This is the first article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
If you know me well, you know I’ve been a devout fan of the work of J. R. R. Tolkien since I was eight, when my uncle Jim gave me the Lord of the Rings for Christmas. I devoured the book, along with the Hobbit and then the Silmarillion, reading each many times. I still enjoy revisiting Middle Earth, most recently in Children of Hurin, the revised dark epic released by Christopher Tolkien last year.
Jim’s son, Chris, however, is a genuine Tolkien scholar, particularly with regards to linguistics. When I recently shared a J.R.R.T. resource I’d found online with him and other family members, he replied with a number of other wonderful resources. Since he was kind enough to share his knowledge with me, I thought I’d pass it along to the rest of the world.
The Tengwar Scribe allows you to write text in Roman letters, select a Tengwar mode, and have the text transcribed to Tengwar. Tengwar, if you recall, is “a script that was invented by J.R.R. Tolkien. In his works, the tengwar script, invented by Fëanor, was used to write a number of the languages of Middle-earth, including Quenya and Sindarin. However, it can also be used to write other languages, such as English (most of Tolkien’s tengwar samples are actually in English). The word tengwar is Quenya for ‘letters’.” (Wikipedia)
The Tengwar Scribe is Windows-only, however, so you may want to look into Online Tengwar Transcriber, which works on any platform.
YaTT, or Yet another Tengwar Tool, allows users to transcribe both into and from Tengwar. YaTT incluldes an option to transcribe text in other applications, including special support for MS Word. YaTT was originally made for the PC but Chris assures me that there is a “Lite” version somewhere for the Mac.
Hiswelókë’s Sindarin dictionary includes a Sindarin lexicon in XML (TEI) format and two freeware applications. Dragon Flame for Microsoft Windows and Linux, embeds the Sindarin dictionary along with additional tools. Hesperides does the same for OS X. Sindarin, as you may recall, was “the Elvish language most commonly spoken in Middle-earth in the Third Age. It was the language of the Sindar, those Teleri which had been left behind on the Great Journey of the Elves.”(Wikipedia)
Finally, Ardalambion, according to Chris, is “a good resource for learning about the Elvish languages themselves; you can even find an extremely thorough, well-researched “Quenya Course” consisting of 20 lessons, plus appendices and exercises with keys.”
Thanks for resources, cuz! There are many other wonderful Tolkien resources online too, notably the Encyclopedia of Arda, an Elvish to English dictionary and an English to Elvish dictionary.
Ennyn Durin Aran Moria: pedo mellon a minno.
Note to people commenting here: I have shared links to Elvish translators here. There’s a great Tolkein translator online here. I am not offering translation services. Thank you! .
digiphile 
Very nice article! There was so very, very little of this material and scholarship available in 1963-1968 when I was pursuing it passionately. Chris has surpassed me in so many ways now… ^_^ I am very proud of him.
What is the dark elfish translation of Ring Bearer?
If you’re looking for “dark elfish” you might be looking at the wrong genre of elves. Tolkien’s elves were the Moriquendi, called dark elves because they never saw the light of Valinor, and who spoke the same language in almost all cases as the light elves.
The language of the “dark elf” in Tolkien’s universe would be Orc. The Orcs were once Elves that fell into darkness. The D&D “Dark Elves” speak a language called UNDER-COMMON, which players of that game made up over a period of time and is a language comprised of English (common) and Elvish (YES Tolkien Elvish) so the word you are looking for would be found here: http://www.grey-company.org/Maerdyn/resources/language.html
Hi,
Just found your site. Saw this and had to respond, The “Dark Elves” of Tolkien’s universe ARE NOT ORCS!!! Trying to make a link to them from the Drow of D&D is Wrong. Orcs were Made from Elves by Melkor the Morgogh, First Dark Lord of Middle Earth, and later by his successor, Sauron, who had been his lieutenant. Orcs were mystically, genetically engineered from tortured elvish captives. The traitorous Saruman the White (“many-colored”) refined the practice using Men to create his Uruk Hai, super orcs.
The “Dark Elves” of Tolkien’s universe are simply lesser elves. Like the Wood Elves of Mirkwood. They are called “Dark” or Moriquendi, because they remained behind in Middle Earth, under the starlight of the First Age, and did lot travel the “Straight Route” like the rest of the Quendi (Elves) to the “Undying Lands” of Valinor. In Valinor, the Valar taught the Kaliquendi (Elves of Light) and they grew wise and powerful. The Kaliquendi returned to Middle Earth as the Noldor, who were commonly refered to as the “High Elves.” These were the ancestors of such notables as Elrond Lord of Imaldiris (Rivendale) and Galadriel, Lady of Loth Lorien.
All of these points are made clear in The Silmarillion.
The Dark Elves Speak Quenya the language of the original Quendi, and the High Elves speak Sindarin. As to the languages of Orcs, they speak mostly a guttural form of Common, or “Black Speech” (the language of Mordor). I hope this was helpful.
Hi,
can someone help me to find the spelling of my name “Ramona” in this language? I would like to get a tattoo of it, but i have to be sure if it is right.
Thank you,
greets, ramona
@Ramoma
Which language? Quenya or Sindarin? They both are Elvish but there are differences in the glyphs, which would of course be of interest for a tattoo.
You can see both alphabets here and spell out your name that way:
http://www.omniglot.com/writing/tengwar.htm
There’s also an english mode, linked from that web-page, which I’d recomend, assuming “Ramona” is in english
Hi! This is going to sound like a stupid question, but since a couple of weeks i have been starting to grow a interest for Lord of the Rings, i loved them as a child, but back then it was all about the battles and the music, but now i have been starting to read the books, and i want to learn how to either write or speak in elven, and as i know it there are many to choose from, so my question is, which is the language the elv Arwen speaks? the one Aragorn sings and the ones in the movies in average? I would be happy if someone could respond!
Arwen and Aragorn speak Sindarin to each other. Arwen knows only Sindarin. Aragorn knows both Quenya (a little bit one might say) and Quenya. He sings in Quenya, for instance.
Hello,
I’m trying to find an Elvish transcription of sentence ”Pain is temporary,pride is forever’,because of making tatto on Elvish Tengwar (Quenya).I’ve been searching for several days,and as I discover more,I’m becoming more and more confused. Any suggestion/help would be usefully .
Thanks.
Benny, unfortunately there does not seem to be an authoritative translation for “pride” in either Quenya or Sindarin. Helge Fauskanger of Ardalambion fame coined “valate” in Quenya, presumably deriving it from the newly coined extended stem *BALÁT-. I would expect a Sindarin form “balad”, but at this point you’re relying on my Sindarin extrapolation of a Quenya form using a root that Tolkien never made. Not something I’d want in permanent ink on my body!
If all you want is a tengwar transcription – English words in Feanorian letters – that’s quite easy. The Tengwar Textbook will have you writing tengwar in hours.
hi,
would u please help me out !!! by sending the transcription of my name “SUJEETH” in any l of the language Quenya or Sindarin? please do send those transcription to my mail id . i’d already gone through all the alphabets of those languages but i’m totally in confused state please do help
Sujeeth, you can see both alphabets here and spell out your name that way:
http://www.omniglot.com/writing/tengwar.htm
Matching letters to runes should be straightforward there.
How would “Music” be transcribed in to the Quenya mode? I am not sure which character to use for the “s” in it. How do I tell which one I need to use?
using the tengwar names, it’s spelled “malta”, “u”, “silme nuquerna”, “i” “calma”. Súle is used to replace older quenya “th”-sounds. Nuquerna tengwar are used if you need a tengwa above. This also applies to the tengwa “rómen” as distinct from “óre”
me gustaria saber donde puedo encontrar un programa donde pueda traducir correctamente frases, nombres,.. en elfico (tengwar)!
gracias!
can anyone find me a font download that actually puts the vowels over the previous letters??? the best i can find is the gandalf script and the vowels go over the next letter! i want actual font from the books and on the pages that tells you how to do it!
Hi! I would like to get a tattoo of my name in Elvish .. but I’m confuse which language to use. Quenya or Sindarin? What’s the difference?
Quenya is “classic” elvish, being the middle-earth equivalent of latin or greek. Sindarin is more modern, but less developed by Tolkien. If you want to write your name, consider using your native tongue. Omniglot.com has instructions for writing Quenya and Sindarin, as well as English, Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Spanish. Other languages can surely be found by googling.
Could someone please tell me the translation of “whatever you do in life will be insignifigant but it is very important that you do it anyway.” in tengwar? I want to get this as a tattoo. Is there a good translating website?
Hi does anyone knows hows to translate Joyce Alvin to elvish….i cant seem to find the translation for me..thanks
hello as you can see my name already i was wondering if anybody can translate it into sindarin. the translations from the hebrew, gaelic, and latin names are/is Faithful King Iron and i was wondering if there is a sindarin version of the word of. any help would be appreciated.
“Faithful” can be “faidwen” or “-ndil” or even “-nil”. “King” would be “aran” or just “ar” (you get even more options if you use the word “prince”, translated as “ernil”, instead of only “king”!) The English word “iron” would translate as “ang/anga” or “engrin”. Put together, your name would be “Ar Faidanga” or “Arendil Engrinar”, both meaning “The Faithful Iron King”.or “The Faithful King (of) Iron”. I hope that helps you!
just want to ask what elvish writing is on the ring. is it Quenya or Sindarin. thanks
Oops! See my reply below…
Neither, it is Black Speech, the language of Mordor.
Neither Bojo, it is the Black Speech of Mordor. Related but drastically different
So do you know which part of the script it is that’s just “and in the darkness bind them”? I know it’s at the end but can you tell me where to separate it off from the rest? I’m also wondering for a tattoo…
My guess is that it’s the “agh burzum ishi krimpatûl”
Bojo, I think you would have much more fun reading this in JRRT’s “Fellowship of the Ring”. Gandalf actually dares to read it aloud before the Council of Elrond. It is the central couplet from the Rhyme of the Rings, the binding spell in the Black Speech of Mordor, never before heard in Rivendell. Needless to say, he frightens some, offends others with its power and foulness.
It’s in the movie, too. Elrond was livid!
Hi,
I need this name “Martin Rankov” in Elvish Tengwar (Quenya) .
Help, please.
Thanks!
Best thing you can do is find the meaning of your name and then convert into Quenya. that way theres no skewed words/meanings.
Mae govannen mellon,
I need help with the translation of a part of strider’s riddle into sindarin text please. It’s the part that Arwen quotes in the movie aswell,
” From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadow shall spring,
renewed be the blade that was broken,
the crownless again shall be king”
Please it’s the final piece for a tattoo of mine…the last piece, I would be so grateful.
Hannon Le
Hi!!can you help me translate the word ”once” and the letter ”a” =one,in Sindarin???
The exact phrase is ”Once upon a December”
Hi
I would be glad if any one could help me find & give the Elvish font
for the Female Name: Amareshwari (which is in English) I need it in Elvish Font.
and also my Name: Naveen in Elvish Font.
send directly to my personal mail: naveen8838@gmail.com
Your early response is highly grateful.
Thanks
Hi
For the longest time I have wanted to get a tattoo with Gandalf’s quote from FOTR
“All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you”
in Quenya. But, I haven’t learned Elvish to properly translate it and to be in the Quenya font. Is there a site where I can to do both, or could you send me the translation in font, please?
Thanks
wondering if anyone can put my name “Jordan Urquhart” into tengwar! not a massive LOTR fan either so any help would be great! this is in fact for my next tattoo, thanks!
hi i will like if u can give me this numbers in tengwar for my tattoo 5 27 3 26 11
In reverse order, duodecimal, I think it’s: Nelde toldo enque (0) minque otso lemen er/min. A direct transcription, using “B” to represent decemal “11” is: 157B0683. Use the omniglot-link above and transcribe. Reply to this post and I can do it for you
I’m getting married in May and I’m trying to find a translation into Tolkien elvish for (bound together for eternity) for my fiance’s ring…can anyone help I’m totally lost.
Hi I was wondering if anyone could help me translate, “Fear is nothing; love is everything” into the Quenya language and transcribed into the text for a tattoo. I’ve been reading and reading but it seems to confuse me more and more! Any help would be great, thanks.
I was wondering if you could help me with some Sindarin translations and maybe transcribe it into Tengwar? My sister and I would love to get a tattoo done in Sindarin. What we really want is little/youger sister and big/older/elder sister in Sindarin. But Im having some trouble finding it. And if there is no translation for that we just want sister. But I only found ones that mean associate, sworn sisters, etc.What is the Sindarin word for a blood related sister?
Your help is really appreciated!
Can you translate We are not human beings having spiritual experiences but spiritual beings having human experiences in quenya?
I want it as a tattoo mad bad!
Hi, I was using the Tengwar Transcriber to translate “this too shall pass” into quenya for a tattoo. I was able to come up with the characters but I have not been able to find the correct pronunciation. Can anyone help me?
Can someone help me with what the translation would be for “Jordan” and the latin phrase “Amor Fati”.
I can’t seem to get the program to work for me. I’m fairly certain that the word “farn” translates into English as ‘enough; sufficient’ and I want it for a family tattoo. Is there anyone around who can A: verify that ‘farn’ means ‘enough’ and B: maybe help me find out why I can’t do anything with the program? When I try to translate something from English, it comes out as English letters and numbers :(
I want to write this name in elvish writing ( luis pasos)
What would the Elvish writing look like when you translate ” not all who wander are lost ” look like?
Hi folks, about to add a little Celtic spice to the mix here, I’m wondering could anyone transcribe for me the following Irish into Tengwar; aon Dia, aon máistrí. It means; No Gods, no masters. it’s the ”ia” and the ”ái” that are worrying me, as to where to put the glyphs ect. lets just say Quenya for example, for anyone that wishes to attempt it! thank you.
Hi can anyone translate my date of birth into actual writing as cant find it anywhere online its 17/05/1989 for a tattoo so wanting it perfect already have my name just need date now thanks!
can anyone tell me what perl would be in Sindarin?
or If you’re really good Peggy (Margaret) but as this means perl then I guess it would be the same :)
Hi,can anyone help me tranlaste (always keep the faith) to elvish script?
Can someone please give me the spelling for Eric?
Pingback: ELVISH LANGUAGE | LIFE, UNIVERSES AND OTHER STUFF
Please can you help me? I am trying to get the tengwar translation for my sons names such are wade and Ryan. Any help please
i want a tattoo in elvish language the sentence is ” swimmers tale” i would really be glad if anyone can help me! i dont know what would be the best for this tattoo sindarin or quenya so you could choose which is the best, thank you.
I want to get a tattoo of Live, Laugh, Love in Sindarin. i want it in the calligraphy though. not just the words
can someone translate my entire website – http://www.rapidcolor.com into elvish?
Differently from the writer of the post, I AM offering translation services at my site. Look for Quenya101 and you’ll find me! (I don’t know if I am allowed to write links here and not be considered automatically as a spam)
I am looking to have the serenity prayer translated into elvish- Sindarin
Ánin anta QUILDE an savanye i nati yar umë ecuvan ahya, HUORË an ahyan i nati yar ecuva nin carë sa ar NOLWË an istuvanyet.
(in caps Serenity, Courage and Wisdom)
I would like to have a tattoo of “It’s not the strength of the body that matters but the strength of the spirt” in the same font as the words on the ring tengwar. Can anyone help?
Yes, I can help! Make your request here: http://quenya101.com/how-do-we-say-in-quenya/ and your sentence will be gladly composed into Quenya
I wanna get a tattoo that says “here lies the heart of a sinner” in elvish but i dont know how to properly translate it, help?(:
Please, Is there anybody who can help me translate the first two lines of The Riddle of Strider “All that is gold does not glitter, All who wander are not lost” in Sindarian Tengwar?
Sorry, Sindarin.
Hi everyone!
I´m a big LOTR-fan…My best friend and I are planning on getting a friendship tattoo together… And I have some problems on translating our first-names into elvish by myself. Could anyone help me out? And I dunno how the languages are different in writing (Quenya and Sindarin). But if anyone would help me out with this, and could write our names in both of the languages, I would be VERY VERY greatful…
My name: Angelica
My friends name: Emma
Best regards
Angelica
Check here: http://quenya101.com/names/a-names/ and here: http://quenya101.com/names/e-names/
I am a big fan of jrr Tolkien I am reading the hobbit right now in fact.what is thorin in elvish please answer.
Hello could someone please translate the following into Quenya/Sindarin : May I never be perfect. Thanks :D
Can some please help me, I want mírënya in elvish characters, preferably quenya? does anyone know what it would look like? Its for a tattoo so I would like it to be as “tolkien” as possible.
Hi!
I also would like to ask for some help. I’d like to make a tattoo and I want the sentens “Follow your star!” in elwish!
Help me please! Thank you!
Hi guys! My name is “Caitlynn” I don’t know the elvish word for it? (Both Quenya and Sindrain) please help. Thank you sooo much! I’m a HUGE fan.
I have a letter written by Tolkien that has script Elvish? on the bottom. Is there anyone who can translate this for me? I can scan a copy of it it.
can anyone tell me how to write mother, father, brother, family and friends in Quenya and Sindrain? PLEASEEEE
Hi…My name is Monika and I can’t find my name or the word Ivy anywhere (Sindrain or Quenya) so I was hopeing that maybe you an help me… Please help me … :(
Thank you very much in front…
Hi I have recently been looking at getting another tattoo and I have been in love with the Elvish language! I want to do as much research as possible because when its on your skin its there forever! I want “Live Love Laugh” or “Live Laugh Love” in one of the forms of Elvish. So if I could have that translated that would be great! Thank you so much, Emmalie
hello , i need your help please. Does anybody know the translation for ‘all or nothing’ in quenya????
Yes, I know. Please make your request at quenya101 site and it’ll be gladly answered to you.
Does “Naur an edraith ammen! Naur dan i ngaurhoth” mean “fire be for saving of us. Fire against the werewolf-host”?
looking to get a tattoo of my name in Quenya if possible
Hi
I have been looking all over the web i have come across one in elvish but as this will be tattoed on me, might need someone more experienced :-)
looking at older blood sister or four older blood sister of some kind
thank you so much, muchly appreciated :-)
Would anyone have the quenya translation for “not all those who wander are lost”
I was thinking of a lord of the rings tattoo and wanted something in elvish but not sure what.. So I was wondering what ‘fellowship’ looked like and ‘hobbit’ looked like
So do you know which part of the script it is that’s just “and in the darkness bind them”? I know it’s at the end but can you tell me where to separate it off from the rest? I’m also wondering for a tattoo… http://imagemadly.com
What would you recommend for me as a beginner the only sentence I can say is:
Annog nin daf pladan tele ci?
How do you find the alphabet?
Does anybody know how to say “purple” in quenya!? I’m getting so upset because I can’t translate a poem that I wrote since there is no word for it! I mean seriously, Tolkien made like 5 different ways to say white, but it never occurred to him to make the word purple!
Ok so your doing better than I. I can write my name with the alphabet symbols but im having trouble translating these words into the language you can read. For example how do you get elen sila lumenn omientielvo from a star shines brightly on the hour of our meeting. This may not be the exact translation. I just copy this one.as an example.i dont know how to change english words into elvish.someone please help.
I want to get a tattoo of the phrase ” It is not our abilities that make us who we are, but our choices” in quenya tenward. how can i find out how to write it and how to pronounce it?
sorry the quote is : “It is not our abilities that show what we truly are. It is our choices.”
Here: quenya101.com ! Voilà!
the link you provided is not a translator, its changes english letters into elvish letters only, but does not offer translation services
Nice translators. I’m lovin it
If you people go here
http://www.dafont.com/tengwar-annatar.font
You can download the font and “translate” whatever you want yourself. Don’t be stupid and pay anyone to do it for you.
What is the Sindarin Elvish translation of “Because it was real.”?
Hello, I would like to get a tattoo in elvish, I want “All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost”. But I don’t know if I should get it in Quenya or Sindarin? And for both, were can I find good translations and the tengwar writing of it? please answer.
By the way, your site is amazing! :)
I’m working on a new Tengwar transcriber. Try it out here: http://www.arno.org/tengwar/
So the Tengwar transcription of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is just transcribed from English. Does anyone know if there is a project to translate it into Quenya or Sindarin or if it’s been translated anywhere?
Hello,
Can you help me please to find an Elvish transcription of sentence ”Beautiful in His time” as I’ve searched different sources and getting more confused.
Thanks.
Hi i need some help with translating this to elvish :
One Ring to rule her heart, One ring to find her; One Ring to bring her back to me. i
Its for our aniversary and i want to put it in a ring .
my email vladcloudes@gmail.com
Plss help me translate this numbers to quenya elvish.. i would like a tattoo of this “0424-2004-44804” thank you.
Hi! I received a small message today written in elvish and I have no idea how to figure out what it says… Lol help!!
Reblogged this on Saavik-kam and commented:
Wonderful article on Tolkein languages
Great collection of links. I would probably add these to the collection as well.
http://funtranslations.com/elvish
http://funtranslations.com/quenya
http://funtranslations.com/sindarin
Calling all Lord of the Ring Experts-
Help! My fiance wants a wedding band that looks like the one ring. I thought it would be cool to write my own message and have it made to look like the ring.
I want it to be as authentic and literally correct. I found websites for translation. I am unsure however as to the phonetics and font of black script. I would like the message to say “I will love you always and in all ways. 29 December 2017” Will you please help if you have any ideas or resources?
Hello I am looking for this to be translated into Sindarin so I can get it to compliment the tattoo I’m getting. Please help!!!
(Home is behind, the world ahead,
And there are many paths to tread
Through shadows to the edge of night,
Until the stars are all alight.)
Hey ya’ll,
Wanted to know how to write the word ‘Strider’ in Sindarin script, any leads?
Hi,
Maybe you can help me, I’m looking to translate a sentence from English into sindar, and then have written in Tengwar. Any help would so appreciated, it’s for our wedding bands! And I can winky find a way to spell in English phrases in Tengwar.
Thanks!
Ronna