#dwarvish

[thedwarrowscholar]

Greetings! My sister and I are planning to get matching tattoos that say "little sister" and "big sister" in Erebor Runes.

We looked through the dictionary (and a Tumblr ask from 2016 about translation of brother & sister) and were hoping for some guidance.

Since " 'anai" is less formal than "nana' ", would that be more appropriate as far as endearments go? We also aren't sure about the syntax for adding "big" and "little" to the word.

Thank you so much! We really appreciate your help.

Well met!

First and foremost — my most sincere apologies for how terribly long this answer has taken. Some questions seem to wander the old forgotten halls of Khazad-dûm before they finally reach my desk, and this was surely one of them. Thank you for your immense patience!

Now, to your question — and what a heartwarming one it is! A pair of tattoos to honour your sisterhood, carved not in stone, but close to the heart. Let’s explore how best to bring your bond to life in Dwarvish.

🤎 Choosing the Right Word for “Sister” You're absolutely right to consider the difference between "nana’" and "’anai" — both meaning sister, but with different uses:

“nana’” is the more formal, neutral term — suitable in official or public speech.

“’anai” is affectionate and familiar — ideal for close kin and personal use.

For something as intimate and symbolic as a tattoo between siblings, “’anai” is absolutely the more fitting choice.

🛠️ Expressing “Little” and “Big” There are two accepted ways to express “little sister” and “big sister” in Neo-Khuzdul:

Option A: Using Adjectives (In Khuzdul, adjectives generally follow the noun)

’anai mim — sister little = little sister

’anai gabil — sister great = big sister

Note: Though "zanid" also means "large," it’s more physical in nature. For expressing status, age, or importance, "gabil" is the better choice.

Option B: Using the Elative Form (A more elegant, idiomatic phrasing)

’inna’ — smaller sister

’unna’ — greater sister

This form is particularly suited for something symbolic and permanent — a lovely balance of language and sentiment.

Two Dwarvish sisters (with beards, naturally)

✍ Writing It in Runes Please find your requested transcription below:

’anai mim / ’anai gabil

or

’inna’ / ’unna’

In summary:

For a direct, descriptive form: ’anai mim / ’anai gabil

For a more elegant, compact option: ’inna’ / ’unna’

Both are linguistically correct — choose the one that feels most “you”

Thank you again for your patience. May your tattoos be as enduring as stone and as meaningful as the ties of kinship that inspired them.

Ever at your service, The Dwarrow Scholar

[syppys-den]

Senshi is best Bubbe

I unironically view him as Jewish coded, and I feel the only reasons why are because the cooking music kind of sounds Jewish and because Tolkien's Dwarves (which obviously are major influences on all other dwarves that came after) are themselves inspired by Jews (and in a way that's a lot more respectful than you'd think while still not fetishizing them)

[khazdmazerb]

The concept of transfem/transmasc solidarity implies the existence of inter trans warfare and I don’t know about you lot but I’m not fighting an army of 6’0 10/10s unless they have pointy ears.

[artstationable]

Stephen Oakley

Senior Concept Artist Naughty Dog

artstation instagram etsy twitch

More from «Artstation» here

[aliensurvivalist]

Khuzdul from a fic im abandoning that i played around with suffixes for hehehe

I think I used that master post of different khuzdul words and had to figure out how to make my own sentences with them, including stuff like ‘is the’ and ‘are the’. I might’ve gotten a bit wrong so I’d be happy to learn more about khuzdul if anyone knows it :^)

From my understanding of khuzdul, ‘that are’ or ‘are the’ is the suffix îth, and ‘that is’ is the suffix ith and ‘is the’ is the suffix îh! :P

[dwarvendiaries]

New Dwarf Fortress soundtrack just dropped!

[an-unexpected-sideblog]

Looking for Khuzdul Family Words?

I compiled a (very long) list of familial relations in Khuzdul, all TDS-compatible as usual! Gender-neutral options are included for all roles. This list includes the regular father/sister/nephew/etc. you'd expect, but also options for housemate, godfather, half-sibling, and more!

[plaid-dm]

Homebrew dnd race lore: Dwarves

[the-vivicast]

Dwarf Lady

[mama-honeydew]

working on some fun lore for a D&D game im planning on running!

this is a hill dwarf woman along with the guide on writing/speaking hill dwarf

for this, i am not making full languages- im making what i call "100 types of piglatin"

so each "language" is a small blurb of text on how to modify english

(which is considered to be "common", because all my players speak english)

in this case, hill dwarves are the much more open-air sociable cousins to the mountain dwarves in my setting- and thus hill dwarves bump into halflings a lot-

so their writing system has changed to be an easier adaptation of halfling, while maintaining a lot of elements of their dwarvish grammar- like a lack of vowels and lack of starting vowels in words.

these have both been effected by their contact with halflings however, as true dwarvish even changes words like "of" and "or" and "im" to be "fo" "ro" and "mi" and has as few vowels as possible-

hill dwarf for halfling is "hefling"

while true (mountain) dwarf for halfling would be "huflng"

and in halfling it would be "hafwin"

[thedwarrowscholar]

Hello! I was looking up the Ring poem on the wiki since I couldn't remember some of the lines & saw that on the wiki page, it's translated into both Elvish languages & Black Speech but not Dwarvish. So I decided I'd try it myself using your dictionary & other resources you have but there were two words I couldn't find. It's possible I may have missed them in the other sources but I couldn't find translations for "doomed" & "mortal". Thanks for all you've done for us with your translations!

Well met, cemeterysdrive!

Ah, the Ring Poem — one of the most iconic verses from Middle-earth. You’re not the first to wonder why a Dwarvish version isn’t more widely available. While it exists in Black Speech, Neo-Khuzdul versions are rare — so hats off to you for attempting a translation yourself!

As it happens, I created a full Neo-Khuzdul translation and transcription below, including Moria script. You’ll find the full visual reference attached below. But let’s address your excellent question first — specifically the words "mortal" and "doomed."

🪓 “Mortal” and “Doomed” in Neo-Khuzdul

"Mortal" is interpreted in Neo-Khuzdul as amrâdusnudul, a compound meaning "those ruled by death".

From amrâd = “death”

And usnudul = “ruled (by)” (type 25 adj., non-person agent form)

"Doomed" is rendered as dumusôn, the perfect tense, third person plural of the verb tadmisi — “to judge,” “to pronounce law,” or “to determine after deliberation.” This is particularly apt for Dwarvish thought: fate is not arbitrary, but something weighed and determined — a judgement. And the Perfect form emphasizes it as a settled, dependable fact. So “they are doomed” becomes “they have been judged” — final, unchanging, and undeniable.

Thus, the full line “Nine for mortal men doomed to die” becomes:

“Tager khama 'atân amrâdusnudul dumusôn d’amrud.” (Lit. Nine for men ruled by death, they have been judged to die.)

📜 A Note on the Dwarves and the Seven Rings

The Dwarves received seven of the Rings of Power, as recalled in the poem’s line “Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone.” While they could not be turned into wraiths like Men, the Rings had another effect: they inflamed their natural lust for wealth, driving them to hoard treasure beyond reason.

Yet of those seven Rings, four were eventually destroyed by dragons — devoured in flame or lost in hoards — and the remaining three were reclaimed by Sauron. The line, for Dwarves, would therefore perhaps resonate less with prophecy and more with the grief of memory — a history carved deep in stone and loss.

one of the seven rings being swallowed by dragon fire

🔠 About the Script

Khuzdul, when written, traditionally uses the Moria runes — (Angerthas Moria) runes that are culturally accurate for Khuzdul inscriptions. That’s the script you’ll see used in my transcription below.

📜The Translation/Transcription

The full transcription and runic representation.

And in Latin Script: Nazâg gem khama Uzbud Fundul. Haded khama Zabbud Khuzdul ni dûmuwizd 'abnul. Tager khama 'atân amrâdusnudul dumusôn d' amrud. Ze' khama Uzbad dush aya zabad'egamhu dush. Ni zudnû Naragzudnu kunh 'azûn shurughôn. Nazg ze' d' azbud izdnu sullu. Nazg ze' d' amkhuh izdnu. Nazg ze' d' ashfutumun izdnu sullu. Ra ni 'azn ablul izdnu.

Meaning:

Three Rings for the Elven-Kings (lit. Rings Three for (the) Kings-of Elves) Seven for the Dwarf-Lords in their Halls of Stone. (lit. Seven for Lord-of Dwarves in Hall-of-their Stone). Nine for mortal men doomed to die. (lit. Nine for men death-ruled judged to die.) One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne. (lit.: One for Lord Dark on throne-his dark) In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. (lit. In (the) Land-of (the) Black-land where (the) Shadows lie.) One Ring to rule them all. (lit. Ring one to rule them all.) One Ring to find them (lit.: Ring one to find them) One Ring to bring them all (lit. Ring one to bring them all.) And in the Shadow bind them (lit.: And in (the) Shadow bind them).

⚒️ Final Thought

The Ring Poem was never something the Dwarves recited lightly, if at all. For them, the line about the Seven Rings is neither legend nor verse — it’s history. It speaks of gifts given, of hoards gone, of pride stoked, and (perhaps especially) of a time lost forever to fire and shadow.

Ever at your service, The Dwarrow Scholar

[knifknight]

Idk what they put in this but it is banging

[theskeletoninthegarden]

@thedwarrowscholar recently, or at some point that I may have missed, added something wonderful to the dictionary

I was more then happy enough to be using hû but now ;A;

[shembaba]

Lexember 16

Loroptale, [lo.ɾopˈt̯a.lɛ] (n.) | onyx

Today's word is a teaser for my Dwarvish language(s) which I started at the same time as Shembaba. I haven't published anything about it but maybe one day you'll get to see a little bit more when I feel like I've shared enough Elvish.

So, like most gemstones loroptale is a borrowing from Old Dwarvish (or Kevats, if you want the endonym (well technically Old Kevats since it's a stage a little older than what gets called Kevats but I digress)). Elves traditionally aren't super interested in mining but when they first got into contact with the dwarves after they had emerged from below the Earth's surface they were obsessed with the pretty colourful stones they had on offer. There is a whole historical art and fashion period that revolves around gemstones in Elvish history, including a counter movement that stressed more organic ornamentations, like feathers or flowers. These days Elves have calmed down a little bit with their obsession but you'll still see them create and wear a lot of jewelry.

Loroptale was lozoptali in Old Kevats which in itself is a compound of lozop 'dark, lightless' and tali 'stone' (I know, creative). Shembaba later rhoticised the medial [z] into [ɾ] and the final /i/ was borrowed as /e/ because Dwarves tend to centralise and relax their vowels a lot more than Elves giving /i/ a pronunciation more akin to [ɪ] which, especially when unstressed, can sound like /e/ to speakers who don't have a phonemic [ɪ]. In modern Mountain Dwarvish this word has become lostáis by the way. To dwarves, many of whom are pretty superstitious, this gemstone symbolises fear but also honesty and seriousness.

[edwardallenpoe]

Does anyone know "in-laws" or "relatives" in khuzdul. Asking for a friend

[tossawary]

I don't have a solid plot attached to this idea, I don't currently really have the desire to drop everything to go write "The Hobbit" fanfiction, but for a while I've had the idea of *gestures vaguely" some post-canon story (probably some form of fix-it) taking place before, during, and after a grand dwarven opera performance in Erebor.

Because I am absolutely certain that the Lonely Mountain had an absolutely stunningly beautiful Royal Opera House (and plenty of other, less grand performance halls) that, at the city's height, was putting at least one show every single day. Orchestral symphonies, operas and operettas, dramatic plays, dance performances... you name it, they had it and more. The various cultures of Middle Earth evidently ADORE music, dwarves absolutely included. The Company all bring instruments to Bag End to play and sing themselves off before their quest!

Also, beyond the music side of things, with how dwarves are named as master crafters? Smiths and toymakers and magicians? No way that they did not have some of the most gorgeous costumes, sets, and effects on the planet. Dwarves would go WILD with their articulated stage puppets, I know it.

One of my biggest issues with the film trilogy is that it failed to deeply explore the Company as people who had lost their home, beauty and culture included. Smaug not only killed countless people, entire families, and leave many of the survivors poor and desperate, the dragon went on to hoard their heirlooms and life's work and leave these priceless gold treasures UNUSED. It is an additional heartbreak to imagine Smaug tearing through Erebor neighborhood by neighborhood, house by house, so that he could tear out every gemstone in, say, mosaic made by someone's grandmother that sat above the breakfast table every morning. To think that Smaug in the aftermath tore magical lanterns off the walls, the sort that might have been decorated with animals or flowers, to make some daycare walkway just a little more cheery for the children, and in his greed left a dead city in the dark.

The live-action movies put both Smaug and the Balrog in these... absolutely enormous chambers that serve somewhat unclear purposes. The king's treasure vault and a former marketplace, I think? (Moria has been raised by goblins, I can forgive the emptiness.) It's a quick visual depiction of Thror's uncontrollable gold lust to give him a Scrooge McDuck room, sure, instead of anything with an actual organizational system (normally, I assume dwarves are big on sorting their vaults if they have one). Super big columns and hallways and staircases do somewhat effectively communicate the "lost glory" of Moria (I am very fond of these movies!!!), even if I also think it's not as interesting as it could have been. And the other obvious purpose of big, open warehouse-like spaces is 1) it's easier to animate the big creatures moving around in them generally and 2) it allows the films to show off the full-bodied visual spectacle of their big creatures.

But I think it would have also kicked ass to put Smaug in Erebor's former Royal Opera House or something, some enormous theatre decorated across generations. That could be big! The ART (statues, fountains, banners, windows, general architecture) that you could put on the exterior, which has had its face ripped open for the dragon to get inside? The ART that you could put INSIDE (mosaics, murals, and more) as Bilbo sneaks inside? Ohhh, you could include so many potential lore references with thematic relevance!

Also, Bilbo could get jump-scared by old articulated stage puppets or something. IT'S THE DRAGON-! Oh, no, it's some old opera prop. (Yes, we're talking more about an actual adaptation of "The Hobbit" rather than fanfiction concepts now.)

Sure, there's raw material treasure and coins hoarded here in this place, but there would also be musical instruments and toys and household tools and cookware and fancy dishes, wedding jewelry and anniversary gifts and family shrines and festival costumes, fountain statues and street lamps and mailboxes and business signs, and other evidence that people really LIVED here. These are all ordinary objects that Bilbo recognizes from the Shire.

We could tie these objects directly back to objects we saw featured in Bilbo's home early in this adaptation, which he was trying to "protect" from the dwarves during their "That's what Bilbo Baggins hates" song. There are half-burned portraits of people's late parents here too. Did he think that there weren't any dwarves who made doilies or handkerchiefs embroidered with flowers? Of course they made things like that too.

It's perfectly symbolic to, say, place Smaug's bed in an area like the king's throne room. The dragon is now the King Under The Mountain. But I think it would be deliciously haunting to have the throne room of Erebor be empty, the throne half-broken, the silver stripped from the walls and moved elsewhere, because Smaug doesn't care about Thror's old audience chamber. What's a dwarf king to a dragon? He burns the same as all the others. The dragon has instead made his bed in a beautiful public place of art and culture that was for the people, by the people, surrounded by the lovingly crafted belongings of the ordinary people he killed. Gold is gold to a dragon whether it's in a coin or a candlestick.

I think if you really want to sell one of the key messages of "The Hobbit", which in my opinion is: "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." then you ought to throw yourself behind EREBOR being a place where food and cheer and song had value, not just the Shire. Thorin isn't lost at the end because he's a dwarf and dwarves don't value such things, but because he as a specific person who makes the mistake of weighing pride and gold over people, and he comes to regret that on his deathbed.

So, back to the fanfiction idea, I think that Erebor had music again in it as soon as dwarves started living in it again. It will take decades and decades before the Royal Opera House is half as splendid as it was before, and there is a performance there with beautiful costumes and puppets and sets comparable to those that came before, some traditional historical show that is part of specific seasonal holiday for dwarves. But that very first winter, when the future still looked grim, I think the dwarves cleared out a small stage and cast the roles of this traditional musical retelling of their history among them, based on who knew the parts best, because they aren't just miners and smiths and soldiers, and there was music again in Erebor that winter despite all the damage that the dragon did.