala-day [Friday]Numbers, part 1
Here are the numbers 1 through 10.min — one
atta — two
neldë — three
canta — four
lempë — five
enquë — six
otso — seven
toldo — eight
nertë — nine
queän — tenThe Tengwar
The ninth letter of the tengwar is thúlë or súlë (the pronunciation changed over time) which is used for the letter combination TH, but can also represent the letter S in words where TH had evolved in S over time. The word thúlë or súlë means "spirit". -
Today's date
Yavannië 3 (neldë), 2026 (yuquain enquë yuquain), Eärenya
Yavanna-ness [September] 3 (three), 2026 (twenty six twenty), Sea-day [Thursday]Word of the day
órë — singular: heart, inner mind, in the sense of one's deep intuition, not the organ in the body.
óret — dual: a pair of hearts.
óreli — partitive: some hearts
óri — plural: heartsThe concept of órë is one that has no direct equivalent in English. It is normally translated as heart, since that is the closest we can get, and the well known Quenya phrase órenya quetë nin means "my heart tells me". But for the Elves, their órë was much more than just an inner feeling. It was a reliable guide to what was best, though it did not neccessarily speak often. In fact, for the Elves, messages from their órë could sometimes be literal direct communication for Eru, God, and revelations of the divine will.
Men also had an órë, but it spoke less often, was not reliable, and could lead them astray, even into evil. The Elven scholars said this may have been the result of the early fathers of Men accepting Morgoth as their god and worshipping him, because while the óri of the unfallen could not be penetrated by Morgoth, by worshipping him the early Men gave him a path into their hearts so that he could further corrupt them. The óri of Men were thus not always to be trusted after their fall from grace.
The Tengwar
The eigth letter of the tengwar is ungwë, which is used for the letter combination NGW. The word ungwë means "spider web". -
Today's date
Yavannië 2 (atta), 2026 (yuquain enquë yuquain), Menelya
Yavanna-ness [September] 2 (two), 2026 (twenty six twenty), Heavens-day [Wednesday]Word of the day
únehta — singular: atom
únehtu — dual: a pair of atoms. It's hard to think of what would constitute a natural pair of atoms, though perhaps the ones in dual atom elemental forms, such as hydrogen or oxygen molecules.
únehtali — partitive: some atoms
únehtar — plural: atomsThe Tengwar
The seventh letter of the tengwar is anga, which is used for the letter combination NG, but do note that these are pronounced separately, as in finger, unless it is the final letter of a word, in which case it has the sound found in sing. The word anga means "iron". -
Today's date
Yavannië 1 (min), 2026 (yuquain enquë yuquain), Alduya
Yavanna-ness [September] 1 (one), 2026 (twenty six twenty), Trees-day [Tuesday]Yavannië is named in honor of the Valië (female Vala) Yavanna, whose name means "Giver of Fruits".
The seasons: Autumn
September is generally regarded as one of the months of autumn. There are multiple words in Quenya to describe this season. First is yávië, translated as "autumn", or "harvest". Yávië was one of the six seasons in the Calendar of Imladris. (The Elves apparently did not have a single calendar in universal use, however, the Calendar of Imladris is the only one documented.) Another word for autumn is quellë, which means "fading", though this is more specifically a reference to what we would think of as late autmun. Another term sometimes used in place of quellë is lasse-lanta, or "leaf-fall".Word of the day
lassë — singular: leaf
lasset — dual: a pair of leaves. Note that because the dual is generally only used for natural pairs, this form is not likely to find any use, but might make sense when talking about the cotelydons, the first two leaves put out by a sprouted seed.
lasseli — partitive: some leaves
lassi — plural: leavesThe Tengwar
The sixth letter of the tengwar is umbar, which is used for the letter combination MB. The word umbar means "fate".Note
I should have said this right at the beginning, but there is more than one Elvish language. The one being presented here so far is Quenya, the language of the Noldor, or high elves who came out of Valinor at the beginning of the First Age to fight the first Dark Lord, Morgoth. The other major Elvish language of Middle-earth is Sindarin, the language of the Elves who did not go to Valinor. There are also Vanyarin and Telerin languages, but those are far less developed and not mentioned in the books Tolkien published in his lifetime. I hope someday to venture into Sindarin, but that will be some time from now. -
Today's date
Mettelairë 31 (min nelquain), 2026 (yuquain enquë yuquain), Ithilya
Summer's-ending [August] 31 (one thirty), 2026 (twenty six twenty), Moon-day [Monday]Word of the day
yén — singular: long year. The Elven long year is equivalent to 144 solar years.
yénu — dual: a pair of long years. Note that because the dual is generally only used for natural pairs, this form is not likely to find any use.
yénéli — partitive: some long years
yéni — plural: long yearsThe Tengwar
The fifth letter of the tengwar is ando, which is used for the letter combination ND. The word ando means "gate". -
Today's date
Mettelairë 30 (nelquain), 2026 (yuquain enquë yuquain), Anarya
Summer's-ending [August] 30 (thirty), 2026 (twenty six twenty), Sun-day [Sunday]Word of the day
rocco — singular: horse
roccot — dual: a pair of horses
roccoli — partitive: some horses
roccor — plural: horsesThe Tengwar
The fourth letter of the tengwar is quessë, which is used for the letter combination QU. The word quessë means "feather".A note on written numbers
Until now I have been writing Elvish numbers in the left to right convention of European languages, but in fact in the Elvish languages numbers are written in what we would think of as right to left. In other words, when a number is written according to the Elvish conventions, the ones place is the leftmost digit, the tens place is to the right of it, the hundreds place to the right of that, and so on. So, for example, the number one hundred twenty three would be written in the Elvish convention as 321. Henceforth I will be using this convention when writing numbers using the tengwar digits. -
Today's date
Mettelairë 29 (nertë yuquain), 2026 (yuquain enquë yuquain), Elenya
Summer's-ending [August] 29 (nine twenty), 2026 (twenty six twenty), Star-day [Saturday]Word of the day
cala — light, sunlight, daylight, daytimeThe Tengwar
The third letter of the tengwar is calma, which is used for the letters C/K. The word calma means "lamp". -
Today's date
Mettelairë 28 (toldo yuquain), 2026 (yuquain enquë yuquain), Valanya
Summer's-ending [August] 28 (eight twenty), 2026 (twenty six twenty), Vala-day [Friday]toldo, meaning eight, was originally spelled tolto, and Tolkien only changed the spelling late in his life in the 1960's. Some people prefer the older spelling since it is contemporaneous with the publication of The Lord of the Rings.
Word of the day
alda — singular: tree
aldu — dual: a pair of trees, both trees. In the name for Tuesday, Alduya, it is specifically the Two Trees of Valinor that are refered to.
aldali — partitive: some trees
aldar — plural: treesQuenya plural forms
Quenya has 3 different plural forms for words. The dual form refers to exactly 2 of something but generally was reserved for things that form a natural pair, such as a pair of eyes or a pair of arms. The partitive plural refers to an indeterminate number that is part of a larger whole. Finally, there is the general purpose plural used to refer to many of something without the suggestion that they are merely part of a whole. Hence one might refer to the aldar of a forest, but then speak of the aldali from that forest that were cut down by woodsmen one day.The Tengwar
The second letter of the tengwar is parma, which is used for the letter P. The word parma means "book". -
Today's date
Mettelairë 27 (otso yuquain), 2026 (yuquain enquë yuquain), Ëarenya
Summer's-ending [August] 27 (seven twenty), 2026 (twenty six twenty), Sea-day [Thursday]Word of the day
lómë — night. As seen in the battle cry of Fingon's army, Auta i lómë, "The night is passing", before the Fifth Battle against Morgoth in the First Age.The Tengwar
The tengwar, or "letters" (sing. tengwa) are the alphabet invented by the great Elven craftsman Feanor. It is the alphabet in which all of the samples of Elvish script are written in these posts.The first letter of the tengwar is tinco, which is used for the letter T. The word tinco also means "metal".
-
Today's date
Mettelairë 26 (enquë yuquain), 2026 (yuquain enquë yuquain), Menelya
Summer's-ending [August] 26 (six twenty), 2026 (twenty six twenty), Heaven-day [Wednesday]Word of the day
Aurë entuluva! — OK, this is two words. It means "Day shall come again!" and was what Hurín cried out when he realized the battle he had fought in against Morgoth was lost.
aurë — day.
entuluva — Will come again. From: en- — prefix meaning "again", similar to re- in English; tulë — the verb "to come"; -uva — The ending used to conjugate a verb in future tense.Notes on pronunciation
The accent marks on vowels in Quenya written with the Roman alphabet are meaningful and easy to understand.á é í ó ú — These marks indicate that the vowel is long and should be held a bit longer than a regular vowel when speaking.
ë — This mark is used with a letter e simply to indicate that the letter is not silent or part of a diphthong and it should be pronounced. Example: Ëa is a two syllable word pronounced like "Ay - a". Lempë is a two syllable word pronounced like "Lem - pay".
All vowels should be pronounced as pure Latinate sounds like vowels in Italian and Spanish.
au — This is pronounced to rhyme with "bough".
ai — This rhymes with "eye". -
Today's date
Mettelairë 25 (lempë yuquain), 2026 (yuquain enquë yuquain), Aldúya
Summer's-ending [August] 25 (five twenty), 2026 (twenty six twenty), Trees-day [Tuesday]Word of the day
utúvienyes — An exclamation meaning "I have found it!" Seen in Aragorn's exclamation upon finding a sapling of the White Tree in The Return of the King. This word is derived from from the verb tuvë, meaning "to find". Utúvië is the past perfect conjugation (have found) to which are added the endings -nyë which transforms it to utúvienyë, "I have found", and the additional ending -s, which adds the direct object "it", yielding the final form of the exclamation.Correction
I must admit that I have made an error in the dates, recently. I have been translating 2026 as yuquain lempë yuquain, but that actually is 2025. The correct translation is yuquain enquë yuquain. My apologies. -
Today's date
Mettelairë 24 (canta yuquain), 2026 (yuquain enquë yuquain), Ithilya
Summer's-ending [August] 24 (four twenty), 2026 (twenty six twenty), Moon-day [Monday]Word of the day
omentië — meeting, as in the meeting of two pathways or of different people. As seen in the phrase Elen síla lumenn' omentielvo — "a star shines upon the hour of our meeting", a greeting used by Frodo upon meeting a group of elves in the Shire in The Fellowship of the Ring. Note that the full third word is lumenna but in spoken Quenya the final a sound is elided into the initial o sound of omentielvo. -
Today's date
Mettelairë 23 (neldë yuquain), 2026 (yuquain lempë yuquain), Anarya
Summer's-ending [August] 23 (three twenty), 2026 (twenty six twenty), Sun-day [Sunday]Word of the day
ráma — wing, pl. rámar -
Today's date
Mettelairë 22 (atta yuquain), 2026 (yuquain enquë yuquain), Elenya
Summer's-ending [August] 22 (two twenty), 2026 (twenty six twenty), Star-day [Saturday]Elenya — Star-day, from elen (star).
atta yuqain — Twenty two, lit. two twenty.Word of the day
miuë — cat. -
Today's date
Mettelairë 21 (min yuquain), 2026 (yuquain lempë yuquain), Valanya
Summer's-ending [August] 21 (one twenty), 2026 (twenty six twenty), Vala-day [Friday]valanya — Vala-day, from Vala (Power, one of the angelic beings who shape and guard the world).
min yuquain — Twenty one, lit. one twenty.Word of the day
lassë — leaf, pl. lassi. Seen in the opening line of the poem Námarië: "Ai! Laurië lantar lassi surinen" — Ah! Golden fall the leaves in the wind. -
[i am going to start posting these before going to bed so i don't forget if i am rushed in the morning going to work. That means they will be posted a few hours early unless you are on GMT time or farther east.]
Today's date
Ná eärenya, i yuquainëa aurë Mettelairëo.
Is is Sea-day [Thursday], the twentieth day of Summer's-ending [August].eärenya — Sea-day, from eär (sea).
yuquainëa — Twentieth, from yuquain (twenty).Word of the day
anna — gift. Seen in Annatar (Lord of Gifts), the name Sauron used for himself in the Second Age when he pretended to be reformed and befriended the Elves of Eregion and taught them to make rings of power. Also, anna is the 23rd letter of the tengwar, the Elvish alphabet. -
Ná menelya, i neterqueä aurë Mettelairëo.
It is Heavens-day [Wednesday], the 19th day of Summer's Ending [August].Word of the day:
macil — Sword. -
Ná aldúya, i tolquëa aurë Mettelairëo.
It is Trees-day [Tuesday], the eighteenth day of Summer's-ending [August].aldúya — Trees-day, from the root alda (tree).
tolquëa — eighteenth, from tolquë (eighteen).Word of the day
namárië — Farewell, lit. be well. From á na [imp. be] marië [well]. -
Ná ithilya, i otoquëa aurë Mettelairëo.
It is Moon-day, the 17th day of Summer's-ending.
Ná - is, it is
ithilya - Moon-day [Monday]
i - the
otoquëa - seventeenth
aurë - day
Mettelairëo - Summer's-ending [August] -
-
“Quenya is practically a main character: Elvish-English multilingualism in Tolkien-inspired fan-fictions”, Gloria Comandini & Francesco Dedè
https://doi.org/10.13135/2384-8987/11545 [EN] [15 p.]
On the use of Quenya in Tolkien fanfiction
#elvish #quenya #tolkien #lotr #thehobbit #fictionallanguages
6/6 -
Look what I've found :o
Tolkien singing Namárië (never heard him singing!)
https://youtu.be/RkuHrD_xlJYAnd The Fellowship (which I didn’t know before) version. Wow!
https://youtu.be/PLeECmnHSxg -
Beside designing Tengwar Fonts I am actually writing a Grammar of Quenya (and Sindarin) and writing my (?5th) version of my Dictionary of Quenya.
English words with an asterisk are my "propositions" (= additions to Tolkien often very short definitions)
CE = Common Eldarin the mother tongue of QuenyaAny dictionary is a "book layout Hell" esp. at 7pt.