r/sindarin • u/shadowdance55 • 9h ago
How to say "thank you"
Basically the title - apologies if that was already asked and answered, but you can imagine that it's a very tricky phrase to search for in this sub!
r/sindarin • u/F_Karnstein • Oct 04 '24
I compiled a list of all the new and otherwise interesting Sindarin vocab found in PE 23.
Certainly the most surprising thing to me (as you might already have guessed) are the articles. In this very late source (ca. 1969) Tolkien gives the singular as e before consonants, en before vowels, and in the plural i resp. in. This is of course a significant departure from all hitherto published samples of Sindarin, which of course had sg. i, plural in (as in earlier Noldorin), and the form en was limited to one form of genitive particle (which in this scenarion is probably dropped altogether in favour of na).
However, surprisingly this new paradigm seems to only really contradict i-Estel in the LotR (which would have to be amended to *en Estel), since all other forms in texts published during Tolkien's lifetime appear to be plural and all other cases of Sindarin articles we have known are from sources that Tolkien might have changed before publication (if he had got the chance to do so).
So we can't know whether Tolkien would indeed have changed i Estel in upcoming editions (had he been alive to oversee them) or whether he would have abandoned the new paradigm once he realised the contradiction, so I won't encourage anyone to adopt this late paradigm into their Neo-Sindarin (unlike abandoning the plural pronominal suffix -(a)m in favour of late -(o)f, a couple of years ago, since the former never appeared in anything published during Tolkien's lifetime), but I certainly find the topic extremely interesting.
So far I have not had a closer look at the mutations, but they appear to hold no big surprises so far, except that maybe Tolkien had decided to keep the nasal of the plural article intact before the mutated word, but that also would contradict material published during his life time.
But the development of sw stood out to me, since it is quite complicated - with Tolkien stating that it first became wh everywhere, then f in the North and chw in the South, which remained so in Doriath but later reverted to wh elsewhere, while still becoming chw through nasal mutation, and that the quality is often in fact uncertain because it wasn't always represented in spelling, using the letter hwesta sindarinwa for both. But in a note that might refer to this Tolkien said that "this business about sw is too complicated (and unnecessary)" and that the North had f and the South wh, which "remained unchanged" (hence the apparent lack of lenition in whest above, to which the note appears to point directly).
This would, however, still render the letter hwesta sindarinwa pointless, because (as Tolkien had pointed out in the LotR appendices) distinction of wh and chw was needed in Sindarin (but maybe only lenition had no effect but nasal mutation did?).
And lastly there are a few notes on North Sindarin, which has always been a special interest of mine:
r/sindarin • u/shadowdance55 • 9h ago
Basically the title - apologies if that was already asked and answered, but you can imagine that it's a very tricky phrase to search for in this sub!
r/sindarin • u/PitDweller84 • 3d ago
Playing The One Ring and as an Elf of Lindon looking to name a spear I just got. How do I make it something like Herald of Oblivion? If there's nothing close Fang of Fate or something along those lines will work
r/sindarin • u/Wonderful_Pepper_392 • 5d ago
I'm designing an engagement ring and would like to get the following text "Elf Queen" inscribed on the inside of the band in elvish.
After doing a little digging I came up with the following translation but wanted to get an expert pair of eyes on it. Could anyone confirm if this looks right?
Appreciate the time and consideration!

r/sindarin • u/thats_bananas_123 • 6d ago
Hi, I'm looking for help with a translation to sindarin. I already learned the basics regarding grammar, chose the words that best fit the meaning I strive for, checked the phonetics and translated it to sindarin (gondor). For some words I had to adapt the grammar, because technically some are neo-sindarin.
Can someone who knows sindarin help me to check the meaning and spelling? AI, as usual, is not helpful and I'd love to discuss my translation with a human being :)
Sorry for any mistakes I made, english ist not my first language.
r/sindarin • u/Buttercup_Girl31 • 10d ago
Hello everyone! I'm new here (apologies if asking for a study buddy is against the rules) and just started reading lord of the rings and I'm loving it so far. I was wondering if anyone would want to be my study buddy for elvish? We could speak only in elvish and learn together.
r/sindarin • u/Im-Not-Calling-It-X • 13d ago
Howdy! I'm sure this has been asked an infinite amount of times here, but I'm looking for the best resources to start learning Sindarin. I've seen 'Gateway to Sindarin' mentioned, but I've also read that that is out of date. I've also seen a few people mention 'A beginners Guide to Neo-sindarin'. I already have the dictionary, and a certainly above average but still incomplete lexicon. Le hannon!
r/sindarin • u/thing-sayer • 15d ago
I've been making weapon names for a setting I'm working on. I'd like feedback on the names, please.
Málidagdila - mace - Breaker of Many Hands
Sinqivilkila - sword - Cutter of Stones
Loethamînland - sickle - That which bends the space between
r/sindarin • u/pugpumpkin • 16d ago
Can anyone please show me what the word peace in Sindarin would look like. I've loved the Lord of the Rings universe since I was a child and I am much, much older now and I want a depiction of the word peace (what I want most these days) tattooed on my hand. Thank you for any help!
r/sindarin • u/WayneHrPr • 18d ago
Can you translate it?!
r/sindarin • u/Gh0st_Sp1der • 19d ago
Greetings and salutations! As the title states, I’m looking to translate “Swallow Of The Dawn” into Sindarin. Since context tends to help in these things, it would be a given name to a Mithril sword. Research has lead me to finding “Tuilinn Orëa” as a possible answer, but I’m not fully sure. Thank you in advance!
r/sindarin • u/Whole_Pea_5304 • 21d ago
r/sindarin • u/derspikemeister • 22d ago
Mae govannen !
I'm looking for some guidance on translating 'serendipity' into sindarin: using some resources on the internet (including eldamo), I came up with 'Alwed *hir', but I'm quite certain it's grammatically incorrect, if not entirely wrong.
Please could you help ? It's meant to be a name for my wife, and as much as I love the books, I have no working knowledge of any of the languages in the legendarium.
Many thanks in advance !
r/sindarin • u/Ok_Door_6412 • 23d ago
Hi all. I am set to officiate a wedding for some friends who absolutely love Tolkien.
It's not necessarily a wedding theme, but there will be small hints of it in the day, and I thought I could add a small line in Sindarin at the end of the ceremony. I was hoping someone could help with both writing it and speaking it.
Was thinking something along the lines of "You may now kiss each other", first in Sindarin, and then in English, to finalize the ceremony.
Thank you!
r/sindarin • u/bug-catcher-ben • 23d ago
Hello, scholars! I was hoping anyone could help translate a small phrase. I was wanting to translate the phrase “friend of oaks” to Sindarin. I’m skeptical of direct translation websites and much sooner trust the experts. Thanks for any assistance! :)
r/sindarin • u/moonitil • 24d ago
Hey everyone! I want to get the Sindarin word for sister tattooed and just wanted to double-check that I have the right script. If anyone could let me know, it would be greatly appreciated!
r/sindarin • u/Practical_Taro1692 • 25d ago
Mae Govannen,
I'm trying to name a weapon in my One Ring campaign. I like the idea of the name Swiftbow, as my character is a singer of old songs and quite taken with the legend of Beleg.
I thought Cucaun would be quite close to the mark, but I've not seen confirmation anywhere. I've even consulted some AI tools, but they were confusing and contradictory, insisting on the word Caunad, and trying to tell me that Cuthalion comes from Cuth and Nal for Strong and bow.
Is there anyone who could shed some light?
r/sindarin • u/Massive_Spring2448 • Sep 12 '26
r/sindarin • u/hi26849 • Sep 11 '26
Hello everyone, I hope some of you wonderful people can help me here. I have found I don't like most of the auto translators and I would like to avoid AI if at all possible.
I need the phrase "The most dangerous thing is to love." Translated with help with pronouncing it as well. I'm officiating the wedding and the bride had asked that a special phrase be in high Tolkien elvish. If I could have help writing it out in elvish as well that would be amazing!
I greatly appreciate any and all help.
r/sindarin • u/GracefulContrarian • Sep 09 '26
I'm looking to get this as a tattoo soon. It's Tengwar for "mellon nin". Would this be the correct way to express "my friend"?
r/sindarin • u/KatyTruthed • Sep 09 '26
Or "the full extent"
I know "full" is "pant".
As far as I know there isn't a word for "extent". I was thinking maybe "lîr" for line, or "mîn" for space?
Thanks in advance.
r/sindarin • u/Mithrandir3434 • Sep 08 '26
Hello. I’m trying to create a name for my d&d character. Google hasn’t been much help, I don’t know much about naming conventions, I’ve never been very good at it. Basically what I want is a name that means “elf of the rising sun”, “daughter of the rising sun”, or something similar. Any help would be appreciated! Thank you!